•10 Tips for Working With a Contractor
10 Tips for Working With a Contractor
by: Debbie Rodgers
This is the year you're going all out. You're going to build a deck, add a porch, erect a gazebo or lay a patio. You've done the research. It's well within your capability and you're looking forward to the satisfaction of creating a structure of beauty.
Or not. Yes -- you'd like to proceed with an outdoor structure but for you, it isn't a do-it-yourself project. How can you find the right person to do it for you? Here are 10 tips...
•Closing Up Your Container Garden
Closing Up Your Container Garden
by: Debbie Rodgers
All good things eventually come to an end and so summer is waning, even as autumn gives most of us a fresh start. I'll bet your summer container plantings aren't really benefiting, though, from the "back to school-oh I love a clean notebook" boost and aren't dying as gracefully as summer itself is. You're going to have to help them through this!
Saving Summer
I understand if you just can't bear the thought of waving good-bye to your...
•Come to Tea: An Elegant Garden Gathering
Come to Tea: An Elegant Garden Gathering
by: Debbie Rodgers
Perhaps nothing says "garden party" like having afternoon tea outdoors. It's a charming reminder of bygone days and childhood make-believe. Outdoor spaces of all kinds, including balconies, can be successfully adapted to a tea party.
Tea parties span generations and will be enjoyed by your most sophisticated women friends or all the giggling little girls of your acquaintance.
What makes an elegant tea party? Look at these factors....
•Come With Me To The Casbah!
Come With Me To The Casbah!
by: Debbie Rodgers
A ripe persimmon is a thing of beauty – sweet, succulent and an amazing shade of orange-red. Orange and red continue to be popular colors in decorating this year but 2004’s shades are softer and more vibrant, like ripe persimmons and pomegranates.
Don’t limit these jewel-tones to the inside of your house. They can be incorporated into a beautiful outdoor theme by using the rich and exotic influences of Morocco.
In countries such as...
•Cozy Nooks: Creating a Secret Outdoor Place
Cozy Nooks: Creating a Secret Outdoor Place
by: Debbie Rodgers
Everyone seems to love a secret -- and when the secret is a nook in your outdoor space, all the better. A nook is defined as a private or secluded quiet inner place. Any outside space, from a balcony to an acre estate can benefit from including a nook. Here are points to consider:
Purpose
It doesn't make any sense to set up a secluded garden reading bench if you never have the time to pick up a book. But maybe you'd like to...
•Escape to Sunny Mexico - at Home!
Escape to Sunny Mexico - at Home!
by: Debbie Rodgers
Can't get away for a southern vacation this year? Don't despair -- plan a sunny Mexican style refresher for your patio décor and enjoy the festive atmosphere of a hacienda at home this summer.
As with every other decorating style, Mexican décor has its own basic elements.
Color
The predominant color in the sunny Mexican look is yellow -- bright, cheery and warm. If you're lucky enough to be working with an outdoor space that...
•Fall for Outdoor Entertaining This Autumn
Fall for Outdoor Entertaining This Autumn
by: Debbie Rodgers
Aaaah, autumn! It's the perfect time to entertain outdoors -- most of the bugs are gone, the sun isn't scorching even though it's warm enough to enjoy an afternoon or evening al fresco, and there's a bounty of good things to serve for an outdoor meal.
Because the days are shorter in the autumn, outdoor entertaining in the fall calls for special attention to lighting and temperature.
Lighting
The earlier sunset will afford...
•Fountains of Refreshment
Fountains of Refreshment
by: Debbie Rodgers
When hot, sticky days hit, try to use all your senses to keep cool. Sight and sound have amazing psychological effects, even when the thermometer soars.
One of the most cooling and relaxing sounds I know is that of a trickling spring. It relaxes my mind and helps my body unwind. In the city, it can drown out the sounds of the daily hustle and bustle of life, calming and refreshing the spirit. I also love the glinting, reflective surface of water....
•Gardeners: Contain Yourselves!
Gardeners: Contain Yourselves!
by: Debbie Rodgers
Whether you live in a tiny city apartment or on a large country estate, gardening in containers is a way to add colour and the beauty of nature to your surroundings. The three main elements of creating successful containers gardens are:
Choosing the pots
Getting the right planting medium
Selecting the plants
In all of these elements, the key is to create a healthy growing environment for the plant roots. For a healthy root system,...
•Home for a Gnome?
Home for a Gnome?
by: Debbie Rodgers
Kitsch is defined by several dictionaries as relating to poor quality or gaudy art objects that appeal to “low-brow” taste. But in the garden, kitsch categorizes folksy or commercial art that’s viewed condescendingly by some, and with irony by others. It’s this irony (this stuff is so bad it’s good) that has made items such as pink flamingos and garden gnomes more widely popular in recent years.
Garden gnomes have long been popular in Europe, especially...
•How to Decorate your Outdoor Space without Breaking the Bank
How to Decorate your Outdoor Space without Breaking the Bank
by: Debbie Rodgers
Noted English clergyman Sydney Smith (1771-1845) is quoted as saying, "Economy in the estimation of common minds means the absence of all taste and comfort." But finding thrifty ways to decorate your outdoor living space doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice either of those things. Here are some ideas to help you:
Forget trying to find that perfectly matched 9-piece patio set at the first garage sale you stop...
•Life’s a Beach – A Shore Theme in Your Outdoor Space
Life’s a Beach – A Shore Theme in Your Outdoor Space
by: Debbie Rodgers
Twentieth century American architect Phillip Johnson once said, "I hate vacations. If you can build buildings, why sit on the beach?" Mr. Johnson evidently didn't how to relax, but as another summer is slipping away, you can. Did you visit the beach this year? Do you wish you had? Either way, you can create a seaside feel in your outdoor space and enjoy memories of the shore at home! Here are some quick tips....
•Light Up the Night! Quick Facts about Outdoor Lighting
Light Up the Night! Quick Facts about Outdoor Lighting
by: Debbie Rodgers
When the days start to get shorter, the darkness may drive us inside from our porches, patios or decks. Don’t despair – outdoor lighting can lengthen the day and dramatically extend the potential of our outdoor living spaces.
The first step, as with any project, is to plan. How do you want to use this space after dark, and what lighting will you need? Lighting can be summarized in four categories:
Security...
•Luau! Decorating with a Hawaiian Theme
Luau! Decorating with a Hawaiian Theme
by: Debbie Rodgers
Hawaii is a first choice travel destination with millions of people - and for good reason. Bring a little of that island feeling into your home, either indoors or in your outdoor living space. You can apply this theme to an elegant dinner party, a fun and funky luau, or anything in between.
1. First, look at the space itself, including floors, walls, roof or ceiling.
Texture
Think natural materials. Try bamboo matting on the...
•Make a Grand Entrance of Your Front Door
Make a Grand Entrance of Your Front Door
by: Debbie Rodgers
You may find it difficult to believe that the days will start getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere in just four short weeks. You can find yourself this time of year coming home on dreary days, or welcoming evening visitors in the dark. It's neither safe nor inviting. But good lighting at your front entrance gives a warm and secure welcome to any who enter.
Mention outdoor lighting at this time of year and many people think...
•Metal Outdoor Furniture - Explained
Metal Outdoor Furniture - Explained
by: Debbie Rodgers
Mention metal patio furniture and you probably think of the light, fly-away aluminium loungers of your youth or that half-ton cast iron table and chair set on your neighbour's lawn.
But metal outdoor furniture has come a long way. Here's a quick primer on the available types and their care.
Construction Methods
Metal is fashioned into furniture in one of three main ways: extrusion, casting, and welding.
Extrusion forces melted...
•Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden
Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden
by: Debbie Rodgers
Every year you plan that THIS will be the year you have pots and pots of lush plants on your balcony or deck. Then you visit your local nursery in the spring and reality hits -– the cost for your fantasy is just outrageous! Sound familiar?
But you can have the planters of your dreams at a fraction of the cost and with a choice of varieties far beyond what the local garden center offers. How? Start...
•Set Out a Feast for your Feathered Friends
Set Out a Feast for your Feathered Friends
by: Debbie Rodgers
February is “Feed the Birds” month in much of North America. And what great timing! If you’re going through a cold winter, you can help the wintering birds that are going through it with you. If you live further south, you’ll have not only year-round feathered friends to feed, but also an influx of migrating visitors from colder climates.
If you grow native plants in your garden, chances are good you already have quite a few...
•Ship Ahoy! The Nautical Touch in Your Outdoor Living Space
Ship Ahoy! The Nautical Touch in Your Outdoor Living Space
by: Debbie Rodgers
Would you rather be sailing or are you strictly a shore bird? Whether you're land-locked or seaside, you can create a nautical look in your outdoor living space by following a few easy principles. You'll find that even landlubbers can answer the siren song of the sea.
Although any outside space can be adapted to this motif, wooden decks are particularly suitable. And if you can manage to install a water feature so...
•Sleeping Beauties: Porches For Dreaming
Sleeping Beauties: Porches For Dreaming
by: Debbie Rodgers
There's something magical about sleeping outside, drinking in the night sounds of crickets, frogs and wind chimes, watching fireflies and stars, and feeling the cool night breeze. You'll find children giggling long past their bedtime from sheer excitement.
A treat for adults and children alike, sleeping outdoors has long been a part of camping tradition, but many adults also have fond memories of childhood nights in their parents'...
•Store Your Outdoor Furnishings to Make Them Last
Store Your Outdoor Furnishings to Make Them Last
by: Debbie Rodgers
In many parts of North America, the end of "porch season" has arrived. Whether you're clearing out for some oncoming bad weather, closing up the cottage for the season, beating the vandals on devil's night, or just retreating to your nest for the winter, you'll want to store away all of your outdoor items with maximum care.
Dirt particles can settle deep into fabric and wood fibers and making tiny cuts that hasten their...
•The Perfect Porch Swing
The Perfect Porch Swing
by: Debbie Rodgers
There is a magical quality to porch swings. In his summertime classic Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury describes the "ritual of the front-porch swing."
"In the garage they found, dusted, and carried forth the howdah, as it were, for the quiet summer-night festivals, the swing chair which Grandpa chained to the porch-ceiling eyelets…they sat, smiling at each other, nodding, as they swung silently back and forth, back and forth."
Perhaps it is the...
•There are Stories to be Told: Start a Family Tradition
There are Stories to be Told: Start a Family Tradition
by: Debbie Rodgers
One of the most rewarding ways to use your outdoor living space is to gather your family members for a reunion. Perhaps it's a small group that gets together annually, or a large one whose far-flung members attend every two or five or even 10 years. Whether large or small, a reunion is a wonderful opportunity to knit families closer together through shared stories.
In the much-underrated 1990 film Avalon, a Russian...
•Warm Up the Night! Patio Heaters and Fire Pits
Warm Up the Night! Patio Heaters and Fire Pits
by: Debbie Rodgers
In some areas right now, the weather is ideal for sitting outside in the evening -- the bugs have gone and the sky is clear -- but the nights are chilly. Don't let the cool evenings send you inside -- extend your outdoor living season by heating your deck or patio.
Different heaters are available for different needs and circumstances. A heater will be powered by propane, natural gas, alcohol-gel, electricity, wood, or wood...
•What's Underfoot? A Quick Guide to Patio Surfaces
What's Underfoot? A Quick Guide to Patio Surfaces
by: Debbie Rodgers
Patios and terraces have always been popular outdoor spaces. Whether a Parisian courtyard or a rooftop alcove, only porches and sunrooms beat out these paved (or semi-paved) retreats in a recent survey of my readers as the most ideal outside living space. Let's examine some of the wide variety of patio surfaces.
Patio Stones
Somteimes called flags or slabs, patio stones are flat square or rectangular blocks of pressed...
•Wooden You Like to Know? A Primer to Wood Outdoor Furnishings
Wooden You Like to Know? A Primer to Wood Outdoor Furnishings
by: Debbie Rodgers
To many people, wood is the quintessential building material for furniture, both indoor and out. There's a wooden furniture form to suit every budget and décor -- from rustic twig loveseats to classis cedar Adirondack chairs to sophisticated teak tables and benches.
In fact, the varieties of wood are dizzying. Which should you choose? How should you care for it? And is wood an environmentally-friendly choice...
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