Archive for July 6th, 2010
If you already have a body of water on your property, then you face a big decision – drain it or install an outdoor garden water fountain. Keep in mind that if your pond is free flowing and is connected to an aboveground or underground source, you will different needs of an outdoor garden water fountain than others with stagnant ponds. Even if you don’t have a pond but are considering getting one, installing an outdoor garden water fountain in that pond at the time of construction is recommended.
Health Concerns
Stagnant water causes a lot of problems for not just you, but your neighbors. Although you might think you own your property, your neighbors and the law may make you think otherwise. Ponds or lakes that were once clear and sparkling can become cut off to their sources of aeration like an underground stream or above ground creek for a variety of reasons, especially new construction, drought or river diversion.
An outdoor garden water fountain keeps the water moving, so that heavy layers of smelly algae and baby mosquitoes can’t be born. Female mosquitoes need to lay their eggs on still water. The growing larvae can’t live in very strong currents. Of course, you could spray for mosquitoes heavily each breeding season, but that winds up being bad for the environment and can wind up making you sick from having to breathe in the spray.
Beauty Concerns
Garden wall water fountains and the like also bring benefits that can’t quite be measured in money – although they certainly have been known to raise the value of the properties they are installed on. The sound and sight of moving, gurgling water is one of the universally reliable calming experiences. This is why Zen gardens and Japanese gardens always include an outdoor water garden or a little waterfall somewhere.
With water moving around regularly, and with adequate filtration, you can then expect to draw some hard-pressed wildlife to your home. Species of migrating birds are dying because they’ve lost many of the watering holes that acted as their refueling stations. Most species of frogs are endangered, so any little bit to help one frog helps not only the species, but in keeping the insect pests down in the summertime.
Check with your accountant to see if your state, province or country will give you a tax break for installing an outdoor garden water fountain. It may count as a home improvement project.
It may not be readily apparent in the populated area of northwest Los Angeles, but this foothill region west of the Angeles National Forest has a rich agricultural history that some who have taken an interest in landscaping Northridge have found unique ways to celebrate. The vast cityscape that makes up this area of greater Los Angeles is dotted with reminders of the orchards and farms that used to dominate this valley.
Here and there can be found vine-covered outbuildings and other botanical remnants of the orange groves and fields of grapevines that used to color the landscape. Luckily, some conscientious homeowners who have a sense of history have sought to keep that part of Los Angeles’ past alive with some unique approaches to landscaping Northridge, or at least their little corner of it.
Evidence of this effort to maintain a link with the agricultural heritage of Los Angeles can be found in the occasional barn or wooden storage shed that doubles as a guest house or a recreation room. Some homeowners have even turned old wells and pump machinery into working fountains, using a little ingenuity and a lot of imagination. These touches add an indigenous look to a property while attaining a practical use of existing materials, elevating the landscaping of Northridge to a heightened level of truly forward-looking design possibilities.
Although it may be hard to believe for some, there is actually plenty of greenery in Northridge. Native trees, and imported flora that have found their way to this area in the wagons and trunks of many a traveler’s caravan, are still thriving in pockets of this metropolitan region. Homeowners and city planners have found ways to retain the natural color and atmosphere that has been a part of this valley for centuries. The simple act of digging up part of a lawn to plant flower beds or vegetable gardens not only improves the value of a property, but also helps to keep a part of California’s rustic past alive and well in the present, if not in the future as well.
The outdoor heritage of this area can also be seen in the stonework that some residents incorporate into their exterior themes. Fireplaces, barbecue pits, and swimming pool areas made with stone or textured concrete add a distinctly homegrown flavor to backyards and patio areas. Considering the fact that most Californians love to entertain, especially in areas of their homes that display their own unique taste and flair for design, it’s a wonder that more people don’t dress up their backyards and patios with such appropriate touches.
Of course, landscaping Northridge does include lawn and garden work. Yet the extra steps many people take to elaborate on the natural beauty of their property involve so much more. Even a simple but elegant lighting scheme can enhance an outdoor environment, and is a relatively inexpensive proposition. The addition of some artistic tile work and maybe a stone planter or two can have an amazing effect on any backyard area.
In this day and age, many people are becoming more aware of the environment as well as the world around them. If you’re an official “Greenie” or you want to get into organic gardening there a few really easy ways to go about this! First off, why should you try anything organic or “green?” Its been said since the 1980s and even earlier on that there was a huge hole forming in the ozone from things like methane gases from garbage dumps, animals becoming extinct because of littering, and polar ice caps melting and collapsing piece by piece because of the rising temperatures. Isn’t it about time we start saving the place we live in, rather than hurting it even more?
This is where becoming green or living organically comes into play, and the easiest place to start is right in your own backyard! Several million sites online offer tips on how you can start an organic garden and become greener in your life. These sites also offer other things as well such as products that are good for the earth and recipes you can make for things such as you’re own green compost! These sites are pretty useful and really interesting. As said above, even if you aren’t an official “greenie” but you’re curious about how stuff like this works, this is a great place to start.
Organic fertilizers are made from such items as cottonseed meal, compost, and bone meal. As well as other things such as Green Sand, Kelp Meal, Fish Meal, and Blood Meal.
Cottonseed Meal: Cottonseed meal is the byproduct remaining after cotton is ginned and the seeds crushed and the oil extracted. The remaining meal is usually used for animal feed.
Bone Meal: Bone meal is a mixture of crushed and coarsely ground bones that is used as an organic fertilizer for plants and formerly in animal feed. As a slow-release fertilizer, bone meal is primarily used as a source of phosphorus.
Green Sand: Green sand forms in anoxic marine environments that are rich in organic detritus and low in sedimentary input.
Kelp Meal: Kelp Meal is brown seaweed harvested from the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the north Atlantic Ocean. Kelp Meal, Ascophyllum nodosum, is the best species of kelp for both horticultural and agricultural use.
Fish Meal: Fish meal, or fish-meal, is a commercial product made from both whole fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the whole fish or fish trimmings to remove the fish oil.
Blood Meal: Blood meal is dried, powdered blood used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer. It is one of the highest non-synthetic sources of nitrogen and if over-applied it can burn plants with excessive ammonia. Blood meal is completely soluble and can be mixed with water to be used as a liquid fertilizer. It usually comes from cattle as a slaughterhouse by-product. It can be spread on gardens to deter animals such as rabbits, or as a compost activator.
Here are some really great recipes that use the above ingredients as well:
Rose feed/mulch
3 cups Alfalfa Meal
3 cups Mushroom compost
1-cup bone meal
Lilac, and other sweet soil lover feed/mulch
1-cup bone meal
3 cups lime
3 cups mushroom compost
Azaleas and Rhodo feed/mulch
1/2-cup rock phosphate
1/2-cup green sand
1/2-cup cottonseed
1/8-cup Epsom salts
1/2 cup used coffee grinds
20 shovels fish compost
Perennial feed/mulch
1/2-cup bone meal
1/2 cup green sand
1/2-cup rock phosphate
1 wheelbarrow of leaf mould
Fruit tree feed/mulch
5 shovels leaf mould
5 shovels garden compost
5 shovels peat moss
1-cup bone meal
1/4-cup rock phosphate
1/4-cup alfalfa
1/4-cup green sand
Basic Organic Fertilizer
3 parts blood or fish-meal
3 parts steamed bone meal
1 part kelp meal
1 and 1/2 parts Sul-Po-Mag (a brand name for a sulfur, potassium, and magnesium source, but you can substitute any such mixture. )
High Nitrogen Mix
4 parts blood meal
2 parts cottonseed meal
1 part steamed bone meal
1/2 part Sul-Po-Mag (a brand name source for sulfur, potassium, and magnesium)
1/2 part kelp meal
High Potassium Mix
2 parts cottonseed meal
2 and 1/2 parts Sul-Po-Mag
1 and 1/2 parts steamed bone meal
1 part green-sand
1 part kelp meal
High Phosphorous Mix
4 parts steamed bone meal
1 part fish meal
1 part meat and bone meal
1 part soft phosphate
1/2 part Sul-Po-Mag
1/2 part kelp meal
You can find any and all of these ingredients at your local garden center so its not that difficult to find! All it takes is a little creativity and you can make all sorts of really green fertilizers for your vegetable or flower garden at home! If you’re searching for some more tips try going to Google and looking for things like “Organic Garden Tips” or “Green Garden Tips. “