Container Herb Garden

Enhance Your Garden With Unusual Garden Sculptures And Plaques

hat better to enhance your garden and accentuate the beauty of your carefully chosen plants than garden décor in the form of plaques, garden sculptures, statues and tastefully designed bird baths and bird feeders. Décor that would enhance any garden!

Many people own front yards and gardens with fabulous potential, and then fill them with flowers and shrubs of all sizes and colors. However, they can still tend to look bare. Why is that? Because there is nothing to break up the vegetation, and provide something different for people to look at. Flowers are very beautiful, but a well designed garden needs that extra something to set it aside from all the other gardens in the neighborhood.

How about a bird feeder in form of St. Francis, or even a dragonfly, that you can attach to a wall or a tree, and attract birds in the spring and summer while feeding them in the winter. Many birds will come to rely on you for their food source when they need you most. Place a few stone stepping stones in the flowerbeds to allow you to enjoy them at their best without getting dirty feet. You can use the stepping stones to reach the feeders on the wall in order to refill them. You will attract a wide variety of songbirds to your garden that will provide you with tuneful pleasure all year round.

Does it rain a lot in your part of the country, or is it generally hot and sunny? In either case why not have a thermometer and rain gauge in your garden, tastefully sculpted in the form of a drinking frog or sleepy owl. If it never rains, just have the thermometer in the form a fairy sitting contemplating your flowers as she enjoys the sun. You can find out how much it rained during the night, or just how hot it really is.

Statues are always popular in gardens, and provide a great focal point to break up a lawn or provide a conversation piece in winter and fall when the flowers have died down. Statues in the form of frogs, angels, cats, dogs and even tortoises make a change from the ubiquitous gnome. Everybody has gnomes, but how many have wish fairies or pixies? Be different and stand out from the crowd. Be noticed!

You can also use inexpensive concrete cast stones around your borders, that come in a wide variety of designs, and finished so beautifully that cannot tell it from the real thing. And they are durable! Stones come cast in the form of angels, fairies and a wide variety of angels and birds. These would enhance any garden, and all are available online. You don’t have to go down to the garden center to get your hands on these, just find a suitable online retail site and have them delivered.

Walls generally look a bit bare in the garden unless you have some climbing plants. You can provide a bit of decoration by means of stone plaques that are available in a wide variety of designs. Many are in the form of faces – the sun, for example, or a wide variety of leaves and vegetables with funny and grumpy faces displayed on them. Just the thing to keep the kids happy and amused. Cover them up with a few climbing plants, and watch them begin to appear in the fall.

Another great idea is to have wall plaque personalized as you want it. You have your name put on it or your address, and put it outside your backyard gate. Have a memorable date inscribed, such as the date or year you moved into your house, or the date of your wedding. I am sure you can think of lots of ways in which you can have your plaques personalized.

A few statues or stone animals placed in and around your fountain would make a change, or a large stone planter would look great on the patio. There are so many lovely garden ornaments available to transform your garden into a work of art, and so many talking points that you can place at strategic points around the garden. All it takes is some imagination and the will to start.

Don’t stare at the neighbor’s garden with all its garden décor and garden sculptures that make it look a more complete garden that yours. Do something about it, and design your own with garden décor that will enhance your garden, no matter how large or small. Don’t think about, just get up and do it.

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Gardening Salad Linked to Lower Lung Cancer Risk

By simply eating four or more servings of green salad a week and working in the garden once or twice a week, smokers and nonsmokers alike may be able to substantially reduce the risk of developing lung cancer, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"This is the first risk prediction model to examine the effects of diet and physical activity on the possibility of developing lung cancer," says Michele Forman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Epidemiology.

The data are from an ongoing M. D. Anderson case-control lung cancer study involving more than 3,800 participants. Separate risk assessment models were developed for current and former smokers as well as for those who have never smoked.

Forman's study looked at salad consumption and gardening because, she said, "Salad is a marker for the consumption of many vegetables and gardening is an activity in which smokers and nonsmokers can participate."

The baseline lung cancer prediction model had moderate risk protection.

The study pairs M. D. Anderson lung cancer patients with cancer-free current, former and never smoker counterparts provided through a partnership with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, a Houston-based HMO.

By including diet and physical activity, the discriminatory power of the model was raised to 64 percent, 67 percent and 71 percent respectively for never, former and current smokers.

"This finding is exciting because not only is it applicable to everyone, but it also may have a positive impact on the 15 percent of non-smokers who develop lung cancer," says Forman.

The other risk factors include exposure to secondhand smoke and dust, family history of cancer and the patient's history of respiratory disease and smoking.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women, with more than 213,000 estimated new cases diagnosed each year according to the American Cancer Society. Smoking tobacco accounts for more than eight of 10 lung cancer cases.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.

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Beautify Your Garden With A Bridge

A good way to start the morning is to have a nice walk appreciating the wonders of nature around us. Do you ever imagine having your own little paradise just right outside your backyard? Smelling rows of fresh flowers and enjoy seeing colorful fishes in your very own pond or lagoon. Maybe all of us want to have a getaway to shun off the noise of the buzzing city life. Consider a garden bridge to accentuate your sanctuary and create a focal point to your blooming garden. Garden bridges are gaining popularity among gardens. Bridges are often placed over a small stream, pond or even over rough terrain. It is the perfect touch for an exquisitely made landscape whatever the setting may be.

1. Personalize Your Garden

Garden bridges bring out your creative self. These accents give a more personalized touch in your garden revealing your true character and personality. It also reflects your own personal taste and style, thus, your garden has too its own character. All the choices and decisions you made in styling your garden, even the visual impression are yours. Having a garden bridge in a backyard is an influence of the Far East. Serene locations are often used for rejuvenation and meditation. Therefore, a good way to stay connected in the privacy of your home while rejuvenating and meditating is to create your own quiet place in your backyard. Garden bridges give serenity to the entire garden. It evokes peaceful feelings and clear dispositions.

2. Bridge Selections

Garden bridges are made of either wood or steel - wood is most popular because it gives an elegant and traditional style. There are three popularly chosen woods used for building these bridges: cedar, pine and redwood. They are unique in their features and has a particular desirable characteristics. Galvanized steel garden bridges are also fast gaining popularity because of the high quality materials used for strength, stability and longevity.

Cedar

Buyers of cedar bridges may be attracted to the timeless natural beauty of this light-colored wood. It is very good for any outdoor furnishing because it resists mold, decay and mildew and repels insects. The two popular types of cedar are the western red and white cedar. Though both have similar qualities, the western red celar may last long than the white ones due to lower levels of natural acid which preserve the cedar. Cedar wood ages well because it does not have the tendency to splinter.

Pine

his type of wood is prone to rot if not pressure-treated. Before building the bridge, make sure that the wood is painted or stained and sealed to extend their life line. Its attractive natural color responds well to staining.

Redwood

Having a durable redwood garden bridge makes for additional style and elegance in your backyard. Redwood stands well against the elements and resist rotting. Lack of maintenance and prolonged exposure stole the vibrancy of its color. But this can be easily restored by using a colored sealer.

3. Starting With Your Garden Bridge

- Online sites of Garden Bridges provide you with the best choices, great deals and valuable information to help you started.
- Different series and style are available for you to choose from. Make sure you have already an idea on paper like a drawing of your dream bridge.
- You can base and compare the style available from the look you want like:

4. Villa Style

- Rustic, country look
- Colonial, medieval design
- Pathway Bridge looks like a pedestrian bridge more in tune to Japanese style garden bridges used for zen meditation. They call this the Water Garden Series
- Romantic style bridges

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