So long as there’s a backyard outside your rental house, the door is open to creating affordable outdoor living spaces.

Many rental homes lack backyard landscaping or it’s dull and doesn’t reflect any personal style. To create a wonderful space in just one or two weekends, consider tips from the Small Budget Gardener for revamping your yard and adding comfortable summer-living areas outdoors.

To get the most from your efforts, focus on two equally important factors: First, make low-cost choices. Second, choose portable items, so you can take them to your next house.

The most affordable patio makers are plain concrete squares known as “steppers.” The smallest ones are about 1 foot square and 2 inches thick and run about a dollar or so apiece. Larger 2-foot sizes can run about $3 each. Use them to create a new patio for under $100.

If you look at contemporary high-end landscapes, you’ll discover that those folks prefer to use nearly identical units to create greener porous paving areas. The steppers can be set edge to edge, or leave a gap for decorative gravel, grass or groundcover.

Create a fire pit for about the same amount of money using antique-looking concrete block tumbled in giant drums to make them look old. All over Pinterest are examples of how to create a fire pit by stacking these blocks just so. Some repurpose old washing-machine drums to hold the fire, surrounded by dry walls of block. Their weight is such that

stacked creations don’t need a foundation or mortar. When it comes time to move, just unstack, load up and go.

Do not overlook paint and stain. They can turn worn-out wood fences or sheds into something truly delightful. Often, fencing at rentals is a hodgepodge of wooden slats, but a can of stain can unify the spans via subtle color. Water down latex paint to make it more like stain in your favorite color. Or if you’re looking for a lovely cottage garden, use whitewash to transform an everyday look into a clean and tidy background.

A wall trellis is easy to make with scrap twigs — or simply buy a cheap wood and paint it. Some gardeners are recycling old screen doors, metal bedsteads and sections of old wrought-iron fencing for wall treillage, too. These flat panels stand against walls to allow vines to climb up for a beautiful vertical garden. Best of all, you can simply detach the trellis and take it with you.

Big annual plants are always the best choice for rentals. You can grow them from seed or buy them in low-cost six packs to make your summer-living spaces look nestled into the landscape. The most powerful plants are big, burly sunflowers. Use in a patch or row or as a single specimen. Hollyhock is another great choice that leaves you with a whole crop of seeds for next year. Cosmos, foxgloves and all the amaranths are easy-to-grow choices.

As always, containers are the best way to grow anything more long-lived, such as dwarf fruit trees and blueberries. The larger the pot the more powerful it will be in greening up rental spaces with big plants that will go elsewhere when you do.

Learning to garden as a renter is a great way to save money while improving your lifestyle. Even the smallest spaces can be incredibly rewarding when transformed with these ideas.

(Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at www.MoPlants.com. Contact her at mogilmer@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 891, Morongo Valley, CA 92256.)

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New York, NY — (SBWIRE) — 03/25/2013 — Having many years experience in landscape architecture and landscape design and also known as top garden designers in New York, Newyorkplantings.com offers its landscape architecture and landscape design ideas at very affordable rates to the residents of New York. They are committed to making New York beautiful, one yard at a time.

New York Plantings is a New York based landscape design firm having multiple production units. They listen carefully and work closely with their clients to translate their imaginations in to enchanting landscape designs.

Founded in the year 1996 as a family run business in the Long Island and then moved to Manhattan, New York Plantings Garden Design and Landscape has grown to be one of the most capable Gardening and Landscape Design/Build firms in the Tri State area.

With their years of landscape designing experience, they provide cost effective and best suited landscape architecture design ideas to private home owners and real estate developers. They have ability to give perfect shape to their customers’ landscape as per their requirements.

Todd Nappi, the Master Gardener and Lead designer of Newyorkplantings.com said, ‘’ the numerous distinctions we received in our field, were a result of the proficiency of our landscaping contractors and a high level of personal involvement in every landscape architecture project. “I create both Landscape designs and installations with unique, innovative methods to avoid using the same Trees, Shrubs, Plants and Flowers as the other yards on the block”.

“I am personally involved in every one of our projects to ensure the right balance of design, function, and sustainability. Quality construction and plant material are important aspects in every project.” Todd added.

An innovator in the industry, New York Plantings employs a growing staff of Landscape Architects, Designers, and Horticulturists with diverse expertise in masonry construction, property maintenance, landscape installation, exterior low voltage lighting, and irrigation. New York Plantings also specializes in designing outdoor living spaces including exterior kitchens, masonry terraces, putting greens, landscape, custom lighting, custom pavilions.

About New York Plantings Landscape Designing Service
New York Plantings ( http://www.newyorkplantings.com ) is a New York based landscape architecture and design company that is serving from Manhattan to Montauk. New York Plantings offers a complete scope of urban and suburban services, from seasonal garden maintenance to complete landscape design projects, as well as irrigation, outdoor lighting, expert carpentry,

Patios, tree care, pruning and feeding, commercial property management and grounds maintenance.

Contact Details:
Todd Nappi
Manhattan, New York
USA
info@newyorkplantings.com
347 558 7051

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THE Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show brought together florists, growers and flower fans last week.

The show ran from Wednesday to Sunday, transforming the Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building into a grower’s paradise.

The MIFGS attracts more than 120,000 visitors each year, bringing together the cream of the nursery, landscaping and cut flower industries.

First place in the Growers Avenue Best in Show award for floristry went to Monvale Flowers from Silvan, with second place going to TNB Tulips from Monbulk and third to Koomens Flowers, also from Monbulk.

Helen Bye, creator of the Koomens Flowers display, said she liked this year’s creation more than last, even though last year she won first place.

“I like the freshness and the clean lines of the greens and whites in this year’s display,” she said.

Ms Bye utilised the crystal stands she uses for weddings to create a garden of crisp, white shrubs made of flowers.

“I specialise in weddings and thought, why not do that? People love a bit of bling.”

“They looked especially lovely with the exhibition lights shining through them.”

Ms Bye goes to the Melbourne Wholesale Market three times a week to source flowers and has a workshop in Maribyrnong, Melbourne.

Over the 30 years of her career she’s seen things people increasingly spend more money on flowers, often decorating their entire reception with flowers.

“Because of the internet world people see what’s going on overseas and they want that,” she said.

“People bring you more and more ideas to create and they get bigger and bigger.”

The Floral Gift awards went to: Bernadette Curry in first place, Nici Thompson in second place and Janet Alesich third for their arrangements.

Outside, Seasons Landscape won Best Outdoor Exhibit, with Terry Meehan and Steve Day’s garden creation of Dr Seuss’ The Lorax.

The rest of the Seasons Landscape display was themed “Melbourne Culture”, featuring a cafe, garden art gallery, movie cinema and a mini football field.

It was Terry’s 13th year at the Garden Show and this was his fourth gold medal in a row.

“The inspiration was that we needed to do something different after so many years,” he said.

“It was a little bit different to everything else at the show because we didn’t want to do anything we’d done before.”

It took 15 people working 12 hours a day for eight days straight to create the display, which was removed as soon as the doors to the show closed last night.

“It’s back to the parkland that it was – which is a little bit heartbreaking actually,” Terry said.

“We recycle just about everything we use. It’s goes back to the nursery or back to storage to next year.”

Body art was another feature of the display, with Emma Hack – who did the body art for singer Gotye’s film clip for Somebody That I Used To Know – painting Adelaide model Letitia Fitzpatrick with flowers.

Scott Wynd and Darin Bradbury from TLC landscape design won Best in Show and gold in the Show Garden award for their urban courtyard creation, utilising bamboo and other low-maintenance foliage to introduce a bit of nature back into the city.

“The design is based on a small, Collingwood or Fitzroy courtyard – it’s only an 8 x 8m space,” Scott said.

“We have got the fundamentals of an outdoor kitchen or barbeque – it’s about having a lot of revenge of plant life into that space.

“Plant life enriches life and makes you feel better, and we’re trying to bring that back in rather than the very harsh landscapes we’ve seen.”

DURHAM — From bird feeders and garden gnomes, to bathtubs and gutter cleaners, the Seacoast Home and Garden Show this weekend is offering homeowners some fresh ideas for home and garden projects.

The show, coinciding with the beginning of spring, drew more than 200 booths to University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center Arena on Saturday.

Stephanie Mudgett, 57, drove all the way from Berlin to attend the Home and Garden Show. She said she is working on renovating her century-old house and is looking for some ideas.

Nicole Rembisz, 31, said she came to the Home and Garden Show to look for new patio furniture and landscaping ideas, as she recently purchased a home in Lee.

Saturday morning, Rembisz was one of multiple visitors sitting comfortably in a handcrafted wood patio chair, with a foot rest, made by Big Bear Chair out of York, Maine. The company’s owner, James Taylor, said all patio and garden furniture by Big Bear Chair is Adirondack style, and is made of Western Red Cedar with waterproof glue.

“We are having a really good show, and it just opened,” said Taylor around 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Also on display Saturday were self-cleaning gutters made by Nature’s Way Gutter Systems, located in Deerfield. Owner Dan Bishop said while homeowners typically have to clean their gutters once a year, the self-cleaning gutters implement covers and a system that washes out debris with regular drainage.

“You’ll never have to clean a gutter again,” said Bishop, who was offering visitors free estimates on the self-cleaning gutter installation at Saturday’s show.

A crowd of people was seen at the Tico Art booth, which showcased handcrafted Costa Rican hardwoods, such as puzzle boxes with secret compartments, bowls, and kitchen accessories.

“Have you seen the woodworking man? Oh my God, they’re awesome,” said Manchester resident Ellen Weist about the Tico Art booth.

Weist, 49, said she came to the show because she is trying to start a community garden in Manchester. On Saturday, she was looking at items relating to plants and landscaping, as well as the solar power installation being offered by Harmony Energy Works.George Horrocks, president of Harmony Energy Works, said 60 to 70 percent of visitors who stopped by his company’s booth have signed up for a site survey of their home, for a solar assessment and cost estimate. He said since a year ago, much more people are interested in going solar. Horrocks attributed this increase to PSNH’s recent rise in rates for energy delivery, as well as federal tax credits for solar power expiring in 2016.

Those looking to get a start on gardening were also eyeing the U-Gro hydroponic garden systems, which allows gardeners to grow plants in their backyards without the use of soil.

U-Gro General Manager Jim Horne explained the system, developed in Barnstead, uses coconut fiber rather than soil, meaning that plants are not competing for nutrients. The system results in no weeds, and attracts a minimal amount of insects, he said.

The 19th annual Seacoast Home and Garden Show continues today, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

TEMECULA — For most people, water’s something to drink and bathe in. They don’t think much about it past the faucet and flush handle. But on Saturday, several hundred folks got a glimpse of what goes on after the water hits the drain.

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District held its second-ever Splash into Spring event, offering water patrons and the public a chance to tour the wastewater treatment plant, learn about conservation and drought-resistant landscaping, view plant displays, and take part in activities for adults and children alike.

“We open up our facility each year to our customers to get a hands-on education on what we do here,” said district spokesman Greg Morrison. At last year’s event, about 450 people showed up. This year, Morrison said, upward of 1,000 were expected to visit the plant.

Why the popularity?

“This is fascinating for a lot of people,” he said, adding that there’s typically a wait for the 20-minute facility tour. “This gives them a fresh perspective on what happens to their water.”

Lake Elsinore resident Rachel Mendez brought along her 5-year-old daughter Angelina Divine to see the plant and take part in activities that included a scavenger hunt.

“This is great,” she said. “It teaches the kids about water and where it comes from and what it takes to keep things running.”

Jeff Hitch and his 7-year-old son Timothy were at the entrance, near a wide arch of balloons. Hitch, who lives in Temecula, said he heard about the event through his son’s Boy Scout troop and that his son, and the many other Boy Scouts at the event, would collect Water Explorer badges.

“This is a great event for a boy his age, to see what happens to the water after you flush,” he said, adding that kids are naturally curious about things like that.

In addition to the conservation table, where attendees could collect a free hose nozzle or shower head, Morrison said the water district’s own garden was a popular attraction. The garden shows visitors that a California native landscape can be more than dirt, rocks, and cactuses.

Close to the main entrance were clusters of vibrant orange and yellow African daisies, purple and green patches of leafy plants such as Santa Barbara Mexican bush sage, and delicate lamb’s ears, and rows of whimsical and fat-leafed succulents, some in the shape of butter-pat roses.

Roy Guillen, a conservation intern who designed the garden, said the display surprises many visitors.

“It’s very beautiful as far as color goes,” he said. “People have come here with ideas of what California native should look like. They see this and they get ideas for things that can do at home.”

Lisa Ritchie of Alta Loma said that despite running a landscaping business for years, Saturday’s event taught her something more about native plants.

“I have a lot of these in my garden at home,” she said, pointing to the garden, adding that she understands how people can think of native gardens as dark and dead-looking. “A lot of people don’t think that a native garden can be colorful. They think rocks and cacti.”

By AL STRAIN
astrain@owatonna.com

Vacuum

Jeremy Chavis from Faribault Vacuum and Sewing Center gives a demonstration of a handheld vacuum on Saturday during the KOWZ Home and Recreation Show at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. (Al Strain/People’s Press)

Posted: Saturday, March 23, 2013 6:00 pm

Spring fever comes to Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna

By AL STRAIN
astrain@owatonna.com

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OWATONNA — Cars lined the parking lot at the Steele County Fairgrounds on Saturday, making for a long walk for some people to get to their destinations inside the Four Seasons Centre.

Though it may have been a trek for some, inside they were likely to find something that grabbed their attention, thanks to 230 vendor booths that lined the floor of the building for the annual KOWZ/KORN Home and Recreation Show.

Visitors had the opportunity to see a variety of products to prepare for the coming of spring. There were home-based businesses, landscaping ideas, lawn care equipment, home-renovation materials and even boats.

Jeff Honsey, boat sales manager at Cabela’s in Owatonna, said while there may not be many sales made at the show this weekend, it’s good for people to come in and see the boats for later.

“It’s a public awareness thing to let them know that we do have a service shop, that we do sell boats out there, and that we’re kind of the community boat dealer,” Honsey said. “It’s kind of planting the seed for sales. We usually see in the middle of summer, we start to see people from the boat show asking if we still have them. That’s when we really start to see the sales and benefits from the show.”

Jim Currier of Turtle Creek Nursery in Owatonna said the show is beneficial because it gives him the opportunity to talk to people and answer questions.

“People always have that little gardening fever,” Currier said. “This year I think people are a little more antsy because you’ve got that old wives’ tale that says you’re supposed spuds in the ground by Good Friday, and that’s not going to happen this year.”

For those in attendance at the show, it was clear that many of them were looking for ideas on what to do when the warm weather comes. For some, it can’t come soon enough.

“It was something to do to get out of the house,” said Allison Peake, who looked at landscaping and boats, among other things. “This weather has been too bad over the winter. I am ready to get out.”

The Home and Recreation Show will continue on Sunday after kicking off on Friday afternoon. Doors open on Sunday at 11 a.m. and the event shuts down at 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Reach reporter Al Strain at 444-2376 or follow him on Twitter.com@OPPalstrain

© 2013 Southernminn.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

More about Kowz

• ARTICLE: KOWZ set to host annual home and recreation show in Owatonna
• ARTICLE: 2013 kicks off with plenty of things to do in Owatonna
• ARTICLE: Local food shelf looks for help during holidays
• ARTICLE: Owatonna hosts women’s expo

More about Recreation

• ARTICLE: KOWZ set to host annual home and recreation show in Owatonna
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Load up your porch with potted tulips for quick spring color
NANCY NEHRING/iSTOCK INTERNATIONAL

 

Looking for ideas to embrace spring? Here are a plethora of ideas on bringing in the color, perking up your home with clever ideas (some Easter related) and looking at your landscape now and for the coming months.

Better Homes and Gardens “Inspired Spring Decor” is just that. Lots of great ideas, like using egg cups as desk organizers, filling vases with ferns and framing decorative paper liven things up without spending a lot of time or cash.

House Beautiful also has “Spring-inspired Spaces” with more than 60 pretty photos of interiors in shades straight out of an Easter egg kit.

Edible landscaping is still hot in gardens. Rosalind Creasy’s “Edible Landscaping” book has ideas that are gorgeous and mouth-watering at the same time.

Tulip blooms are synonymous with spring and “the beautiful bulb has a history of intrigue, thievery and heartbreak, plus a Tulipomania economic bubble and bust 1636-’37, according to bulb history experts,” Kathy Van Mullekom wrote in a story about the spring flower for Daily Press. Didn’t plant any in the fall? Load up on potted ones and cluster them where you can enjoy the color. The story includes tips on care and replanting.

Many of Houzz’s holiday inspired wreaths
(including an Easter one with felted bunny) bring green to the
forefront, like the one made of succulents or the live eucalyptus and
berries. The mirror made of bits of driftwood has me thinking of a door
wreath in a similar vein.

— Peggy McMullen

 

 

Folks jonesing for a taste of spring will find it among the displays of landscaping, building projects and hot tubs at the Greater La Crosse Home and Builders Show this weekend.

More than 100 vendors will display their wares at the 33rd annual show, which opens at 5 p.m. today at the La Crosse Center.

Vendors setting up Thursday predicted that the cold weather will boost the show’s crowd, looking for a winter respite and seeking ways to invest in their homes.

“Last year was our best year by far, up by 30 percent,” said Casey Staige, owner of HotSpring Spas and Pools in Onalaska, which sells hot tubs, saunas, swimming pools and pool tables.

“I think more people are putting money in their homes and spending time at home instead of traveling,” he said.

“Our store is always busy, but our customers now seem to be waiting for warmer weather to buy, waiting to put up a deck or patio,” Staige said.

“I think the weather will help the show,” he said. “It’s warm in here, and people can look at fun things for the house.”

They also can find ways to make their homes technological castles.

Justin Snyder, vice president of The Audio Video Pros of Onalaska, described the concept as a “smart home,” integrating media, security, lighting, heating and air conditioning into one system that can be controlled from an iPad, tablet, computer or smartphone.

“They can operate it from across the room or across the globe,” he said. “A snowbird who goes south for the winter can monitor his HVAC and security, or open a garage door for a UPS guy to drop off a package.”

Such a system was cost-prohibitive for most folks until recently, he said.

“Five years ago, it would have cost $100,000,” he said. “Today, I can do it for $5,000,” depending on the sophistication and number of rooms involved.

Other displays will feature custom-built homes, remodeling suggestions, interior-decorating ideas, landscaping options, heating and ventilation systems, windows, furniture and a variety of other home and building projects, said show producer Bill Jackson of West Des Moines, Iowa.

Do-it-yourselfers can check out seminars on geothermal heating and cooling, installing ceramic tile, faux painting and edible landscaping.

Jeff Holper, known as “The Mole Hunter,” will conduct several seminars entitled “Take Back Your Yard from the Moles and Other Pests.”

Also among the highlights will be robot demonstrations by teams from the Seven Rivers Robotics Coalition, including the “Robo-Raiders” from Central High School in La Crosse, the “Pirobotics” from Aquinas High School in La Crosse and the “Sir Lancer Bots” from La Crescent High School.

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