February 2010

Owning a compost tumbler can involve the entire household in learning how to do composting. The compost tumbler is built for easy use for all family members as compared to the standard compost bin. They are also great for mixing sand, soil, peat and loam or whatever you have that needs to be blended together.

A compost tumbler will be able to hold all your garden waste and kitchen scraps that will be turned into rich nutrient compost. The main difference between the tumbler and a compost bin is their function. Many of us live in an area where it is restricted to having an open compost pile; our neighbors do not like an uncontained compost pile, or if scavengers present a problem the compost tumbler can solve most of these areas. The compost tumbler will definitely keep the compost tidy and turning it will become much easier.

Landscaping walls are common attributes in many landscape designs and there are a number of uses for them in your garden. Some landscaping walls can be tall for privacy, medium height that can double as benches, or short for flower beds. Landscaping walls for your gardens can be very functional or beautiful additions to your different garden areas.

Many of the tall landscaping walls are used for privacy or to define your property edge. The medium height walls can be used to separate sections of your yard and double as seating at the same time. The shorter garden walls are a delightful way to protect your flower beds. Landscaping walls will not only give us privacy, separate sections, or protection from the elements but also as a safeguard from erosion. The choice for construction materials give homeowners an array of options that will blend with their homes exterior decor.

Landscape lighting, at one time, was pretty simple. Most of our landscape lighting ideas consisted of a porch light and a few lights to light up our pathway. In this day and age we still want to use our landscaped backyard after the sun has set. By installing landscape lighting we are creating extensions of our homes. Our landscaped lawns now become garden rooms for entertaining and relaxing, we just need to find the best landscape lights to help us display the mood we are looking to invent.

Lighting your landscape at night presents an imaginative way to highlight your property and your home after dark. When the lights are placed just right you can make trees very dramatic and highlight flowerbeds, fountains, statuary, and hardscapes. If you do a lot of outdoor cooking at night install a light fixture in the eaves of the house to spotlight your barbecue.

A solar bird bath for the garden is one way to attract some fine feathered friends to your area. The solar bird bath can be considered as solar for some of the options they can incorporate. These options are: lighting for nighttime use; an outdoor water fountain for the sounds of splashing water that is always moving; and a heater installed into the bird bath to help prevent the water from freezing in colder climate winters.

Many of the solar bird baths are self-contained which means they already have the solar panels integrated into the unit. Other bird baths have solar panels that are separate from the bath itself but are attached by a wire. The self-contained solar bird bath will need to be placed in the sun in order for the panel to absorb the energy of the sun. The other units can be placed anywhere you want including the shade as long as the solar panel itself is in the sun and receives sunlight.

The health benefits of beets are probably something most of us have not thought much about. These health benefits are a great build up to our bodily well being, boost up our immunity, shelter us from cancer, and a great source of iron. Once we learn more about the beet we discover that they are naturally sweet and are very low in calories. Some of us may have to acquire a taste for them just as we do for wines and cheeses.

Beets do not have any Trans fats or saturated fats besides being low in calories. You do not have to consume fresh beets for all its benefits. Canned beets will give you all the same nutritional value and are inexpensive. They can be purchased whole, sliced, or julienne style. They can be chilled and eaten right from the can or placed on a salad for enjoyment.

Growing organic fruit in the garden has advantages over store bought fruit. Growing organic fruit tastes much better and you are guaranteed that the fruit has not been sprayed with dangerous chemicals. The organic fruit that has been planted in your garden has been picked by you because it is the variety you want for its flavor. Some of the fruit may not look as picture perfect as the grocery store and that is because you planted it because you want to eat it and not show it off.

Probably many of the plants that are in your garden are annuals which means they will only produce fruit or flowers once and that is the same year that they were planted. The majority of your fruit trees will not produce any fruit for the first few years after planting. Once they have started producing fruit they will continue to do so every year for your enjoyment for generations to come. Container grown dwarf fruit trees will start producing fruit 1 - 2 seasons before the garden grown trees.

To plant a shade landscaping effectively we will need a plan to fit the proper plants. Shade landscaping is for the dim backyard, areas that sit under a shade tree or some hidden corner that does not get very much sun. Planning before we start planting is the key to a successful landscape design.

When a plant fails in our shady backyard it usually means that it was not a shade tolerant landscaping plant. Sometimes when we visit the garden nursery we fall in love a particular plant, buy it, take it home and plant it without checking to see if our environment is conducive to its requirements. We go ahead and plant it where there is room, it dies and then we discover it was planted in the wrong spot.

Some of the health benefits of strawberries can help all of us in one way or another. We can enjoy the health benefits of strawberries by eating them on a regular basis. We all know they are delicious, but also nutritious, and it would be great to have them as part of our daily diets. Unfortunately we are unable to purchase fresh strawberries all year long. Sometimes we need to buy frozen or dried strawberries.

We all know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that all Americans should eat at least five helpings of fresh vegetables and fruits every day, unfortunately most of us do not come close to that. If we could add strawberries to our daily diet, whether fresh or frozen, in smoothies, salads or alone we could possibly get enough fruit servings daily that our body needs for a healthy immune system. Most of us recognize the strawberry as having a sweet juicy taste but the nutritional value of strawberries is also good for us. Like many other fruits they have plenty of nutrients and antioxidants for a healthy body. The best fact yet is that the calories of strawberries are exceptionally low and they are a better choice than some cookies, a piece of pie, or a cupcake when you experience a snack attack.