Posted by Owen Jones
Would it not be lovely, at the end of a hard day's work or on your day off, to relax outside on your patio deck? It is a dream that many people have. But it does not have to be only a dream.You could be really doing it within a few of weeks. You can either make the deck or patio yourself, if you are useful with your hands or you can get someone in.
The best thing to do is speak with your contractor about your plans about size and materials. If you want to have a go at making it yourself, take the measurements to your local builders' merchant and get them to give you a quote. If you need it, they can usually suggest a contractor to you. This can be a good idea, even if it is only to get an idea about cost.
There are also plenty of 'standard' plans available too. You could get a few gardening magazines, you will be able to tell the ones you want by their titles. You could also look online. There is also designing software for this sort of project, it just depends what you want your input to be.
You could just hand the whole task over to your builder, if that is what you want. However, I would go for a drink with my wife and take paper and pens. Over a drink or two, I would encourage us both to make a few rough plans of what we would like. Then you can discuss and amalgamate the plans.
You also have to come to a decision whether you want a raised deck or one at ground level. A raised, wooden deck might help keep the snakes at bay, but a stone patio places you right in the middle of your garden and flowers.
A consideration, depending on where you live, could be the use of patio heaters. If you think that you may have to use patio heating at certain times of the year because of the weather, you might not want your patio deck made of timber. After spending time and money on your new patio deck, you will want to make use of it whether it is a bit chilly or not, which is where the heaters come in.
Furthermore, patio heaters are not that pricey any more and not that dear to run. If you add a mosquito trap and some lighting, you will have a pleasure to enjoy for the rest of your life.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with commercial patio heaters. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
Tags: decks, entertainment, Garden, Gardening Articles, happiness, hobbies, landscaping, other, Outdoors, patios, real estate, recreation, relaxation, retirement, self help
Posted by Chuck Wherty
Its simple to start a successful container garden from scratch by just following a few guidelines. For the gardeners that already have them, one of their reasons is the flexibility you have with containers. Not only are they interesting, but they can also be very beautiful and for urban environments, your only option may be to place all your plants in garden pots.
Choosing Your Containers
Having a variety of pot sizes is key to a successful container garden. Starting with a few larger sized pots (three or four) and increasing the quantity as you go to medium and small garden pots. By picking out a bright color for one of your large pots, you will definitely draw attention to that particular area - which is OK if that is your intention.
Placement Of Your Pots
If you have the room, start with larger pots about two to three feet tall. These will be focal points that will draw your eye in. Try to place these pots in areas that are already seen as existing focal points, like a corner, next to an important piece of furniture, or near a permanent pole. You can also pick areas as focal points to draw the viewer\'s attention away from sore spots such as electrical boxes, air conditioners, etc.
Once you have placed all the large pots where you like them (they aren\'t permanent so you can move them at any time), take your medium sized pots and place a few around the larger ones. Since they will be pretty close to each other, try and imagine how it will look when there are trailing plants coming down from the larger pots. In most cases, two to three medium sized pots will be enough.
Fill in the remaining areas with the smaller pots. This should be done randomly as there are no set rules to this. Place them where they look good to you!
Pot Preparation
Terracotta pots should be sealed on the inside with a good water sealant and all the pots should have drainage holes in their bottoms. If they don\'t, you will have to drill them (especially if they are made of wood). Cover the holes with either a piece of screen, shards from broken pots or, a couple of layers of newspaper. This will keep the dirt from falling out the bottom. If the pots will be on a wood deck or patio, you will want to place them on bowls to catch any water from coming out the bottom.
Plant Selection
Its best to have up to three types of plants in the larger pots - a trailing plant that falls down the sides of the pot and covers up the top rim, a cover plant that fills in the middle and an upright plant that stands out tall from the rest. Experiment with different types and colors but stick to plants that require the same amount of watering. Have fun and use your imagination!
Chuck Wherty has been working in gardens since his early childhood and has always been interested in educating others regarding garden pot and landscaping techniques. If you like to know more about garden pots, visit AllGardenPots.com
Tags: container gardening, diy, garden accessories, garden pot, garden pots, garden projects, garden tools, Gardening Articles, gardens, hobbies, plant selection, pots, preparation
Posted by Owen Jones
A lot of people over the age of twenty have a sort of love-hate relationship with birthdays. They love to have a party and be the centre of attention and a lot of fun, but they hate getting older. But I think that people ought to celebrate their birthdays. After all, you like going to someone else\'s birthday party and so you are morally obliged to put one on for others too.
And birthday parties ought to be a load of fun. It does not have to be a children\'s type party, of course, but you could still get dressed up and play games.
You could put on a barbecue for all your friends and family and do it cowboy style. Have a barn dance that would make \'JR\' proud. The food for this is straightforward enough. Begin by laying on plenty of Texas sized spare ribs, half-pounder hamburgers, T-bone steaks, and jumbo size hot dogs with loads of bread and salad.
For music, it has to be country and everybody has to wear cowboy clothing, although it would probably be better to leave the shootin\' irons at home. Annie Oakley style clothes for the ladies and Buffalo Bill style for the gents. If it is going to be a big party, ask everyone to bring their own favourite dish, in true Southern style. That would be a great way to celebrate an adult\'s birthday for the family.
If you do not go much on the macho cowboy idea, you could try a Caribbean style barbecue. Dress in flash short sleeved shirts and vivid colours or swimming costumes. The music could be reggae and calypso and the food would be grilled fish and chicken with salad and plenty of fresh fruit. Provide hot and not so hot chilli dips and barbecue sauces. You could have a go at limbo dancing too, that is always good for a laugh.
Or perhaps you would rather a humorous barbecue party and all dress up like the hillbilly family \'The Clamperts\'! That would be fun. The men could wear old velvet hats and old clothes tied up with string like Jed and Jethro and the women could come as Ellie May or Granny. I suppose that the original food like possum and bullfrog might be difficult to get hold of in some areas, but you could just provide what you like for this one. Steaks, hamburgers and fried fish; bread and salad with cake to finish.
Another favourite form of barbecue for a birthday do is the Luau. An Hawaiian barbecue is really something else. You will need bright colours and plenty of tropical Hawaiian decorations. You could supply half coconut shells for drinking out of and lots of coconut and pineapple based drinks. You ought to ask your guests to wear loud Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts, provide plenty of leis and hula music and a \'loudest Hawaiian shirt\' contest is de rigour.
If none of those tickles your fancy, how about a \'Vicars and Tarts\' barbecue? You can use your own imagination on that one though. Any more tea and crumpet, vicar?
If your barbecue party is to last into the evening and it might get chilly, you could hire or borrow some patio heaters, just so as to give you a few extra hours in the garden.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the electric outdoor heater. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
Tags: decks, entertainment, Garden, Gardening Articles, happiness, hobbies, landscaping, other, Outdoors, patios, real estate, recreation, relaxation, retirement, self help
Posted by Owen Jones
If you own a restaurant, pub or any business using outdoor amenities in a temperate climate zone, then you will know that business is likely to drop off when the weather gets colder. You know that you would not sit outside shivering yourself, so you do not count on anyone else to do it. The only answer is to change the outdoor ambient temperature to an suitable level.
I have seen this done to stunning effect in Prague in October when there were heavy snow storms. People wanted to sit outside and get pleasure from the snow storm as long as they were pretty warm. A person's primary heat comes from the body and is retained with sufficient clothing, but it is nice to have a patio heater near-by just to add a glow to your face and hands.
If you have a business that only opens when it is warm enough, then you have an expensive business and these days expensive businesses do not last long. You need to wring every last cent out of your business real estate and if that means putting patio heaters in, then that is what you ought to do.
Patio heaters come in a range of guises, but they are not that expensive to buy. Sometimes you can rent them too. Most of these outdoor heaters run on bottles of propane or butane gas, but there are mains gas varieties too. There are also electric ones, but they tend to be costly to run, unless you can generate your own electricity.
I think that the best two types are the box type where the gas cylinder goes inside the apparatus and the heat is directed at foot to knee height and the street lantern style, where the heat comes down from about seven or eight feet in height. The gas cylinder also fits inside these models lowering their centre of gravity and making them more difficult to accidentally knock over.
These heaters are very safe although patrons should be warned to exercise caution if they have young children with them. A standard heater will keep up to two tables and eight people warm enough to enjoy themselves even when it is snowing.
The hire of a few of these patio heaters or even their purchase will soon be off-set by your augmented custom, especially if your competitors are not using them. My wife and I will never forget our time in Prague, when it was snowing, drinking coffee and eating cake outside, watching people go by while we were as warm as toast due to the restaurateur's prudence in providing patio heaters.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the propane outdoor heater. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
Tags: decks, entertainment, Garden, Gardening Articles, happiness, hobbies, landscaping, other, Outdoors, patios, real estate, recreation, relaxation, retirement, self help
Posted by Owen Jones
Every professional chef and every household cook recognizes the importance of fresh herbs to their culinary creations. No diner would quarrel over this either. However, whether you buy your herbs fresh or dried, there are problems. When you buy fresh, you usually have to buy more than you require and they are comparatively expensive, whereas, if you buy them dried, they could be old and dried herbs lose their strength over time.
Why then is it that most home cooks use fresh or dried herbs from the supermarket? Ease, probably. We lead busy lives and it is easier to get a few boxes of dried herbs at the supermarket along with your groceries than it is to cultivate your own.
Not that it is difficult to raise your own herbs and even spices, but you have to purchase the seeds, plant them and remember to water them. You can minimize the problem of trying to remember to water them quite easily, by growing your herbs in a window box or in trays on your patio or deck, so that you see them every time you take a break on your patio. You will also remember to bring them in if frost looks likely.
If you have children, growing herbs and spices in window boxes or trays can be a good introduction to gardening for them. Herbs take very little looking after really, just needing watering every day. They are pretty tough and fertilizer is not necessary as most herbs have a fairly short life. Maybe only a month or two in some instances. Others last a lot longer.
First come to a decision how many varieties you want to cultivate. How much room do you have for instance? The best way to start is look in your cupboard and see which herbs you use most frequently. Are any of them seeds? You could have a try at sowing these. Look them up in a book or on the Internet.
Sometimes it is better to soak the seeds first before planting them, others do not need this treatment. Second, which herbs have you read about that you would like to use but never seem to have in the house? Try planting those too.
If all that does not sound like fun, then you can buy small herb plants in the garden nurseries. Most of them stock the most common herbs in Spring. Whichever way you go, read up on how to cultivate the herbs you have selected. I promise you, it will not be a long read, as they really do take care of themselves except for the watering. if you buy seeds rather than seedlings, all the details you need will be on the seed packet and such packets are very cheap to buy.
The advantages of having your own herb garden are diverse, but you will be teaching gardening to your kids or grandkids, you will have fresh herbs for cooking and you will have beautiful aromas wafting around your patio or deck.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with outdoor heat lamp. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
Tags: decks, entertainment, Garden, Gardening Articles, happiness, herbs, hobbies, landscaping, other, Outdoors, patios, recreation, relaxation, retirement, self help
Posted by Owen Jones
If you have more than a small town garden, then landscaping your garden will probably be one of your considerations. If you have just acquired the property, or you think that it is time for a garden make-over, there are methods of going about it. The easiest technique of going about planning a garden, is to first take a good look at the landscape of your garden. This can be difficult if the garden is established and in full bloom.
Therefore, it can be better to wait until autumn or winter, so that you can see the true lie of the land. You could make a plan of the garden on graph paper and take a load of photos too. Identify the photos on the back of them and relate them to the grid on your graph paper. There may be bumps and hollows, potholes, rocky areas and even a marsh or a pond to cope with.
These are probably natural features and if you want to alter them, you will have to take on the underlying cause. The feature is only the symptom. Like freckles or spots! If you look at the situation in this way, it makes planning simpler.
For example, a rocky patch probably means that the Earth is pushing stones up slowly but surely and if you want to clean it up, you will be picking up stones for the rest of your life. Likewise, if your wet patch is the result of natural drainage from higher ground, you will have to drain it and put in permanent drainage, since it is not going to stop raining for you.
So, you can either work with nature or you will be working against it for the rest of your life. Either that or paying someone else to do it for you. Another issue is that the wildlife that uses your locale does so because of how it is. If you alter the landscape, your current range of wildlife might move on or just die. A lot depends on how much land we are talking about, but in general, I would say that the larger the area, the more you should leave it alone.
On the other hand, you can add features more easily than remove them. For example, if you have an area with poor soil, you could improve it with fertilizer or put a pond there. Shade and existing fences or sheds should also be noted on your graph paper, although being man-made, these are easier to remove or modify.
Next you should make up your mind what kind of garden you want, within the constraints of the existing landscape, how much work you are willing to put into it and how much money you want to pay out on it. Enhancing the natural features of the land is the easiest way of landscaping your garden.
If you have a swampy area, why not put a low wall around it and turn it into a pond? If you have a rocky patch, why not gather up the stones and create a rockery? If you have a few trees, try growing wisteria, honeysuckle or vines through them.
If you are in the shade, buy flowers that prefer the shade and vice-versa. It is a effort to go against nature and unless you have a good cause to do it, it is not really worthwhile. Then build a patio or deck and sit outside and enjoy all the landscaping that you have saved yourself in your garden.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with outdoor heat lamp. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
Tags: decks, entertainment, Garden, Gardening Articles, happiness, herbs, hobbies, landscaping, other, Outdoors, patios, recreation, relaxation, retirement, self help
Posted by Joan Williams
Vegetables that are picked on your own backyard are more delicious than those on the market. There is a certain gratification on eating vegetables that you yourself have planted. It is recommended that you should have a bigger and wider backyard if you're starting to have a vegetable garden. But if you don't have enough space, you can also plant your vegetables on your window boxes. Now, you and your family can enjoy the crops that you've planted.
Advance planning is required for your future vegetable garden. Without planning, it can affect the success and manageability of your vegetable garden. The traditional method of planting your crops was to plant them in long and orderly rows. It can usually ruin your soil structure by walking between rows. Thus most home gardeners now plant their crops in a bed. Using this method, you can concentrate your compost in an area where your crops are.
Beds are usually made in 8 to 12 inches to enhance the drainage system and make our soil warmer in cold weather. Another method is portage. This type of gardening mixes flowers, herbs, and vegetable in an ornamental way. So, it makes your garden looks beautiful at the same time functional.
And also location should be considered when planning for a garden. Plants need a lot of sunlight and needs open area to grow well. And vegetables need 8 long hours of sunlight each day to grow well. To economize your garden, you should grow your crops next to each other that mature at different time. So that your garden crops can have all the sunlight and space they want when needed.
Your location should have a good soil. Good soil is not easy to find. To check the nature of your soil, squeeze a handful of soil for moisture content. When it forms a clump then the soil is not good for gardening because it is too wet to work. In order to enhance your soil quality, you should use the right tillage and good organic and soil amendments.
This type of soil might form into hard cemented clumps. In order to enhance the quality of your soil at the same time increase your yield. You should use the correct tillage and good organic and soil amendments. Also, you should plant on ground level for ease in irrigating. Planting on a slope level can wash away your soil during irrigation. To solve this problem, put rows across the slopes. For vining crops like tomato, squash, cucumber and pole beans, plant them in a vertical manner. By using trellises, stakes, cages or other supports can minimize your spaced used and also maximize your work area.
Finally, make sure to plant enough crops for your family. When planting vegetables you should consider factors like disease resistance, maturity date, compactness of plant, and also the size, the shape, and the color of the vegetables. Also, gardening is a way to ease stress. So try to enjoy it.
Dont be left in the dark when it comes to learning how to grow vegetables. Check out my site, howtogrowavegetablegarden.com for ideas on planning a vegetable garden.
categories: vegetables,vegetable garden,gardening,outdoors,hobbies,growing vegetables
Tags: Gardening, Gardening Articles, growing vegetables, hobbies, Outdoors, vegetable garden, vegetables
Posted by Carrie Smith
Gardening means unusual things to different people. Many people vision gardening as a hobby, an exercise or a soothing get away from the pressures of city environment. For these people, the food produced may be just about secondary. Growing fresh vegetables, herbs, or fruits gives a great sense of happiness and accomplishment. A vegetable garden can also lessen the food budget of a family. One of the major reasons that people garden is that vegetables from the supermarket cannot compare in taste, class, or cleanness with vegetables grown in the home garden.
Weather changes erratically. A quantity of vegetables will grow like weeds in a certain temperature and others will shrink up and die. It just depends. It's vital that when setting up your garden, you chat to the gardening specialist at the shop where you buy your seeds.
In setting up a garden of your own, the first step is to choose the kind of vegetable you want to plant in your garden. Yes, you can choose whatever you want to plant, but you should be aware that there are various veggies that are not suitable because of the limitation of space and the different weather
The second thing you should do is to create a plan in your garden. This includes the different vegetables you want to be there in your garden, the space amid the rows and the moment you plant your vegetables.
The third concern is soil. You do not need to have the perfect type of soil to grow an excellent garden. If possible the soil should be productive and easy to till, with just the right texture -- a loose, well-drained loam. Keep away from any soil that remains squelchy after a rain. Weighty clay and sandy soils can be improved by adding organic matter. Of course, gardening will be easier if you start with a naturally rich soil.
In addition, water is also a concern. Vegetables need a constant supply of water as well as rainwater and irrigation. So, it is essential to locate your garden close to a source of water.
Lastly, there should be good air drainage. Avoid positioning the garden in a low spot such as the bottom of a hill or the foot of a slope bounded by a solid barrier. These areas are slow to warm in the spring, and frost forms more readily in them because cold air cannot drain away. Vegetable gardens placed on elevated ground are more possibly to escape light freezes, permitting an earlier start in the spring and a longer crop in the fall.
Want to know how to grow a vege garden the right way? Well, then check out this site, howtogrowavegetablegarden.com, for awesome ideas on starting a vegetable garden.
Tags: Gardening, Gardening Articles, growing fruit, growing vegetables, hobbies, how to grow a vegetable garden, Outdoors, vegetable garden, vegetables
Posted by Frank Froggatt
If you are looking to buy a homemade hydroponics, take into consideration what it is you truly want to grow as there aren't very many of them that will be effective at maintaining any kind of crop.If you are taking your first steps into agriculture, and you have no idea where to begin, then you can pick up one of those homemade hydroponics kits at a local store but they can be rather expensive as I have not found one that is cheap. Let's have a closer look at what you really need to do in order to have a successful business.
What Do I Need For Homemade Hydroponics?
A tote is going to be the first thing that you need which is going to hold all your nutrients and minerals, and you also need a water pump in order to oxygenate the nutrients. An upper container is also going to be something you'll need. It will be used to hold your smaller plant containers. In the bottom of the container you're going to need to place a couple of holes, one of them is for filling and draining and the other is to be connected to an overflow pipe. You need to run a short tube pipe from the water pump to the fitting on the drain, and this water companies to be connected to a timer. This is pretty much the bare basics of an effective homemade hydroponics system. The time on the pump needs to be set to run four times a day for around half an hour each.
If you are successful in constructing the functional homemade hydroponics set up, then there is little bit more that needs to be done but you are almost there. The other essential part is to learn how to feed your plants. According to the type of crop you are growing certain nutrients and minerals are to be used to achieve a satisfying result.
A couple of tools that are going to help you be successful that you might want to pick up include a pH meter in an EC meter. These tools will help you to monitor the levels of nutrients in your system. As it can be seen homemade hydroponics are not something very easily made, but with determination and a little effort, results will show.
Building homemade hydroponics is neither impossible nor too expensive. All you really need are two plastic totes that are of around a 32 L capacity, an air pump, and an aquarium water pump. You also need to buy the timer, the tubing for the plumbing, and the necessary fittings for the flood and drain.
The hydroponics hobby is becoming quite popular for a lot of people, as well as important. This importance can be seen by the fact that NASA uses the technique to grow vegetables and recycle the air on the space station orbiting the Earth.
To find a lot more info on hydroponics systems or a plethora of other great hydroponics information, visit http://hydroponichelp.com.
Tags: agricultural, business, Gardening, Gardening Articles, Greenhouses, hobbies, home accessories, home and family, hydroponics, Indoor Gardening, organics
Posted by Judy Stevens
There are many styles of greenhouses but in custom greenhouse construction the Victorian Greenhouse is one of the most popular designs of all. The Victorian Greenhouse was birthed during the Victorian Era when Queen Victoria ruled between'07-1901. This was a time of prosperity for the British as well as growth for the Industrial era. There were profits that were gained from the British Empire and the middle class was allowed to grow and develop.
The architecture was based in the Gothic revival architecture and later, in'51, the first World's Fair introduced the greatest innovations of its era. In the center of the Fair was a great glass structure, modular in construction (iron and glass), massive in size (990,000 s.f.) and unlike any design seen before this time. It was known as The Crystal Palace and was inhabited by approximately--,000 exhibitors. So, Victorian Greenhouses were first conceived during this era and was the prototype for our modern day greenhouse construction.
There are many shapes and sizes in greenhouse construction. These include Quonset, Tri-Penta, dome, Gothic arch, slant-side, A-frame, gable roof, straight side, curved side and slant sided lean-to greenhouses. The Victorian always seems to incorporate curved roofs as well as straight roofed and sides. The common factor in a Victorian styled greenhouse is its added Gothic finials put on the sides or the roof of the greenhouse. This is basically a design only feature and adds to the beauty and not the function. The curved eaves and the vents also depict a Victorian style greenhouse.
Functionality are important in greenhouse construction as is beauty and aesthetics. Some styles allow for a flexible surface such as polycarbonate. This is the Dome, Gothic, Victorian and Quonset, lean-tos and teh Tri-Penta. The A-Frame, gable roof, slant or straight sided lean-to greenhouses work better with construction.
The air flow and heating and cooling are a big factor in designing a greenhouse. The Victorian and Quonset are easier to heat and cool as opposed to the dome or A-Frame. The indoor space, floor space, wall space and roof space are also to be considered. The A-Frame is awkward due to the shape. The Victorian in its size and shape are efficient and allow lots of room to grow and also walk around.
The Victorian Greenhouse encompasses both aesthetics and function and is popular throughout the United States. It is structurally sound and will last for years to come. The Victorian Greenhouse is one of the most popular in greenhouse construction.
Want to find out more about Victorian Greenhouses, then visit Judy Stevens's site on how to choose the best Victorian Greenhouses for your needs.
Tags: Gardening, Gardening Articles, Greenhouses, hobbies, Victorian Greenhouses
