Landscape and Deck Solar Post Lighting - All Automatic
Lighting a deck or providing soft light for an entry path or rock garden at night is easy with Solar Post Lights. When the sun goes down the built-in Ni-Cad batteries charged from a single day last around eight hours. Read more
Aspidistra elatior for Your Home’s Entryway
Many gardeners and landscapers make use of upright plants as ground covers or as fences in various garden designs. Interior designers even use houseplants to add glitter to interiors of many household. Landscape plants and houseplants do not just add beauty to many spaces; they also add in something more. According to Feng Shui experts, placing plants in the main entryway of one’s home can help in collecting pulling in positive energy. And in order to avoid barriers or clutters right at the front door of your homes, you must choose plants with upright growth and with high tolerance to neglect and adverse conditions. Aspidistra elatior, commonly known as the Cast Iron Plant, is top on the list of easy entryway plants.
Although Cast Iron Plant is noted for its ability to withstand abuse and neglect, you must clean up its shade-loving evergreen foliage and put it in attractive pots or containers to preserve its entryway beauty. If your main entryway is facing the direction where there is full sunlight, make sure that your potted Cast Iron Plants enjoy little shade so it will not look ratty. Bring out the beauty of its cream-colored flowers by putting it in a tall pot or container that sits on a low-level spot or table. In addition to entryways, the Cast Iron Plant is also used in small scale ground cover for dense shade plantings, in indoor buildings such as shopping malls, in inner court yards, in indoor gardens, and as a shade patio container plant.
Landscape Bridge - A Perfect Way to Add a Little Extra Special to Your Landscape
If you have the room in your backyard, why not build a bridge? A bridge is the perfect way to add a little something extra special to your landscape. There are so many ways to incorporate a bridge in your backyard and it will not take a whole lot of time to do.
By the way… Do you know what reveals your house and landscape, enhances the setting, extends the hours of enjoyment, provides safety and more? Answer Here!
Add A Pond And A Bridge To Your Landscape
Building a pond in your backyard is a great idea to get everyone’s attention and to also create a peaceful place for you to relax in. You can build a pond near your deck and then add a footbridge to get across. This would be a neat attraction to anyone’s home.
Professional Or Amateur
When you are deciding to build a bridge in your backyard, you have two options. You can either build the bridge yourself or you can hire someone to do the work for you. Hiring someone to do the work for you could cost you quite a bit. If you do the work yourself, you will save money and have more fun showing off your work.
Creating A Footbridge For Your Landscape
To create a footbridge that leads you to your deck or garden and extends over a pond, you will need to have wood, nails, and a little creativity. The first thing that you need to get into shape is the frame for the bridge. This will be whatever shape and length you decide is best for your location.
Starting On Your Pond
To get going on your pond, mark out your area with paint. Dig out the area that you want to have your pond in and go three or four inches deeper than the desired depth of the pond, which would be like 15 to 20 inches.
Get Rid Of The Debris
Remove all of the roots and sharp object that may put a hole in the liner for your pond. Make sure that your hole for the pond is level. If it is not, then the water may not sit right in your pond and will make it look uneven.
Sand For The Bottom Of Your Pond
When you are ready to put the liner in the bottom, coat the hole with sand. This will help keep the liner in place. It is fine to cut away some excess of the liner to make the line easier to manage, it is also important to keep enough to cover the edges of the hole. You may also want to let the liner warm in the sun to make it easier to stretch.
Setting Your Footbridge
Once you are ready to put the bridge in place, place some stones around the ponds edge. Choose some creative looking stones and rock to place around the pond to add some flare to your bridge. Now you are ready to install your bridge and make sure that it is secure. Once the bridge is in, you are now ready to enjoy your new backyard landscape.
Peace Lily - What Does a Healthy Root System Look Like?
Have you ever noticed when paying with cash and using a large bill the cashier usually looks at the bill to make sure it is real and not counterfeit?
In fact when teaching money handlers the difference between “real” and “fake” they only show them “real” money and don’t expose them to fake. This way when they see “fake” they know it.
Root systems on house plants are no different. In my opinion the key to caring for plants and growing them well is not what is above ground but below. If you grow “good roots” the tops will follow.
It’s important to know what healthy roots look like for any species so when disease is present it can be recognized. Here’s a picture of a healthy root system on a Spathiphyllum - the “Peace Lily.”
Before you buy any plant… knock it out of the pot and look at the roots. They will tell you a lot about the plant and future success! More house plant care tips here!
Red Ginger - The Jungle King
Red Ginger or the Jungle King is one of the showiest of all true tropical plants. Known as ‘Awapuhi-’Ula’Ula, this large plant arises from rhizomes and grows into a beautiful plant with strong stems and deep green hairless tropical foliage that are lance-shaped. If well sheltered from cold it will bloom year round forming an upright cone-shaped head of rich, rosy crimson bracts. A closer look within each bract will show you racemes of white flowers and very small seeds.
The attractive flowers of Red Ginger get bigger with time making them famous in tropical cut flower arrangements. The whole plant itself proves to be useful in protecting streams. It gives a very striking effect when used in tropical landscaping as long as it is put in shaded and sheltered areas only.
Landscaping Stones Come in a Wide Assortment of Sizes and Colors
Landscaping stones are available in a wide assortment of sizes and colors. A fun way to decorate a new landscape design is with landscaping boulders and stones and mix in some audio with outdoor rock speakers which look like small rocks. This design or decorating idea will grab everyone’s attention. There are a wide range of choices in texture, shape and size with so many kinds of different landscaping stones to choose from.
Finding The Perfect Stones
Sometimes if you are lucky, you may be able to use the stones from your own yard or river rock if it is close to your home. If you live in a rocky area, chances are you can find some sort of stones already hidden underground. Some of the landscape rocks and stones you come upon can be a great value in any landscape design for use as borders a retaining wall or overall decorating the landscape to add interest.
Buying Landscaping Stones
If you need to purchase landscaping stones, you should have no problem as many garden stores and outlets carry popular choices of stones and river rock. There are many private landscaping companies that sell rocks and stones and will deliver them to your home or job site.
Different Colors And Shapes
When it comes to decorating with landscaping stones, you will find any color or shape that you want, no matter what type of look you are trying to achieve. From perfectly round manufactured stones or large boulders to give the more natural look to a landscaping plan. These stones have the rugged look and come in odd shapes and sizes. By adding outdoor landscape lighting you can create a whole new set of unique looks and shadows to extend the use of the landscape when the sun goes down.
Retaining Walls
You can use stones for more than just a walkway to your home. If a retaining wall is your project, stones and rocks are the perfect way to create a unique but functional wall. They add beauty and security to any landscape.
Borders And Gardens
Stones are a nice way to create a border around a flowerbed or garden. If you are looking to enhance a garden or pond, rocks and stones are an original way to just that. This will add not only color but also imagination to any landscaping design.
What Kinds Of Stones Are Best To Use
River rock and flagstone are just two different kinds of stones that are great for retaining walls and stepping-stones for any landscape. Flagstone is available in many different colors to match any home decor. River rock is smaller, but you will still find the same great quality and choice of colors.
River rock is a great choice for filling in areas that are left as empty space. It is also nice for flowerbeds in between the flowers to keep weeds away.
Any decision that you make in landscaping stones will definitely add beauty and value to any landscape for home or office.
Calathea ‘Burle Marx’
‘Burle Marx’ is a small plant that grows to about 15” in height. It is sometimes referred to as the Ctenanthe ‘Burle Marx.’ Botanists say that it belongs to the Maranta family and it is not to a type of Calathea. But whatever name it carries, this plant is surely known for its wonderful foliage. Its pale green leaves have dark green markings that radiate out of the mid-vein.
Many shops show Burle Marx growing in dish gardens, terrariums, or in hanging baskets. Gardeners and growers make the most out of the compact growth habit of Burle Marx and its wonderful foliage by growing it indoors. It does well as a ground cover or as a container plant in shady patio and in shady areas of few tropical backyard. This beauty is definitely a wonderful houseplant.
Bromeliad Flower Arranging!
Everyone wants to get the most out of their flowers… potted house plants, cut flowers, roses outdoors or planted in the landscape. Flowers just say “happy” or “welcome” … come into the room and make yourself comfortable.
But don’t all of us at times want something that looks “different” or “unusual”? Something that draws a conversation? Something to set your room apart?
Bromeliads not only give lots of color for months on end, but some varieties used mainly in the landscape can create a wild and exotic look!
This arrangement is made up of Bromeliad blooms, Bromeliad leaves, bamboo and cool looking pottery! How’s that for a “flower arrangement” Bromeliad style!
The Colorful World of Cacti and Succulents
When we hear the word cacti and succulents most of us would immediately think of hardy, spiny, and drought-tolerant plants. But apart from what we generally think, the world of cacti and succulents are never boring just like a barren desert. Remember that a cactus is a succulent plant that can store moisture, but not all succulents are cactus.
Succulents vs. Cacti
Succulents can be classified into 3 categories: leaf succulents (succulents with flat leaves arranged in rosettes), stem succulents (succulents with few leaves), caudiciforms (succulents with swollen base). They are represented in nearly thirty different plant families. Cacti, on the other hand, usually have no leaves (except for the Pereskia aculeata, lemon vine, and its close relatives), or, when any are present they soon fall. Most cacti have spines and bristles. But there are some cacti without spines. Still, others have long hair or wool-like body covering.
Indoor and Outdoor Cacti and Succulents
Decorative dish gardens of cacti or succulents are perfect indoors. Cacti look best even in hanging baskets suspended in ceiling plus you can save yourself and your kids from those cacti spines. Jade plant (Crassula argentea) and the donkey tail (Sedum morganianum) are popular house plants.
There are also cacti varieties that are known for their colorful foliage and bizarre shapes. The Succulent Echeveria, for instance, has foliage in shades of blue-green or pale green, as well as red or pink. Euphorbia grandicornis has an interesting set of shapes for cactus. Try checking out for other types that have interesting patterns of the spines. Christmas cacti and other flowering cacti can put orchids to shame. Tiny crassulas and sedums can be seen in many florist shops.
Yucca filamentosa ‘Bright Edge,’ Agave americana ‘Variegata,’ and Euphorbia characias ‘Emmer Green’ are the best variegated succulents for landscape purposes because they go well with special desert landscape rock. Organpipe cactus (Lemaireocereus thurberi) or some of the succulents like aloes and agaves are suitable for container gardens. Other cacti and succulent varieties are even wildlife-friendly.
Philodendron “Prince of Orange”
Philodendron “Prince of Orange” is a man made hybrid that has a very distinct colorful foliage compared to other Philodendron cultivars. The dynamic growth and coloration of the Prince of Orange leaves is so amazing. The new leaves unroll a bright orange or copper-orange color and fades to a pale green color when they mature. In addition to this unique leaf color are the pinkish-red petioles. This self-heading Philodendron variety grows up to 24 inches in height.
Philodendron Prince of Orange is good in landscaping and interior designs. It is widely grown for foliage where the elliptic to ovate leaves could show off their striking colors. Because of its compact growth habit, Prince of Orange plants can be grown as a group of shrubs in a large planting. Small Prince of Orange plants are usually seen placed on a top level table while the large ones are commonly placed at the floor.
