This is the time of year that I love bringing in fresh flowers from my home greenhouse to freshen up the house with vibrant color as well as lovely aromas!  There’s just something special about coming in from the cold damp and dreary world outside into a home that is budding with fresh flower arrangements from the kitchen to the bedrooms.  Couple that with the smell of a roaring fire, mingling with the faint scent of blossoms, and you have the perfect atmosphere for the holidays.

I highly recommend greenhouses for those who would love to have fresh flowers over the holidays and into the winter months.  It does take work so be prepared to garden throughout the year.  For those of us who love it; it’s not a problem to be out in the greenhouse all the time.  You can also grow some of your favorite foods as well and that’s a bonus.  You will need to make arrangements to have some kind of heat and do a little research before purchasing a greenhouse kit.

An idea you may want to try in your ever improving and growing garden paradise is the inclusion of little garden rooms.  It’s a simple but brilliant way to create small enclosures and alcoves of your favorite outdoor structures, features and treasures.  You may think that you need a really large garden or yard to do this and that is true to some extinct.  However, you can do less rooms and more focused areas for a smaller yard.

Doing this allows you to gather together grouping of items to make every room perfect for you.  Using one or more small to medium greenhouse kits is also fun so you can incorporate your beautiful flowers in those areas and keep them blooming year round.  It’s wonderful to walk through the snow in the garden and see those colored blooms in the mist of winter.  Just fun and stunning.

When looking for a greenhouse it is advisable to see how much space, with adequate sunlight, that you can contribute to putting into a growing house.  For those who only have minimal space or no yard at all and would still like to have a way to grow a few things with, you can invest in a wonderful mini greenhouse that can fit on a porch or balcony.  For those who do have ample room and sunlight, a home greenhouse is a great choice for you.

In today’s climate of rising grocery prices people are looking for ways to consolidate and conserve for the sake of their pocket book.  Though greenhouses do take an upfront investment, over time they not only contribute to helping with your expenses but also to your over health if you choose to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs organically.  The lifetime of savings in regard to your health expenses by eating properly might far outweigh the savings on food alone.  The bonus is that its not just your health; it’s your families as well.

I haven’t talked about this in a little while but thought I would bring it up again as I continue to hear that people are putting off healthcare and eating at McDonalds to save money in the current economy.  Eating right is a great way to hedge your bets with your health and fast food is not the way to eat well.  That’s not to say that I am against enjoying a Big Mac from time to time but there are ways to eat well without spending a great deal of money.  You can also go in with family members and invest in a garden that will let you grow your own vegetables and herbs and share among yourselves.

When it comes to your health, you can’t get started soon enough and if you don’t have room for a garden you have a couple of other options.  One is a raised bed that you can put on patios or landings that work well.  The other option is to eat locally.  Find farmers markets or vendors that sell produce at their place of business since these are normally a little bit less expensive due to not having transportation costs tacked on top.  Coupon shop and save where you can but if at all possible, please don’t sacrifice your health.

You hear people talk about “going green” all the time and what you find is all they end up doing is changing their light bulbs to the new and highly better florescent bulbs and recycle whenever it’s convenient.  This is a great start; however, it is not going to change the world as we know it.  What does have the potential to change the world is plants and lots of them.  We can offset the CO2 output by planting trees and other plants throughout our cities and one of the best and inexpensive ways to do this is the use of greenhouses.

Greenhouses come in many different sizes and are made from different materials.  Most residences use greenhouse kits because they are portable.  They are very easy to put together and install and allow you to grow flowers, vegetables and herbs as well as all kinds of other plants and trees on a year round basis.  You just can’t beat having a greenhouse to make it a better world for you, your family and the environment.  For those of you that don’t have a lot of space or live in a condo, you can use a mini greenhouse.  Let’s make a better world and really go green and utilize greenhouses!

Every once in a while you run across and great resource that you just want to share with everyone you come in contact with.  Well, I have found such a resource at GardenGuides.com.  This website is divided into sections to help you get right ot your topic as quickly as possible.

The topics right off the bat are Garden Plants; Garden How-Tos; Garden Resources, Garden Pests; and Garden Supplies.  Another great resource is the Garden Community Section and the Garden Forums where you can find answers to most any garden related question you may ever have.  It’s just a great place to start no matter if you are a garden pro or a beginner.

I don’t know about your house, but around ours, my children know more about ways to save our planet and live a greener lifestyle than I do.  They are great about recycling, and they have even made suggestions for ways to save energy around our home, like fluorescent lighting.  But we want to teach them that, while those actions are important, a green lifestyle is much more.  Really learning to appreciate the earth and its inter-related systems means getting out in the garden or the greenhouse, and making things grow!

As we have become involved in growing our own food, our kids have learned that if you treat living things with respect, they will often give you back even more in return.  Each time our dinner table includes vine-ripe tomatoes that they had a hand in planting and raising and picking, it reaffirms the life-sustaining values we want to instill in them as responsible planetary citizens.  Who knew a delicious, greenhouse tomato could accomplish so much!

During these somewhat difficult times, it’s always wise to think of Christmas as more than a time to give gifts that people and children will never use.  You may tend to give gifts that you would have fun with or would use, not them.

My son recently told me to not give my grandson toys anymore because he never plays with them.  So this year I am going in what may seem to be a very radical direction.  I am getting my grandson, son and daughter-in-law a garden greenhouse.  I know they have had a tremendous problem making ends meet with the high cost in gas and food.  This will give them a way to help themselves this year and for years to come.

It may be a very untraditional gift but these are untraditional times.  More and more I am convinced that we all need to participate in helping ourselves through sustainable living practices.  I can’t think of a better way to help my kids and grandkids than giving them a way to help themselves.

My wife and I were just watching the news when a piece came on about urban farming.  Of course I was glued to the tube at that point. 

Will Allen, a former NBA star, is CEO of Growing Power, a company that has developed an urban farm right in the middle of Milwaukee, WI on 2 acres of urban land.  What really caught my eye was his method of farming fish along with growing vegetables.  The water from the fish tanks is routed to the plants that filter the water and then the fresh run off goes back into the fish tank.  The ultimate in going green! 

I am incredibly impressed with Mr. Allen’s entire process of farming in an urban neighborhood.  He is able to sell an entire weeks worth of vegetables to the inner city neighborhood for a family of four at the price of $16.00!  Talk about taking care of people who need it the most. 

It was also heartening to see that other land owners of inner city land are coming to Growing Power to emulate the process in their neighborhoods.  This is going green at its very best!

Everyone needs a place to go and escape and get lost in their own little world.  My place is my home garden greenhouse that sits in my backyard. It is inside this wonderful space of fragrant blooms that I can put aside any stress of my day.  I know when the world around me gets crazy I have a tranquil, peaceful space waiting for me at home.  It is here I find peace and quiet and a calm I cannot totally explain.

However, it is my world of lush green flowers and herbs, a place I can grow and be a part of the earth on a year-round basis.  There is no better place to get back in touch than spending some time in nature.  Since most of us don’t have a lot of “nature” in our backyards, you can create your own garden oasis with a garden greenhouse.  After just an hour or so of escape, I am ready to reenter the real world refreshed and ready to go.

I highly recommend playing in a little dirt everyday as it sooths the soul.  There is no better way to accomplish this than with a wonderful greenhouse.