Outdoor lighting is very critical to the function of your outdoor area when the sun goes down. There are a variety of lights available for use outdoors from simple wall mounts to intricate pathway lighting.

Wall mounts are great for patios and porches. When placed near doors that enter your home they serve as security as well, keeping the dark shadow areas to a minimum. Wall mounts are available in a wide variety of styles, from detailed and decorative wall lanterns to bright and functional flood lights. Wall mounts are great for lighting your outdoor patio or porch since they can be wired from within your house and do not require additional underground work.

Deck post lights and lanterns are another great way to bring light to your porch. This style of lighting attaches to your porch railing, as the name implies. Post lanterns bring light to the outer parts of your porch where wall mounts may not reach.

Path lights or walkway lights are perfect for lighting a sidewalk that leads to a sitting area that is not attached to your home, such as a gazebo or water garden. Solar pathway lights have become very popular since they do not require any underground electrical work. An area away from your house requires a lot of additional lighting for outdoor use since it does not have the capability of having a bright wall mount fixture as the primary source. This additional lighting can be achieved by a variety of landscape lighting techniques including accent lights, spotlights, and garden lanterns.

Without the right lighting, your outdoor time is over when night falls. But if you carefully consider your lighting choices for your outdoor areas, you can have many hours of enjoyment and entertaining outdoors even after the sun has gone down.

Gardening is a science. Its about working with the elements of nature to create an artistic expression of yourself around your home. There are many reasons to have a garden. For many of us, its a hobby or simply aesthetically pleasing. For others, the more practical motivation is to improve our property values. Whatever your reason, planning a garden is important and should be the first step we undertake in the journey of gardening.

Where do you start? Begin by observing your current yard. Do you like it? Are things missing? Are things too crowded? Take photographs or keep written journal for several weeks and record how much light you are getting in various locations of your yard and different times a day. This may also change seasonally. Make note of key points of your home such as sidewalks, driveways, or perhaps a deck or patio youll be working around. Next, determine why you want a garden. Who is using the grounds you will be gardening. Will you have small children playing or pets that need to be factored into consideration? Keep an idea on what your budget will be and how much time you have to put into garden maintenance. Surprisingly, one of the last considerations and priorities should be the types of plants you will use. When the time comes to select those, you can find a whole base of knowledge regarding plant, tree, or shrub selections through your local nurseries, libraries, or community organizations such as park and recreation departments or local arboretums.

Gardening doesnt need to be fancy. Keeping a simple but well kept garden may be ideal for many people. Do select a garden location. Put your yard down on paper and determine where you want various things in your yard. Keep in mind you will not want trees to close to building structures, and plan ahead for when they grow and reach mature size. Make sure water is easily accessible.

There are several elements of design to factor into your overall plan. Eyes will automatically shift to a garden line, whether it is the edge of a walkway, or the curve of a flower bed. Gentle, slow curves and horizontal lines tend to be perceived as restful and tranquil while jagged diagonals or vertical lines suggest formality and alertness. Experiment with various textures within your garden. Generally gardens are composed of foliage, bark, or flowers and changes within the light during the day and the seasons. Scent is often neglected, but a very important gardening element. Introducing fragrance will bring an extra dimension to the garden by expanding sensory awareness. Scents are more likely to be appreciated if they are located near a path, entryway, or patio. Color is often one of the greatest challenges to gardeners. It can be employed in a variety of ways. You may prefer to design in a green monotone with only an occasional splash of another color, as exemplified in traditional Japanese gardens. Some take the approach of using kaleidoscopic patterns as might be found in a wildflower meadow. Whatever you use, its about personal choice. What appeals to you?

Dont be afraid to use duplication of line, form, texture, scent, or color throughout your garden. When any design element is repeated the mind is better able to comprehend the composition as a whole. Certainly, you dont want repetition carried to the extremes or your garden will be monotonous. Use one or two qualities of design and hold them constant while varying other parts for the best balance. Variety can be added in other areas. Decide if you prefer the look of a more formal garden, which would usually have more symmetrical arrangements, or if you like the look of asymmetrical informal gardens.

Focal points are important. Often this is done with larger elements like trees and shrubs. These are the elements that initially seize attention. Be careful not to utilize too many focal points or other elements of the composition will be lost. Other design elements can be connected by using a consistent direction or point of focus. This will allow them to sequence and flow together. Elements of the garden should agree in the sense that they convey the size of your garden as a whole. Gardens should be harmonious.

Finally, evaluate your selected garden site. Know your space in terms of width and height. Work with your seasons of interest. Do you want a garden that appeals to you each season or only in the spring and summer? Take into consideration the number of plants needed and the amount of maintenance that you will be able to devote.

Most gardeners would agree that a garden is never finished. It is always a work in progress. A garden should not be work. Your garden should be your labor of love, like any craft something you enjoy spending time and energy cultivating. If you initially make mistakes within your garden, just turn them into learning opportunities. There is no right or wrong way to garden, just how to best utilize nature, space, and your vision of beauty. Finally, allow yourself to enjoy your garden. A well planned garden will bring you years of rewards.

Gentry is a stay at home mom, with a passion for writing. For more articles on easy living, visit http://www.genstyleliving.com.

Articles are genstyleLiving

Price : $7.60

Product Description

Although upkeep is labor intensive and often requires an arsenal of dangerous chemicals to keep it free of weeds and pests, the appeal of a manicured lawn is almost irresistible. But more people are discovering a very attractive alternative.

Packed with practical tips and beautiful photographs, Front Yard Gardens:

- Explores the history of the lawn and our attachment to it
- Contains examples of front yard gardens from more than seventy gardens across North America
- Provides step-by-step instructions to start and grow your own front yard garden

Liz Primeau transformed her lawn in a quiet suburb to a mixed garden with a profusion of flowering plants, shrubs, and cacti. She now enjoys an eye-catching front garden that requires no chemicals and less watering than her lawn.

This book includes overall planning and design, and outlines the steps for removing the grass, enriching the soil, and planting. The book is divided into several types of front yard gardens, including cottage, minimalist, secret, neighborhood, downtown, and natural. She discusses the key elements of each style, gives tips on how to create and maintain the garden, and provides a list of complementary plants.

With more than two hundred beautiful photographs taken expressly for this book by Andrew Leyerle, Front Yard Gardens is a sensual treasure-trove of ideas.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-10-29
This book has a lot of good information and nice pictures. I was however expecting more actual plans and more of a variety. Most of the locations are in Canada or cold parts of the U.S. (with some exceptions in Texas) and the theme of the front yards were mostly a cottage garden look or something similar (again, with the Texas houses as the exception). I’ll keep looking for another book that has more styles to pick from.

Review date : 2008-07-30
The book was about the author’s experience, which is fine. But it seemed too specific to her yard. There wasn’t enough generic info for the rest of us, in my opinion

Review date : 2007-07-23
This book is beautifully illustrated and very helpful. I have shared ideas from this with friends and family.

Review date : 2007-05-28
Liz Primeau has written an inspiring guide that can help you transform that bland patch of lawn between street and house into a rich landscape. Front Yard Gardens tells the stories in words and beautiful photographs of dozens of front gardens in various styles. The gardeners behind these wonderful front yards have coped with budget and space constraints, although most have dedicated considerable time and energy to their projects. Almost all of the gardens are Canadian, a plus for those of us who live in colder zones: many books about front yards emphasize styles that can only be achieved in milder areas like Southern California, where gardens remain lush year-round. Ms. Primeau’s book is refreshing because it deals with the strategic and emotional challenges of introducing a front garden into a neighborhood where front lawns are the norm. The book also discusses the evolution of these gardens over time, encouraging the reader to simply start somewhere and implicitly acknowledging that for an enthusiastic gardener, the garden is never "done." Liz Primeau has given us a terrific book, although she has omitted photos of front gardens in winter and as part of streetscapes.

Review date : 2007-05-15
I love this book. Two years ago I was inspired by this book to rid my yard of lawn. I had a designer design a cottage style garden for my front and back yard. It took my kids 2 months to dig up all the grass and then we started working on the design. We were novice gardners, so along with this book and about 12 others we have completed our yard.
My neighbors who are lawn lovers, have been very interested in our progress.
We wave and smile at everyone who pass as we work in the yard, and this seemed to ease some of the neighbors anxiety about our odd doings.
The kids are now 18, 15, 13, 12, and 6, so seeing the whole family working together has been a big plus.
So far we are still the only family in our subdivision with no lawn, but We get nice comments,and see more people gardening.
I am asthmatic so no lawn mower fumes are great, and this is a great "green " project for the whole family, and the kids are so proud of themselves, and the positive feedback they get.
This is a very expensive investment in time and plants but worth it.