Ivydene Gardens Plant with Photo Index Gallery: Shape of Flower and Use of Plant Page 1 with 1. Why the perfect soil for general use is composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand within the SOIL TEXTURE, (see rows below with light blue background and black text to find out) and
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As photos are added to this index, then if the plant has the relevant photos to be included in the comparison pages in this table, then they shall be included in the relevant Flower Shape and Plant Use gallery below for
- Bedding
- Bulb
- Evergreen Perennial
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Rose
- Evergreen Shrub
- Deciduous Shrub
- Evergreen Tree
- Deciduous Tree
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From
Ivydene Gardens Bulb Flower Shape, Bulb Form, Bulb Use and Bulb in Soil Gallery:
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BULB FLOWER SHAPE GALLERY PAGES
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Number of Flower Petals
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Petal-less
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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Above 5
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Flower Shape - Simple
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Stars with Single Flowers
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Bowls
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Cups and Saucers
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Globes
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Goblets and Chalices
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Trumpets
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Funnels
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Flower Shape - Simple
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Bells
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Thimbles
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Urns
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Salver form
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Flower Shape - Elabor-ated
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Tubes, Lips and Straps
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Slippers, Spurs and Lockets
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Hats, Hoods and Helmets
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Stan-dards, Wings and Keels
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Discs and Florets
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Pin-Cushions
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Tufts and Petal-less Cluster
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Flower Shape - Elabor-ated
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Cushion
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Umbel
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Buttons with Double Flowers
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Pompoms
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Stars with Semi-Double Flowers
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Natural Arrange-ments
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Bunches, Posies and Sprays (Group)
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Columns, Spikes and Spires
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Whorls, Tiers and Cande-labra
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Plumes and Tails
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Chains and Tassels
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Clouds, Garlands and Cascades
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Sphere, Dome (Clusters), Drumstick and Plate
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BULB FORM, BULB USE AND BULB IN SOIL GALLERY PAGES
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Bulb Form
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Mat-Forming
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Prostrate or Trailing
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Cushion or Mound-forming
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Spreading or Creeping
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Clump-forming
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Stemless. Sword-shaped Leaves
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Erect or Upright
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Bulb Use
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Other than Only Green Foliage
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Bedding or Mass Planting
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Ground-Cover
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Cut-Flower
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Tolerant of Shade
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In Woodland Areas
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Under-plant
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Tolerant of Poor Soil
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Covering Banks
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In Water
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Beside Stream or Water Garden
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Coastal Conditions
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Edging Borders
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Back of Border or Back-ground Plant
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Fragrant Flowers
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Not Fragrant Flowers
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Indoor House-plant
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Grow in a Patio Pot
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Grow in an Alpine Trough
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Grow in an Alpine House
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Grow in Rock Garden
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Speciman Plant
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Into Native Plant Garden
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Naturalize in Grass
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Grow in Hanging Basket
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Grow in Window-box
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Grow in Green-house
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Grow in Scree
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Natural-ized Plant Area
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Grow in Cottage Garden
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Attracts Butter-flies
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Attracts Bees
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Resistant to Wildlife
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Bulb in Soil
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Chalk
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Clay
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Sand
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Lime-Free (Acid)
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Peat
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Bulb Height from Text Border
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Brown= 0-12 inches (0-30 cms)
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Blue = 12-24 inches (30-60 cms)
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Green= 24-36 inches (60-90 cms)
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Red = 36+ inches (90+ cms)
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Bulb Soil Moisture from Text Background
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Wet Soil
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Moist Soil
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Dry Soil
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Flowering months range abreviates month to its first 3 letters (Apr-Jun is April, May and June).
Click on thumbnail to change this comparison page to the Plant Description Page of the Bulb named in the Text box below that photo. The Comments Row of that Plant Description Page links to where you personally can purchase that bulb via mail-order.
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The following table shows the linkages for the information about the plants described in Sanders' Encyclopedia of Gardening in The Gardeners' Golden Treasury, revised by A. G. L Hellyer F.L.S, Editor of 'Amateur Gardening', (thirty-first impression of original published in 1895) was published in 1960 by W. H. & L. Collingridge Limited, between:-
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STAGE 4D SHAPE, FORM INDEX GALLERY
Plant Foliage
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STAGE 4D SHAPE, FORM INDEX GALLERY Tree and Shrubs in Garden Design -
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Clay Soils (neutral to slightly acid)
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Dry Acid Soils
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Shallow Soil over Chalk
Trees and Shrubs tolerant of both extreme Acidity and Alkalinity
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Damp Sites
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Industrial Areas
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Cold Exposed Areas
Trees and Shrubs suitable for Seaside Areas
Shrubs suitable for Heavy Shade
Shrubs and Climbers suitable for NORTH- and EAST-facing Walls
Shrubs suitable for Ground Cover
Trees of Pendulous Habit
Trees and Shrubs of Upright or Fastigiate Habit
Trees and Shrubs with Ornamental Bark or Twigs
Trees and Shrubs with Bold Foliage
Trees and Shrubs for Autumn Colour
Trees and Shrubs with Red or Purple Foliage
Trees and Shrubs with Golden or Yellow Foliage
Trees and Shrubs with Grey or Silver Foliage
Trees and Shrubs with Variegated Foliage
Trees and Shrubs bearing Ornamental Fruit
Trees and Shrubs with Fragrant or Scented Flowers
Trees and Shrubs with Aromatic Foliage
Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Every Month:- Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
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STAGE 1 GARDEN STYLE INDEX GALLERY
Fragrant Plants adds the use of another of your 5 senses in your garden:- Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders
Fragrant Plants:- Trees and Shrubs with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Leaves 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Trees and Shrubs with Aromatic Bark 1, 2, 3
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for an Acid Soil 1, 2, 3, 4 Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a Chalky or Limestone Soil 1, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented leaves for a Sandy Soil 1, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Leaves 1, 2, 3 Annual and Biennial Plants with Scented Flowers or Leaves 1, 2 Bulbs and Corms with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Scented Plants of Climbing and Trailing Habit 1, 2, 3
Winter-flowering Plants with Scented Flowers 1, 2 Night-scented Flowering Plants 1, 2
Scented Aquatic Plants 1
Plants with Scented Fruits 1
Plants with Scented Roots 1, 2
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Wood 1 Trees and Shrubs with Scented Gums 1
Scented Cacti and Succulents 1
Plants bearing Flowers or Leaves of Unpleasant Smell 1, 2
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with more details below on the Perfume Groups
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Now we do of course have WILDFLOWERS and these can be very useful to BUTTERFLIES and their young
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Butterfly Usage of Plants by Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly
Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly usage of Plant A-C Plant C-M Plant N-W Butterfly usage of Plant
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and these wildflowers come from these WILDFLOWER FAMILIES:-
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WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE MENU 1
(o)Adder's Tongue Amaranth (o)Arrow-Grass (o)Arum (o)Balsam Bamboo (o)Barberry (o)Bedstraw (o)Beech (o)Bellflower (o)Bindweed (o)Birch (o)Birds-Nest (o)Birthwort (o)Bogbean (o)Bog Myrtle (o)Borage (o)Box (o)Broomrape (o)Buckthorn (o)Buddleia (o)Bur-reed (o)Buttercup (o)Butterwort (o)Cornel (Dogwood) (o)Crowberry (o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1 (o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2 Cypress (o)Daffodil (o)Daisy (o)Daisy Cudweeds (o)Daisy Chamomiles (o)Daisy Thistle (o)Daisy Catsears (o)Daisy Hawkweeds (o)Daisy Hawksbeards (o)Daphne (o)Diapensia (o)Dock Bistorts (o)Dock Sorrels
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WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE MENU 2
(o)Clubmoss (o)Duckweed (o)Eel-Grass (o)Elm (o)Filmy Fern (o)Horsetail (o)Polypody Quillwort (o)Royal Fern (o)Figwort - Mulleins (o)Figwort - Speedwells (o)Flax (o)Flowering-Rush (o)Frog-bit (o)Fumitory (o)Gentian (o)Geranium (o)Glassworts (o)Gooseberry (o)Goosefoot (o)Grass 1 (o)Grass 2 (o)Grass 3 (o)Grass Soft Bromes 1 (o)Grass Soft Bromes 2 (o)Grass Soft Bromes 3 (o)Hazel (o)Heath (o)Hemp (o)Herb-Paris (o)Holly (o)Honeysuckle (o)Horned-Pondweed (o)Hornwort (o)Iris (o)Ivy (o)Jacobs Ladder (o)Lily (o)Lily Garlic (o)Lime (o)Lobelia (o)Loosestrife (o)Mallow (o)Maple (o)Mares-tail (o)Marsh Pennywort (o)Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
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WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE MENU 3
(o)Mesem-bryanthemum (o)Mignonette (o)Milkwort (o)Mistletoe (o)Moschatel Naiad (o)Nettle (o)Nightshade (o)Oleaster (o)Olive (o)Orchid 1 (o)Orchid 2 (o)Orchid 3 (o)Orchid 4 (o)Parnassus-Grass (o)Peaflower (o)Peaflower Clover 1 (o)Peaflower Clover 2 (o)Peaflower Clover 3 (o)Peaflower Vetches/Peas Peony (o)Periwinkle Pillwort Pine (o)Pink 1 (o)Pink 2 Pipewort (o)Pitcher-Plant (o)Plantain (o)Pondweed (o)Poppy (o)Primrose (o)Purslane Rannock Rush (o)Reedmace (o)Rockrose (o)Rose 1 (o)Rose 2 (o)Rose 3 (o)Rose 4 (o)Rush (o)Rush Woodrushes (o)Saint Johns Wort Saltmarsh Grasses (o)Sandalwood (o)Saxifrage
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WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE MENU 4
Seaheath (o)Sea Lavender (o)Sedge Rush-like (o)Sedges Carex 1 (o)Sedges Carex 2 (o)Sedges Carex 3 (o)Sedges Carex 4 (o)Spindle-Tree (o)Spurge (o)Stonecrop (o)Sundew (o)Tamarisk Tassel Pondweed (o)Teasel (o)Thyme 1 (o)Thyme 2 (o)Umbellifer 1 (o)Umbellifer 2 (o)Valerian (o)Verbena (o)Violet (o)Water Fern (o)Waterlily (o)Water Milfoil (o)Water Plantain (o)Water Starwort Waterwort (o)Willow (o)Willow-Herb (o)Wintergreen (o)Wood-Sorrel (o)Yam (o)Yew
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Perhaps FRAGRANT PLANTS might be useful to you:-
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Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders
Fragrant Plants:- Trees and Shrubs with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Trees and Shrubs with Scented Leaves 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Trees and Shrubs with Aromatic Bark 1, 2, 3 Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for an Acid Soil 1, 2, 3, 4 Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a Chalky or Limestone Soil 1, 2, 3, 4 Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a Sandy Soil 1, 2, 3 Herbaceous Plants with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3 Herbaceous Plants with Scented Leaves 1, 2, 3 Annual and Biennial Plants with Scented Flowers or Leaves 1, 2 Bulbs and Corms with Scented Flowers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Scented Plants of Climbing and Trailing Habit 1, 2, 3 Winter-flowering Plants with Scented Flowers 1, 2 Night-scented Flowering Plants 1, 2 Scented Aquatic Plants. Plants with Scented Fruits. Plants with Scented Roots 1, 2 Trees and Shrubs with Scented Wood. Trees and Shrubs with Scented Gums. Scented Cacti and Succulents. Plants bearing Flowers or Leaves of Unpleasant Smell 1, 2
Flower Perfume Group:- Miscellaneous Group with scents - Balm, Brandy, Cedar, Cloying, Cowslip, Cucumber, Damask Rose, Daphne, Exotic, Freesia, Fur-like, Gardenia, Hay-like, Heliotrope, Honeysuckle, Hops, Hyacinth, Incense-like, Jasmine, Laburnham, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Meadowsweet, Mignonette, Mint, Mossy, Muscat, Muscatel, Myrtle-like, Newly Mown Hay, Nutmeg, Piercing, Primrose, Pungent, Resinous, Sandalwood, Sassafras, Seductive, Slight, Soft, Stephanotis, Sulphur, Starch, Sweet, Sweet-briar, Tea-rose, Treacle and Very Sweet.
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Flower Perfume Group:- Indoloid Group. Aminoid Group with scent - Hawthorn. Heavy Group with scents - Jonquil and Lily. Aromatic Group with scents - Almond, Aniseed, Balsamic, Carnation, Cinnamon, Clove, Spicy and Vanilla. Violet Group. Rose Group. Lemon Group with scent - Verbena. Fruit-scented Group with scents - Apricot, Fruity, Green Apple, Orange, Pineapple, Ripe Apple , Ripe Banana and Ripe Plum.
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Flower Perfume Group:- Animal-scented Group with scents - Cat, Dog, Ferret, Fox, Goat, Human Perspiration, Musk, Ripe Apple and Tom Cat. Honey Group. Unpleasant Smell Group with scents - Animal, Fetid, Fishy, Foxy, Fur-like, Garlic, Hemlock, Manure, Nauseating, Perspiration, Petrol, Putrid, Rancid, Sickly, Skunk, Stale Lint Sulphur and Urinous,
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Leaf Perfume Group:- Turpentine Group. Camphor and Eucalyptus Group. Mint Group. Sulphur Group. Indoloid Group. Aminoid Group. Heavy Group. Aromatic Group. Violet Group. Rose Group. Lemon Group. Fruit-scented Group. Animal-scented Group. Honey Group.
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Scent of Wood, Bark and Roots Group:- Aromatic Group. Turpentine Group. Rose Group. Violet Group. Stale Perspiration Group.
Scent of Fungi Group:- Indoloid Group. Aminoid Group. Sulphur Group. Aromatic Group. Rose Group. Violet Group. Fruit Group. Animal Group. Honey Group
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Rock Garden Plant Uses from 2 Rock Garden Galleries:-
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Links from Colour Wheel Rock Gallery:-
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Links from Colour Rock Photos
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1. Why the perfect soil for general use is composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand within the SOIL TEXTURE:-
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The proportion of sand, silt and clay is referred to as its texture and is described in What is Soil Texture?
If you only have Clay, Sand or Silt Loam as shown in the diagram below, then you will have difficulty in growing many different types of plants, so you would probably be advised to change the proportion towards the perfect soil for general use, which should be composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand. To provide the lime and humus on your garden beds, under your hedges or between your vegetables / fruit bushes / top fruit, why not create a 1-3 inch (2.5-7.5 cm) mulch depth of Spent Mushroom Compost - its formulation generally consists of a combination of wheat straw, dried blood, horse manure and ground chalk, composted together. It is an excellent source of humus, although much of its nitrogen content will have been used up by the composting and growing mushrooms. It remains, however, a good source of general nutrients (0.7% N, 0.3% P, 0.3% K plus a full range of trace elements), as well as a useful soil conditioner. However, due to its chalk content, it may be alkaline, and should not be used on acid-loving plants, nor should it be applied too frequently, as it will overly raise the soil's pH levels.
Each stage of the brewing process produces waste. For every 1,000 tonnes of beer produced, 137 to 173 tonnes of solid waste may be created in the form of spent grain, trub (an unwanted material generated during wort production), waste yeast and kieselguhr, main material used to filter the beer. Kieselguhr - typical chemical composition of oven-dried diatomaceous earth is 80–90% silica (silica is sand), with 2–4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5–2% iron oxide. So, if you have clay soil, once the beer companies have removed what they want from it, why not add this waste material as a form of slurry brought by a cement mixer to your garden to change the texture of your soil to one more suitable for plants as well as provide them with organic matter of spent grain and yeast, instead of them sending it to landfill?
This could also be added to the fertiliser for the trees in the pavements and that would be another permanent way of using the product rather than using it for landfill. That would mean that all waste products from beer making would be used throughout the world.
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Soil Texture
The proportion of sand, silt and clay is referred to as its texture as shown in the diagram below.
The gaps between the soil particles are called ‘soil pores’. These soil pores are used to provide the plants with water, air and nutrients dissolved in the water. The soil pores for sand (like the big gaps in a jumbled pile of bricks) are large and clay (like the small gaps in a loose pile of cement) pores are small.
Addition of Humus, Sand and Stone to improve the structure of Clay Soil
The Soil - The most important element to consider, when starting a planting plan, is the soil. Soil provides anchorage for plant roots and holds the water/nutrients that are necessary for maintaining life. It is made up of the following elements:-
- ROCK PARTICLES - All soils except peat are mineral soils formed from rock particles. They have been ground out of the rocks on the planet's surface by the relentless action of rain, wind and frost. The size and shape of the particles vary according to the parent rock and the weather action, so that different types of soil are formed: clay, silt, sand and chalk. Each type of soil has different qualities of aeration, drainage and nutrient holding capacity.
- HUMUS - The product of decayed and decaying plants and animals; humus or 'organic matter' is the magic ingredient which gives fertility to the soil. Humus improves the structure of the soil, making it dark brown and crumbly. It holds moisture without impeding drainage and is home to a wide range of bacteria and other micro-organisms that help the gardener by breaking down organic matter to release nutrients. Earthworms thrive in humus-rich soils, and their movement through the soil aids drainage and aeration. The proportion of humus to mineral particles varies in different soils. It can be added to poor soil in the form of well rotted manure, compost or leaf mould.
- WATER - Entering the soil by precipitation (rain and snowfall), by absorption upwards from the water table underground and by seepage from rivers, lakes and ponds. Water is lost from the soil through natural drainage, through evaporation and through plants taking it up through their roots. Plants need access to water for the food-making process of photosynthesis.
- AIR - Plants breathe through their roots, using the air trapped between the particles of rock and humus. Without air, soil becomes waterlogged suffocating most plant roots. The living organisms in the soil, on which plants depend, also need air.
ACID and ALKALINE SOIL - Soil with a high lime or chalk content is alkaline. When lime is not present, it is neutral or acid. Peat is acid. Acidity and alkalinity is measured in terms of the soil's pH level.
Neutral or nearly neutral (6.5-7.5) soils are ideal for most plants. At this pH level, nutrients are readily available. Some plants prefer alkaline soil and a few will only thrive in acid soils
The Soil Textural Triangle
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Types of Soil
- CLAY SOIL - Slow to dry out after rain. A lump squeezed in the hand feels dense, sticky and pliable like the clay used in pottery. Clay soils are known as 'heavy' soils. Clay can be acid, neutral or alkaline.
(Clay soils contain 50% of stiff unctuous clay)
- SANDY SOIL - Dries out quickly. Disintegrates when handled. Sandy soils are 'light'. Nutrients and lime are washed away, so sandy soils tend to be acid.
(Sandy soils contain upwards of 20 %, or thereabouts, of silica; that is, of the crumbling debris of granite or sandstone rock)
- PEATY SOIL - Holds water like a sponge. Usually acid and not very fertile.
(Peaty soils or vegetable mould, the richest of all garden soils, contains from 5-12% of humus; that is, decomposed vegetable and animal matter)
- CHALKY SOIL - Drains rapidly washing nutrients away. Very alkaline; the white parent rock is often close to the surface.
(Calcareous soils contain upwards of 20% of lime in their composition)
- LIMESTONE SOIL - Drains rapidly. Numerous stones are present, from tiny ones to large rocks. Alkaline pH, but less so than chalk.
(Marly soil is the debris of limestone rock, decomposed and reduced to a paste. It contains from 5-20% of carbonate of lime - calcium carbonate.)
- PERFECT GARDEN SOIL - The best all-purpose soil is known as loam, It is a balanced mixture of clay and sand with plenty of humus and is nearly neutral (The interaction between clay domains, organic matter, silt and sand particles diagram shows how quartz grains - sand - are joined together by clay, organic matter and bacteria). Soils are usually described in terms of their relationship to this ideal, for instance sandy loam, clay loam, silty loam.
(Loamy soil is soil in which the proportion of clay varies from 20-25%; sand, and various kinds of alluvium, making up the remainder.)
Some recommendations below on how to improve your soil texture - I spent some months working on 5 acres of a new Care Home. The previous use for these 5 acres had been as a boys school. This had been demolished and the rubble then built on for the 5 new residential Care Buildings with its Administration/Kitchen Building. 5000 shrubs and trees were planted and at the end of the first year, I audited what remained - 2000 out those 5000 had died. The builders had generously added a 2 inches (5 cm) depth of topsoil before planting into that and the rubble under it. I did suggest putting a 4 inch mulch of bark on top of the ground in the beds at a trifling cost of £19,000, since digging up the plants and transfering them to a nursery bed, before excaving a further 12 inches (30 cm) and replacing the 14 inch (35 cm) depth with good soil mixed with manure; and then its plants; would have been extremely time consuming and expensive. This money was not forthcoming, so when I started cutting the lawns, I added the mowings to the beds as a mulch. I was told that this was unsightly and to stop doing that - at this point I resigned since the contract for the original planting only included making up the losses in the first year, I could not see that many of the plants would survive in the succeeding years.
Information in brackets in the 'Types of Soil' above comes from "Beeton's New Book of Garden Management" by Samuel Orchart Beeton; published in 1870 by Ward, Lock & Co., Limited. ASIN: B000WG5WKK
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The climate in the South of England is temperate, with up to 20" of rainfall and a minimum temperature of 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit, and so require draught tolerant frost hardy plants.
A 150mm deep mulch of mixed peat, sharp washed sand and horticultural grit was applied on top of a heavy clay soil to improve its structure, and stop the plants therein from drowning, at £10 a square metre. The mix was:
- 4 cubic metres of Peat (to provide the Organic Polymers/Organic Matter and Carbon.)
- 2 cubic metres of Sharp Washed Sand (to provide the sand for the production of microaggregates)
- 2 cubic metres of Horticultural Grit (to provide larger particles for aggregation)
- 25kg of Garden Lime (to provide Calcium for the plants and allow clay minerals to bond together to form domains. Once clay minerals are stacked together to form domains, they can then bond with organic matter to form microaggregates)
- 25 kg of Sulphate of Iron (to provide Iron to act as a trace element and to create soil colloid for buffering chemical nutrients in the soil for later use by plants)
- 25Kg of Sulphate of Potash ( to provide fertilizer for the plants)
The following was then sent to me:-
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and the following was sent to me in October 2004:-
An unsuccessful planting scheme had left bare areas of garden as plants failed to survive winter in the waterlogged clay soil. The loss of numerous plants and the cost of replacing them had left us disheartened. It was evident that remedial action was need in the form of a mixture of gravel, sand and peat to create an organic loam. Approximately six inches was added in April and left to settle and do its job. By July there was a noticeable difference in the quality of the soil and the plants. Shrubs with sparse, mottled leaves were looking glossy and robust, overall growth had increased (including the weeds!) and the soil was holding its moisture well. But the biggest difference came in the confidence it gave us to transform the garden. The borders used to be a no-go area between May and September as the clay baked and cracked, but the new soil was easy to handle and weeds could be successfully removed. We realised that there are no quick fixes - the key to a healthy garden is rich, nutritous soil. Once our plants began to thrive we were optimistic that, with good advice, we could create a garden to be proud of.
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If the problem is a very Sandy Soil, then change the 2 cubic metres of Sharp Washed Sand in the above mixture for 2 cubic metres of Clay. Put the clay in the mixer first with 0.5 cubic metre of water to dissolve the clay. Then once the clay is liquefied, add the remaining ingredients except the peat and mix whilst still still keeping it liquid. Then add the peat and mix it in before filling the required transportation sacks. Transport these sacks as quickly as possible to their destination and mulch the ground with a 6 inch depth (15 cms) of this damp material. The ground should transform into a good loam within 4 months, providing that is not walked or driven on during that time.
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Soils and their Treatment (from Colour All The Year In My Garden: A selection of choice varieties - annuals, biennials, perennials, bulbs, climbers and trees and shrubs - that will give a continuity of colour in the garden throughout the year. Edited by C.H. Middleton. Gardening Book from Ward, Lock & Co published in 1938, provides plant data for a calendar of plants in bloom throughout the year and for those in the smallest garden.) The perfect soil for general use should be composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand. Soil containing constituents in these ratios will rarely be found, but many loams will not be far from the ideal, and with a little judicious improvement will furnish a compost in which most plants will thrive.
Soil Improvement Water-logged soil will not allow the continual life of the majority of plants. Very sandy soil so unretentive of moisture is equally hopeless. What most plants require is a soil which, while efficiently drained and containing within a few feet of the surface no body of stagnant water, shall yet be of such a texture and shall include a sufficient proportion of organic material as to retain for an appreciable time a moderate degree of water. If the soil is naturally very heavy, that is to say, if it consists very largely of clay, and especially if it rests at a comparatively shallow depth below the surface on an almost impervious layer, it is almost certain to be more or less water-logged. And it is necessary in such a case to dig it deeply and to provide adequate drainage, and at the same time to lighten the upper layers of the soil by the addition of dsand, leaf-mould, and organic manures such as stable manure (I prefer cow manure since it contains no weed seeds). In a similar way very light, sandy soils should be improved by the liberal addition of clay, fibrous loam such as is obtained from the top spit of meadow-land, leaf-mould, and cow or pig manure. These latter, which, in the case of the heavy soils, serve to keep open the clay which would tend otherwise to form a solid block, help, in the case of sandy soils, to bind them together, and enable them to retain a greatly increased volume of water.
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THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 15,000:-
Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources)
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Choose 1 of these different Plant selection Methods:-
1. Choose a plant from 1 of 53 flower colours in the Colour Wheel Gallery.
2. Choose a plant from 1 of 12 flower colours in each month of the year from 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery.
3. Choose a plant from 1 of 6 flower colours per month for each type of plant:-
Aquatic Bedding Bulb Climber Conifer Deciduous Shrub Deciduous Tree Evergreen Perennial Evergreen Shrub Evergreen Tree Hedging Herbaceous Perennial Herb Odds and Sods Rhododendron Rose Soft Fruit Top Fruit Wild Flower
4. Choose a plant from its Flower Shape:-
Shape, Form Index Flower Shape
5. Choose a plant from its foliage:-
Bamboo Conifer Fern Grass Vegetable
6. There are 6 Plant Selection Levels including Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers in Plants Topic.
or
7. when I do not have my own or ones from mail-order nursery photos , then from March 2016, if you want to start from the uppermost design levels through to your choice of cultivated and wildflower plants to change your Plant Selection Process then use the following galleries:-
- Create and input all plants known by Amateur Gardening inserted into their Sanders' Encyclopaedia from their edition published in 1960 (originally published by them in 1895) into these
- Stage 1 - Garden Style Index Gallery,
then
- Stage 2 - Infill Plants Index Gallery being the only gallery from these 7 with photos (from Wikimedia Commons) ,
then
- Stage 3 - All Plants Index Gallery with each plant species in its own Plant Type Page followed by choice from Stage 4a, 4b, 4c and/or 4d REMEMBERING THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE SELECTION FROM THE CHOICES MADE IN STAGES 1 AND 2
- Stage 4a - 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery,
- Stage 4b - 12 Foliage Colours per Month Index Gallery with
- Stage 4c - Cultivation, Position, Use Index Gallery and
- Stage 4d - Shape, Form Index Gallery
- Unfortunately, if you want to have 100's of choices on selection of plants from 1000's of 1200 pixels wide by up to 16,300 pixels in length webpages, which you can jump to from almost any of the pages in these 7 galleries above, you have to put up with those links to those choices being on
- the left topic menu table,
- the header of the middle data table and on
- the page/index menu table on the right of every page of those galleries.
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There are other pages on Plants which bloom in each month of the year in this website:-
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- Plants for Cut Flowers in
January February March April May June July August September October November December
- Climber 3 sector Vertical Plant System with flowers in
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May 1, 2 Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
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