Monday, January 24, 2011

Basic Shapes of Garden Design

Overview

Basic garden design technique involves making a lawn and garden come together for a specific purpose. For example, a lawn and garden with a long rectangular shape is great for recreational activities, while a free flowing lawn and garden is great for creating garden rooms and sanctuaries. A lawn that is circular surrounded by gardens is nice for entertaining or you might have a garden and lawn area that incorporates all the basic design shapes and features.

Formal Rectangular Lawn

For recreation, a formal rectangular lawn is best. A large open place for kids and pets to run will prevent landscape plants from getting destroyed. The formal rectangular lawn can be surrounded by taller plants and fences that add privacy. Items such as swing sets can be placed in a rectangular lawn and can be viewed from the house.

Round Formal Lawn

A round lawn surrounded by gardens is great for entertaining. It is linked to the house and gated areas, deck or patio by a formal walkway. Surrounding gardens create privacy.

Free Flowing Lawn and Garden

A free flowing lawn and garden that creates garden rooms and sanctuaries within the garden appeals to the more adventurous type. Garden furniture, lattice or rock features can be incorporated into the design for added interest.

Flower Bed Shapes and Sizes

Flower bed sizes and shapes are an important consideration when designing a basic garden. Width is an important factor because if a bed is wider than two feet and only accessible from one side, then you will have to enter the bed for maintenance. A flowing border is more attractive than a bed with sharp angles.

Plant Shapes and Sizes

Shrubs and trees can be used to accent certain basic garden designs. For example, evergreens with pyramidal designs give a more formal look and spreading ground covers can be used to soften slopes and terraces.

Read more: Basic Shapes of Garden Design | Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/77054-basic-shapes-garden-design.html#ixzz1C0ZZIjyB

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Garden cities

Howard organized the Garden City Association in 1899. Two garden cities were founded on Howard's ideas: Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City, both in Hertfordshire, England. Howard's successor as chairman of the Garden City Association was Sir Frederic Osborn, who extended the movement to regional planning.[2]
The concept was adopted again in England after World War II, when the New Towns Act triggered the development of many new communities based on Howard's egalitarian vision.
The idea of the garden city was influential in the United States. Examples are: the Woodbourne neighborhood of Boston; Newport News, Virginia's Hilton Village; Pittsburgh's Chatham Village; Garden City, New York; Sunnyside, Queens; Jackson Heights, Queens; Forest Hills Gardens, also in the borough of Queens, New York; Radburn, New Jersey; Greenbelt, Maryland; the Lake Vista neighborhood in New Orleans; Norris, Tennessee; Baldwin Hills Village in Los Angeles; and the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. In Canada, the Ontario towns of Kapuskasing and Walkerville are, in part, garden cities.
In Argentina an example is Ciudad Jardín Lomas del Palomar, declared by the influential Argentinian professor of engineering, Carlos María della Paolera, founder of "Día Mundial del Urbanismo" (World Urbanism Day), as the first Garden City in South America.
In Australia, the suburb of Colonel Light Gardens in Adelaide, South Australia, was designed according to garden city principles.[3] So too the town of Sunshine, which is now a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria.[4][5]
In Bhutan's capitol city of Thimphu the new plan, following the Principles of Intelligent Urbanism, is an organic response to the fragile ecology. Driven by sustainable concepts, it is a contemporary response to the Garden City concept.
The Garden city movement also influenced the Scottish urbanist, Sir Patrick Geddes, in the planning of Tel-Aviv, Israel in the 1920s, during the British Mandate. Geddes started his Tel Aviv plan in 1925 and submitted the final version in 1927, so all growth in this garden city during the 1930s was merely "based" on the Geddes Plan. Changes were inevitable.[6]

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Garden Spot Village Retirement | Special Care For Special People


By: Michael Price
Garden Spot Village retirement means different things to different residents. For many of the people who live there it provides a wonderful place for living out their retirement years in a friendly and fun faith-based social environment. Some of the residents at Garden Spot Village, however, have healthcare needs that require assistance, and the community staff has the resources to help them. Instead of being housed in institution settings that afford them very little dignity, senior citizens with special needs receive quality care in the Households at the Garden Spot Village retirement community. This care is provided in a person-centered way with compassion, professionalism and most of all, respect. The staff at Garden Spot treats there in their care as friends not patients.

The Garden Spot Village retirement community is a place where seniors can live their retirement years in peace and comfort, but it isn’t only just for permanent residents. Garden Spot provides adult day care for seniors who are disabled in some way and are normally cared for by family members. For one reason or another family caretakers often need to spend the day away from their elderly family members and they use the services of the Garden Spot Village retirement community day center. The adult day center provides activities and expert care to their day visitors and their families know that they are in good hands. There is always medical staff on hand as well in case they are needed. For family caregivers who need to be away a little longer, such as for a vacation or a business trip, there is longer term temporary care available at Garden Spot as well.

Though many of the senior citizens who live at the Garden Spot Village retirement community have their own residences and take care of themselves, some of the residents at the community need special care. For these residents there are special facilities where they can be attended to around the clock. Though it is more of a medical setting, the residents of these facilities still have privacy, and are treated with respect and dignity. At the Garden Spot Village retirement community, respect and support for residents is always the rule; one that the staff follows every single day.

The Garden Spot Village retirement community even extends its caring and support outside of its campus grounds. Garden Spot offers services for senior citizens where they live as well. The type of care provided in the home depends on the needs of the person who requests the care. Often it is something as simple as help with housework and errands, or it can be something a little more involved like assistance with eating or dressing. Sometimes this service is needed only when a family caretaker needs to take a little time off, but often the services are needed on a regular basis. Whenever the in-home service is required, only qualified personnel are sent to do the assistance work, and the senior citizens and their families can rest assured that only the best care is being given. Garden Spot Village Retirement is the premier retirement community for senior citizens. At Garden Spot Village Retirement residents are privileged to live in a beautiful, well kept, and community-oriented retirement home.
Read More From Michael Price

A City of Beauty and Harmony - Welwyn Garden City

Welwyn Garden City is located in Hertfordshire though the village of Welwyn is a few miles outside of the garden city. This town is both a garden city and a town and much of its attractions are found in the social, cultural and physical ideals that were incorporated into its planning.
The town was created in the 1920s by sir Ebenezer Howards. It was developed due to the success of Letchworth garden city. Ebenezer called for new towns to develop lower-density urban towns that were surrounded by agricultural land. This town was developed in Hertfordshire as the land was put up for auction and easily purchased.
The center of Welwyn garden city is dominated by a scenic parkway or central mall that promotes harmony, tranquility and beauty. This strip is almost a mile long and is considered one of the finest urban vistas in the world.
Some of the local industry includes the Nestlé's factory that produced Shredded wheat and Shreddies, formally called Nabisco. Many food companies have their head offices in town such as Fine Fare and Tesco. During World War II the Inter-Services research Bureau was situated in town.
Besides beautiful gardens there is also plenty of shopping at the indoor shopping center named after the towns founder the Howard center, as well as a John Lewis department store. There are two golf courses in town and a Gosling Sports center where you can enjoy football, gym, bowls, squash, tennis, golf driving range and dry ski slope.
The Roman baths are a fun attraction that was once part of a roman villa. The baths are open on the weekends and are preserved in a steel vault located under the motorway. It is possible to view the hot rooms, warm rooms, cold rooms and the entire bath layout. There was even under floor heating throughout the entire bath.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Gardening Magazines - Some of the Best

Various gardening magazines are available in the market. But would you like to know which stands out from the rest? Here are a selection of gardening magazines that anyone in love with his or her garden will appreciate.

COUNTRY GARDENS often showcases the more unusual gardens around the country. It introduces wonderful new ways to enjoy garden sights and scents. It helps the avid gardener to create an eye-pleasing, fragrance - filled country garden.

This magazine has very useful advice on setting up and caring for your garden. Every issue contains profiles of fascinating people and their gardens, inspiration for gardens and detailed garden plans. Best of all, it's a trusted source of information that's easy to understand. Every season carries a vast harvest of ideas to delight, motivate and guide any gardener.

How about a gardening magazine for those who want to become a better gardener? FINE GARDENING MAGAZINE from The Taunton Press brings you amazing design ideas, beneficial techniques, and the know-how to get the best results from your gardening endeavors.

In each issue you'll find eye-opening bits of advice from the experts, detailed information on all types of plants, effective techniques and time-saving tips, straightforward tool reviews from editors and readers and planting suggestions for specific regions.

But for more intensive information on how to maintain a garden packed with style and color, then you'll want to read GARDEN DESIGN. This gardening magazine brings out eye-popping photos, illustrations and useful recommendations on how to create a picture-perfect garden. It is written and designed for those who are passionate about their homes and gardens. Garden Design is more than just a dig-in-the-dirt gardening magazine; it's for people who enjoy bringing in more aesthetic value for their homes through their gardens.

Garden Design encourages you to create stylish outdoor living spaces and rare gardens through cultivating rare breeds of plants, with updates on the best tools and techniques. It contains magnificent photographs and articles that capture the imaginations of gardeners everywhere.

For passionate gardeners, HOLTICULTURE MAGAZINE is the ultimate guide to gardening. The authoritative voice of gardeners,  Horticulture serves as an essential guide and trusted friend, and is a main resource for serious gardeners from every corner of the country.

These magazines aim to instruct, inform, and inspire serious home gardeners. There are gardening magazines for beginners and expert gardeners. Discover or develop your green thumb with their latest gardening techniques and garden design information.

For Australian readers, there is BURKE'S BACKYARD. Springing form a TV series of the same name, Burke's Backyard focuses on gardening décor as well as the all-important garden makeovers that have become so popular.

YOUR GARDEN is another beauty, claiming the prestige of being Australia's gardening magazine, it usually features two or three popular flowers and how best to grow them, with a wealth of tips and information on other plants, tools and products for the garden.

GARDENING AUSTRALIA springs from the ABC's feature of that name it features many wonderful articles by gardening experts and often holds a free catalogue from one of the larger nurseries.