Photo: Zan Wheelock

There is no better time to buy an outdoor play centre to keep the little ones busy and safe playing in the garden, although it can be somewhat of a daunting task to find the right play kit for you and your family. In this article, I’ve written some of my top tips to consider if you are planning to take the next step and buy some outdoor play equipment.


Safety First
There’s nothing like unveiling a new play centre to your kids and seeing their little faces perk up as they brim with excitement. Although, it is vitally important to make sure your garden play pen is safe and suitable for your children.

Make sure you find out how big the play equipment is and whether it will fit into your garden. Most swing sets require an extra 1-2 metres of space around them so the little tykes can enjoy them safely.

Also, be sure to check the recommended age range for the equipment, although many swings and climbing frames are available with baby and toddler swing seat attachments to help tailor outdoor play around your family.

Photo: Brit.

Playbark or Rubber grass mats offer a relatively inexpensive way of protecting your kids from the inevitable scrapes and falls, they also save the grass from wear and tear under swing sets and climbing areas.

Choosing the Right Play Equipment for You and Your Family
Swing Sets
You can never underestimate the joys of a good old-fashioned swing set. A firm favourite with children of all ages, there are many options available in the market today. It is a good idea to research what swing sets are suitable for your kids.

Younger children will often need additional swing attachments and safety mats as they move from baby swings to standard swing seats. Where-as older children may need a more challenging attachment to keep them occupied, such as a tyre swing or climbing rope.

Photo: well_developed

If you have a larger family or have a plethora of neighbourhood kids passing through your house, a two-person swing seat, such as the Glider, Rocket-Rider or Twin Cradle seat offers enjoyment for the whole family.

Another important issue that many parents consider to be a deciding factor when buying a swing set is its lifespan. We are no longer in the era of the rusty old swing set cluttering up the end of the garden. Quality outdoor play equipment is widely available in pressure treated, durable and natural wood, so swing sets and climbing frames not only keep the kids occupied, but also fit naturally into the garden.

Climbing Frames

If you’re looking for something a little more exciting that is longer lasting and has a higher play value than the average swing set, then a climbing frame is the perfect choice.

Today’s world of climbing frames has an endless amount of opportunities, customisations and accessories, which allow you to design your own climbing frame around your kids, garden and family life.

Modular climbing frames are available that have something for children of all ages and play preferences, whether they are little climbers, swing buffs or just enjoy playing in a good old tree house or fort. Don’t make the mistake of assuming climbing frames are just for boys, or girls. A climbing fort can equally be Rapunzel’s fairy tower as Major Marks last stand!

Photo: cafemama

Many climbing frames have sandpits, slides and swing sets built in, offering an all-out play centre for your little tykes. They are the perfect plaything for families with multiple children or kids with plenty of friends.

Garden climbing frames also have a long lifespan when it comes to outdoor play equipment and with the ability to purchase add-ons and accessories, you can transform your new climbing frame with your kids as they grow.

Be sure to check that a guarantee or warranty is available for any climbing frame that you purchase and that your garden has enough room for it. The majority of climbing frames will need to be fixed to the ground and often require self-assembly, which can take quite a few of hours, depending on how many tea breaks you take.

Additional Play Equipment

Already have some outdoor equipment for you’re little ones?  Trampolines, Playhouses and Slides offer a great addition to any outdoor play centre.

Remember, It is important to find a play centre that will engage your children’s imaginations and keep them fit and active as they play.

Photo: annieb

It might be worth it to spend a lot of money once rather than a little money several times for throw-away junk. Many play systems come with built-in playhouses and swing sets, which can cost a lot of money if purchased separately.

Also, choose equipment that will have a decent life span and does not restrict you to a specific age range.  Modular equipment is ideal as it can be added to as the family grows and budget permits, allowing you to start small and build up as your family develops.

Think of play equipment as a long-term investment that the whole family can enjoy.  It makes the ideal present – unlike some toys it is not forgotten about in a few days.  Why not get relatives to club together to buy something which will give many years of enjoyment and fun.

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Photo: UGArdener

Basic designs for outdoor spaces

A simple layout is usually the best, most reliable structure for any outdoor space. You shouldn’t even need to spend a lot of money, just add a few features and build on to your design.

For example:

• Verandas: These are good, all purpose structures which provide a semi-enclosed living space, and they’re easy to install. There are different designs of verandas, such as pergolas and gazebos, available in the market for you to choose the format that best suits your lifestyle and budget. You can add trellises with climbing roses, bougainvilleas, ivies, take your pick, and you’ve got a ready made outdoor comfort zone.
• Pot plants: The original no-fuss form of outdoor gardening, a few big pots with things like ornamental bamboo, ficus, pot roses or hanging baskets create a beautiful space instantly. These features also don’t compete with your garden bed plants, and can be used to create some great designs for patios. (Note: If you get the best self watering pots, these plants are also extremely low maintenance, and can be easily fed with some seaweed mulch extract, a bottle of which can last for years.)
• Raised garden beds: The gardener’s favorite no-fuss way of creating gardens can be constructed anywhere, almost immediately, without much, if any, cash outlay.
• Features: Many outdoor spaces have their own special features, and this is the area where you can get really creative. Small fountains, fish ponds, special trees, and other features are great fun.

Photo: daftgirly

Case study:

A medium back yard, no trees, just a fence and some lawn in reasonable condition.

The steps to creating a great rest and recreation area are easy:

• The owners install a wooden frame pergola with trestles on the sides.
• A sand bedded, tiled area is created in the pergola area.

• A simple raised garden bed is constructed on the two sides, using stone borders and good soil with mulch is added. (No digging involved, just prepare the ground with sand for drainage, add frames and add soil.)
• Climbing roses are planted on the trellis sides of the pergola.
• A few Chinese pines (one of the typical small Chinese landscape trees, very ornamental, with many shapes as it matures) are planted.
• A rockery is constructed using selected stones around the pines.
• Big roses like Queen Elizabeths are planted at strategic places around the middle of the back yard, and surrounded by stone.
• A few special pieces of cane furniture and some hardwood ornaments are added to the pergola.
• Hanging baskets of pot roses are placed around the front of the pergola, after deciding what’s needed.

This type of outdoor space, which is entirely based on personal taste, costs very little to create, even when you’re buying everything retail. There’s almost no limit to what you can add to this simple layout.

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Photo: julieomg

While the poplar is a rapid grower, it sheds its leaves early and so is left standing, bare and ugly, before the fall is old. Mind you, there are places where a row or double row of Lombardy poplars is very effective. But I think you’ll agree with me that one lone poplar is not. The catalpa is quite lovely by itself. The bright berries of the ash, the brilliant foliage of the sugar maple, the blossoms of the tulip tree, the bark of the white birch, and the leaves of the copper beech all these are beauty points to consider. Place makes a difference in the selection of a tree. Suppose the lower portion of the grounds is a bit low and moist, then the spot is ideal for a willow. Don’t group trees together which look awkward.

A long-looking poplar does not go with a nice rather rounded little tulip tree. A juniper, so neat and prim, would look silly beside a spreading chestnut. One must keep proportion and suitability in mind. I’d never advise the planting of a group of evergreens close to a house, and in the front yard. The effect is very gloomy indeed. Houses thus surrounded are overcapped by such trees and are not only gloomy to live in, but truly unhealthful. The chief requisite inside a house is sunlight and plenty of it. As trees are chosen because of certain good points, so shrubs should be. In a clump I should wish some which bloomed early, some which bloomed late, some for the beauty of their fall foliage, some for the colour of their bark and others for the fruit. Some spireas and the forsythia bloom early.

The red bark of the dogwood makes a bit of colour all winter, and the red berries of the barberry cling to the shrub well into the winter. Certain shrubs are good to use for hedge purposes. A hedge is rather prettier usually than a fence. The Californian privet is excellent for this purpose. Osage orange, Japan barberry, buckthorn, Japan quince, and Van Houtte’s spirea are other shrubs which make good hedges. I forgot to say that in tree and shrub selection it is usually better to choose those of the locality one lives in. Unusual and foreign plants do less well, and often harmonize but poorly with their new setting.

Photo: David Gn Photography

Landscape gardening may follow along very formal lines or along informal lines. The first would have straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds, everything, as the name tells, perfectly formal. The other method is, of course, the exact opposite. There are danger points in each. The formal arrangement is likely to look too stiff; the informal, too fussy, too wiggly. As far as paths go, keep this in mind, that a path should always lead somewhere. That is its business to direct one to a definite place. Now, straight, even paths are not unpleasing if the effect is to be that of a formal garden. The danger in the curved path is an abrupt curve, a whirligig effect.

It is far better for you to stick to straight paths unless you can make a really beautiful curve. No one can tell you how to do this. Garden paths may be of gravel, of dirt, or of grass. One sees grass paths in some very lovely gardens. I doubt, however, if they would serve as well in your small gardens. Your garden areas are so limited that they should be re-spaded each season, and the grass paths are a great bother in this work. Of course, a gravel path makes a fine appearance, but again you may not have gravel at your command. It is possible for any of you to dig out the path for two feet. Then put in six inches of stone or clinker. Over this, pack in the dirt, rounding it slightly toward the centre of the path.

There should never be depressions through the central part of paths, since these form convenient places for water to stand. The under layer of stone makes a natural drainage system. A building often needs the help of vines or flowers or both to tie it to the grounds in such a way as to form a harmonious whole. Vines lend themselves well to this work. It is better to plant a perennial vine, and so let it form a permanent part of your landscape scheme. The Virginia creeper, wistaria, honeysuckle, a climbing rose, the clematis and trumpet vine are all most satisfactory. Of course, the morning-glory is an annual vine, as is the moon-vine and wild cucumber.

Photo: miss grunzke

Now, these have their special function. For often, it is necessary to cover an ugly thing for just a time, until the better things and better times come. The annual is ‘the chap’ for this work. Along an old fence a hop vine is a thing of beauty. One might try to rival the woods’ landscape work. For often one sees festooned from one rotted tree to another the ampelopsis vine. Flowers may well go along the side of the building, or bordering a walk. In general, though, keep the front lawn space open and unbroken by beds. What lovelier in early spring than a bed of daffodils close to the house? Hyacinths and tulips, too, form a blaze of glory.

These are little or no bother, and start the spring aright. One may make of some bulbs an exception to the rule of unbroken front lawn. Snowdrops and crocuses planted through the lawn are beautiful. They do not disturb the general effect, but just blend with the whole. One expert bulb gardener says to take a basketful of bulbs in the fall, walk about your grounds, and just drop bulbs out here and there. Wherever the bulbs drop, plant them. Such small bulbs as those we plant in lawns should be in groups of four to six. Daffodils may be thus planted, too. You all remember the grape hyacinths that grow all through Katharine’s side yard. The place for a flower garden is generally at the side or rear of the house.

The backyard garden is a lovely idea, is it not? Who wishes to leave a beautiful looking front yard, turn the corner of a house, and find a dump heap? Not I. The flower garden may be laid out formally in neat little beds, or it may be more of a careless, hit-or-miss sort. Both have their good points. Great masses of bloom are attractive. You should have in mind some notion of the blending of colour. Nature appears not to consider this at all, and still gets wondrous effects. This is because of the tremendous amount of her perfect background of green, and the limitlessness of her space, while we are confined at the best to relatively small areas. So we should endeavour not to blind people’s eyes with clashes of colours which do not at close range blend well.

Photo: Prowpatareeya

In order to break up extremes of colours you can always use masses of white flowers, or something like mignonette, which is in effect green. Finally, let us sum up our landscape lesson. The grounds are a setting for the house or buildings. Open, free lawn spaces, a tree or a proper group well placed, flowers which do not clutter up the front yard, groups of shrubbery these are points to be remembered. If one starts with a formal garden, one should not mix the informal with it before the work is done. The paths should lead somewhere, and be either straight or well curved.

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Photo: staabnursery.com

First, clear the general area that you will be designing and start from scratch. This will give you a better ‘canvass’ to work with. Then, sketch the general look that you would like to have for your garden. Make a list of the plants, trees and shrubs that you can plant. When deciding on the type of plants, make sure that there will be a plant which will flower or bloom for each season of the year – winter, spring, summer and fall.

For example, perennial flowers will bloom in May, but after that it will just look like an ordinary plant. Having a plant which blooms in a different time of the year would make your garden have a focal point even when other plant variants are not in season. As much as possible, make a layered planting bed.

At the back row which is the farthest from your house, plant the variants which grow the tallest. This will serve as the base of your landscaping. In the middle and front rows, put the shorter plants. Make sure that you apply this rule in every area of the garden where you plant to put in plants for a more “trimmed” look. You can also vary the design of your walls and fences.

When choosing “furniture” for your garden, like a table and chair garden set or patio, place them in an area where they can best be viewed and enjoyed. Installing a water fall is a great idea to add to the main attractions of your landscaped garden. With some hard work and a lot of creativity, you will feel great once you look out your window and you see the landscaped lawn which you designed and built it by yourself.

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Photo: saxonfenken

Busy homeowners who care about the external appearance of their home as much as they do the interior can turn to a landscaping contractor for design ideas and to handle outdoor projects. A licensed landscape contractor has been specially trained to meet all landscaping needs – whether for service purposes or cosmetic.

Everything from driveways, patios, and decks; to grading the yard, and complete landscape design. Garden ponds enhanced by a pond bridge, wooden “playscapes” for children, walkthrough gardens, and placement and selection of trees, shrubs, and other flora to balance the yard and enhance visual appeal.

Landscaping Contractor Benefits
Like other qualified professionals, different landscape contractors will have specific areas of experience and expertise. For instance, hire an experienced landscape lighting contractor to install outdoor lighting features. They are knowledgeable about different types of landscape lighting, and when and how to use each for maximum benefit.

Photo: databyter.com

Few homeowners are savvy as to the best way to enhance landscape features using contour lighting, uplighting, grazing, moonlighting, or backlighting techniques. A licensed landscape contractor, however, knows how to exploit the benefits of these type lighting features.

The Right Landscaping Contractor for the Right Job

A qualified contractor with a landscaping contractor license can increase the external beauty of a home, correct landscape problems, and bring balance to the yard – increasing real estate market value of the home. Select the right contractor for the right job.

A construction contractor landscaping expert might be best for building a raised deck, split-level patio, or a number of other functional outdoor projects. Some are more experienced with correcting landscape flaws and the use of flora enhancements to beautify and balance to the yard. The expertise of another landscaping contractor might be concrete driveways, walkways, and custom edging the landscape perimeter.

Word of mount referrals, local licensing authorities, and Internet resources such as servicemagic.com are your best resources for finding a qualified landscaping contractor in your area. Carefully selecting a qualified landscaping contractor ensures outdoor feature success, adding to the appearance and value of your home.

Landscaping Ideas
Opt for a low water landscape design using drought-tolerant plants and ground cover to conserve water and decrease maintenance needs. If spare time is a problem, hire a landscaping contractor with experience designing easy care landscapes, greatly reducing upkeep efforts.

Photo: archinspire.com

Mower-friendly lawns devoid of grass peninsulas and islands that slow down mowing, and require lots of turning and maneuvering. Small yards can be made to look larger using the expertise of a landscape contractor designer familiar with the “forcing the perspective” technique. Angling plants toward each other, extending to the rear of the landscape. Making the yard look longer and more spacious, while adding visual interest and enhanced beauty.

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Photo: Beedle Um Bum

In addition, containers offer a versatile form of gardening that fits into any lifestyle and yard size. City dwellers can use them to brighten up lifeless balconies, roof decks or front stoops, while those with more space can decorate high-traffic spaces and incorporate them into lawn and garden areas for added drama and flair.

Have you ever heard about the All-America Rose Selections (AARS)? It indicates the rose excelled in the most difficult plant trial in the world: two years of testing in 23 gardens across the country, representing all climate zones. By performing well against 15 criteria including fragrance, ease of maintenance and disease resistance, AARS roses are proven to be the very best.

From the above standard, size is the most important consideration. Make sure the pot is not too small and, when in doubt, go for the larger size to allow the roots to grow without constraint over time. Make sure all pots have at least one drainage hole to prevent root rot. Do not use saucers beneath the pot; instead, use pot “feet” to lift the pot off any surface and guarantee good drainage.

Selecting the right spot is necessary because roses like full sun and good air circulation. Since pots have the advantage of mobility, you can move the pot around to find just the right location. Also, consider “pot-scaping” Choose pots of different sizes and shapes that are made from similar material or those that are similar in color to create a complementary and leveled look. Pot feet can also be used to create levels with pots of the same size.

Indispensably, roses prefer a well-drained soil. The commercial soil mixes do well but can dry out quickly. Consider adding some soil from your garden to help stabilize the mix and extend the moisture retention. Plants grown in pots require more water, organic matter and fertilizer than plants in the ground.

While you want to place a rose bush, start with place it in the center of the container and surround with “filler” and “spiller” plants at the base. The rose plant draws the eye upwards and adds height to the space, while the fillers and spillers cover the base and accentuate the container. Then, group plants strategically and choose plants with the same sunlight and watering requirements as roses. Shallow-rooted fillers do best as they will not compete with the deeper rose roots. Try annuals such as sweet alyssum or lobelia, or consider smaller creeping herbs such as thyme or ornamental oregano.

For the perfect creation, you can mix colorful plants with those in various shades of green to create a more intensified, three-dimensional effect. Smaller, variegated ivy hybrids look great and will spill out over sides of the container as they grow.

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Photo: jimblodget

Around late October or December, when the nighttime temperatures drop to less than forty-five degrees Fahrenheit for more than four days in a row, or frost is forecasted for your area, you know its time to begin preparing your garden. You should begin by evaluating your garden design, check which plants grew well in the past season, and which plants did not do well. Fall is a good time to decide which plants will remain in you garden next year, and which ones should go.

Moreover, it’s a good time to decide which new plants you want to grow. To make your garden more colorful and healthy, be sure only to plant the more hardy plants during the fall so that they can withstand the winter. Some plants that will do fine being planted in fall are: rudbeckia, Aster Novi-belgii, Anemone Japonica, panicle hyandea, endive, escarole, and Brussels sprouts. You can find all of these and more in gardening magazines or your local nursery.

After you have finished the above step, you should begin cleaning up your garden by pulling out weeds that may have cropped up, and raking fallen leaves. Weeds and rotten leaves can carry insects and diseases that might be harmful to your garden. You should also rid your garden of spent annual plants, and harvest your vegetables and other plants that cannot withstand the winter weather. After fall has come and gone, the leaves will be off your trees and you can see the rotten branches. Trimming off the unwanted branches from your trees isn’t necessary to your gardens health, but may help later on by not dropping branches on your plants and not blocking too much of the sun. If you have younger trees you should consider wrapping them and supporting them with stakes to help them survive the winter wind and cold. Putting mulch over your garden for the winter can be a helpful way for protecting plants from sudden temperature changes and heavy snow.

Photo: m.loeff

Remember that whenever you are finished with your gardening tools you should clean them and make sure they are in a safe place where they won’t rust and you know where they’ll be for next year. Before winter comes you should always set out slug repellent, as slugs are one of the worst bugs to have in your garden. Don’t worry about your beloved garden anymore, because you’ve already known the preparation for this coming winter completely.

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Your Garden Friend – Heaters And Umbrellas
By Kenny G Leichester

Are you tired of the cold winter days where you are forced to spend all your waking moments indoors? When I was a kid, my days were spent playing at the patio with my brother. We would run around chasing each other while enjoying the hot morning sun. However, when the clouds began to arrive, our days will be spoilt as mum would be screaming at the top of her voice – “JO AND JER, COME IN RIGHT NOW. RAINING AH!” The remaining hours will be filled with prayers and mindless staring at the sky outside through the living room window. We will also be singing “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day…”

Photo: backyardcity.com

Keeping your garden clean and tidy is not only crucial for making a good first impression but also to ensure the safety of your children when they play there. It is good for children to get fresh air by playing outdoors but you wouldn’t want them to play in places where the child is vulnerable to dangerous objects such as pieces of broken glass or harmful creatures like snakes.

Your patio should be kept clean and tidy, not only for your children to play in but also it’s a great place to hold a tea party. Use your imagination and picturesque an afternoon of fun spent at the comfort of your own garden; catching up with friends whilst enjoying the afternoon sun. You’d be amazed that you don’t have to drive far to the countryside in order to enjoy the great outdoor. However, if your party suddenly stops due to a sudden downpour, you might be facing the situation whereby your guest will run to your living room on their muddy feet. At the end of the day, you will end up with a dirty living room and patio.

Scenario such as this one can be avoided if you have a patio umbrella. At the mention of patio umbrella, a vision of a bulky wood table with a big yellow umbrella might come into mind and you can’t stand the thought of it sitting at your garden. No fear, patio umbrellas don’t have to come equipped with those tables anymore. Today’s version of patio umbrella is much more enhanced than it was years ago. They are capable of standing without the aid of the table. The patio umbrellas, made with stronger materials are much lighter and are practical to move about.

Another feature that you would love about patio umbrellas of today is the fact that they are adjustable. So if, you’re spending the whole day outside, you can avoid the direct sun whether it’s in the east or west. You sun shy friends or relatives will thank you for it too! Now that you have a patio umbrella in your garden, don’t forget to experience new things that you have not been able to do in your garden before this like having a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy winter afternoon. Protected under the patio umbrella, all you need to worry about now is making sure you don’t stay out too long immersed in the beautiful scenery!

It is a disappointment that you have to leave your garden when you are fully engrossed at watching how beautiful it is when it snows. You can eliminate your frustration too by investing in a patio heater. You can count on patio heaters to warm up the surrounding when you need to, though don’t expect it to turn your winter days into summer ones. However, be sure to purchase a heater that does not require it to be connected to the electric plug because you wouldn’t want any one to trip on them would you?

Why limit your time in your precious garden when you can enjoy it anytime you want with the help of patio umbrellas and heater.

Kenny Leichester is a foremost expert in the interior design industry specializing in the outdoor or patio settings using outdoor patio furniture, patio umbrellas, outdoor cushions, patio heaters, patio lighting and so on to create exquisitely beautiful layout. His work on outdoor cushions designs and so on are widely distributed and is a regular contributor to PatioShoppers.com
 

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Well, you’ve just spent an incredibly long week at work, shut inside your cubicle working on the quarterly report. You’ve had little time outside – basically the time it takes you to go from your house to the car to the office and back. By the end of the week you ate your lunch from the vending machine in the lounge rather than take the time to run out to visit your favorite hot dog vendor, just to get the work done. Now that you’ve finished and are ready for a much-needed and well-deserved weekend, you head home with nothing but relaxation on your mind.

Photo: smith.edu

Stepping into your apartment, you are greeted with a hungry cat (did you feed Speckles this week????), a basket of dirty laundry (the elves didn’t pick it up?) and a dead houseplant. Not very inspiring.

Spruce It Up!

What to do? You’ve neither the desire nor cash to head out to the mountains for the weekend (packing, unpacking and then more laundry), but can’t see spending a dreary two days with these uninspiring surroundings. It’s easier than you think (and less expensive) to liven things up for yourself. Since you probably plan to eat this weekend and to do so must go to at least one store to get said food, take a look at what your friendly supermarket has to offer in respect to plants and flowers. Go ahead and buy yourself a bouquet. Get a big one that you can separate into smaller arrangements to spread throughout your home. Try again with the houseplants…pick out a few hardy looking ones and bring them back with you. Pick up a new watering can – just having something new to use can inspire you to actually use it. It’s a lot more satisfying to water the plants with a groovy little watering can than with your coffee pot.

Once you’ve returned home with your new plants or flowers, open up! Even if it’s hot or cold outside, it’s a good idea to freshen up the place with some outside air. You may only be able to keep the windows open for a little while, but it will do you and your place a world of good. (Of course this wouldn’t apply if you’re currently in the midst of a dust storm, blizzard, hurricane, or plague of frogs…I would assume that if any of these things were happening you would not be looking to bring quite THAT much nature into your surroundings…)

If you’ve the benefit of a balcony, patio, or even a communal outdoor area where you live, take advantage of it. Get out there with a lawn chair and soak up some rays. You might discover that you have one or two interesting neighbors that are worth getting to know. One of them might even have some pointers for your houseplants. You could invite them over for a drink on those cool summer nights by your toasty chimenea; or you could plan a clean-up and planting day followed by a BBQ or a glass of wine or cup of coffee. You’ll reap the benefits in more ways than one.

These outdoor fire pits are a great way to step outside and enjoy nature. Shop from hundreds of fire pits and outdoor fire pits including this unique hand crafted mosaic fire pit.
 

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Installing a lateral line irrigation system in areas where the temperature fluctuates between hot and cold can be very stressful. Worrying about whether you have blown out your irrigation lines properly or not, because you do not want your lines to freeze and burst is not fun. By installing automatic drains in your irrigation system, you can help to decrease some of that worry and stress. What exactly do automatic drains do?

Photo: daltonbearing.com

When the irrigation system is turned off, the automatic drains drain the remaining water from the lines. This can help prevent freezing and damage when the temperature starts going down. The automatic drains have to be installed at the low points of the line at a 45-degree angle to ensure that the water is completely drained from the line. With no water in the irrigation lines, there is no danger of freezing and damaging the lines.

It would seem that if water can be drained from the lines, then it can get into the lines as well, but this is not the case. Automatic drains are equipped with a backflow preventer to keep water out of the line from the ground, as well as dirt. This is a very important facet of the automatic draining system to ensure that water only moves out and not in to keep the irrigation lines working.

To work most efficiently to irrigate your crops or land, your automatic drains need to be installed correctly. It is much cheaper and easier to install automatic drains when the entire irrigation system is installed, rather than installing them to an existing system, but it can be done if you are willing to foot the cost and put in the time. That is why you want to do your research before you invest money in any project in and around the home, so that you can make the most of your investment. Whether you are installing a new system or adding to an existing one, there are several things that you want to keep in mind.

A pit should be dug where you are installing the automatic drains, so that you can enhance the drainage process. This pit should be lined with landscape fabric and then filled with pea gravel to ensure that the water can move through the gravel and drain into the ground most efficiently. After the automatic drains are installed, more pea gravel is added and the dirt is added on top of this. This causes the draining to be efficient, so that you will not have any danger of standing water around the drain areas.

Automatic drains can keep your stress down when the temperature begins to drop in the fall and winter months. On top of the stress reduction property during the times the temperature dips below freezing, it can save you money in the future, because you will not have to deal with busted irrigation lines. Your irrigation system will last you through many years of temperature fluctuations, crop cycles, grass cuttings, and more.

GreenMarkIrrigation.com is the largest wholesale dealer and distributor for Automatic Drains and sprinklers.

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