The lighting in the garden

The garden lighting
Illuminate your garden; it is both useful and enjoyable.  Markup of the entrance to the illumination of the pool, learn some important rules on this vast subject. 

     Introduction
Lighting the garden is both the useful and pleasant.  By illuminating, we extend the time you can spend in the garden or around the house when the nights are mild.  But it's also a way to create a second garden, full of poetry, which reveals itself only at night.
 The subject is vast, here first a brief introduction to different types of lighting available...
 

     Markup The aim is to enlighten the markup, just enough, the traffic areas.  Road entrance driveway leading to garage, stairs leading down to a gate... 

 The advent of "solar terminals, without consumption, low cost, has clearly revived this aspect of the illumination.
 

Turn anyway to sources of low power: the objective here is to report outlines with discretion, with a view to securing.
 

Go for bright spots of low height, if not outright on the ground, rather than for large candelabra lights too.

       Balcony, terrace  Being close to home lighting requires thinking of these two areas very thoughtful.
       •  It will set the lighting according to the expected usage.  Soft light for the development, suspension for

          a well-lit table, and floor lamp for reading corner ...  Generally, balconies and terraces are best to have

          multiple independent electrical circuits.
      •  The type of fixture chosen to be compatible with the style of the building.  Applique front with an old

          stone wall, stainless steel terminals for a more modern architecture ...
      

       Massive Without falling into kitsch and aim for a "little Versailles", it may be interesting to illuminate a remarkable mass of your garden.  It's a way to rediscover.
 Take spots (terminals lack of light and height).  Not too strong, however: the bulbs could burn out the most delicate foliage.
 Make a simple install and unobtrusive, which is not detrimental to the aesthetics in broad daylight and does not run your gardening.
 At first, choose mobile products (on stakes or with pliers): this allows you to easily perform several tests and to "follow" the evolution of vegetation during the season.  The following year, with clearer ideas, you can enter "hard". 

       Trees and shrubs Install a projector beneath a shrub or in the branches of a large tree can create spectacular scenes without much complication.

The floodlights or spotlights to be powerful: pairing them with a timer to avoid unnecessary spending by illuminating the night.  You will place either to the ground or among the branches.

Caution: the heat can severely damage the leaves of trees, choose great subjects to open branches and do not place your lights in conifers.
 

       Minimum Security The electrical safety of electrical equipment is defined by a number called Dimensions. The higher it is, the more the element is isolated.  For the garden, choose only the material with an index greater than or equal to 44. 

 

      Pool, pool If your house has a water point, it is wise to enlighten.
      •  What's prettier than a basin spreading a soft glow at night?
      •  The edge of a pool shall be reported in the darkness for security reasons, and the illumination

         of swimming pool will night!
 

Attention, strict compliance with electrical standards alone can guarantee your safety: it is especially imperative to use only equipment with very low voltage. 

If you do not want to get into the great work, do not hesitate to use the lamps surface: there are now solar lights floating, you can also have some candles in cups: the candles are full of romance ...
 

       Coming soon...  We will soon be following the more technical aspects: installation, safety, solar lighting, low voltage...

Soil analysis

Soil Testing

Limestone, clay or humic acid, or alkali ... All garden soils are different, and their characteristics depend strongly crops that succeed without effort, or those that require some improvements to the ground.  To know your soil, your soil!

   
    The levy
Part of the soil you need to analyze is one in which most plants will draw for their growth, ie a layer of soil between 20 and 30 cm deep, called topsoil.

Make sure you have glass jars (jam type) and a scoop (or trowel ).  Take the so-called small shovel depth at different locations in your yard so that the soil sample is representative. 

 Of course, if part of your garden is very sandy, and a streak of clay underlies your garden, the common sense to conduct two separate reviews! 

     Mixing and sample 

Open a newspaper or a plastic sheet; mix your different levies for something homogeneous.  You get like your "average soil", logically enough, representative of the ground of your garden. 

    

    Test Kit

Where to buy?

This kit is available at garden centers.  Looking good!  Its packaging makes it look like any other fertilizer or treatment ...  Sometimes it is stored near organic products.  Its cost is modest (about 8 €).

What does it? 

This kit can measure the pH of soil.  This is not a complete analysis, but at least you know the acidity of your soil and are valuable information.

Gardening ...  with the earth of her garden! 

Once the characteristics of the land better known, is it with gardening or against it?  In other words, the gardener should look at it by with his land, confining well suited to crops, or should it seek at all costs to change the structure of the soil to grow plants that it would appeal not without it? 

We are looking today for the first approach.  By with nature.  So if your site is really chalky, do-not have it

Composition 

The cardboard box contains strips, a bottle of distilled water and a test tube.
The procedure is very simple.  Simply, using a spoon, fill halfway up the test tube with the mixture made earlier.  Then fill with deionized water before shaking the tube vigorously after clogged. 

It remains only to let the land to settle, and dip a dipstick in the tube. The color taken by the paper then provides information on the acidity or alkalinity of the soil

    A full analysis?You can also fill a small plastic bag of 500 grams to 1 kg of the mixture, and give it to your garden, which will provide a laboratory equipped for soil analysis.  The information obtained will be much broader and comprehensive, but it's more expensive ...

Come calcifuges plants (azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons etc. ...),  If it is still possible to improve the long land, for example by rewarding with green manure land too poor, or reducing force leaf mold and ... 

Working clay soil, minimize chemical fixes. On the whole field a beautiful garden is possible: respect what nature gives us.

Mineral garden

The mineral garden

 Values change, the exuberance meets the minimalism and a return to spirituality.  Giving meaning, find balance and serenity, are the aspirations that are expressed in the gardens minerals.

   The spirit

Inspired by the Buddhist philosophy, the Zen garden mineral born in the eighth century created a harmony between man and nature.  It is the expression of this humility that emphasizes simplicity and symbolism, a source of mixed emotions. Thus nothing is selected by chance, everything is the message and the message that transcends time, the garden uses materials “stable.”To understand the meaning, the viewer is invited to contemplate, that the door to the serenity.

 .

    The shape

There is no geometry in the mineral garden, avoiding straight lines and symmetry.  The limited number of plants allows the creation of a garden on a very small mineral surface, and can contain its expansion.  To give the illusion of space, perspectives are skewed; the asymmetry must be the rule.  The shape of stones and their number (always odd) holds symbolic.

 .

     Materials

The stone in its different forms is the basic element in creating a garden mineral.  The land must not be apparent, the ground is covered or gravel, sand and moss.  The routing is done through "not" placed in the foam.  The crossing can be achieved through a wooden bridge shaped curve.  The colors are the result of materials used, from white to black through to the ocher stones, and the crimson color for wood products.  Water may be present in a mineral garden, although in symbolic Zen, water is represented by gravel and sand that is raked to create soft waves.  When the soil does not permit direct, metal pots or earth shaped sober host plants.  Some insights hidden in candles or lanterns stone keep alive the mineral garden at night.

 .

     Plants

On the ground, not grass but a substitute for the foam (no cutting): The Helxine that needs a moist soil, or Sagina subulata for light soils and good drainage.  The layout of plantations should provide in the foreground plants very low: thyme , santolina, oregano, sage, thistles, decorative and grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia, Calamagrostis acutiflora, and various varieties of Pennisetum.  A little further back, the sage of Jerusalem, Ceanothus x delilianus the Agapanthus' Polar Ice 'or Tritoma' false aloe, are the junction with subjects that close higher perspective: conifers, Japanese maple, Japanese cherry, not to mention all the varieties of bamboo .

The mineral garden is attracting more and more fans because it reduces the maintenance, gives a spiritual meaning to his creation, and fits in small spaces such as terraces, balconies or gardens in town.

Living space

The new garden space to live 

Long regarded as a space to showcase the house, the garden becomes a place to live.  Whether to relax, meet friends, or feel a closer contact with nature, the garden is to be "living space".

The exterior continues inside

Upon the arrival of summer, the garden is where you want to be.  This is a new piece that decorates and make you the same way as other parts of the house. Harmony and continuity are the key words in the garden layout .  Decorator and landscape are there to provide the necessary advice.

A space for...

 The garden is a showcase of the home.  Terraces, swimming pool, gazebos and pergolas, all spaces should be equipped and decorated.  Hosting is giving welfare and pleasure to its guests.  The rooms are comfortable and welcoming gardens, cushions and other soft materials replace the plastic furniture.  New materials allowed leaving without fear outside his furniture UV proofed.  So the important thing is that it is pleasing to the eye and soft enough to stay there as long as possible.

 

 ... And for fun 
In childhood the garden is the location of all discoveries.  Our memory retains the memories of all these games shared with other children.  Today the garden is increasing its attractiveness to offer small and large all kinds of distractions: water games, gardening , cabins, outdoor sports, wildlife watching, exploring the flora ... 

    The garden source of welfare

If the home is the place where one can isolate themselves from the world and return to his family, the garden makes a contact with nature, it gives a feeling of serenity for relaxation and dream. Voyager staying at home!  That's what makes a garden of delight all the senses.  Watch and care for his garden can take care of yourself and your family.  Growing fruit and vegetables , or simply breathe the air of the garden provides a sense of good form that we still do not feel isolated in our hyper habitat.  

Use extending 

 

 Through the imagination of designers, the garden can be "lived" longer.  Aided by global warming, the use of the garden is facilitated by the development of arbor, pergola, screen and sunshade.  For cool evenings a patio heater provides comfort that linger on the terrace.  Even the kitchen starts to "green" by the use of barbecue and grilled increasingly developed.  At night the garden continues to attract attention by lighting low voltage or LED , with a range of lighting products more decorative.

Wicker living fence

       Decorate by weaving wicker living (p.1)

The wicker basket makers do not appear on our timeless baskets to commission.  From willow, these strands are also used to develop winter real live hedges.  They decorate the edges and brightly path, the edges of window boxes and can even be imagined as a child hut or a small nest summer ...  Wicker living manual.

         A living fence in his garden.

 All willows are not suitable for use as a living fence. Among the most popular with landscapers, we find the Salix purpurea, the vitellina alba, the viminalis, willow black Vilaine, the "grisette Touraine", "long bud "or the" Holy Queen ".  Planting willow sprigs in the ground takes place from November to March.  Plus the weather is mild and should advance the planting season to avoid having to cut trees that are already in full ascent of sap, which would significantly lower the chances of recovery.  Attention to the location chosen for planting these freshly cut branches. The willow is indeed with a strong root system, which may cause some unwanted interactions with plants planted nearby.

         Soil Preparation

Once the location of his work delineated, it must dig the soil depth of 50 cm and 30 cm deep.  If the soil is too clayey and heavy, do not hesitate to make a contribution of topsoil to promote rooting.  For the stability of the hedge, maintaining poles are needed.  By providing one every 5 meters for a hedge with straight struts at the ends.  A string between the directional poles will stay on line throughout the plantation.

        Planting

Osier beveled must undergo a small bathroom a few days in water before planting to encourage the resumption of the plant.  The strands should be planted at 20 cm distance from each other unless the final result of the work requires smaller diamonds and thus a tighter weave. At that moment, a bit every 10 cm is sufficient.  When planting, care must be taken to give a tilt to the strand for weaving and push the blade of 20 cm.  for a more solid fence; it is also possible to double strands and to plant both.  In order not to mix the paint brushes, it is best to plant on one side of the cord strands in a sense (right example), do the entire length of the fence and get to the other side for planting purposes inverse (opposite direction to the first row).  At this stage it is not necessary to deal ends.

        Decorate by weaving wicker living (p.2)
 

The wicker basket makers do not appear on our timeless baskets to commission.  From willow, these strands are also used to develop winter real live hedges.  They decorate the edges and brightly path, the edges of window boxes and can even be imagined as a child hut or a small nest summer ...  Wicker living manual

 

          Braiding

Then install a first wire 20 to 30 cm above the ground between posts, and so on at the desired frequency and then attach the wires to the wire and secure the braid. This step of fixing the wire strands Iron can be done either with raffia or wicker more flexible.  At the ends you end up with osier untethered.  Just around the bend of the pole to go on braiding and tying the other to the intersection of Argyle. 

Regarding the end of the hedge, there are several approaches. The school "savage" who is to leave the strands as they stand: they will then provide a small tuft of foliage at the top of the hedge. It can also twist the strands together to ensure a finish such as "basket-handle", the arrest of two by two halves to form circles ...  But the easiest is to let his imagination. 

 Latest recommendations

Willows are very water-intensive plants.  The first year, do not hesitate to administer them a regular supply of water and mulch the soil with straw, pine bark or shredded prunings.  The maintenance of a living fence requires a size regular one to three times per year depending on the growth. It takes the shears and is used to keep the effect of style and size desired.

To go further... 

 The most creative will be surprised to imagine real sculptures with this plant material alive as children's games, mazes, mini-cabins shaded arbors, and even toilets open (for this particular work, we will make you a little demonstration, be patient ...).  By the way, know that the most impressive pieces will age much better than taking small because of age; the willow will start to grow and ensure a greater strength for a living sculpture ... even more impressive!