Planting native perennials

The Botanical Gardens of Asheville Spring Plant Sale and the WNC Herb Festival were full of cool plants this weekend. We snagged all sorts of interesting natives, from Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium), Goldenseal, American Ginseng, and ramps, along with Golden ragwort (Senecio aureus), Anise-scented Goldenrod (Solidago odora), Wild Yam, a Gaillardia cultivar, (Rough Blazing Star) Liatris aspera, and a lovely Carex spp.

Added to the Penstemons, Coreopsis, Centaurea, and Achillea that came as trial complimentary plants from Blooms of Bressingham (I'd signed up for them at the Garden Writer's Association annual conference), we had lots to plant in the front perennial bed at our small mountain house!

Read more...

Home Interior Design Ideas, Living Room

living room interior design

home interior design ideas, living room

minimalist interior design of living room

Read more...

Wisteria

There's a part of me that would kill for this balcony ...

I love wisteria. And my dream is an old house in the country with wisteria growing up the walls. But despite that, I don't think that I shall be introducing it here.

First of all because it's not really a balcony plant. Even here it's not really growing on the balcony - it's been planted in the garden and then trained up.

It must have been planted when the house was built, given the size of it and the width of the trunk.

It's been trained up carefully, and the branches have then been supported under and along the balconies themselves.

Wisteria can be planted in containers - but the container plus the vine might soon get too heavy for the balcony. If you're balcony gardening and intend to use large containers, it's worth finding out how much weight your balcony can support - according to my architect husband, on the type of balcony we have here it's usually around 250-300 kilograms per square foot. Remember though that you need to allow for the weight of the people who might be standing on the balcony too. It's not just the containers.

Then there's the problem of time. Wisteria takes up to 20 years to flower if grown from seed and, some sites suggest, 4-5 or more if grown from cuttings. Even if you've got the patience to wait, space limitations on a balcony mean you might not want to have a non-flowering plant hanging around that long.

And even when it does start, you'll have a superb display for a couple of weeks in the spring and then all the balcony space taken up for the rest of the year. I'm not sure it's worth it.

It seems to me there are two possibilities - firstly to train it as a standard. The RHS site explains how. It will still reach small tree size, but as long as your balcony can take that much weight, it should solve the space problem.

Or it can be grown as a bonsai. Now I've never been really into bonsais. It's always seemed too much like foot-binding to me. but in this case I have to say I'd be sorely tempted ...

Meanwhile I'm just going to take a short walk up the road at the end of April each year, and stand and gaze at this one. I think it deserves a prize for brightening up the city.

Read more...

Plenty Of Company.

It was a pleasant end to a productive day. Sitting outside in the sun, (at last) in the peace and quiet of the evening, watching the swallows swooping about and the clouds wafting across the sky. A cup of coffee to hand and the satisfaction of washing and replacing all the gravel. I could do with more gravel , maybe when we get a big load in for the drive and yard. Now all I have to do is tidy up the various blocks and stones that are scattered artistically? about the paving and make those steps.

As well as watching the ponies and their foals I had the company of my neighbours' son and his dogs for a while. It is hard to garden when a dog is trying to lick your ear and then runs off with your gardening glove. I was also watched intently by the Canada geese who had brought their goslings up to the field, not a good idea with my cats around.

I dried and ironed my multicoloured t-shirt before putting it in the washing machine with a dust sheet. The result - one light pink dust sheet and one muted pink and purple t-shirt. Obviously the dyes were not colourfast. I had such fun with the dyes that I've searched on the net and you can buy powder that you mix with the dyes to fix them but at £12.50 a tub it's a bit pricey. Dylon do sachets of fix for their dyes but I don't know if it would work with the dyes we have at school.

Read more...

5 Elegant Bathroom Designs from Rexa

Rexa must be born very recently but its collections are par excellence. With a vision of having long-lasting bathrooms, this Italian company has carved a niche for itself in the world of bathroom manufacturers. Having introduced a number of new materials, the bathrooms which are part of the collections are spacious with freestanding, built-in bathtubs.

These concept bathrooms are inspired by the theme ‘Space Navigation’ where the entire collection beautifully comes together as each piece is vividly defined by the curves and smoothness. Everything found in these bathrooms is made of Korakril which guarantees sturdiness, hygiene, static-protection and resistance from lighting and stain.

Rexa designs are powerful and effective. They have encapsulated the essence of good taste and great quality.

You could take inspiration from the bathroom collections available in-house. You could also play with different hues of blue, grey and brown. But if I was you, I would stick to the classy, timeless white exteriors which are shown below.

Read more...

2 Intriguing Kitchen Shelving Ideas, Milan 2010

We’ve shown you a variety of kitchen designs we saw being exhibited at the Salone del Mobile. Well, as we were searching through or picture database today we realized we missed these two. The first design comes with a big sliding door which looks like giant chess board. This is pretty original and can also by quite puzzling for someone who sees this for the first time. Because when we first saw the door, we thought it was actually a mix of individual drawers. The second kitchen that got our attention features vertical cupboards all placed at a perceivable distance on the wall. This arrangement looks very interesting but in the same time hard to clean. Hope you find them both inspiring.

Read more...

Sofa Sets for an Appealing Living Room

Stylish living room looks incomplete without a sofa set, as graceful sofa sets allows you to enjoy some pleasant and comfortable moments. Stylish sofas not only look pleasant in the room but also add to the aesthetic feeling of the home. Moreover, a modern and sophisticated couch will add to the appeal of your home and will make the environment more lively.

It is not always necessary to spend a lump sum amount to get a stylish sofa set, even a reasonable and affordable amount can get you a stylish sofa. Specially if you go for the latest designs and the ones which are graciously designed. And once you have added the sofa set to your living room then you can further add complimentary furniture to complete the looks. Bright paintings and indoor plants can also be placed to make the living room more graceful.






Those who can go for a larger budget can also opt for sofas with more style and grandeur and fitted with more lavish features. Such sofas can be a real treat for eyes. And now your drawing room will appear abundantly welcoming and will give your guests a feeling of comfort.








So, it is very clear that modern sofa sets are the appropriate choice for the present times to give your home a contemporary feel. They can add the required feel to your living room and are able to enhance the looks of your room with pleasure and delight.

Read more...