Garden Glamour: Garden Lighting

MAKE YOUR GARDEN ENTERTAINMENT-READY WITH NIGHT LIGHTS

A healthy garden is like a mini eco system, where life abounds. All eco systems are balanced and there will be as much life in your garden at night as in the day.  By day we marvel at not just the flora in our garden but also the fauna, most folks not realising that when the day shift goes off beat a vibrant night shift takes over. Few people are privileged enough to spend a lot of time in their gardens in the day time, but after a hard day’s work there is very little more relaxing both physically and mentally as spending time admiring the beauty of your garden in the cool of the evening, full moon will add soft light to your garden for a few days once a month. 

We share a few clever ways with lighting, to ensure you get your maximum garden benefits this summer.

Image by : Inhabitat.com

LED POT LIGHTS

A new innovation called light pots will bring the romance of the full moon to your garden every night. The soft light provided by these pots will allow you to observe all the nocturnal life in your garden, if you are still  and patient the little night creatures will treat you as part of the furniture! These lovely light pots will extend your gardening hours and your gardening pleasure.

Image by: Familyhandyman.com

OUTDOOR SOLAR PATIO LIGHTS

It is a great idea for your garden, and for the greening of our planet, to replace old wired lights with outdoor solar lights. They require less energy, look great in the garden, and don’t require any wiring installation. They make for a really beautiful display when strategically placed along footpaths and in your garden beds. Whilst they don’t provide massive amounts of light, they certainly adds a beautiful touch.

HANGING LIGHTS

Hanging lights are a very popular trend that ads a real splash of delightful glamour to your garden. They can be hung from trees, awnings and eaves, and provide magnificent soft lighting. Perfect for a romantic outdoor setting! Be sure that your wiring is weather-protected if you’re hanging them in weather-exposed areas.

Image by: Familyhandyman.com

Garden Glamour: Garden Accessories

We don’t always think of accessorising our gardens as quickly as we do our homes, but being that the garden is such an important part of the house and surrounds, it’s really important to consider with care how to bring the most out of your garden. This can be as big or as small as your budget will allow, with maybe a beautiful old garden swing that invites you to come have a ride, or a water feature that bubbles away in a corner creating the most soothing sound. These are really “do it yourself” type projects that the whole family can get involved with.

Garden Hazards to Look Out For

Gardening is a delightful hobby however there are a few Garden Hazards any gardener should take heed of to avoid injury:

• Thorns and spikes on plants that could damage eyes and tender feet.
• Poisonous plant sap, flowers and berries.
• Exposed tree roots that cone could trip over.
• Chipped or uneven pavers.
• The sharp top ends of tree stakes. The best is to cover them with a cork.
• Unprotected bodies of water like bird baths, ponds and water features for small children.
• Slippery paving and mossy soil in shaded areas.
• Gardening tools (especially hard rakes) that have not been packed away are particularly hazardous.

Helpful Predators in the Garden

The challenge to each and every gardener and homeowner is to establish a natural balance between pests and predators in your garden. There are many invaluable predators you could attract to your garden to keep the pests to manageable proportions. Just by avoiding the use of pesticides to kill pests gradually encourages helpful predators to your garden. Helpful predators include chameleons, Praying Mantis, hoverflies and ladybirds , frogs, wasps, bees, bats that eat mosquitoes, lizards, centipedes and birds.

Autumn: To Do's In Your Garden

AUTUMN TO-DO’s IN YOUR GARDEN

Inspect your garden and surrounds for alien weed invaders: if you have not been looking too closely alien invaders are alive and well in your garden! The ideal hot summer conditions we have been having are ideal for alien weed invaders to thrive and start overtaking. By removing them urgently asisit to break the invasive cycle.

Observe how the growth of the plants in your garden have begun to slow down now and many start to withdraw chlorophyll from their leaves, displaying an exquisite array of warm autumn colours .Plants that are chosen for their winter character  and winter flowering here on the coast amongst others are: flowering Red hot Pokers( Knifophia), Aloes, Plectranthus, Crane flowers, Bulbine, Ribbon bush and succulent leaves like Cotyledons that become intense in colour.

Enjoy walking around your garden and appreciate a new season .

Check your irrigation system . Take some time to run your irrigation system and inspect for any repairs that may be needed.Check each spray head and ensure that it is dispersing water correctly and is facing in the right direction...watering the wall or driveway is not a good idea. Be water wise and check for any leaks or breaks in your pipe. These are easy to repair.

Reset your irrigation controller to your autumn program. A deep watering three times a week is far better than a short watering daily.

Think of your own or your garden helpers watering habits, would it be wiser to invest in a system that delivers the correct amount of water and on schedule?It is a know fact that a garden irrigated by a well-designed irrigation system uses less water per month than a garden watered at the same intervals by hand.

Install a water storage tank as traditionally our rainfall reduces now. This is the time when one leans heavily on stored water for the irrigation system to keep our lawn and gardens well watered and looking good throughout autumn and winter.