I remember walking into my tiny back garden around mid winter to hang out a few bits of washing. I couldn’t believe what I saw! The rear of my house resembled a derelict and neglected building. There was green moss growing up the walls, chipped brickwork, rotting sills, a patch of grass that looked as hopeless as only they dying could, and a broken patio tile.

I often meant to get stuck in and do something with the garden, but there always seemed to be something more important going on, and the rear of the house got pushed to the bottom of the priority list every time. Well, not any more! After the shock of what I’d just seen, I was going to start looking as some smart patio tile designs and get a plan of action ready for the spring.

I love gardens, namely other peoples, but I’m no gardener myself. However, a good friend of mine explained that with patio tile and some strategically placed large potted plants I could not only smarten up the rear of the house, but I would also be able to have a beautiful low maintenance garden that would always look nice despite myself.

That was it, a perfect solution to a neglected problem. I would do a one-off investment and get all my brickwork cleaned up and protected with a waterproof acrylic wash, and lay down some decorative patio tile designs and potted plants, just as my friend suggested. It could only help to enhance the value of your property too, which is an added bonus.

I couldn’t believe the variety of styles there were to choose from with patio tiles. It was really exciting having the landscape gardener come over and show me some designs he’s drawn up on his computer. It was hard to make a decision as each patio style gave a completely different look to the finish.

I eventually went for some pastel shades with a few hexagon ones worked into the layout. The landscape gardener also convinced me to have a tiny border with a maintenance free ground cover shrub to add a bit of greenery at ground level. For this he was to use what is called bullet nosed tiles. Now for those of you that dont know, bullet nosed tiles, are to a garden what a frame is to a picture and give the surround a very nice finish.

In addition to some large pots, and plants, I have placed a large rock on the shopping list too. It’s hard to explain how a rock sitting on a patio can look nice, but if you saw the designs, you would know where I’m coming from.

And that’s basically it. I can hardly wait. Never again with my back garden look drab and desperate, and it’ll be virtually maintenance free too. It will be a joy to sit out with friends and family this summer whereas we always used to congregate indoors as the backyard was both a shambles and an embarrassment.

Now we will be able to have BBQ’s and morning tea, and it’s all thanks to my friend’s suggestion to pave with patio tile. Thanks Jim.

Price :

Features

• Revolutionary kitchen appliance lets you grow your own food indoors all year round right in your own kitchen
• Adaptive Growth Intelligence delivers the perfect amount of light and nutrients from germination to maturity for fast, full growth
• Includes seeds, grow bulbs, nutrient tablets, guide books, and everything else you need
• Organically based and 100% natural
• Measures 16 x 18 x 10.5 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Product Description

The Pro200 Brushed Stainless Steel AeroGardens use microprocessor controlled Adaptive Growth Intelligence to monitor plant growth from germination through advanced growth and instantly adjust water, nutrients and lights to give plants what they need at each stage of growth. The result is up to 50% larger yields. Includes Grow Bulb replacement reminder system and the Super Grow 24-hour light cycle. The new Pro200 incorporates all the elements of the Pro100, plus comes with 24-inch adjustable arm and three deluxe grow bulbs which deliver twice the light and twice the height for faster growth.You also get 2 Free Seed Kits with every Pro 200. 1-Gourmet Herb and 1-Master Gardener. A $40 Value Free.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2009-04-02
The aerogarden does what it says it will do. I used the master garden kit to start a number of seeds for the garden and they all did well.

Review date : 2009-03-23
We got the AeroGarden Pro 200 for Christmas. We just finished the herbs kit that came with it. We could have gone longer, but we really wanted to get the salad greens kit growing.

So far so good. The unit was easy to assemble and easy to plant the first kit. Everything grew so quick and even when you harvested everything you could, there was typically more to harvest two days later.

The pump does make a slight noise at times when running, but no more than a fish tank would. The lamps really do light up the room, so we placed this in the kitchen. You can adjust the time when the lamps shut off, so if the light might keep you awake, you can have it shut off when you go to bed. In the late evening, we rarely turn on the kitchen light to do things as the AeroGarden pretty much lights up the entire kitchen enough to see and do most things.

I am knocking off one star for a couple of reasons. First, there is a light indicator for when the water level is too low. It seems to work ok because when we cleaned the unit for a new planting, we pluged it in without enough water and it knew that. During the herbs growing though, the indicator failed to ever let us know the water was too low. So, we had to routinely check it and fill it and not trust the indicator.

Secondly, when we started our new salad greens kit, we cleaned everything as it said to. There is a little pump filter in there that turns dirty brown and you have to find it amongst the roots. Very hard to find and the instructions do not even give you a good illustration to know what to look for.

Third, it recommends to replace the filters every time or other time you replant and they should include one in every kit. The instructions say to contact support to order filters. These plant kits are $20, so the need to include a filter.

The last issue for knocking off one star is the plant kits themselves. At typically $20, they are rather pricey. They all comes with instructions and growing books. The growing part of the documentation I can understand, but they also include the same documentation that comes with the AeroGarden, so another thick book. What a waste of trees and probably adds to the price.

Is this cheaper than buying anything this can grow? Heck no. However, it is fun to watch and fun to grow things. We spend a lot of money on various organic products, so at least mentally, the AeroGarden feels slightly cost justified.

After I submit this review, I am purchsing another one so we can get even more things growing.

Review date : 2009-03-14
Great inside garden so far. I’ve only had it a few weeks but already harvesting the lettuce as it said in the Quick Start Guide. I love it!

Review date : 2009-01-31
We never realized how much we would enjoy this item. We placed it on our dining room table and can’t stop watching it grow; so much so we are considering purchasing additional units.

Review date : 2009-01-24
The Aerogarden 200 works great. It’s hard to believe how the lights can smoke. They are 3 low energy flourescent bulbs.

Fast growth and looks beuatiful. Not practicle if you are doing this to expect to save money on produce. You buy this for fun.

Do you buy a rose for fun or for it’s edible qualities.

I love it!!!

It’s not so easy to hand the care of your garden over to another person. But sometimes, you just have to do it, and you might as well make it as painless as possible for both of you by preparing a checklist, giving a brief tour, and then letting go of all illusions of control over what happens in your absence.

Since one characteristic in common among many gardeners is the enjoyment of bringing order out of chaos, the letting go of all control part is the hardest, and perhaps the most important. So let’s save that for the end and start with the easy stuff: the garden sitter checklist and tour.

Keep it simple. Trust your garden caretaker to have some sense, and just give general instructions such as, Thin the vegetables if they look like they need it. Weed if you’re inspired. Harvest whatever is ripe and enjoy it yourself or share it with friends. Water before the plants start to droop from thirst.

Then you can go beyond the general to a few - read, very few - specific requests. If your checklist gets too detailed, the caretaker will be overwhelmed, so choose your special situations carefully. After all, the garden is your labor of love, not hers. She’s just doing maintenance.

For example, let’s say you have a new asparagus trench that is gradually being filled in as the shoots grow. If you have a pile of topsoil mixed with manure on hand for the interim gardener to use as needed to cover the new asparagus, then ask her to help sustain this long-term crop.

But if you have a patch of spinach that is bolting, don’t ask her to keep pinching off the blossoms unless you really really want her to spend valuable time on keeping the spinach going during your two-week vacation.

Then make clear your greatest priority, such as This is an organic garden, so please use only the supplies in my shed. No Round-up or Miracle Grow, thank you. But in general, your temporary help shouldn’t be asked to deal with fertilizing or pest control unless you’re going to be gone a long time, or the person owes you a really big favor.

Now, for the tour. Before you leave the precious vegetable or flower garden in a caretaker’s hands, make a point of meeting with your garden sitter in person in the garden. Make sure she knows where things are, from watering tools to an emergency number for backup.

Also, make sure she knows what things are. Else, she might pull the joi choi, thinking it’s a weed rather than an Asian vegetable.

And that brings us to the letting-go-of-illusions-of-control part of the deal. If she does mistakenly pull the joi choi, oh well. Unless the garden is burnt to a crisp or mowed down, just be grateful that someone was there to care for it as best she could. Who knows? She might even have done some things differently and better than you would have. Then you’ve got some new tricks up your sleeve.

Expect miracles, and do your best to enjoy whatever it was that temporarily took you away from your garden.

Life-time gardener Judith Schwader specializes in organic gardening methods. She shares expertise, humor, and advice for your gardening success at A to Z Gardening. Also visit FB Home for additional home and garden information.