Garden Decors

Landscape lighting is a subject rich in false ideas and mistakes that are all too easy to make yet quite simple to avoid. So let’s examine some of the more common myths and pitfalls out there.

As you might have guessed, there are more than a few landscape professionals who would prefer that folk continue to believe that installing garden lighting is a specialist job. This however is simply not true. Anyone can create fantastic landscape lighting if they follow a few straightforward principles. The single best piece of advice for getting a “designer” look in the garden (or indeed anywhere) is to plagiarize like mad. The world is awash with gardening programs and magazines and of course gardens – see what appeals to you and just steal the ideas you like most.

The second great myth/mistake that lots of people fall for is the idea that a garden should be lit up like Times Square at night. Please, don’t do this. Landscape lighting is all about subtlety and mood, suggestions and hints. The aim is to enhance natural features, exaggerating some and playing down others to create the impression that there are two quite distinct gardens – a daytime one and a night time one – not just the daytime one with the lights full on.

The follow on to the belief that bright is best is that you can also never have too much. Well actually you can. What makes outdoor lighting different from its indoors cousin is that darkness very much provides the backdrop to the whole effect. Over light it and the effect is wrecked.

It’s the contrast and the fact that you can’t actually see those areas that aren’t illuminated that provides much of the visual appeal. It permits you to design a different look at night by making some parts of the garden disappear and by emphasizing others.

The belief that solar lighting is “free” is as remarkably common as it is remarkably wrong. Apart from the initial purchase, solar lights operate by recharging batteries which have a finite number of recharge cycles before they won’t work any more.

It’s remarkably common to find supposedly “knowledgeable” folk who criticize LED outdoor lighting for their alleged lack of power. It’s certainly true that LED lights used to be up to little more than decorative effects, but not any more. Modern LED outdoor lighting easily matches traditional low voltage garden lighting and comes with a host of other benefits. Very low energy consumption, no heat, variety of formats and colors, and high durability being among them.

In conclusion:

you don’t need to pay an expensive professional; brightness is not as it happens important; nor is quantity; solar lighting is not equivalent to free lighting; LED garden lighting is the future.

If you found this article interesting then you’ll want to follow these links to discover more about LED outdoor lights, and low voltage garden lighting.

One of the more popular outdoor lighting sources for homeowners and landscape designers is the outdoor candle lantern. The reason they are so popular is that they are easy to install and are not expensive. This makes people want to buy and install them so naturally they may have questions about the lanterns they are looking to buy.

Candle lanterns can be found at pretty much any local hardware or home improvement store. The problem with looking for them there is that these stores can only buy and display so much inventory at one time. With this in mind your best chance to snag the right candle lanterns for your backyard are via the internet.

One thing you will need to make sure when you buy a candle lantern is to make sure the holder is sound. The candle holder is the portion of the lantern that supports the candle and allows the rest of the lantern to be constructed around it. The candle holders, and therefore the lanterns themselves, are typically constructed of metal.

These lanterns have a wide diversity in design. The designs can run the gamut from a Moroccan style lantern to an Asian inpired design.

The rustic lantern is a fantastic way to mimic one of the travelers in the Old West who went across the continent in covered wagons. These types of metal lanterns can be hung as well as placed on a flat surface.

Pagoda lanterns are also a nice choice if you want to have a party with an asian theme. These lanterns typically have an ornate design on the outside cutout panels. These designs allow light to shine through them.

If you are looking to build out a middle eastern inspired backyard landscape, one type of lantern you might want to purchase is a Moroccan lantern. These are lanterns with metal bottoms and tops that are made of thick, colored glass that comprises the sides.

Whatever style you choose is entirely up to you and your preferences. With so many styles and designs to choose from, what are you waiting for?

Seven Steps to a Better Garden This Year

Would you like to have a better garden than you had last year, with less effort on your part? The answer, of course, is an emphatic “yes,” so here are a few suggestions.

Basically the formula is simple, namely, to do now everything you possibly can to save yourself later on – steps, time, worry and lost opportunities.

Even simple formulas dont work unless you do something about them. lets get this one started right by working out a step-by-step plan and then following it through.

Order early

In all probability you will want some new flowers, shrubs, and trees, and probably grass seed, with which to improve your garden at planting time. Send right now for a number of catalogs or visit their websites covering the items in which you are especially interested – not only plant materials but insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers and garden tools.

Consider power equipment, if possible, as it is a great time and labor saver. A few minutes invested will bring you a wealth of information about all of these things. By being an early bird you will find out about a new flower, shrub or garden implement before you see it in a neighbors garden or hear about it at your garden club.

With the new catalogs or “dream books” before you, plan your garden and make your order. Some things, such as seeds of flowers and vegetables to be started indoors or in a coldframe, you may need almost immediately, while some things can wait if necessary.

Gardeners living in the South will be planting when Northerners are merely thinking about it. Early orders are usually filled with the varieties you specify without substitutions due to depleted stocks. No need to worry about receiving plants too soon. They are shipped at the proper time for planting in your area. Shipment of items such as new tools and insecticides can be deferred until later but it is well to make your orders now, ready to start the garden as the time approaches when you will need them.

Look to Labels

Procure labels early in a sufficient supply to mark the things you plant. Plastic labels are good for annuals and vegetables. In all probability you will regret it later on if you do not have permanent labels for trees, shrubs, roses and perennials. Easily read, long-lasting labels add much to the pleasure of gardening and are a good place to record planting dates and other pertinent information.

When labels are on hand early they can be properly inscribed and placed with the seeds or plants in advance of the rush at planting time. We find it very helpful for instance, to separate vegetable and flower seeds into groups: those to be started indoors, outdoors early (hardy), outdoors late (tender) and so on, each variety with its prepared label and each group placed in a small box. As the different planting seasons arrive, everything is ready for immediate action.

Plans Come First

The preparation of planting plans is another great time saver that much too often is neglected. Many beginners – just the folks who most need them hesitate to attempt making planting plans, because they feel it is a complicated task requiring expert knowledge. Of course its true that an expert may do the job better and in shorter time. But that applies to any DIY job you can think of so dont hesitate to start. The worst possible planting plan is better than none at all.

The mechanics of making such a plan are not as complicated as you may think. At any office supply store pick up a pad of cross-ruled paper, which simplifies drawing to scale.

On the master plan you can put down, to scale, such things as the boundary lines of the property; the location and dimensions of the house and any other buildings; drives and walks; and such fixed objects as existing trees, large rocks or other “permanent fixtures.

Then you can sketch in location of the hedges, lawn areas, flower borders, vegetable patch, rose garden or any other special plantings you have or would like to have.

Also locate trees and shrubs which you plan to purchase, keeping in mind the ultimate size they are likely to attain. A good book on how to plan the home grounds will help with this task. Your plan will not only tell you what to order but, when planting time arrives, you will know exactly where each plant is to go.

This will save you many minutes, if not hours, in family discussions about “where shall we put it?”

If extensive planting is to be done, more detailed plans may be made for special areas such as the shrub border, perennial border, rose garden or rock garden. You can take my word for it: no other investment of time and there is no expense involved will do so much to give you a place that you will be proud of and happy in.

Little Frame a Big Help

For actually getting the garden off to a flying start when weather permits, I know of nothing that will prove more helpful than a small coldframe. It is always a marvel to me that so many eager-beaver beginners wait for years before taking advantage of the great help that even a very small frame can be in getting planting under way.

Consider also the pleasures to be had in operating a frame while most other garden operations must be held hostage by weather pending the fickle vagaries of spring. A frame as small as 4 by 6 feet, placed in some sheltered, sunny spot – such as on the south side of the garage, fence or hedge will enable you to start scores of seedling annuals and vegetables.

It is also possible to grow a few extra-early lettuces, onions and radishes to maturity. Later use it for starting perennials, rooting cuttings and protecting semi-hardy plants, such as the large-flowered chrysanthemums, over winter.

Of course you cant build a frame while the ground is frozen solid, but you can get all the parts ready so that when the time arrives it can be put in place in a matter of an hour or two.

In many sections of the country, where the soil seldom freezes more than 2 or 3 inches deep, a frame may readily be put in at any time. A frame may be bought ready-made at a moderate price or you can build it yourself.

Convenient dimensions are 6 or 8 feet long; 4 feet wide (to the outide of the boards); 18 inches high (above the soil inside the frame) at the back, and 12 inches at the front. The frame may be partially buried so that the front boards are only 4 to 6 inches above the ground. This helps keep out frost. Wood should be treated, which prevents decay. “Standard” sash from lumber yards are 6 by 3 feet, but these are heavy and unwieldy; sash 4 by 2 feet are available and better suited for home garden use. For a very light and inexpensive sash polyethylene plastic is satisfactory but not as durable as glass.

A Workbench Assists

Another mid-winter job which will pay big dividends later on is to provide yourself with a workbench that can be used for keeping all gardening tools sharp and in good repair. Any tool employed in working the soil such as hoes, shovels of various types, trowels even a pickax will get dull, just as do grass cutting tools of all types and pruning shears.

Even the weedeater needs to be cleaned up to “cut better.” Furnish a workbench with wrenches, emery wheel, coarse and fine sharpening stones and medium-weight machine oil. With all these items assembled together you will be encouraged to keep all gear in tip-top working condition.

Peg-Board Helps

“Where did I leave those shears?” How often have you asked yourself that question and lost precious minutes in trying to locate them? The peg-board is one of the greatest assists to the gardener that ever came along.

With one nailed up on your garage wall you can readily have a definite place for each of your small garden tools, and whats more, you will find yourself automatically putting them away where they belong. An outline of the tool, marked on the board, immediately shows anything missing.

When Should it Be Done

Just like your garden lights heres something else that should have a place on that peg board in a gilded frame – a date book. Most families at this time of year are flooded with advertising calendars some with dates ruled off in big squares for memoranda. Take one of these and mark down on it the approximate dates for various important garden operations including mowing, fertilizing, and addition of low voltage garden lights. For instance

March 1 start indoors, hardy annuals and flower seeds

March 15-make first planting in frames, sow sweet peas, prune roses;

April 1 plant hardy annual and first vegetable seeds in open, fertilize daffodils and tulips.

Of course these dates will vary in different sections of the country; and often they will not work out there may be a late blizzard when sweet peas should go in the ground. But they do serve as reminders and as a guide to show whats coming up; and they will prevent your overlooking, or being unduly late with, many important garden operations.

Perhaps you cannot accomplish, especially the first year, all of the things suggested here. But the nearer you can come to it the better your garden will be. The ideas are all practical and most involve little or no expense. You will soon find that a running start will get you further faster and with the least effort.

So you have decided to spend time on your patio alot this summer. If you are like most people, the warm summer nights beckon and you will be hooked into spending your time on the patio or deck. If you want to do so in style, you need to purchase outdoor candles to light up the night and provide a warm atmosphere of relaxation. These outdoor candles provide you with three benefits; fashion, safety and function. As such, if you want to relax in style, you must purchase outdoor candles and their accessories.

You want to be a good host. As such, you want your parties to be raved about long after you’ve cleaned up the after-party mess. Inserting outdoor candles into your party’s theme will virtually assure that your parties will be the most talked about parties in the neighborhood. The feeling of relaxation is undeniable when attending a party by candlelight. It draws you closer together and allows guests to feel uninhibited and as such, everyone loosens up and has a great time.

Outdoor candles can be purchased in many different sizes, shapes and colors. Either a small votive, a medium taper or a large cylindrical candle can be had with a click of a mouse. If you are going to use an outdoor candle, you must also purchase a candle holder for them. Candle holders can be very simple implements or can be as complex and ornate as a candle chandelier.

Another benefit of outdoor candles is their low cost to buy and use. Since they are only burned at night and only burned when people are present, these outdoor candles will last a long time. In order to keep them burning, you will need to enclose them in glass. This glass protection will keep the summer breezes from blwoing out the candle’s flame. Many homeowners opt to use outdoor candle lanterns to protect the candle light and keep the area safe from an uncontrolled flame.

Another benefit of outdoor candles is their ability to mesh with any theme you need them to. If you are throwing an Irish party, you will want to decorate in green. So naturally, using green outdoor candles will do the trick.

Outdoor candles can also server another function besides illumination. They can help keep bugs and pests away. Citronella candles are usually the type of outdoor candle in use today. These candles basically drive away mosquitoes and other annoying insects away from areas where people congregate to play, rest, cook and eat. Keeping mosquitoes at bay is the biggest reason citronella candles are used. Depending upon where you live in the world, mosquitoes can possibly be carriers of Malaria or the West Nile Virus. Keeping these mosquitoes away will also keep you and your guests safer.

To find the right outdoor candle and outdoor candle holder for you, you should go online to compare all the dirrent types and the prices for each. The best deals are typically found online. Once you’ve compared them all, buying is easy.

You will always thank yourself for buying and using outdoor candles. They are a unique was to bring style, form, function and a hint of luxury to an otherwise drab backyard.

Seven Steps to a Better Garden This Year

Would you like to have a better garden than you had last year, with less effort on your part? The answer, of course, is an emphatic “yes,” so here are a few suggestions.

Basically the formula is simple, namely, to do now everything you possibly can to save yourself later on – steps, time, worry and lost opportunities.

Even simple formulas dont work unless you do something about them. lets get this one started right by working out a step-by-step plan and then following it through.

Order early

In all probability you will want some new flowers, shrubs, and trees, and probably grass seed, with which to improve your garden at planting time. Send right now for a number of catalogs or visit their websites covering the items in which you are especially interested – not only plant materials but insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers and garden tools.

Consider power equipment, if possible, as it is a great time and labor saver. A few minutes invested will bring you a wealth of information about all of these things. By being an early bird you will find out about a new flower, shrub or garden implement before you see it in a neighbors garden or hear about it at your garden club.

With the new catalogs or “dream books” before you, plan your garden and make your order. Some things, such as seeds of flowers and vegetables to be started indoors or in a coldframe, you may need almost immediately, while some things can wait if necessary.

Gardeners living in the South will be planting when Northerners are merely thinking about it. Early orders are usually filled with the varieties you specify without substitutions due to depleted stocks. No need to worry about receiving plants too soon. They are shipped at the proper time for planting in your area. Shipment of items such as new tools and insecticides can be deferred until later but it is well to make your orders now, ready to start the garden as the time approaches when you will need them.

Look to Labels

Procure labels early in a sufficient supply to mark the things you plant. Plastic labels are good for annuals and vegetables. In all probability you will regret it later on if you do not have permanent labels for trees, shrubs, roses and perennials. Easily read, long-lasting labels add much to the pleasure of gardening and are a good place to record planting dates and other pertinent information.

When labels are on hand early they can be properly inscribed and placed with the seeds or plants in advance of the rush at planting time. We find it very helpful for instance, to separate vegetable and flower seeds into groups: those to be started indoors, outdoors early (hardy), outdoors late (tender) and so on, each variety with its prepared label and each group placed in a small box. As the different planting seasons arrive, everything is ready for immediate action.

Plans Come First

The preparation of planting plans is another great time saver that much too often is neglected. Many beginners – just the folks who most need them hesitate to attempt making planting plans, because they feel it is a complicated task requiring expert knowledge. Of course its true that an expert may do the job better and in shorter time. But that applies to any DIY job you can think of so dont hesitate to start. The worst possible planting plan is better than none at all.

The mechanics of making such a plan are not as complicated as you may think. At any office supply store pick up a pad of cross-ruled paper, which simplifies drawing to scale.

On the master plan you can put down, to scale, such things as the boundary lines of the property; the location and dimensions of the house and any other buildings; drives and walks; and such fixed objects as existing trees, large rocks or other “permanent fixtures.

Then you can sketch in location of the hedges, lawn areas, flower borders, vegetable patch, rose garden or any other special plantings you have or would like to have.

Also locate trees and shrubs which you plan to purchase, keeping in mind the ultimate size they are likely to attain. A good book on how to plan the home grounds will help with this task. Your plan will not only tell you what to order but, when planting time arrives, you will know exactly where each plant is to go.

This will save you many minutes, if not hours, in family discussions about “where shall we put it?”

If extensive planting is to be done, more detailed plans may be made for special areas such as the shrub border, perennial border, rose garden or rock garden. You can take my word for it: no other investment of time and there is no expense involved will do so much to give you a place that you will be proud of and happy in.

Little Frame a Big Help

For actually getting the garden off to a flying start when weather permits, I know of nothing that will prove more helpful than a small coldframe. It is always a marvel to me that so many eager-beaver beginners wait for years before taking advantage of the great help that even a very small frame can be in getting planting under way.

Consider also the pleasures to be had in operating a frame while most other garden operations must be held hostage by weather pending the fickle vagaries of spring. A frame as small as 4 by 6 feet, placed in some sheltered, sunny spot – such as on the south side of the garage, fence or hedge will enable you to start scores of seedling annuals and vegetables.

It is also possible to grow a few extra-early lettuces, onions and radishes to maturity. Later use it for starting perennials, rooting cuttings and protecting semi-hardy plants, such as the large-flowered chrysanthemums, over winter.

Of course you cant build a frame while the ground is frozen solid, but you can get all the parts ready so that when the time arrives it can be put in place in a matter of an hour or two.

In many sections of the country, where the soil seldom freezes more than 2 or 3 inches deep, a frame may readily be put in at any time. A frame may be bought ready-made at a moderate price or you can build it yourself.

Convenient dimensions are 6 or 8 feet long; 4 feet wide (to the outide of the boards); 18 inches high (above the soil inside the frame) at the back, and 12 inches at the front. The frame may be partially buried so that the front boards are only 4 to 6 inches above the ground. This helps keep out frost. Wood should be treated, which prevents decay. “Standard” sash from lumber yards are 6 by 3 feet, but these are heavy and unwieldy; sash 4 by 2 feet are available and better suited for home garden use. For a very light and inexpensive sash polyethylene plastic is satisfactory but not as durable as glass.

A Workbench Assists

Another mid-winter job which will pay big dividends later on is to provide yourself with a workbench that can be used for keeping all gardening tools sharp and in good repair. Any tool employed in working the soil such as hoes, shovels of various types, trowels even a pickax will get dull, just as do grass cutting tools of all types and pruning shears.

Even the weedeater needs to be cleaned up to “cut better.” Furnish a workbench with wrenches, emery wheel, coarse and fine sharpening stones and medium-weight machine oil. With all these items assembled together you will be encouraged to keep all gear in tip-top working condition.

Peg-Board Helps

“Where did I leave those shears?” How often have you asked yourself that question and lost precious minutes in trying to locate them? The peg-board is one of the greatest assists to the gardener that ever came along.

With one nailed up on your garage wall you can readily have a definite place for each of your small garden tools, and whats more, you will find yourself automatically putting them away where they belong. An outline of the tool, marked on the board, immediately shows anything missing.

When Should it Be Done

Just like your garden lights heres something else that should have a place on that peg board in a gilded frame – a date book. Most families at this time of year are flooded with advertising calendars some with dates ruled off in big squares for memoranda. Take one of these and mark down on it the approximate dates for various important garden operations including mowing, fertilizing, and addition of low voltage garden lights. For instance

March 1 start indoors, hardy annuals and flower seeds

March 15-make first planting in frames, sow sweet peas, prune roses;

April 1 plant hardy annual and first vegetable seeds in open, fertilize daffodils and tulips.

Of course these dates will vary in different sections of the country; and often they will not work out there may be a late blizzard when sweet peas should go in the ground. But they do serve as reminders and as a guide to show whats coming up; and they will prevent your overlooking, or being unduly late with, many important garden operations.

Perhaps you cannot accomplish, especially the first year, all of the things suggested here. But the nearer you can come to it the better your garden will be. The ideas are all practical and most involve little or no expense. You will soon find that a running start will get you further faster and with the least effort.

If you want to have a beautiful garden, you should consider all of the design elements. Dont just look at shrubs, flowers, and trees. Consider garden structures like trellises and gazebos, and of course landscape lighting. Outdoor lighting, including garden path lighting, has become very popular with gardeners. It enhances the natural beauty of your garden, allowing you to enjoy your hard work long after dusk. Plus, garden path lighting is a useful safety feature for your yard.

Many people choose solar garden lights to use as garden path lighting. While electrical lighting can also be used, it required digging into your yard, making it a much more permanent addition to the landscape. To use solar lighting, just place a AA battery into your landscape lights. Natural sunlight will keep the lights charged, and they will automatically turn on at dusk and off at dawn. OF course, make sure they are placed where they will receive some sunlight during the day.

When youre purchasing garden path lighting, you should carefully consider the style of lighting you wish to use. Your choices include dome lights that are close to the ground, pole lighting, globes, lanterns, or stepping stones. The most commonly used garden path lights are attached to a spike or pole, which you simply push into the ground. When using solar lighting, thats all there is to installing garden path lighting.

Most of the garden path lighting currently available is made from durable plastic, copper, or stainless steel. You can find many different types of lighting, including those with colored bulbs or panels for a uniquely colored light. Others have a more traditional soft white or yellow glow.

If you have a water feature, like a fountain or pond, consider solar balls. These can be allowed to free float on the water, and come in a wide range of colors. These make a fun and unique addition to your yard.

Solar floats are another new idea for landscape lighting. They are disc-shaped, and can be placed on an outdoor table, along a pathway, or in a swimming pool or pond. They slowly change color, adding an interesting feature in the darkness. Solar flowers are similar to solar lights or solar floats, except that they are made out of fiber optics in the shape of various garden flowers. Attached to a spike, they are easily inserted into the ground to provide an unexpected spot of light and color during the night in your garden.

Solar stepping stones are a great way to light a garden path. They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, to suit any garden. They have amber LED lights built in to provide a bright glow along your pathway.

Garden lights are available in many unique styles and colors. They are both beautiful and functional.