I Could Spoil You

The overall look of you home can be greatly affected by the appearance of your patio, garden or yard. If you do not maintain your home outdoors in the same way that you maintain your home indoors, you take away from the impression you will leave on your guests, friends, and family.

Depending on what you, and perhaps your family, need for patio furniture, there are many different kinds available out there. And if you have not seen all there is to seeyou may want to keep looking to find the very best patio furniture for you. It is not just about plastic chairs and to lounge chairs you unfold and set in the grass anymore. There are all different styles, designs, and materials of patio and outdoor furniture for you to consider. Materials like teak patio furniture, wrought iron furniture, wicker furniture and more are available in beautiful as well as simplistic styles and everything in between. So find what you like best.

Remember, every part of your home design will reflect something about your personality, your class, taste and sense of style. This includes your home outdoorsso don’t forget to make sure your patio furniture is comfortable as well as pleasing to the eye this season. And the majority of outdoor and patio furniture sold today is durable and dependable, especially designed to last and last.

If you are concerned about price, you will find that there are several choices in patio furniture that are very attractive and still reasonably priced. There are even new patio furniture sets available at discount prices if you look in the right place. We know you will love the wide variety of patio and outdoor furniture there is on the market today. From exotic, to vintage, to abstract, to modern furniture etc, you can find the exact look you are going for.

The possibilities are virtually endless so do not waste valuable time searching around. Look around for the hundreds of items available right now. There is no reason to go from store to store–looking around online catalogues will show you all styles and designs of patio furnituremuch more than you could find at any physical store.

The more you love your patio furniture the more you will enjoy spending time outdoors. And that is what the warm season is all about! Don’t stay cooped up inside while the weather is tranquil and the air is freshspend time enjoying the outdoors with your beautiful outdoor garden and patio furniture.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on outdoor and patio furniture please visit Patio Furniture, you can also visit Outdoor and Home Furniture, or visit Outback Patio Furniture.

One of the long standing myths that I still hear is that orchid house plants are difficult and finicky to grow. Well, plain and simple, the answer is No. In fact, orchids as house plants are easy to grow and will continue to bloom for years. Some orchid plants have been around for centuries.

Watering

Orchid house plants and orchid plants in general will need watering periodically, usually you can water once a week. Remember, most orchids are air plants and this means you will see their roots. Their root system is very efficient in storing water.

Here is a watering guide you can use: Cattleya, oncidium and dendrobium orchids like to dry out between watering. An easy way to water is to put the plant in the sink and let water flow through the plant for about 1 minute. Remember, let the water drain from the plant before putting it back into the decorative pot.

Plhalaenopsis orchids like to almost dry out between watering. To decide on the next watering is to stick your finger about an inch into the moss which should feel spongy and not bone dry.

Paphiopedilum and epidendrum should be slightly moist so that watering can be twice a week.

Humidity

If the humidity in your home is low (below 40%) you may need to either mist the plant occasionally or use a humidity tray. The tray is simply a metal or plastic tray that is filled with pebbles and 1/2 of water. The plant would sit would sit on the pebbles. Be sure not to let the plant or roots sit in the water while on the tray.

The Right Lighting

Light is the next most important element to growing orchid plants. As a general statement most orchid house plants do well in medium light. This would in a window or an area that could get about 4 hours a day. Cattleya orchids do well in this light but can also do well in a sunlit area for up to six hours. Phals do well in indirect but bright light.

More in depth information is included in theOrchid Growing Course, free with the purchase of an orchid plant.

What about temperature?

Most orchids do well in normal house temperature. The low temperature at night do not impede the growth. Here is a little guide you can use.

Orchid Genre Minimum temp Degrees F Maximum temp Degrees F

Phalaenopsis 60 90

Vanda

Paphiopedilum (mottle leaf) 55 85

Dendrobium

Cattleya,

Epidendum

Paphiopedilum (green leaf) 50 80

Oncidium

Miltonia

So, you too can join the millions and a grow orchids just as successful as your neighbor.

Visit our Orchid Store: http://www.orchid-store.orchids-plus-more.com

This article may be reproduced without permission as long as the author and Web site are noted in the article.

Bob Roy has a e business in orchids. There are many oarticles dealing with orchids on his web site, orchids-plus-more.com as well as a large selection of stunning orchid plants.

Garlic (Allium sativum) has been used for centuries for both cooking and medicinal purposes. Known as the ’stinking rose’ and Russian penicillin, its medicinal purposes have been documented for centuries and have always been a popular remedy for colds, coughs, and sore throats. Garlic was used in World War I and World War II to cure many diseases and because it is a potent antiseptic. Garlic is universally known for its health benefits. It is an excellent source of phytochemicals and contains vitamins A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), C, iron, phosphorous, sulphur compounds, and calcium. Medical studies have shown that it lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and hypertension, prevents some cancerous tumours, protects against bacterial and fungal infections, and is good for the blood and heart. It is useful as an expectorant in respiratory ailments, eliminates toxic metals, and supports the immune system. Garlic may prove to be useful for diabetics, as it seems to regulate blood sugar levels.

As a culinary spice, the Indians, Egyptians, and Europeans have appreciated garlic for thousands of years, and most notably the Italians and Chinese who have made extensive use of this much-loved plant. There are records of garlic use dating back 3,000 years and botanists believe that garlic probably originated in central Asia thousands of years ago. In North America, early colonists discovered that the First Nations people were using a native species of garlic to treat a variety of medical problems including snakebite and intestinal worms.

Garlic is a moderately hardy herbaceous (herbaceous means a plant that lacks woody tissue and dies to the ground at the end of the growing season) perennial. It grows from 2-3 feet (0.6-1m) tall and has flat, long, pointed green leaves extending from the base. The young leaves grow 2 feet (0.6 m) tall and have a delicate chive-like flavour. Garlic has erect, hollow, green stalks that support pink or whitish flowering clusters or bulbils that appear in mid-summer. The leaves are organised into segments called cloves and may have anywhere from 4-15 cloves in a bulb. Garlic does best in rich, well-drained, highly organic soils, prefers full sun, although it will grow in partial shade. Avoid over-watering or the bulbs will rot. Garlic has white energy for chromotherapy purposes.

Garlic is available throughout the year but it is easy to grow your own. To plant, separate cloves from the head and plant cloves with the pointed end up. Garlic can be planted in early spring or late fall. It is best to plant cloves or bulbils available from nurseries or garden catalogues as store bought garlic is often sprayed with a sprout and root inhibitor that confuses its natural growth cycle. Fall plantings produce the best yields, as garlic needs a long growing period and a cool period below 10 C (50 F) for two months. If over-wintering in zones 3 or 4, plant cloves at least 3 inches (8 cm) deep and mulch with leaves or straw; otherwise plant bulbs 2 inches (5 cm) deep and 6 inches (15 cm) apart. (In the winter, I plant store-bought garlic in pots and snip the leaves to impart a fresh garlic flavour to salads and soups.) Garlic is generally pest and disease free.

Harvest garlic when the leaves die back and begin to turn brown and collapse. Pull up the mature plants and dry in the sun for a week; then trim or braid the stalks and hang the garlic braids in the shade to dry further. To store, keep in a dry, dark place with good air circulation. Garlic will keep for up to 6 months if stored in temperatures no higher than 0 C (32 F). Leaves, bulbs, and bulbils may all be eaten.

In the garden, garlic helps protect plants from fungus and pests. Scientists at New Castle University have shown that a barrier of garlic oil is an effective slug and snail repellent. Planted near roses, it aids in fighting black spot. Garlic spray is used to discourage many insects and combats various blights found on vegetables and flowers. To make garlic spray, mince garlic and add water. Some people add a few drops of vegetable oil to the spray to make it cling to flowers and foliage. Garlic spray is a non-toxic alternative to using harmful chemicals in the garden.

In the kitchen, garlic can be used fresh, dried, or powdered. Fresh is best. To peel, place the garlic cloves on the work surface and whack with the flat edge of a knife. The garlic will crack out of the skin making it easier to peel. You can also put the garlic in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, and then peel when cool. Crush with the flat edge of a knife and slice or chop as necessary. Garlic can be used to enhance the flavour of seafood, salad dressings, stews, casseroles, vegetables, soups, meat dishes, pasta, vegetables, and poultry. When roasting meat, make slits in the meat, sliver garlic, and stuff into the slits. Roast the meat as usual. Roasting or baking garlic mellows the taste. To eliminate garlic breath, chew the traditional breath fresheners: parsley, fenugreek, or fennel.

Gwen Nyhus Stewart, B.S.W., M.G., H.T., is an educator, freelance writer, garden consultant, and author of the book The Healing Garden: A Place Of Peace - Gardening For The Soil, Gardening For The Soul. She owns the website Gwen’s Healing Garden where you will find lots of free information about gardening for the soil and gardening for the soul. To find out more about the book and subscribe to her free Newsletter visit http://www.gwenshealinggarden.ca

Gwen Nyhus Stewart © 2004 - 2005. All rights reserved.

Is it important to mind your p’s and q’s when you are landscaping or grooming your property? You bet, as there is nothing worse than starting a neighborhood feud. You need to create your landscape your way, but a little etiquette will make the final product much more pleasant. Good neighbors can be hard to come by, so don’t destory a long term relationship because of a short term project. Following are landscape etiquette tips that will keep you in your neighbor’s good graces when landscaping your yard.

1. Don’t grade your yard in a way that pushes your surface water on to your neighbor’s property. Control your runoff on site. It might require the creation of a dry creek bed or a rain garden, but these can become attractive landscape features as well as being functional.
2. Don’t pile all your junk and equipment at the edge of your property so that you don’t have to look at it but yet is in your neighbor’s line of vision. Do you think your neighbor likes it any better than you? Screen it with plants or privacy fencing.
3. Don’t create a noise problem with dogs, kids or loud parties. If you need to, mitigate the noise as best as possible with the use of a privacy fence and a dense landscape barrier. Find other ways to minimize your onsite noise, and by all means invite your neighbors when you have an outdoor party. That is a great way to minimize friction.
4. Don’t install strong lighting that is intrusive. Your neighbors won’t appreciate a flood light beaming in their bedroom window. Be sensitive to their privacy. Many individuals are star gazers and enjoy looking up at the night skies, so be cautious with the use of landscape lighting. Consider installing low voltage path or accent lights that are hooded and cast light downward. They are more than adequate for safety and much more attractive than flood lights.
5. Don’t spray herbicides or other chemicals during windy conditions. Have you ever had plants mysteriously die and then recall that a someone had been spraying weeds in the area earlier that day? Chemicals don’t know where the property lines are.
6. Don’t intrude into your neighbor’s yard. If your contractor needs to enter your property from your neighbor’s, make sure you have permission and give assurances that at the end of your project the property will be just like you found it. Also, know where your property line is. If you are at all in doubt have a survey completed.
7. Don’t allow your contractor and employees to smoke onsite while doing your project. Tobacco mosaic is a virus that is generally transmitted from the hands and tools of smokers and chewers. This can dramatically affect annuals, vegetable plants and some perennials. It’s not worth it.
8. Don’t allow contractors to begin work too early in the morning unless your neighbors are early risers. There is nothing worse than waking at six in the morning to the vibrations of a bobcat or a load of boulders rolling out of the box of a dump truck.
9. Don’t use invasive plants if they can rapidly move to neighboring properties. Only use them if they are contained in planters or by solid barriers.

In the rush to get going on a landscape project, people tend to forget their manners. Don’t let the thought of a beautiful landscape cloud your thinking. A few simple preparations ahead of time and remembering your manners will make sure that you don’t start a neighbor feud.

Donna Evans is co-owner of Gizmo Creations LLC, a landscape design and website design company located just north of Brainerd Minnesota. Their website, http://www.gizmocreations.com has numerous sample landscape plans, landscaping articles and a forum where you can post your gardening and landsaping questions.