It's no wonder that some of the world's most beautiful natural gardens are found in the most remote places. After all, Mother Nature is the world's best gardener. If you want to create a garden that's naturally lush and vibrant, without using harsh chemicals, use nature's perfect fertilizer: garden compost.

Compost provides natural fertilization for all types of plants, from leafy shrubs and trees to exotic flowers. Consider the rainforest, with a thick carpet of naturally-occurring compost. This rich rainforest floor gives continues food, support and shelter for all types of plant life.

Creating your own perfect compost is easy. All you need to do is save your food scraps and yard waste. You'll save money on garden center supplies, reduce waste and feed the environment. It's a win-win-win situation! With a little effort, you'll have a dark, crumbly and nutritious mixture of decomposed organic matter.

Garden compost is so easy to create, and it benefits your blooms in so many ways:

* Provide essential nutrients to plants

* Reduces the need for harsh fertilizers

* Improves the quality of heavy clay or sandy soil

* Reduces watering

* Helps to control invasive weeds

Creating Your Own Garden Compost

There is a very basic recipe for creating garden compost. Just remember the gardener's rule of thumb: two parts brown to one part green.

A compost pile is a bustling community of microorganisms that live by breaking down organic matter, like yard debris and organic scraps, and turn them into compost. You'll need to do your part to encourage the growth of these microorganisms.

Natural flower fertilizers, like dried leaves, can be used as the two parts carbon-rich "brown" materials. Mix it with one-part nitrogen-rich "green" materials such as fresh grass clippings. The result will be an all-natural fertilizer that acts as ideal fuel for those hungry populations of microorganisms. Soon they'll get active, heat up your yard debris and produce valuable garden compost.

Ingredients for Your Garden Compost

Your "two parts brown" may contain any combination of the following materials:

* Dried leaves and dry grass clippings

* Small sticks and twigs

* Newspaper (shredded)

* Straw or hay

* Sawdust, wood chips and shavings

* Old potting soil

The "one part green" can include any or all of these healthy materials:

* Fresh grass clippings

* Newly fallen leaves

* Plant stems and stalks

* Hedge clippings

* Annual weeds (no seed heads)

* Fruit and vegetable scraps

* Tea bags, coffee grounds and filters

* Eggshells

The following list of materials should NEVER be used in your compost:

* Sick, diseased plants

* Weeds with seed heads

* Invasive weeds like quack grass and morning glory

* Bread, cereal grains

* Meat, fish and bones

* Any dairy products

* Oily foods, cooking oil or grease

* Pet droppings

* Dead animals

Size Matters

When you use smaller composting components, you'll achieve rich, usable compost quicker. Large pieces of vegetables will obviously take longer to break down than smaller pieces, so chop your leftover fruits and vegetables into small pieces. Use shears or a machete to cut up garden debris. A garden chipper, shredder or lawnmower mulching attachment can easily break up sticks and twigs.

Even faster garden compost action can be realized when your compost pile is no less than three feet in diameter. Size is important, because the actual composting occurs when heat is generated by those millions of microorganisms living in your soil. As they process the raw materials, the microorganisms release energy that helps activate the decomposition. A compost pile at least three square feet in diameter is the best size for hotter, faster composting.

Water and Air

Like all living things, compost needs water and air to survive. The microorganisms in your garden compost can't do their jobs without ample supplies of water and air. Sprinkle water over your compost on a regular basis, but don't drown it. The compost should be about as wet as a damp sponge.

To incorporate air into the garden compost, use a pitchfork to turn the compost materials one every week. This will also help to distribute the efforts of the microorganisms. Otherwise, you'll end up with a nice layer of compost at the bottom of the pile, and a heap of garden waste on top.

You can't get a better source of gardening advice comes than Mother Nature. Use nature's perfect compost. It's easy to make, and your bright, beautiful plants will be more than ample reward for your efforts.