Flower Colors and the Seasons

Flowers are the ultimate sign of natural beauty. As such, they are wonderfully incorporated into any landscaping ideas one might have, because flowers are easily procured, and there is always a vast selection of types and colors to choose from.

Landscaping ideas that involve the incorporation of flowers generally depend on several factors. The most important factors are how the flowers will compliment the overall look of the home itself, as well as allowing for seasonal changes in flower decoration.

When one thinks of flowers, one usually equates them with the spring and summer. A popular flower is that of the lilac, a delicate flower that shows its beauty during the springtime. However, as with other flowers that can grow into bushes, it is important to note that the flowers generally bloom for only several weeks, and after that there are just bushes. Thus, if flowering bushes are preferable, be sure that the bush looks attractive with and without the flowers.

It would be a good landscaping idea to not plant flowers of the same color as the house itself. This is because it results in a bit of a boring decoration technique. Be bold, and contrast darker house colors with brighter flowers, such as yellow flowers with a brown house. The same goes for lighter house colors: a house that is white would be wonderfully complimented by red flowers.

When it comes to selecting a flower type, it should be one that is hardy and can last through at least the summer and fall. Thus, a good landscaping idea would be to choose from flowers such as impatiens, which are colorful flowers that are quite durable and require only a weekly watering. Remember, some flowers are beautiful to look at, but very temperamental and do better indoors than outdoors.

Be sure to do research on what type of flower would do best with each particular climate. Also, one can easily get carried away with the purchasing of flowers, which of course can get quite expensive, so it is best to keep the flower decoration within one’s decorative and financial means. Whether the plan is to plant them or to keep them in hanging baskets or pots, there are truly endless ways to utilize landscaping ideas for flowers.

Planning your new backyard garden is easy if you follow a few simple steps to ensure success. Often, these steps will give you new ideas to ad interest and unique features to your garden you might not have thought of. Whatever your design hopes and plans, there is a simple process that you can follow to make sure that your new garden goes smoothly and looks great when you’re done!

Start by making a list of the elements that already exist in your yard. For instance, you might have a tree or two, landscaping that slopes or has a small hillock on it, etc. If you live in an urban setting, make notes of items that change light gradients and exposures, like nearby tall buildings, trees, and so forth. Drawing a simple map of your yard and including these elements in a simple plot drawing will do the trick.

Now go ahead and make a bullet list of the items you want to include in your garden. These can be plants, flowers, walkways, waterfalls, ponds, sculptures and more. Anything you can think of that you think would fit well and is affordable for you to acquire. If you aren’t sure of its cost, write it down anyway and find out prices later. Don’t expect to get everything you’d like to have right away, so if it’s something you’d like to include in the future, go ahead and list it. It’s easier to plan for these things now than it is to try to “work them in” later.

The next step is to walk through your house or building and look at your garden-to-be from the windows and balconies that might face it. Make note of which spots are easily visible from your location, as these will become your garden’s “hot spots” later on-the spaces you’ll want to make extra-nice and visually geared towards the window that looks out on them.

Now that you have all of these things listed and plotted, start thinking about your budget. How much money can you spend? Often, you will not build your garden all at once. Most people, in fact, build their gardens in stages, starting with design elements and working towards completion. So figure an immediate budget (how much you can spend right now) and then a monthly budget for continual improvements. Once you have a budget, you can begin pricing individual elements of your new garden.

Start the pricing process by finding out how much individual items and pieces will cost. How much to buy a new pond? If you won’t be installing it yourself, how much will that cost as well? What about landscaping changes, plant borders, brick landscape bridges etc.? Call a reputable landscape designer or two and get bids on those jobs if you aren’t going to do it yourself. If you will be doing much of this yourself, make sure you’re physically up for the task and that you have the right tools for the job. Most major tools can be rented, so don’t expect to have to buy a $1,500 mixer or former, but do expect to spend some money on basic hand tools like shovels and pickaxes if you haven’t already got them.

Once you have priced the elements (both objects and labor) consider which ones you’re going to do right now and which ones can wait. Often, landscaping labor is cheaper when done as a whole rather than in pieces, so consider getting all of the major landscaping elements done first. If that is not possible or if you plan to do the landscaping yourself, then focus instead on the “hot spots” we mentioned earlier and see what you can do to make those start looking great now.

Now is also the time to reconsider the elements on your list of things you’d like and decide whether they can wait or be done away with or replaced altogether. Overall, your budget and your time and needs will be what decides your garden’s final look. Imagination is very important, and you’ll find that while you might not be able to afford to just buy some things you’d like, you may be able to make them or create similar things to replace them.

Above all, make sure you enjoy the experience. Don’t make your new garden’s creation a chore, but instead make it an experience you’ll enjoy and remember happily. A garden is a retreat, a relaxing place to look at or go to and the creation of your new garden should begin this experience.

You can have an attractive arrangement of flowers in your home throughout winter and spring if you plant bulbs in ornamental pots that have been filled with fibre.

The bulbs should be planted into the pots as soon as they are available, usually in August through to early September, in order for them to be successful. The purpose-made fibre should be made damp before it is placed into the bowl. Prior to this, a few pieces of charcoal should be placed into the bowl. The tips of the bulbs should be just visible when they are set into position in the fibre.

Place the bulbs in a cool position to ensure that the roots develop freely. The ideal position is outdoors beneath a 9 inch mound of peat, or covered with sacking and a piece of board to prevent rain getting in.

Should it not be possible to place the bulbs outdoors, they should be placed in a deep box or bath in the coolest possible place and covered as per the outdoors method. Around 4 to 8 weeks later, root development should be considerable and shoots of about 2 inches should be evident. If this is so, the covering must be removed and the bulbs left until the shoots have turned green. “Forcing” can then commence, placing them in a warm room. The shoots will very quickly come into bloom provided the fibre is kept moist.

To ensure that the display is over an extended period of time, choose varieties carefully.

Hyacinths – The “Roman White” variety of hyacinth is the very first of this group to flower. It has blooms that look like white bluebells. Next after this variety are the prepared hyacinths – they have been specially treated to induce flowering at Christmas time.

The regular large-flowered, untreated hyacinths do not normally flower until the spring.

Narcissus

It is easy to obtain blooms from the Narcissus known as “Paper-white” in December and a succession of blooms can be maintained by numerous other kinds usually found in bulb catalogues.

Other varieties of this group force easily and are followed by other single early tulips.

Holiday Treatment of Room Plants

It can be a problem caring for room plants when you are away on holidays unless you can arrange for someone to water them. It is possible to prevent damage to the plants if you are away for a week or so, provided you take the proper precautions.

The best method is to fill a large bath or similar receptacle with damp moss, then place the potted plants deeply into this, with the moss covering the soil by about 1 to 2 inches. A product known as “granulated peat” or damp sacking can be used instead of the moss. The last step in this procedure is to cover the moistening material with polythene tissue or plastic sheeting to prevent the evaporation of moisture. Ensure that the plants have been well watered before they are plunged.

Another alternative front yard landscaping method is to place the plants in a group with a pail of water nearby, placing a piece of wick between the water source and each plant. This will ensure a constant water supply to the soil around the plant without distorting your garden landscaping plans.

If you have access to a garden, the pots can be placed into the soil up to their rims, ensuring that a shady spot is chosen.

In each of these methods, you must ensure that the soil in the pot is well soaked with water before plunging is done or the plants are connected with the siphon-wicks.

When we hear the words composting pile what do we all think about? Is it rural areas, where there are farms with large compost heaps in the corner of them? Do we think of the garden of that local oddball environmentalist who always has some waste stinking away claming its helping the environment? Probably, but that does not make it any less true. Composting is a great way to use your food and other waste, for a renewable resource.

A domestic compost pile is easily created. By using a large barrel or container you can throw a selection of your waste into this and will be able to watch it decompose over time and form a soil which is suitable to be used on crops and domestic gardens alike.

So how exactly does a composing pile work. Image via Wikipedia

Well, compositing piles are piles which use the waste we have from things like rotting food, particularly fruit such as apples and bananas. They will also break down garden waste. If you have recently raked up all the leaves in your garden for example then these can be put into your composting pile to decompose and be used again later on your garden.

When you are creating a composting pile however, there are other things which need to be included. This things range from saw dust and straw, all the way to manure. Though it may sound odd, these are all important things. They help to make the good soil which you wish to use. Finding manure is not hard, if you cannot find it in a field, then go to a local gardening centre and buy some bags of manure to put into your composting pile.

Within the pile there will be micro organisms which work to disintegrate the items which have been thrown into the pile. These micro organisms are important to making composting piles, without them we would not have any. Putting you compositing pile into a shed is a great way to keep them alive as it means they will always be in a high suitable temperature and away from the threat of a frost which can kill them.

The other two things which are required by micro organisms is air and water. Just like with humans and animals. Make sure that whatever container you plan to use is well ventilated with air holes all over it, while also ensuring that it gets enough rain water. If your compost pile is not moist like a sponge would be, then you should water it yourself as it is not getting enough of this from the rain.

Finally, remember that although you are able to throw all your food wastes directly into the composting pile, it will be more difficult for the whole pieces to decompose. Cut up pieces of apple and other such things to allow the process to speed up.

Composting piles take anywhere from two weeks to two years to actually produce something that we are able to use upon our gardens. The only way to ensure that this is going to be a fast rather than drawn out process is to make sure that all the things above are in your compositing pile, and the conditions are suitable.

Do you have a metal storage shed on your property that just doesn’t look right next to your home? If you do, perhaps it is time for you to dress it up a bit. That means you’re going to make it look a bit “homey” rather than being something that looks like it’s all about business. You’re going to make it blend better. And the way you’re going to do that is through using planters and gardens. However, you have to be careful as to what flowers you use in your planters and gardens because a lot of heat accumulates around your metal storage shed.

Planters

Planters are great to hang around the door of your storage shed and even around the eaves of the metal building. Now don?t hang planters all the way around your metal storage shed because that could look a bit tacky. Around the entrance should be good enough. Just make sure you place planter-friendly flowers within the planter that are also friendly to the sun and heat. Such flowers include:

- Madagascar Periwinkle – This flower grows to up to 2 feet. This is one in which you want to buy the plants and not grow from seeds because they are difficult to grow. They do not like temperatures below 60 degrees and they enjoy a lot of sun. They come in various colors such as pink, lavender, white, and red.

- Wheat Celosia – This flower doesn’t like cold soil and it doesn’t like cold water. Basically, you have to keep it in the sun. It grows to anywhere between 2 and 4 feet and comes in pink, purple, or red.

- Amaranth – These can actually grow to be anywhere from 18 inches to 6 feet tall. Ground planters may be ideal for these or they can make a great hanging basket from the doorway of your metal storage shed. They come in orange, gold, green, purple, and orange. They do not like to be transplanted and they hate wet soil and shade.

These are just a few examples of what to use. Regular potting soil that uses the specifications listed above are great. For example: If a flower hates wet soil, then it is perhaps not a good idea to buy a moisture lock soil. You also don’t want to use planters such as metal or dark colored planters. Planters of those colors can actually make it too hot.

Gardens

You can always plant flower gardens around your outdoor storage shed in addition to planters. The combination looks very nice. You can till up the ground and use a fertilizer that works well with such flowers and can invest in some potting soil to provide adequate nutrients to the flowers. Here are some flowers to consider:

- Celestial Blue – This flower survives heat and drought. It has pink, purple, or violet blooms that butterflies cannot resist.

- California Juniper Shrub – Shrubs are great to add to a flower garden and this shrub is not an exception. It is both heat and drought resistant. You do, however, want to make sure this is planted into the actual ground and not into store bought soil.

- The Blackfoot – This one is native to Florida and is known to withstand soil conditions that are less than perfect. It is also beautiful and easy to take care of.

So if you need to make your metal storage shed look a little more exciting, this is a great way to do it. Sure, it may not look in the winter as it would in the summer, but a few shrubs can help with that. It is up to you how you do it and what’s even better is that you can be creative.

Relax And Enjoy The Beauty

Garden landscaping as well as rock garden landscaping offers you an ideal opportunity to create enough space in which to relax as well as enjoy the beauty of the garden, and though many people opt for using garden furniture or even water landscaping, rock garden landscaping is still a wonderful option. Though many people opt for water garden landscaping and with good reason, it would nevertheless require considerable effort in creating a pond and adding marine life to it. You can be sure that water garden landscaping involves complexities that rock garden landscaping does not and so, the latter will suit those who want something simple, unique as well as attractive.

All you really need in order to succeed with rock garden landscaping is to let your imagination loose, and to also check out examples of rock garden landscaping either in person or via magazines. Not only will a well formed rock garden landscaping make your garden look more appealing, but it also helps in giving your property some added value.

In fact, rock garden landscaping is perhaps the simplest form of garden landscaping and it does not require anything too complicated, and in addition, you also don’t need to maintain the rocks as is the case with plants and trees, and they (the rocks) also improve the overall appearance of the garden as well.

Simple rock garden landscaping can be achieved by simply placing rocks around your plants and it is also in fact a really inexpensive option that also allows you to create diminutive sized walls that can help in separating different sections of your garden, thereby creating a more unique looking garden.

Another useful option as far as rock garden landscaping goes is to use rocks to make stepping stones though of course it also means that you must use only flat shaped rocks rather than round ones because of the dangers associated with round shaped rocks. Also, if you are going in for rock formations you need to ensure that they are sturdy since you don’t want to face the dangers of having the formation fall over on you.

The bottom line is that rock garden landscaping is really a useful way of improving the looks of your garden, and it certainly also lends to more uniqueness as well as is scenically more appealing. The only thing that you need to keep in mind is safety aspects and the rest is pretty straightforward.

Japanese gardens are beautiful and creative. One of these lush retreats will consist of hardy plants that appear delicate, exotic flowers, and ornamental dcor and lighting.

The paper lantern is a common light of choice for a Japanese garden. This type of light creates a subtle glow that gives the garden a peaceful and romantic ambiance. These lanterns are constructed of woven wire and a particular type of parchment paper that is generally painted with an Asian theme. The most common lanterns are spherical in shape and white in color, but if you’re adamant and dedicated in your search, you can find a wide variety of shapes and colors.

Cuboid lanterns are also a popular choice. This style of light is typically a strand of miniature lanterns made of the same parchment as the larger variety and consists of a pallet of bright colors. Mini lanterns run on low-wattage, a nightlight bulb works nicely and is not too overpowering for the small shades.

“Guide lights” are another typical feature in the Japanese garden. Originally used as pathway lights for temples, they are now used to light the way for guests attending a traditional Japanese tea ceremony; these ceremonies are generally held in the evening.

Guide lights are made from granite or a ‘granite-like’ material. These lanterns are typically rectangular in shape and are outfitted with a wooden window frame filled with acrylic panels to allow light to escape. They stand upright (much like a tiki-torch) and are supported by a sturdy but aesthetically pleasing dowel. These lights make an excellent addition to a garden pathway or a sidewalk.

Hanging lanterns will add subtle lighting to many areas in a Japanese garden and can provide additional imaginative and artistic flair to the already plush landscape.

Silk lanterns are another popular choice. While beautiful, they are extremely delicate, therefore it is imperative that these lanterns be used in an area that will allow them protection from the elements. Silk lanterns are a feminine choice and are generally very rich in color. They can be either ceiling mounted or attached to a standing pole. The light they give off is soft and romantic.

If you’re a fan of the Japanese garden, you can certainly add touches of ambiance to your current surroundings by incorporating the Japanese lantern or landscaping with boulders. Test your natural landscaping skills by throwing in some bamboo and Asian inspired colors to create the feel of the Japanese garden with little of the effort. You should be able to find many Asian inspired decorations, including the ever popular lantern and the landscape boulders, online or in specialty shops. eBay is always an excellent source for finding those unique but ‘hard to find’ touches that will add individual panache to your garden or patio.

When it comes to vile predators interfering with the natural growth of your peaceful plants, these insects and other beasties do their dirty work in two main ways.

The first is chewing insects. These guys will leave holes in your plant’s leaves or eat away whole sections of them, weakening the leaf tremendously. Insects or other deviants in this category include earwigs, beetles, grasshoppers, slugs, caterpillars and snails. The second variety is the sucking variety, and yes, these guys just plain suck. These guys are generally smaller and include mites, flies and aphids, and they prey on the plant by sucking all the juices and nutrients out of the leaves, which naturally doesn’t leave your leaves in very good shape.

Don’t get the idea that all chewing creatures are big and all sucking ones are small though, and plan your attack strategy around that, because it may not be the case. There are some larger sucking creatures as well, including squash bugs, chinch bugs and stinkbugs. These guys can be as big as your little fingernail. By the same token not all chewers are big. One little bugger with a big appetite for leafy goodness is the black flea beetle, who enters the ring at just 1/4 of an inch in diameter.

You may come across leaves that become rolled, puckered or twisted out of shape after a time. The likely cause of a rolled leaf is a little green hairless caterpillar, who you’ll likely find nestled contentedly inside the leaf when you unroll it.

It could also be aphids taking up residence inside a rolled up leaf. Aphids come in a variety of colors, but are easily identifiable by their nearly transparent bodies, large abdomens with prong shaped protrusions jutting out the back, and their six legs. For these distinct little guys, a good chemical spray may be needed to get them away from your abused leaf, as they can be difficult to get off manually especially on Pony Tail Bonsai with small leaves.

One last guy who leaves a distinctive trail of destruction in its wake is the leaf miner. These guys are aptly named, as they take up residence inside the leaf and tunnel around in it like a jolly miner in the mountain. The tunnels they make leave a transparent trail in the leaf that actually gives the appearance of a window in which you can look right through the leaf. You may even see the miner itself in one of these tunnels upon close inspection.

Be Awed

In fact, upon viewing Japanese garden landscaping you will immediately experience a sense of awe and in addition, it is also normal to feel very calm as well. Another aspect to Japanese garden landscaping is rock garden landscaping though these are also widely used in America where the rocks native to the rocky as well as alpine environments are found widely used in rockeries or American style rock garden landscaping.

To be sure, Japanese garden landscaping can be categorized into different types that include Tsukiyama type, Karensansui and Chaniwa. No matter which of these categories of Japanese garden landscaping that you view, you will come away feeling very calm as well as peaceful and you will also become very appreciate of the uniqueness of Japanese culture.

The first type of Japanese garden landscaping or the Tsukiyama type that literally translates into “Constructed Mountain” is a garden that embodies contours as well as hills and of course, there is also the ever present pond or even a stream included along with different kinds of plants, and perhaps a temple or Japanese style house as well.

The main characteristic of the other type of Japanese garden landscaping or the Karensansui garden is actually such that it won’t remind you of what a normal garden would looks like since there is very little vegetation present in these gardens, and the emphasis is on arranging rocks as well as sands which are symbolic of the many different islands in Japan.

The third category of Japanese garden landscaping is the Chaniwa which is something that has been known to the Japanese since the fourteenth century and which is not a true garden, but consists of stepping stones that take you to a tea room, which in Japanese is known as Chaniwa, which is how this particular form of Japanese garden landscaping gets its name.

People that have designed Chaniwa gardens are prone to creating a garden that help the beholder feel at peace with them and there is emphasis on solitude as well as enlightenment and thus, this form of Japanese garden landscaping is ideally suited for practicing meditation, especially as these gardens are generally not open for the general public to enter.

Solar spotlights are a great addition to any yard, and can serve a variety of purposes, from acting as a security light that will activate every night whether you’re home or not, to a warm and comforting light that will shine softly down on your garden and make those night-time strolls through your backyard garden, or late evenings entertaining friends on your deck that much more memorable and ambient.

Solar lighting is a safe and easy way to light up a path, shine light on your pool for those late night swims or spotlight a particular spot of interest in your yard. They can be easily placed in any location and moved around with ease, unlike traditional lighting which is restricted by wires. These lights are also completely safe around water, as there’s no electricity of any kind. In fact you can find numerous solar light products that can be set to float right alongside you in the water.

Solar lights come in a variety of styles and colors that can be used to match the unique aura that your area exhibits or to create that aura that you’re looking for. You can truly get creative and mix and match different styles of lights with your outdoor decor, and since the lights are easily moved, there’s no hassle in doing so. They will also more seamlessly blend into the environment without all the electrical wiring running amok all over the place like traditional lights require, or the expensive landscaping it would require to hide them under ground. They’re completely safe to play near or with, and kids love to play around with small solar balls much like they do with sparklers, which brilliantly light up like beacons in the darkness.

As solar lights are exceedingly easy to set up, and affordable to purchase and maintain, it makes it easy to set up your home with the right light for each unique area of your yard. Perhaps you’d like a certain soft light to shine on your flag at night, and keep that memento of your homeland lit up at all times. Or perhaps you want to ensure your entire backyard is flooded with light, making it safe for your kids to play in the yard at night-time, especially useful during the shorter winter days, when children have very little day-light to play in. Get them off the couch or away from the computer and into your solar-illuminated yard.

You can even get creative and decorate your yard with different style or coloured lights like malibu landscape lighting depending on the season or holiday.

Solar light works by collecting and storing energy from the sun during the daytime, be it sunny or overcast. This energy is stored inside a battery for use when the sun drops. Best of all is the fact that they cost you nothing to keep that brilliant light shining, and do their small part to cut down on electricity use.

Your options are many, and how you decide to use solar light on your property will only be hindered by your own imagination.