Greenhouse gardening is similar to yet unlike gardening in the open. While the same basic gardening skills are required, greenhouse gardening also gives you complete control and responsibility for the environment of your plants. This adds duties to your normal gardening routine, and can be more time consuming than regular gardening. Here are the top six greenhouse gardening tips for the amateur greenhouse gardener.

1. Plotting your greenhouse gardening location is much like plotting the location of your normal garden. Make sure that there is maximum light and minimum traffic. If your greenhouse is one that will be used throughout the winter, you will want to plot your greenhouse gardening for the winter light.

2. You should make sure that you have enough room to do your greenhouse gardening. Do not fill your greenhouse to the brim with potted plants and seeds. Make sure that you have enough room to move around and work on your greenhouse gardening.

3. One important difference in greenhouse gardening is that you have to supervise and manage the conditions. You will be able to manage better if a thermometer is installed in the center of the greenhouse. You will need to open the place if it gets too hot for the plants so that the plants can grow well in the required temperature.

4. The soil needed for both types of gardening is the same but the water required by greenhouse plants is less than those in a regular garden. The reason being that the atmosphere inside remains moist for a longer period of time. You should water the plants in the green house when you see dryness in the soil.

5. It is also important to sterilize your greenhouse. It is a preventive as moulds tend to develop on the greenhouse walls. It is also essential to clean the greenhouse at a regular basis because humidity and heat give impetus to the growth of moulds.

6. Water your plants with room temperature water when you do your greenhouse gardening. If you water with cold water in a greenhouse temperature setting you will kill your plants with the shock. You should also let the water sit for one day before watering so that the chlorine in the tap water is evaporated.

Homeowners look for nice items to use as garden ornaments. A decorative bird feeder would make a great garden ornament. There are different things that can be done to make a decorative bird feeder. Simply using paint or stain can certainly add to a wooden bird feeder.

A decorative bird feeder, specifically one that is built like a house, can be designed to resemble the homeowner’s actual house. Using miniature shutters, windows and various paint colors, a basic house bird feeder can quickly be transformed into a unique decorative bird feeder.

Putting up a decorative bird feeder, especially if you want it to be unique can be a difficult task. To make sure that your efforts aren’t wasted, you have to make sure that your bird feeder will not be damaged by squirrels, raccoons or any other such creatures that you inevitably find in gardens. Mount it up on a fairly tall pole, well away from any high points from which these critters can jump onto your bird feeder.

If these animals are not a threat in your area, you could put a bird feeder anywhere in your garden as an ornament like on the patio, on a large window sill, hanging in a gazebo or hanging in a big tree. A decorative bird feeder would provide great conversation when sitting with visitors in the garden. Besides creating conversation for you and your guests, it will provide an area of interest for the many birds in the area.

If you have very ambitious plans regarding your decorative bird feeder, you could take a chance and build it yourself, as it might be difficult to find exactly what you want in the stores. There are lots of books and magazines that you can refer to for ideas - plenty of material dedicated to gardening will have many pictures of different kinds of bird feeders. If that is too much for you, there are plenty of shops, both online and in your neighborhood, where you can find different kinds of decorative bird feeders.