In the fall, many homeowners are getting ready to hunker down for the winter. Designing the landscape can wait until spring, right? It turns out that may not be the best plan! According to Boulder/Denver landscape designer Tom Altgelt, of Altgelt and Associates, designing in the fall “could save you money, you could have a beautiful landscape much sooner, and the landscape design itself could be better.”

Altgelt says, “The first good reason for starting the process in the fall is that we are much more likely to get a great contractor.” Evidently landscape contractors’ business tends to slow down in the winter, which can make it possible to negotiate a better price or to book a contractor who wouldn’t be available in the spring. The most on-demand contractors can be difficult or impossible to hire if the design process is put off until spring.

Depending on location, it might be possible to do much of the physical work over the fall and winter, particularly with a southern exposure. In the Boulder/Denver area, explains Altgelt, “Often, starting in the fall, the really messy work of the ‘hardscape’ construction, i.e. earth moving, creating rock formations, retaining walls and paving can be completed over the winter.”

For the massive rock features some of his clients want, Tom has to drive off-road through Wyoming ranch country to pick out rocks weighing up to 20 tons. Next he tags them and arranges for their removal. If he gets too late of a start, those rocks could be snowed in until spring! “It’s a race against time for me to get them out.”

In addition, most trees and shrub plantings can be done in late fall. “They love being planted in the autumn, as winter is when they establish their roots.” With a root base established, they’ll be ready to present a display of foliage and blossoms in the spring. Some landscape plants will also be discounted in the fall, and the specialty plants can be ordered in late fall for a spring arrival, to get the very best of the best plant material.

Altgelt points out that those who get an autumn jump-start on their project can have a garden they can enjoy looking at come spring. Otherwise, they could be putting up with a great big muddy mess lasting through the spring and even into the summer. “This can be rather distressing, especially when you consider the alternative.” If one can get through the back hoe and mud stage over the winter, when things are barren anyway, so much the better.

And, of course, the most important consideration is the end result. Optimally, a garden will be pleasing all year round, but Altgelt says most are designed to impress us in the spring and summer. That’s because there is such a wide range of plant choices that exhibit their full splendor in the warm months. Designing a landscape in the autumn makes it easier to conceptualize plantings that will provide interest year-round. For example, “a beautiful fall combination of perennials is the Sedum of Autumn Joy, which is reddish or pinkish, next to Salvia, which turns deep purple. These colors resonate with each other. Next if you add the bright golden of the black-eyed Susan, you have a stunning collage of colors.”

Designing in the autumn can also inspire greater winter beauty, so the landscape will still be lovely after the leaves fall. “The evergreens, of course, come into their glory, and there are also evergreen grasses like the Blue Avena and Festucas, which beautifully reflect the blue of our Spruces. Our deciduous ornamental grasses are also very beautiful during the winter, keeping the structure of the garden alive until spring.” Deciduous yellow twig and red twig shrubs display their colorful stems all winter long. “The winter is also a good time to envision the rock formations, how to give flowing form and shape to the land, especially by using dry stream beds to direct the run off from storms.”

Waxing philosophical, Tom continues: “In my experience, the most beautiful landscapes come out of our developing an engaged and heartfelt relationship with nature. To me, designing ‘green’ landscapes is only the beginning. Most people I’ve met who have property feel a certain bond with their land and are in some way deeply connected with it. While spring is a time that is bursting with new energy, the fall and winter is a more contemplative time, a time to listen to the land and let it speak to you.”

So, a fall design lends itself to practical rewards, such as saving money, along with a soulful experience of co-creating with nature. “When the practical and the spiritual are combined, something truly magical can emerge.

To learn more about the possibilities for your landscape design, contact Tom Altgelt, award-winning Denver/Boulder landscape designer. Visit www.altgelt.com… to view Denver landscape designs, as well as landscape and garden designs in other areas.

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Solar powered landscape lighting is a way to decorate and to light up your landscaping without the use of any wiring. More and more garden enthusiasts opt for solar powered landscape lighting instead of other landscape lighting options. Never again will you have to worry about long and unsightly wires in your garden, if you opt for the solar landscape lighting.

Solar powered landscape lighting produces light with the aid of natural free of charge solar energy, making this type of lighting both cost efficient and friendly to the environment.

No lighting wires in your garden means three main things: children in your garden will not get an electric shock, animals in the garden will not damage the wires as well as such wireless units will be very easy to set up and to relocate in the future.

So why does solar powered landscape lighting become more and more popular each day?

1. Solar powered landscape lighting comes in a large assortment of landscape lighting solutions, including spotlights, bollards, flashlights, floodlights, garden lighting, lawn lighting, step lights, pathway lights, hanging path lights, wall lights, deck lights, flagpole lights, light strings, tube lights, lantern lights, address lights, and even floating pool lights.

2. Solar powered landscape lighting is made from various materials for you to choose from: stainless steel, plastic, copper, copper finish, bronze, black metal, and chrome coated units.

3. A wide variety of decorative units will satisfy the taste of the most sophisticated gardening enthusiasts. Decorated units include hummingbirds, fireflies, dragonflies, butterflies, mushroom lights, flower lights, glass orbs, color changing orbs, stone lights and dozens of other beautiful design units.

Solar powered landscape lighting does not need any electric to operate. Each unit consists of three parts: light emitting diodes, rechargeable batteries and a solar panel. Solar energy is accumulated in the solar panels, charging the battery and further producing the light through light emitting diodes. Solar powered landscape lighting will produce over 14 hours of light after being charged throughout a sunny day. The solar powered landscape lighting units will also shine in the evening after an overcast day. However, since they did not get fully charged, they will be capable of operating fewer hours after the sun goes down. Solar powered landscape lighting is functional and completely autonomous.

With the use of solar powered landscape lighting units, you can illuminate your garden paths, stairs, alpine slides, polls, flowerbeds and other landscapes in your garden. Solar powered landscape lighting can be set up anywhere, where the sun shines in the daytime in your garden. Many of the units can be placed on the walls and polls with the use of brackets. Photo sensors will make your landscape lighting automatically turn on in the evening, shining until the morning. Throughout the whole day, the units will be charging, and then they will start shining on the next evening. Most models come with an integrated button to switch your lights on and off whenever you wish to do so.

Other advantages of solar powered landscape lighting are that solar-powered lights will never burn out, they require no maintenance, as well as, they do not use any electricity. Installation does not require wiring or expensive landscape works – simply stick the lights in the ground or hang them where you want them, and they will start working as soon as the battery gets charged. This landscape lighting does not get damaged by rain, fog or snow, as well as it withstands temperatures from 14 F (-10 C) to 122 F (+50 C), and serves for more than 10 years. Solar powered landscape lighting is practical, decorative, autonomous lighting, allowing you to implement your most creative landscape ideas.

Author John Monsholi has done extensive research regarding the perfect solar lighting system. He knows a lot about solar powered landscape lighting and solar garden lights.

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When it comes to indoor bonsai trees, it seems that these days the artificial ones are equally as popular as the real ones. Many people like the look and feel of a bonsai in their house but they do not have the ability and time required to take care of one. Among the greatest benefits of artificial trees is that they stay the same color and pose forever after they’re bought. Artificial bonsai trees can be really helpful in this manner.

Many retailers carry artificial trees nowadays; you shouldn’t need to search high and low to find one that is right for your space. A bonsai plant can be found in various types of trees, sizes and even colors. You also have an assortment of alternatives from the species of tree all the way up to the kind of container you may want to use. Another option is to shop for artificial bonsai trees which feature flowers or fruit.

Metal is what most of the artificial bonsai trees are made of inside. They’re wrapped in clay or preserved bark to give a genuine feel. To make these small trees look more like the real thing, luna clay is among the most realistic mediums used. This permits the owner to pick the pose of their artificial tree while still having a genuine feel to it.

If you select a tree with preserved bark instead, it will look more realistic and you won’t need to worry about decay or collapse. Keep in mind, though, that bark makes for a less flexible artificial bonsai tree in comparison with those made with luna clay. Some artificial bonsai trees implement actual wood as the tree trunk. They apply some aging techniques to make it look mature, then add some hand painted accents.

Utilizing artificial bonsai trees permits you to have a great plant yet still have very little work to be concerned about. Artificial bonsai plants are typically simple to maintain. Shoppers will typically receive an explanation on how to keep them dust free and avoid discoloring. To keep leaves from fading, protect fake bonsai from the direct rays of the sun and don’t clean them with a damp rag.

The best part is that you will be able to enjoy how pretty and nice the tree is all year long after you get it all set up. If you take good care of your artificial bonsai, you’ll be able to enjoy it for years and years without all the effort required for the real thing.

To find a great bonsai tree that will grow and flourish in the environment you plan to grow it in, you have to know a few things first. It’s also important to learn how to care for your bonsai so that it thrives. Visit our site to get the facts you need about how to successfully cultivate an indoor bonsai.

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No custom helps in communicating human emotions in a more effective manner than giving flowers or bouquets. Flowers and bouquets have acted as excellent gifts for birthdays and anniversaries, and are also useful for making personal gestures like conveying warmest congratulations, making apologies or simply making someone happy.

It is believed that this tradition has roots in ancient traditions whose evidence has been dug up by excavators at excavation sites. Flowers have always occupied an important place in ancient Rome and Egypt and in the glorious civilizations of ancient Greece and China whose legends and tales clearly reflect this custom. These ancient civilizations considered giving flowers to be an effective way of conveying one’s thoughts and emotions. The ancient Greeks even considered some flowers to be related to divinity.

This custom passed on to the Middle Ages, and France and England played important roles in maintaining and upholding the tradition. The present custom of giving a specific significance to each flower was brought to the West from Turkey, from where the French and the British imbibed it and spread it in Europe.

The tradition of flower gifting touched new heights in the Victorian era. Victorians, as we know, never expressed their emotions publicly and thus the practice of offering flowers or bouquets was regarded an excellent means to convey feelings without making use of a lot of words.

The Victorians came up with many rules for gifting flowers or bouquets and implemented them with great zeal. For instance, a bouquet of red roses bought from a florist would evoke a rather unfavourable reaction form your beloved if you gifted it to her upside down. This is because red roses which are mostly associated with emotions of love can communicate negative emotions when they are presented to the recipient upside down. In fact, the 19th century witnessed a lot of books written on the topic of language of flowers.

This custom has come down the ages, and today people around the world participate in the act of giving flowers to convey their emotions. Through constant evolution over the years, we have arrived at a stage where a lot of flowers now have some significance and gifting flowers or bouquets has to be done according to fixed norms. Gifting red roses is still seen as a passionate demonstration of love, and white lilies are believed to symbolize purity and elegance. A yellow coloured rose is believed to be a representation of friendship, whereas grief is best demonstrated by a lone marigold.

The histroy of giving flower continues as time passes by.There were times that a woman giving flower to a man is very improper. Today it no longer registers as out of the ordinary. Virtual flowers and Internet florists allow new means to deliver virtual or real flowers anyplace in the earth. Through development of science and technology, flowers can now easily bloom all year-round.

Once, only particular flowers could be grown only in specific zones or terrains, which is no longer the case in this progressive era of science and technology. Any good Singapore flower shop will offer a plethora of flower varieties that are both local and exotic in nature, and are appropriate for expressing your deepest emotions in the most elegant manner.

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Storing soil, sand and peat for the winter – Before frost gets into the ground, dig a bushel or two of soil for use during the winter. And don’t forget to have on hand a bushel of sand and another of peat or humus.

Planting roses – Fall planting of roses is a risky business in parts of the Middle West north of the latitude of Springfield, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio. South of this line planting has more chance of success; but the sooner it’s done, the better.

Providing surface drainage for the Power beds – Now, while the ground is still workable, is the time to provide surface drainage for the perennial and bulb beds. Dig shallow trenches along the beds to carry away surface water.

Protecting plants in the coldframe – For pansies, forget-me-nots, English daisies and other plants now is a critical time for wintering in the coldframe. Do not put the sash on the frame until average temperatures stay below freezing. And cover the glass so that temperatures don’t rise excessively in the frame.

Planting peonies – Although it is late, peonies can still be planted during the first two weeks of the month.

Forcing bulbs for Christmas bloom – As soon as possible bulbs for Christmas flowering should be planted. The one exception is paper-white narcissus, which should be started about eight weeks before it is to flower.

Top-dressing lilies-of-the-valley – All too often lilies-of-the-valley are left to run wild. Top-dress the planting now with old manure, leafmold or well-rotted compost.

Sowing rye in the vegetable garden – As each row in the vegetable garden is harvested, sow seed of winter rye. It will grow in near-freezing weather and will take up plant food in the soil that would otherwise be lost through leaching. In the spring the rye can be turned under.

Spraying house plants – Before bringing in house plants like rhoeo plant from the garden, spray them with a good all-purpose insecticide to kill aphids, mealy bugs arid other pests.

Storing four-o’clocks – Old-fashioned four-o’clocks can be stored for the winter. The lifted roots are handled as dahlias are. After being reset in spring, the plants will grow larger and flower earlier than those grown the same season from seed.

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