Imagine a healthy, green backyard garden: perfect for lounging, great for ball games and barbecues, a real asset to your home. But did you know that your bakyard garden, and how you take care of it, can also help the environment?
Healthy grass provides feeding ground for birds, who find it a rich source of insects, worms, and other food. Thick grass prevents soil erosion, filters contaminants from rainwater, and absorbs many types of airborne pollutants, like dust and soot. Grass is also highly efficient at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, a process that helps clean the air.
Caring for your bakyard garden properly can both enhance its appearance and contribute to its environmental benefits.
Your backyard garden can be tough but you don’t have to be an expert to grow a healthy backyard garden. Just keep in mind that the secret is to work with nature. This means creating conditions for grass to thrive and resist damage from weeds, disease, and insect pests.
It means setting realistic goals for your backyard garden, whether you or a professional garden or lawn care service will be doing the work. And if you choose to use pesticides, it means using them with care so as to get the most benefit and reduce any risks.
Let’s talk a little about organic gardening. We will discuss the term “Organic” in a gardening context, it might be a useful start to define exactly what that means, so here it is, “Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature”. Really simple isn’t it, but most certainly not commonplace any more in today’s world I suggest.
Having led up to all of that, a good question might arise as to exactly why you would want to indulge in organic gardening as such! Well, as the title of this articles suggests, here are six good reasons why you should do so, in my opinion at any rate.
1. You can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste, alhough this is a bit more time consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers. However it certainly helps to put garbage to good use, and so helps the environment.
2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health, which is especially important when growing vegetables. The chemical companies do tell us that the chemicals we use are safe, provided that they are used according to direction. Research has shown however that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children. Quite a sobering thought is it not!
On average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult, which could lead to various diseases later on in the child’s life. Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose, which is to kill living things!
With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.
3. Less harm is caused to the environment, because poisons are not washed into our waterways to give but one example, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat in most cases.
4. Organic farming practices also help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion. The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 – 32 billion tons of soil is eroded from United States farmlands every year, and that’s only one country.
4. Cost savings, because you do not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard, and sometimes other plants can even be grown as companions to the main crop. One example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables.
Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap, and 1 cup of cooking oil, can make a cheap garden pest spray for example. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on to your plants. You will find this to be very effective!
5. A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds, as well as keeping the moisture in. Another simple and much safer solution!
6. Organic gardening practices are much more likely to help keep the environment safe for future generations, and all of us who are responsible ciitizens, should always bear this in mind
The whole subject which is part of an on going worldwide debate, is far too complex to cover in such a short article, but I do hope that at least I have left you with some food for thought.
Imagine the overall benefits to be had in our environment, by many people undertaking even some small changes.
Caring for your bakyard garden in an environmentally sensible way can have a bigger impact than you might think. Your backyard garden is only a small piece of land, but all the bakyard gardens across the country cover a lot of ground.
That means you and your backyard garden care activities, along with everyone else’s, can make a difference to the environment. And that’s why taking care of the environment begins in our own backyards.
Archive for April 9th, 2010
From ancient times, the lotus flower has been considered a powerful symbol in many cultures and civilizations. The most important features of the lotus flower are actually at the root of its deep symbolism: it only grows in murky waters and it rises with an incredible beauty above. The great thing is that at night the lotus flower closes and goes underwater, only to rise up in its splendor again at dawn.
From the six species of lotus flower mainly known as water lilies, the white and yellow varieties are among the most common. Yet, getting a glimpse of the beautiful delicate shapes of the blue Egyptian lilies, is a rare occasion that would completely prove to the spectator that this flower has been labeled sacred for a very good reason. Its complexity of structure is only matched by the variety of of its symbolic meanings.
The beauty of the lotus flower remains untouched by the impurity from which it springs, therefore it is used to symbolize the highest level of spiritual serenity, rising far above the muddy waters of daily life. Other common meanings associated with it include longevity, health and honor; however we’d be limiting the potential of the symbol if we are to consider only these associations.
In different cultures and geographical areas, the lotus flower shares other significance levels as well; let’s consider, for instance its Egyptian interpretation as a symbol of the sun and perpetual rebirth. Such mythological meanings were deeply rooted in the sacred rituals of the ancient world where all activities took place according to the various sun cycles.
For the Tibetans, the lotus flower is the symbol of the supreme spiritual accomplishment; the very mantra they hum in sacred meditations, “Om Mani Padme Hum” is an invocation of this supreme symbol, “Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus”. Nevertheless, the lotus is not confined to the Asian religious realms in its symbolism. In Christianity, the lotus flower with its parallel representation – the white lily – is the symbol of the Archangel Gabriel.
Whether in mystical yoga, Tibetan rites, ancient Egyptian tradition or Christian interpretations, the lotus flower remains a clear epitome that there is more to this world than mere material representations. There is always some higher reality to represent beyond the mundane aspect of things; and precisely such points of view have lead to the attempt of transposing the depth of a symbolic flower into the beauty of artistic representation.
Whether you plan on “borrowing ideas” or plan on creating your own landscaping design, you should have at the very least a basic understanding of the principles of landscape design.This doesn’t mean that you have to apply every principle to every part of your plan. But just having an understanding of these principles will help you generate ideas and increase your creativity.Great landscaping lies in the eyes of the its creator. So, while the principles of landscape design are great guidelines to follow, don’t feel like they’re the “have to rules” of landscaping. Abstract and creativity are allowed.Unity should be one of your main goals in your design. It may be better understood and applied as consistency and repetition. Repetition creates unity by repeating alike elements like plants, plant groups, or decor throughout the landscape. Consistency creates unity in the sense that some or all of the different elements of the landscape fit together to create a whole.Unity can be achieved by the consistency of character of elements in the design. By character, I mean the height, size, texture, color schemes, etc. of different elements.A good example would be in the use of accent boulders. If you’ve ever seen a landscape design that had one large white round boulder here and another large red square granite boulder there and so on, then you’ve seen that unity wasn’t created by this specific element.This is just one example but the principle applies to all other elements such as groups of plants and materials.A simple way to create unity in your landscape is by creating themes. And one of the simplest ways to create themes is by using a little garden decor or garden statues. Creating a theme garden is easier when it’s related to something you’re interested in or have a passion for.If you’re into butterflies for instance, you could create a theme using plants that attract butterflies as well as using statues, ornaments, and other decor that are related to butterflies.Unity should be expressed through at least one element in your landscape and preferably more. Using elements to express a main idea through consistent style and a specific theme is what creates harmony.Simplicity is actually one of the principles in design and art. It’s one of the best guidelines you can follow as a beginner or do it yourselfer. Just keep things simple to begin with. You can do more later.Simplicity in planting, for instance, would be to pick two or three colors and repeat them throughout the garden or landscape. Keeping decor to a minimum and within a specific theme as well as keeping hardscapes such as boulders consistent is also practicing simplicity.Balance in design is just as the word implies. Equality. There are basically two types of balance in landscape design. Symmetrical and Asymmetrical.Symmetrical balance is where there are more or less equally spaced matching elements of the garden design. With a garden equally divided, both sides could share the same shape, form, plant height, plant groupings, colors, bed shapes, theme, etc.You may remember creating something like this when you were a kid in art class at school. Where you take a piece of paper, splash paint on it, fold it in half, unfold it, and then it magically creates an interesting symmetrical design. So symmetrical balance or design is somewhat of a mirror image or reflection.Asymmetrical balance on the other hand is one of the principles of landscape design that’s a little more complex. While textures, forms, colors, etc. may remain constant to create some unity, shapes and hardscapes may be more random. This form of balance often has separate or different themes with each having an equal but different type of attraction.A good example of this would be where bed shapes or paths differ on both sides of the dividing line. One side could be curvy with a sense of flow while the other side is straight, direct, and hard.This can also create a neat contrast. Flowing lines are pleasing to the eye but the bold contrast of a curve with a straight line can be very interesting.Asymmetrical balance isn’t necessarily limited to just the shape of your garden.An example might be where one side of the garden is mostly large shade trees while the other side is predominately a lower growing flower garden or even a mix of both examples. This is only limited to your imagination.Contrast and harmony can also be achieved using plants. Fine foliage verses coarser foliage, round leaves verses spiked leaves as well as color compliments and contrasts.Plant height, color, and texture may be varied from one area to the next but each area should stay consistent within its own theme.You’ll hear me talk about “themes” a lot. Many successful do it yourself designs follow a basic theme to achieve most of the principles of landscape design described on this page. The proper use of plants and garden decor or a mix of both is a simple way to achieve themes.
Color adds the dimension of real life and interest to the landscape. Bright colors like reds, yellows and oranges seem to advance toward you and can actually make an object seem closer to you. Cool colors like greens, blues, and pastels seem to move away from you and can make an object seem farther from you.Grays, blacks, and whites are considered neutral colors and are best used in the background with bright colors in the foreground. However, to increase depth in a landscape, you can use dark and coarse textured plants in the foreground and use fine textured and light colored plants in the background.Colors can also be used to direct your attention to a specific area of the garden. A bright display among cooler colors would naturally catch the eye.
Natural transition can be applied to avoid radical or abrupt changes in your landscape design. Transition is basically gradual change. It can best be illustrated in terms of plant height or color but can also be applied to all elements in the landscape including but not limited to textures, foliage shape or size, and the size and shape of different elements.In other words transition can be achieved by the gradual, ascending or descending, arrangement of different elements with varying textures, forms, colors, or sizes.An example of a good transition would be a stair step effect from large trees to medium trees to shrubs to bedding plants. This example is where a little knowledge of proper plant selection would come in handy.Transition is one of the principles of landscape design that can be used to “create illusions” in the landscape. For example a transition from taller to shorter plants can give a sense of depth and distance (like in a painting), making the garden seem larger than it really is. A transition from shorter to taller plants could be used to frame a focal point to make it stand out and seem closer than it really is.Line is of the more structural principles of landscape design. It can mostly be related to the way beds, walkways, and entryways move and flow.Straight lines are forceful and direct while curvy lines have a more natural, gentle, flowing effect.Proportion simply refers to the size of elements in relation to each other. Of all the principles of landscape design, this one is quite obvious but still requires a little thought and planning. Most of the elements in landscape design can be intentionally planned to meet the proper proportions.For instance if you are creating a small courtyard garden, an enormous seven foot garden statue placed in the center would be way out of proportion and a little tacky to say the least. Or a small four foot waterfall and pond placed in the center of a large open yard would get lost in the expanse.Don’t misunderstand this to mean that if you have a large yard you can’t have smaller features or garden decor. Proportion is relative and elements can be scaled to fit by creating different rooms in the garden. The goal is to create a pleasing relationship among the three dimensions of length, breadth, and depth or height.A small water feature can be proportionate if placed in a corner or on the edge of a large area and becomes a focal point of the larger area while creating its own distinct atmosphere. An entire room, sitting area, or theme can be created around it. Other rooms and themes can be created as well. See small gardens for ideas on creating rooms and creating illusions.Also, special consideration and study should be given to proper plant selection to avoid using plants that are out of proportion.Repetition is directly related to unity. Its good to have a variety of elements and forms in the garden but repeating these elements gives variety expression. Unity is achieved by repeating objects or elements that are alike. Too many unrelated objects can make the garden look cluttered and unplanned.There’s a fine line here. It’s possible that too much of one element can make a garden or landscape feel uninteresting, boring and monotonous.However, unity can still be created by using several different elements repeatedly. This in turn keeps the garden interesting.
Truck is known as commercial vehicle. It is commonly used to transporting goods and materials. Some truck is has the same size with the passenger automobile. This commercial transportation is sometimes can be large. Large truck is usually become a vehicle to carry specialized equipment.
Pickup truck is known as a light motor vehicle and it has an open top rear cargo area which will separated from the cab and it is used to allow the chassis flex if you carrying many kinds of heavy loads. If you have your own truck, it is important for you to add some decoration on your truck. In traditional way, we use a rope if we want to make our goods safe. It is not simple and it is not neat. If you go to Realtruck.com, you can get a high security system for your pickup. You can try stake pocket tie downs to make your caps secure. If you want to protect your materials from the sunlight, rain, or snow, it is better for you to give truck bed cap in your back of the truck. You can find various designs of truck caps which made from high quality materials.
You can also find bak Industry which is offer truck bed covers, running boards, and many kinds of bed caps. Many various design hard retracting, folding, hinging are available in this place.
If you want to make your items safe while you are packing them in the back of your truck, you can use cover for your truck. It is important for us to add a cover in the back of your truck because it can make your items safe from any condition. Today, in this modern era there is a lot of truck cover which is very easy to use.
Tonneau is a truck cover which has soft and hard materials. By having truck bed cover in the back of your truck you can get a protection from any kinds of weather. It can protect from the heat, rain, or snow. Besides that, your items will be protected from thief who will steal your items. It has high security protection with a locking mechanism with has many styles. This cover also easy to use and it will make safe transportation. It will prevent your items which will damaged by wind. You can also get the aerodynamics system which cans you find in this cover.
You can go to Realtruck.com to get truck cover. If you want to get a new look, you can choose undercover se tonneau. It is one of the greatest features of truck cover in this store. Besides that, you can also find the unique style of truck cover. Roll n lock covers is become one of the most favorite product for Tonneau cover.
