Free Article HomeSubmit Article l Contact Us


The “Minimal” Garden 
Some people who lead busy professional and personal lives, don’t feel they have the time to invest in the constant upkeep of floral and other gardens, but would still like to do something about landscaping or decorating their property. And there are others for whom gardens are simply not their “thing”, but they like a little decoration, without the fuss of digging, planting, and constant weeding. For them, the “minimal” garden or yard arrangements may be the best choice.



Strictly speaking, not all these ideas involve a garden, but do utilize garden accessories and other items of garden décor, to create the look or atmosphere that a homeowner can enjoy, while not feeling guilty about getting behind in the care of their plants and flowers.



If you are fortunate enough to have a large property, or if your yard borders on a field, the ideal “garden” that takes little care is one that’s planted with wild flowers. With the proper set up, not only will this provide you with colorful blossoms and beautiful grasses, but it will also attract a variety of birds and butterflies.



First, check to see what kind of soil you have, and whether it is suited to the wildflower seed that is available in your area. Next, if you don’t have a garden that you are letting revert to the wild, you may need to have someone use a rotor-tiller to break up a long swath of earth along the side or back of your lawn. Make sure this has been well-turned, and there is sufficient soil on the surface for the seeds to take anchor in, as opposed to scattering them on hard clumps of sod that may be dense with grass roots.



“Wild” garden seed can be purchased in containers, in pre-seeded strips of bio-degradable material, and in “sheets”, which are simply laid on top of ground that has been prepared and watered. Check the progress of your garden as it begins to sprout, and if there are any bare patches that show no promise of growth, you can scratch up the surface with a garden rake, and sprinkle some more seed. Even if you used the pre-planted materials, a little dirt added on top, with some seed, will help fill in the open spaces.



The effort put into wild gardens is all in the beginning. After that, you’ll be able to sit back in your Adirondack chairs under the trees, and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. As the flowers grow and begin to bloom, you’ll see just what kind of bonuses they bring. And you can increase the pleasure, by providing extras for the visitors to your garden.



Natural grasses that go to seed will attract birds. A birdbath at the edge of your garden, or even further onto the lawn will provide water for the visitors, and allow them to splash and drink, then return to their browsing in the garden. Designs in bird baths have gone way beyond the classic Roman column with a cement bowl, and now offer delightful reproductions of fairies, cherubs, angels, and animal figures, such as a squirrel holding a birdbath.



You may find that your yard is suddenly extra popular with all kinds of feathered friends, in which case, you might like to provide further feeding stations for them. Birdfeeders come in a wide variety of shapes, designed for placement at different levels. There are gazebo and stained glass feeders to be hung from tree branches, Pelican or fairy dish-style feeders that sit on the lawn for ground feeders, and the wasp-proof feeders that can be hung out, or mounted in planters for the tiny and charming hummingbirds.



Don’t forget yourself, once you have your “minimal” garden set up to admire. Place a garden swing on your patio, or a patio table and chairs in the shade where you can sit and enjoy nature at its best.


Author Info:

Johann Erickson is the owner of Online Discount Mart and TV Products 4 Less. He is also a contributing writer for sites such as Helpful Home Ideas. Please include an active link to our site if you'd like to reprint this article.

 
30 Most Recent Articles :
A Disputed New Business:Virtual Property Exchange

In many ways, the in-game economy is similar to a real world economy - goods and services are traded to mutual advantage and are mediated in currencies(gold,platinum,credit,etc.). An online broker, who goes by the screen name Rolala, was not a fan of online games until his 15-year-old son be[ Read Article]

THE UNITED STATES, A Terrorist Nation

I love the United States of America, but I cannot tolerate the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. No I am not shouting at you, I am simply making a distinction, a difference that thirty-seven states of the union have noticed and moved to rectify. You see, AMERICA isn’t America anymore, nor does it in anyw[ Read Article]

Dollars and Sense

When I speak of the Federal Reserve and the fiat monetary system that controls our lives I feel as though my words are falling on deaf ears. I have the sense that the simplest conversations suggesting that change must be made invoke fear and condemnation from my fellow citizens. When will we tak[ Read Article]

Constitutionality

Is the 16th Amendment constitutional? Of course it is, the Supreme Court has made that as clear as it did the issue of slavery. But let us remember that it took the lives of more than 365,000 brave American men and the destruction of the Republic to wrest the matter from the courts and resolve the[ Read Article]

Five Secrets to Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertising

With so many companies swarming the World Wide Web with their products, how can you and your products and services stand out? Your ready answer would most likely be effective marketing. But how? How can you catch the eye of a surfer skimming carelessly through web pages? How can you keep the at[ Read Article]

How to Sell Bonds

If you want to make good money with banks, or any institution, Government and agency bonds are where it is at. Simply because all Government bonds and agencies are AAA rated, and banks can buy millions of dollars of any bond without incurring any credit risk. All banks own bonds of some sort, a[ Read Article]

Closing in the Car Business

The “P” Word. Closing is all about helping car customers make positive decisions. It is not about pressure or manipulation. Your customers need help overcoming the “P” word. Procrastination! Procrastination is natural when it comes to making a buying decision. Your customer is trying to avoid [ Read Article]

If You Build It They Will Come, or Will They?

All right, so you invested your time and energy to build your organization a great new web site, but you are not getting quite the results you were hoping for. Few customers are visiting or interacting with you and rarely do you get prospects to contact you through the site. So what can you do to [ Read Article]

Confessions of a Yoga Teacher

The following are questions that Yoga teachers still need to answer, despite overwhelming evidence that Yoga is ?the mother of all health maintenance systems.? Mainstream thought is finally catching up, with the progress Yoga is making, but it has taken 5,000 years for us to get this far. Serio[ Read Article]

Vertical Creep in Search Results :: Should Organic Optimizers be Concerned?

I thought for this week I’d give a summary of some of the more interesting Search Engine Strategies sessions which are currently going on in New York City. I was at SES as a speaker last year in New York and I have to say, there is a wealth of information there even if some of it is contradict[ Read Article]

How to build link popularity fast and free

We all knew that back link or link popularity is a big factor to get good position in any search engines. But building link popularity some times really hard if you don't know how to do it. One of the hardest problem for new webmasters is to get back link to their newly stablis[ Read Article]

Does Chiropractic Care Really Make Sense?

The Role of Chiropractic in Treatment Beyond the Resolution of Symptoms Do you have the same nagging injury that never seems to go away? Are you suffering needlessly with pain? Are you fed up with taking painkillers? Do you want to find out what is causing your pain? If your answer is ‘ye[ Read Article]

The Economic Implications of Buying Drugs Online

Although the Internet is fairly new (at least to the mainstream) online shopping has grown by leaps and bounds. Now you can buy almost anything you need, from food to fishing equipment, right through your computer. Of course, this has meant that commerce has been forced to adapt to the changing co[ Read Article]

Manning and Manning-Can Either Brother Win the Big One?

It was just over a year ago, after the Colts lost to the Pats in their post-season contest, that Boomer Esiason said on national television, "I think maybe Peyton (Manning) is this generation's Dan Marino." Esiason went on to state that Manning "is a great football player, but he's not going to get[ Read Article]

Branding, Branding, Branding - MSN fails to keep it Straight

Sometimes you see promotions come along and you wonder: did they just do that? The current MSN promotion called msnsearchandwin is a prime example of this. Not only do they use “black hat” or at least “questionable” tactics on the site, but the messaging is inconsistent. In this article [ Read Article]

The New MSN Search Interface :: A positive change or the antithesis of transformation?

Now, instead of wide blue bars there are sleek silver-grey bars. Also, the top bar where the search box is became narrower. To me this makes the page seem less “closed in” and more visually appealing. I now feel as if I can trust the results more because they have more room. I’ve also noti[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has[ Read Article]

Drug Rehab Treatment Centers as an Experience, not a Punishment

Choosing a drug rehab treatment center is a decision that calls for both negative and positive emotions. Nobody wants addiction to overtake their life to the point that rehab is the necessary step. However, the decision to go to one is something to look forward to, as it is the decision to rebui[ Read Article]

Some ways to improve your king content

There are thousands of articles, books and forum posts which showed that content is king in search engine optimization (SEO). In this article, you can find some ways that can help you improve this king content for your web site. * Content for people first, not for search engines - Some webmaste[ Read Article]

Aerosmith Just Keeps On Rockin’

For over three decades, Aerosmith have been one of rock's most revered and popular bands, crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs and intensely energetic vocals. The band first reached fame in the 1970’s with a string of hits including "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way." During t[ Read Article]

Chicago Cubs Pitcher Mark Prior Re-signs

After many trips through the rumor mill, Mark Prior accepted the Chicago Cubs’ offer on January 27 to a one-year, $3.65 million contract. That is $900,000 more than the salary he would have earned under the contract he voided in November. Since Prior's definitive season in 2003 (18-6), he has cooled[ Read Article]

Social Networking - The Next Great Marketing Medium?

There has been a virtual explosion of social networking sites in the past couple of years. Even the big players like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it. With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if there is marketing potential within these social network[ Read Article]

How to choose paid directory for web site listing?

How to choose paid directory for web site listing? Search Engines are the major source of traffic for any website. High search engine ranking can boost number of your visitors and in turn leads to increase in sales. The best way to get top search engine placement is to improve link popularity [ Read Article]

Addiction Treatment Centers Using Experiential Therapies

Life is experience. Substance dependence overtakes a person’s ability to make her own decisions to experience life, and life is no longer actively participated in. Therefore, in overcoming addiction, it is vital to learn to re-experience life. This lesson helps a treatment center resident reint[ Read Article]

The DH: Making Life Tough for AL Pitchers

In 1973 Major League Baseball instituted three rules designed to lessen the power of pitchers and create more offense. One theory at work was that the game needed to be energized and that more hitting would create additional runs and excitement. Both the National and American Leagues lowered th[ Read Article]

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way Almost everyone agrees; there is no more relaxing way to vacation than to take it to the beach. For the vacationer/traveler who hasn't considered a beach house rental before, they represent an affordable and fun family oriented alternative. There is an intell[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays and Hotels Buzzed by New Jets

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has sparked hopes that the island will see [ Read Article]

The Rising Cost of Prescription Drugs

If you’re like many Americans, the rising cost of prescription drugs may be costing you your health. In particular, seniors living on a fixed income with no insurance are finding it difficult to pay for necessary prescriptions out-of-pocket, and as a result, may be failing to receive the treatment[ Read Article]

Who's Tops in Hockey and Who's Not

The National Hockey League needs to do more to encourage better coverage of the hockey games. With so many other sports realizing national coverage, the NHL is sometimes forgotten. However, this year, there's a race for the Stanley Cup, and only one is set to win it. But which team will that be? [ Read Article]

The Danger Of Rounding Up Your Debts

Rounding up your debts is one of the biggest dangers to your financial position. It's also one of the easiest ways for your debts to get out of control. This way of thinking is best summed up by the following comment; ‘I already owe $27500 so what’s another $500. It takes my debt to a nice round [ Read Article]

 

World Top Stories :
EU 'wants Greece in the eurozone'
EU leaders want Greece to stay in the eurozone but it must continue economic reforms, the European Council president says at a Brussels summit.


Egypt's landmark poll to resume
Egyptians are due to vote for the second day in the country's first free presidential elections - 15 months after Hosni Mubarak was ousted.


Suu Kyi to make Thai forum visit
Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to attend the World Economic Forum in Bangkok next week, leaving Burma for the first time in 24 years.


 

Copyright © 2006 Realook.com All Rights Reserved.