Decorative Pottery - Design and Add Accents without Plants

Collecting pottery is a unique hobby, whether collecting Italian, Mexican pottery or clay, terracotta, ceramic decorative pots which just tickle your fancy, pottery designs can add an extra flare and personality to your indoor and outdoor landscaping or even a xeriscape. Modern mechanized production of pottery and planters has placed more focus on mass production and less on artistic designs.

Many “specialist” hand paint and create abstract compositions or draw realistic images. Some pottery designs are not painted at all; but adding special colors and textures into the clay during production create interesting looks.

For instance, by adding different mixtures of colored clay, sand, metal oxides, carbonates and combustible particles can produce unique patterns and colors into pottery designs which hand painting simply cannot imitate.

These decorative accents come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. While some resemble the traditional vase shape, others can be rounded or bubble shaped. Pottery can also be a combination of shapes leading to some truly creative designs, like turtles, lions and people even.

Some take “design” a little further by creating not just pottery but designs in the form of statues and figurines of people, shape of cups, jars, plates and bowls are also popular items.

Finding the Unique

Finding unique containers is not limited to shape and size. Many you find for sale come with culture attached. Nations around the world can be represented in pottery form, planters from Mexico, Nicaragua, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, Italy, and practically every country you can name. These designs from other regions of the globe are especially unique from the quality of work, culture and personality of the meticulous work to create their unique art form.

How many times have we learned of cultures from the pottery discovered at a archeological dig or the been amazed at the at auction for a chinese urn?

While you cannot buy prehistoric treasures off of eBay, you can download some interesting shapes for your pottery class, contemporary and cultural pottery designs online. Looking for guidance on how to start designing your own unique style of pottery? Purchase a book online and start creating your own collectible designs today.

Aloe Vera a Healing Healthy Houseplant

The aloe vera plant has long been known for its soothing healing qualities for sun burn pain. It’s also been used in vitamins and moisturizers and even as a houseplant.

Aloe is a plant genus belonging to the Asphodelaceae family, its cousins are onions and asparagus. The Aloe grows naturally in Africa, and other family members are popular houseplants found around the world. The most famous member of the genus though is Aloe Vera

Known for its Medicinal Uses and Applications

The most frequent use of the aloe plant is as a topical gel. Gels made from Aloe Vera are used to treat burns and minor scrapes and it’s benefits range from soothing inflammation, pain relief, and a reduction in possible infection. Studies show that regular use of an Aloe Vera based gel will actually speed the healing process in minor wounds, and even severe burns. Its use has been chronicled for hundreds of years. The thick leaves can be snapped open, and the moist open ends of the leave can be rubbed directly onto a burn or scrape directly.

I always keep some aloe vera growing at the nursery for those quick first aid needs.

The moisture form the Aloe leaves are extracted from plants grow on large aloe plantation farms and made into the popular gel most people are familiar with. It’s become popular with advertising finding its way into skin lotions, cosmetic products, shampoos, lip balms, soaps and sunscreens. The benefits of Aloe Vera include its strong moisturizing capacity, and its extract contains a number of vitamins and minerals believed to promote healthy skin. Another benefit is it being a very gentle substance, so Aloe Vera can be used in sensitive areas, such as around the eyes.

Aloe Used Internally Too!

Aloe plants, also are used for internal medicinal use and primarily as a laxative. The juice from aloe can be dried into a dark powder composed of yellowish granules which taste quite bitter. Internal use of Aloe is sold as a treatment for coughs, ulcers, muscle pain, headaches, and even cancer and HIV. The only proven benefit aloe offers for in internal use is the relief of constipation. Even in this use, internal use of the plant has a number of side effects, can cause nausea, and should not be taken by women who may be pregnant.

There is a lot of hype and mystery surrounding the Aloe genus, especially its most popular member Aloe Vera. Clearly, many Aloe Vera benefits are proven, especially the ones involved in external use and in skin care. Its benefits for internal use are somewhat dubious, however.

Growing aloe vera as a houseplant is easy. Put the plant in as much light possible. They grow great in xeriscape and rock gardens - I grow mine in full sun. Use a well draining soil and easy on the water. I’ve always found aloe easy to grow and a great partner to have around for cut and burns.

Fuller Philodendrons and Pothos

Question: I have a large and bright sunroom with lots of windows. Inside I have a lot of Philodendrons or Pothos, whatever kind they are the plants look leggy. The leaves have come off and now there are bare 1 inch sections or segments where the leaves came out.

When I cut the tips back below the leaf it always leaves a one or two inch stem with no leaf. Even though I cut them back they never put out another leaf anymore. How can make them fuller? Patricia, Baltimore, MD

Answer: Vines need regular pruning, pothos and philodendron can get a leggy or stringy looking. Having as much light as your rooms does - which is a blessing for plants - the plants sound as if they need to be cut back a little more. This should force growth from the buds waiting to “come out.”. Don’t try the fertilizer route as that isn’t going to work.

“Don’t leave Nubs”

When pruning pothos vines for example, cut just above a point where the leaf attached to the stem. This way you won’t leave any “nubs” or stems which will just die off since there isn’t any growing point. The growth auxins will help push out new growth usually right below where you pruned off vine. THis should help produce a healthier plant as new roots should also appear and your philodendrons should be fuller.

Be a little adventurous - try rooting some of the cuttings and growing some new plants.

Automatic Underground Sprinkler System makes Watering a Breeze

We’ve discussed using drip irrigation and also showed how adding electric values can automate the whole system. But, drip watering systems doesn’t work well on lawns. The cost of installing underground sprinklers is higher but offers many benefits.

We all want green lawns, don’t we? So why is the grass on your lawn so brown and the neighbor’s looks like it came straight out of “Leave it to Beaver?”

Regardless of why someone else has the most vibrant and beautiful lawn on the block, your interest is - I want it too! Well, if you look closely you’ll probably find some serious care-taking and landscaping going on next door. But, the truth is you don’t always need much to get what you want.

Think about it - What does grass need to grow and look healthy?

• Sunlight - and it already gets that on its own
• Water - plenty of water

These two catalysts can really turn a tattered looking brown yard into a healthy, immaculate lawn, envied by all the neighbors. The sun you can’t control, water is another thing. It’s time for an irrigation system of underground sprinklers.

Do you already have a sprinkler system? Many families have sprinkler systems installed in new homes today. They’re an important key to an ideally green yard. Keeping the grass cut on a regular basis plays a part also.

Generally those with a permanent underground watering system has better looking turf. Without one lawns don’t look near what they could. We’re talking about potential - all lawns have it. They just need a helping hand.

I’m not one of those “perfect lawn above all” nuts who dump, sprinkle, and pour loads of pesticides and weed killers on their yard everyday in order to keep it looking immaculate. That’s not a good idea in my opinion, unless they’re completely harmless and they’re typically not.

In fact, many of these products are harmful. Therefore I don’t recommend them if you have small children. A great lawn is one thing, but you should always put the health of your loved ones first. All you should truly need is a sprinkler system, and a little lawn fertilizer doesn’t hurt.

These will do wonders for your lawn. Sprinkler systems can be installed to hit every inch of your yard. Most systems when installed underground typically comes with a control panel mounted in your garage. This way you can set it on a timer, watering schedule, irrigation zones and make it all run automatically. My watering schedule just got updated to 3 times per week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each zone of which I have 4 come on for 40 minutes at a time starting at 4:00 am. When I get up zone 4 is just about finished.

Automatic sprinkler and irrigation systems make watering your lawn on your schedule a breeze.

If you’re wondering about fertilizing your lawn I found a good article here…

Accent Lighting Don’t Forget the Landscape

Have you been spending time decorating your home, but feel like there is just something is missing? Accent lighting can be that missing element to pull it all together, inside and also in the landscape.

A feature piece in a room can easily be overlooked if not placed in the right spot or if there is nothing to call attention to it. The same holds true in a landscape at night. Accenting a foundation planting, palm or tree with a wash of light can create a dramatic affect. It’s like spending lots of time finding the perfect piece to fit into a corner of the room but no one notices it?

Accent lighting can call attention to specific areas, walkways, provide safety or show off pieces you are proud of. I have a rock which looks like a piece of artwork that is just fabulous. To me, it glows. For some time I found that no one even noticed it when they came up the walk. It was at the main walkway where I thought logically, everyone would see it, but rarely did anyone ever comment on it. Until I got the perfect light to accent the landscape rock and bring it into everyone’s view.

Suddenly, people were asking me where found this fabulous rock artwork, yet it had been there for over a year. You can do the same thing with any plants, rocks, water features, walkways, a piece of artwork, a family heirloom, or even with a piece of furniture.

Bonus Accents with Lighting

Another bonus of accent lights, you can buy them in almost any style. In the landscape you can find low voltage, bright and cheap solar malibu lighting, copper lighting fixtures and buy pieces meant for a conservative decor or a more traditional look. I tend to like clean lines and a more minimalist or metropolitan design, as the key to this type of design is usually a very subtle approach. By using lighting to accent features in a landscape you draw the eye to specific “items of interest” and make it more appealing to the eye.

Another facet important in home and landscape design is the mood. Usually, in the evening, bright, garish lighting is completely inappropriate. Who wants to eat dinner around a table with a bright light shining in your eyes? No one of course. But you don’t want to be unable to see your food either!

Taking advantage of lighting to accent patio areas can be the perfect solution for outdoor dining. Aside from the already mentioned fact that it calls attention to key pieces in the landscape design (which can be great for encouraging conversation during dinner); it also sets a mood for the meal.

Soft lighting, under lighting, floor lighting all soft and subtle ways of lighting an area and making a meal more pleasurable. It encourages conversation (most people are more likely to speak freely in soft lights than in bright lighting) and helps people to feel relaxed.

Lighting always has many benefits - highlighting and accenting adds more drama. It can be the final touch that brings the rooms and he outdoors completely together. Best of all, it doesn’t have to break your budget. You can find affordable lighting are unique and an interesting feature for the landscape or any room in your house.

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