Care Guides
Care guides by Rupert Foxton-Smythe
426 guides
Hydroponics – Cultivating Without Soil
Cultivating plants without soil is called hydroponics or hydroculture. Many plants can be grown in this way, and the technique has become popular in recent years.
Growing Plants at a North Facing Window
Many people fail to realize the advantages of the north window, when they begin to create a luxuriant green environment in their homes.
How to Grow Plants in Bottle Gardens
Bottle gardens are both popular and amusing. All you need for a bottle garden is a very large bottle, jar or carboy.
The Best Indoor Plants for a South-Facing Window
South-facing windowsills are perfect for some of the more exotic flowering house plants.
Positioning Plants for Best Light
As a rule it will be found practical only to place comparatively small plants right in the window spaces. Too large plants get in the way and they also restrict the amount of light entering the room.
Growing Cacti and Succulents the Easy Way
The weird shapes of these fleshy plants are an endless source of fascination, especially when exotic flowers bloom on them. The flowers of cacti are particularly exquisite and brilliant.
Growing Water Lilies
For either formal or informal pools, the water lily, perhaps, should be the first considered, for it is the queen of the water garden. The first essential for successful cultivation is still water.
Displaying Bonsai
The art of Bonsai is like the art of Japanese flower arranging. Bonsai look best if shown off on their own and very simply displayed in containers that blend with the colour and echo the shape of the…
Conifers and Heathers for Patios and Pots
It may seem strange to put together in one section two unrelated families of plants, but I have chosen to do this because I believe the combination of conifers and heathers indoors (often as bonsai…
The Function of Leaves
Leaves are vital to the living world, for lonely they can convert the sun’s energy into food for plants and, subsequently, for animals and people.
Pruning Houseplants
Some house plants never need pruning, because they are sold as ‘preformed’, well shaped plants and remain the same size and shape all their lives.
Hydroponics – Cultivating Without Soil
Cultivating plants without soil is called hydroponics or hydroculture. Many plants can be grown in this way, and the technique has become popular in recent years.