Archive for the ‘General’ Category

The Cottage Garden Design Is Neat

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

I live in the North East near the mountains where cottages abound. There are cottages that are the homes of their owners, as well as those that are specifically for the summer and autumn vacation crowd. So, I am used to seeing all the varieties of the cottage garden design. What first comes to mind when I think of a cottage garden design is the smallness and neatness of it. The task of the cottage garden design is to take advantage of the smallness of the area you have to work with and making it blend in and become part of the cottage itself.

The cottage design garden is not limited to the cultivated areas around a small cottage.  A cottage garden design could be established around many different types of structures and there could be this type of design that is not established around any kind of structure.  A cottage design garden can be defined by the structure and the plants in the garden rather than the structure around which it is established.  The name cottage garden design refers to a particular style of garden.  This garden style has been used for thousands of years, and this type of garden is still currently used.

The Cottage Garden Design Has Been Around for Awhile.

A cottage garden design developed during the time when international trade became possible, and people started to find a vast variety of plants from different places.  Some of these plants grew better than others, and some of these plants lasted longer than others.  People had many choices that they never had before.  Simple gardeners first used these plants that looked great and had stamina in their gardens.  The new and different plants that looked great soon became popular in the gardens of the people who had more beautiful homes and estates.

For most however, the cottage garden design is not a viable garden approach because the time investment needed is go high. Because of the hectic busy lifestyles that most of us lead, we tend to look for plant and flower varieties that are easy to grow and care for. On the other hand, the typical varieties that you will find in a cottage garden design are just the opposite. They are often difficult to grow and care for, requiring hours and hours of attention far beyond what garden hobbyist is capable of investing. This type of garden is therefore most suitable for those who are retired, semi-retired or don’t work out of the house. For telecommuters who do their work from home, the cottage garden design may be viable since they will be there day in and day out to tend to it.

Garden Slate Design is All about Being Organized

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

If organization in not your forte, you may want to reconsider using a garden slate design. Many gardens develop organically; this kind of flower here, that kind of flower there. Let’s add a little fountain in the middle now. A year later, add a little stone path and some ivy. Maybe a new variety of flower is added in the middle of the second year. Do you get the point here? If this is the way you do gardens, then the garden slate design may not suit. However, if you don’t mind being a little organized… read on!

The Planning Phase

The first step in having great organization of your garden slate design is to make sure that you have a plan that fits your needs and a plan that you can have before you begin. This should be a way of drawing or creating your garden slate design before you actually do it, because if you can look at it first, you are going to be able to create it much better. Another good idea when it comes to a plan for a garden slate design is to visit a garden store, where you can get plenty of ideas of what a great garden slate design is going to be.

After you have a plan, then you can purchase the materials for your garden slate design. Remember that part of a plan is figuring out how much you are going to need for your garden, so that when you buy the materials you don’t’ have to worry about getting too many of them or going over budget.

Begin To Make It

When it comes time to start building you garden slate design, you should go back over your plans and make sure that they are going to work. If you garden slate design plan is flawed in any way, you could end up wasting a lot of time and materials. You might want to find a family member, friend or garden expert that understands garden slate design and have them look over your plans. They should know whether or not your plan is feasible. Be thorough in your planning so that your garden slate design doesn’t become a garden waste of time.

By doing all the necessary initial legwork your garden slate design can become the envy of your neighborhood or garden club. You may even be able to enter your garden into a contest. Either way, for those who enjoy making a plan and following it through, the garden slate design is an ideal way to go.

English Home Garden Design is All about Being Beautiful

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

The whole idea of the English home garden design is to create an area of beauty.  Everything in the garden is there to make it all more beautiful. Obviously, this is the main reason most people want a garden in the first place. So if you are unfamiliar with the garden design, following an English home garden design may be the best place for you to start. For this reason, one’s English home garden design may differ greatly from another’s because everyone is going to have a different standard of beauty. What one person thinks is beautify may not please someone else.

English Gardens Characteristics

The idea of an English home garden design is not simply having your fruits and veggies in neat rows like the farm gardens. The English home garden design is more of a sprawling area that you can get lost in – most of them are very large and they are quite windy and fun to walk through.

It might not seem like there is order, but indeed a English home garden design is very highly planned because it is usually a walled in enclosure, and in order to see the whole thing you usually have to walk through the garden on a path.

There are many different flowers and plants that are growing in the English home garden design and they are all growing in certain areas that might appear to be random, but are actually well planned out. The English home garden design is something that is supposed to appear as mysterious and wild, but in reality is very well tended.

English Gardens are Spacious

The traditional English home garden design is extremely spacious. For example, there should be winding paths through the trees and flowers. You will most likely find a bench or two in an English home garden design. Have you ever seen those gardens with high ivy-covered walls? It was most likely an English home garden design.

If you don’t have a lot of space then you can implement a few measures to get the result you are looking for. For example, regardless of how small your area is, there should be some room for a quant bench and at least a single path. And if the garden is up against a house or some kind of wall, then cover it in ivy. You could even put up some lattice and hang ivy off it.

What Kind of Garden Design are You Thinking About?

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

It’s that time of the year again when you start thinking about the design of your garden. For some, this can be a difficult task because there are so many options today for what one can do with their garden. For example, Japanese-style gardens have become popular recently. There’s tons more.

To simplify things, all garden designs can be divided into two categories: informal and formal.

What are the Characteristics of Informal Gardens?

An informal garden is characteristically located among preexisting trees whose foliage creates covered paths. Ferns and plants that prefer shaded locations are planted under the trees. These gardens typically have bubbling brooks running through them, pleasant streams or fountains.

Woodland

A Woodland garden uses this design but there are several others that also fall within this classification also.  These include gardens such as the container garden (here the soil is replaced with containers and large concrete vases due to a lack of space) and the wildflower garden (this garden contains wildflowers growing in a mixed disarray).

Oriental

At first glance, you might also think that an Oriental garden design is informal, but this is not true.  This garden is actually very formal and uses the spatial arrangement of elements purposefully. As such, the Oriental garden really is the epitome of elegance and style.  In this garden everything has meaning and symbolism.   The mixture of plants, stones and water is carefully chosen as to understate the various themes that are within this garden.  With this in mind, nothing is excessive, but everything should is found in natural proportion.

Paradise

What kind of garden has as its main purpose the stimulation of all the five senses? The Paradise garden.  This kind of garden finds its origins in Islamic culture. These gardens delight the olfactory with fragrant flowers, charm the ears with waterfalls, dazzle the eyes with vibrant colors, satisfy the palate with fruits and berries and impress the touch with plants and stone. Of course, you can design your garden as you wish. Use your creativity and personal likes to create the perfect paradise for you.