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Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. Russell Page
Creating a Beautiful Landscaped Garden in your Yard
There is nothing more enjoyable in the warm months of the year than to reap the aesthetic benefits of a beautifully landscaped yard and garden area. Whether you have a rambling yard in the middle of the country, a postage-stamp area in the heart of suburbia or a patio garden in the center of the city, an attractive outdoor space can offer many hours of enjoyment. Of course, these beautiful outdoor spaces dont usually plant themselves, so homeowners must jump on the bandwagon to create a landscape and garden of their dreams.
Gardening and Landscaping go Hand in Hand
When you are considering a landscaping plan, gardening will be an obvious element of your arrangement. You can add color and fragrance to your landscaping with collections of flowers and flowering bushes. Or you can add a peaceful retreat with a Zen garden or a relaxing shaded bed. You can include a functional aspect to your design with plans for a large vegetable garden, or plant some fruit trees and bushes for a sweet, homegrown treat. There are unlimited possibilities in adding a gardening feature to your landscape design.
The Natural Landscape and Garden
If you enjoy the natural look in your outdoor space, you can omit the borders and manicured lines in favor of a naturalizing wildlife garden bordering your landscape. You can create this look with wildflower seed that is simply scattered randomly into tilled soil or you can buy an assortment of bulbs, toss them into your bed, and plant them exactly where they land. You can include a meadow grass area in lieu of a tailored lawn, and perhaps some rocks and a tree or two scattered about the natural area. If you are interested in adding a natural garden to your landscape, you can take a look at some of the wild spaces in your area to determine what types of plants and flowers will work best in your soil and climate.
The Manicured Garden in your Landscape
If you like your yard to look neater and well cared for; you can opt for the defined garden beds as part of your landscape design. These beds can be edged with a variety of products; from simple plastic edging that will keep grass out of garden beds, to more decorative edgings using materials like brick, rock or timber. The garden beds in your landscape should be carefully placed about your yard in an orderly manner that is pleasing to the eye and enhances the rest of your outdoor design. The beds can be filled with annuals for those who like to work the soil every spring, or perennials for the gardeners who choose the biggest bloom for their gardening buck.
Five Great Things To Do With Coffee (Besides Drink it!)
By Hannah Jennings
 I have developed quite a sophisticated palate in my older age. I like my beer dark (Guinness), my wine strong (Zinfandel), and my coffee dark, but not burned.
I also like to not waste things. It pains me to toss the last drops of coffee down the sink. Coffee doesn't grow on trees (Well, it does actually, but not here in the US). I have found several uses for the remainder of the pot after my slightly-over-doctor-recommended- acceptable 3 cups of coffee.
Use #1 - Freeze in ice cube trays to make iced coffee with. Watery coffee is gross. Especially when you start with the perfect mixture of coffee and milk. Then the ice melts and it is just, well, yuck. Frozen coffee all but eliminates that problem. Sure, the coffee is a bit stronger toward the end, but oh, so preferable to the alternative.
Use #2 - Use instead of water in all chocolate and desert related recipes. Chocolate cake with coffee in the mix is like having a dark, rich, indulgence that doesn't require you clean up after him. It is just that good.
Use #3 - Occasionally waters your plants with a 50/50 water/coffee mix. The caffeine is good for acid loving plants. Other houseplants like African Violets can benefit from the nutrient-rich compounds. All of my plants, from the violets to the roses, are always a little perky a few days following the once-a-week mix.
Use #4 - In the morning use a little coffee in your facial wash to both awaken your senses, lift your mood, and tighten those lines that formed during the night. The acid will help slough off dead skin cells, and create a more radiant you. Then you can drink your cup of coffee (or three) and feel how great you look.
Use #5 - If you use organic coffee, then saves those grinds. I use an old sour cream container and then once-a-week deposit the remains in my garden. Our soil here is very calcium rich so the acid in the coffee seems to really balance things out. If you find that you have a lot of acid in your soil naturally, then save the grounds to add to a neighborhood compost pile.
See, coffee isn't just excellent for drinking. There are a lot of really great uses that will help you stretch every dollar you spend. Waste not, want not and all that sort of a thing that our grandparents knew about. Besides, it means that I get to create more reasons to go to my "Happy Place."
Hannah Jennings is the Co-Founder of Nectar of Life Organic Coffee Company. Nectar of Life is a gourmet coffee roaster that specializes in shade grown, certified Fair Trade organic coffees. Visit their website at www.nectaroflife.com to learn more.
Forest gardening can be done in colder climates using deciduous trees and plants that thrive in a particular area, or in tropical climates by using palm trees as the canopy a brightly colored tropical flowers throughout. A beautiful tree starts out in a small, manageable size that can be easily wrapped and presented with ease. Often people stumble upon this hobby when they are depressed, or find themselves aimless with too much free time on their hands. However, if your garden is on a smaller scale or you have a numerous family who is willing to make a joint effort to improve the looks and growth of the flowers and plants you can do most of the landscape gardening yourself. |
