Ornament exists in many forms, including sculpture, statuary, sundials, columns, finials, urns and grottoes. Not all ornament is inanimate; there are moving abstract sculptures and enlivening topiary figures. The particular style employed is entirely a matter of personal taste: statuary can be classical or contemporary; trompe I’oeils and objets trouves can be serious or surrealistic.

Whatever your choice, ornament can stand out and act as a point of interest or it can merge in with surrounding features for a more subtle effect. As well as being attractive in its own right, it should also work well within the garden as a whole and complement the planting. The overall effect must be one of harmony and integration.

Sculpture

Sculpture is a general term that covers most three-dimensional objects that have no function other than a decorative one; a piece of sculpture is an object to be appreciated and enjoyed. Its success relies on an underlying sense of proportion and relationship of space as well as the manual skill of a good sculptor.

To be aesthetically pleasing, a sculpture does not have to be representational, that is to say, it does not have to resemble a realistic figure or an animal, or an object like a basket of fruit. Instead, it can be a simple block of stone or wood that has a pleasing shape or an interesting texture. A cube of stone, for instance, if it is carefully erected in a sympathetic setting, can work very well, often better than something elaborate.

Sometimes sculpture is symbolic; it may contain a message or have an association with a particular phenomenon or experience. A figure of Neptune rising from the waves, for example, would be most appropriate placed in or near a water feature, and in order to be successful, a Japanese sculpture — a lantern, a tower or a buddha — should be placed in an oriental-looking context. Most sculpture benefits from a backdrop such as a hedge or wall, a plant-clad trellis or an “architectural” plant. Classical sculpture tends to look best in more formal settings; it can look especially pleasing in association with another stone structure such as a terrace or a paved walkway. Some modern sculpture is best in informal settings; a figure standing partly hidden by shrubs can be very effective, or one peeping from behind a group of trees. Modern pieces also look good near plants that echo the shape of the sculpture.

All sculpture should be carefully chosen. Only select pieces that you personally like and which you feel will enhance the garden. Do not overburden the garden with too many different items, otherwise you will detract from each individual piece and the effect will lose its impact: one thoughtfully chosen, well positioned sculpture will be more impressive than indifferent pieces scattered around at random.

Commissioning original sculpture can be very expensive and the alternative is to buy a reproduction, but be selective and pick the most authentic-looking piece. Stone, real, reconstituted or artificial, is one of the best materials for garden sculpture; bronze is also excellent, although it is rather dear.

Clean and light to handle are the Vacapots which are thin-walled containers divided into 24 detachable units, each a inches square and a inches deep so that they fit exactly into a 2 inch seed tray. The Vacapots are tilled with compost and one seedling is planted in each. When ready to move to larger pots or when planting out, the plants are removed with the soil ball intact or each compartment may be detached and sold without disturbing the roots.

If planting out, do not do so until the plants have been well hardened and, so that they do not remain too long in the pots or boxes, timing is all-important. Seed is sown so that there will be time for the plants to have made substantial growth before being set out, though the length of this period will depend upon the hardiness of the plants and climatic conditions in which they are to grow. For example, northern gardeners should not plant out tomatoes until June rst. unless they can be covered with cloches (when they may be planted three weeks earlier than if unprotected) but in either case the plants must have been well hardened. This is done by placing them towards the end of April in a cold frame to which air is admitted on all mild days. The frame should be kept closed at night until early May when the lights are raised by inserting a brick or piece of wood between the lights and the frame boards. By the month end, the lights may be removed altogether. At this time, tomato plants should be about 6 inches tall, rich green, sturdy and short jointed.

Cauliflowers and other plants raised in a warm greenhouse will be hardier and may be removed to a cold frame by April 1st. for hardening and planting out at the month end. By then, the plants should be about 4 inches tall, sturdy and bright green. They should be in the same condition if purchased from a garden shop or nurseryman. If yellowish green and too tall (drawn), this will signify that the plants have been sown too soon or may have been raised in too warm a temperature. Again, they may not have been hardened.

Early crops and plants set out in the open, may be raised in frames by sowing direct into a prepared seed bed which has been brought to a fine filth and into which peat or old mushroom bed compost has been incorporated. Vegetable plants should be sown early in March and after hardening, may be planted out in April. In the more favourable parts of the south and west seed is sown a month earlier in frames (or under cloches) and the plants set out about April rst; or a sowing may be made directly into the open ground early in March. For an early crop of frame cucumbers or marrows, seed is sown in spring over a hot bed made in a frame. This is made by composting straw with Adco M as used for mushroom growing, or from farmyard manure. Additional heat will be obtained if some poultry manure is added to the straw during composting. Straw will take about three weeks to compost and should be placed in the frame to a depth of about t 5 inches and covered with 5-6 inches of soil to prevent loss of heat. When the temperature has fallen to 80°F., the seed is sown in the soil or in pots inserted into the soil. The frame is kept closed to maintain a humid condition and hasten germination. A mild hot bed may be used for a crop of early turnips, radishes or carrots which will be sweet and succulent. Afterwards, the compost may be used on the land.

Trey Rodgers is a botanist with the Michigan University and has care for grass for most average property owners and the Olympic Games. Trey says that having an amazing yard is essential to a lot of property owners, but full agenda tend to use all essential time for the lawn. He advices that one can prioritize their tasks that regard caring for the lawn by looking for bypass that will give them gorgeous lawns.

Some of the bypass and tips that Rodgers advices are:

- Cut the lawn less frequently and when you do it, cut a quarter only of the total height of the grass. A lot of property owners think that they will cut less often if they ”shave” the grass. On the other hand, “scalping” causes real problems to the grass blades making them more susceptible to pests.

- How about getting some help from the kids? You can give them responsibilities of easy backyard tasks such as clearing away toys prior to mowing the lawn. The kids can equally assist in watering.

- On the same subject, it is advisable that you water your yard more often, preferably in the morning to substract opportunity of evaporation and enhance water absorption. Set the sprinklers right the first time if you are using manually placed garden sprinklers. This way, they will water a big part of the lawn without spilling water on sideways. If you are in a position to leave the sprinkler attached to a water hose, it is better as you will save yourself a few steps but if you cannot, just write their locations to make it helpfull for you the next time.

- If you haven’t yet perfected your feeder spreading techniques, you can fertilize once a year at the on-set of the growing season, using a balanced nitrogen solution. It is less likely to cause any damage to your grass and will go on working for many days.

- Ensure your mower is always in great shape. Have it repaired and turned up; at least once a year or you can do it yourself. This should take you less than a few minutes.

- The final suggestion from the expert, if you are completely busy but want the lawn to be great, you can cut the front lawnfirst, followed by the back yard a few days later.

Choosing a site comes next. A spot that gets sunlight for a minimum of six hours is ideal. Do not do the planting too near large trees, as these will deprive your plants of nutrients and water. Also steer clear of fences and buildings by at least 3 feet. When planting in rather hot climates, choosing a location that will get some shade from the intense sun in the afternoon is a great idea. Even with 10-12 hours of the sunlight it’s possible to maintain a healthy and beautiful garden provided the plants are adaptable. Although the garden soil can be improved, yet it is always a good thing to have good soil. Areas that should be avoided are that having rocky soil, water logging soil or those with steep slopes.

Now we come to the real part … just dig on. Whatever gardening may be, for sure it isn’t a very clean hobby, to say the least! The first step is to remove any debris/rocks, or weeds or grass and then to dig the land about up to one feet deep. After leveling up the soil, add the minerals or compost if required. In case your soil is bit too acidic, just add some lime or if it’s too sandy then add some peat moss. Some fertilizer, if added, will facilitate the plant’s growth in soil that’s neutral to acidic.

Seeds should always be planted in accordance with the instructions. When choosing plants, make sure you choose the ones with healthy looking green leaves as well as stem and roots. Place the shorter plants in front of bed and the larger ones at the back. Planting done at the correct time is crucial to successful gardening. Waiting till the frosts get over is a better idea.

Making sure that plants receive thorough care and enough amount of water since these factors are crucial for their growth. For a small number of plants hand watering may work well. Otherwise you may need to use sprinklers. Watering is most efficient during that part in the day that is cooler. Although the plant type may determine the amount of water needed, yet most plants require around an inch of water per week, while during hottest periods, the plants will need watering approximately thrice a week.

Adding compost or mulch is very often the most useful thing you can do for a garden. A couple of inches deep organic mulch can improve soil fertility and also help in moisture retention in soil.

Your choice of the vegetables to grow during fall gardening depends on the space available and your eating preferences, like the spring plants. More so, the heat loving crops, like the tomatoes, okra, sweet potato, and peppers, continue to produce even up till the winter frost hits. Some plants will quit near the summer end, like summer squash, snap-beans and cucumbers. Planting these vegetables around the summer’s middle, harvesting can be done until the very first frosts. In fact, tough vegetables can grow until low temperatures of even 20 degrees are reached; however, the not so strong ones will only grow through lighter frost. One tip here is that if your tuber and root plants’ tops have suffered frost bite, even then their edible part may be salvaged using good amounts of mulch.

While doing fall gardening, ensure that you pick vegetables with smallest growing season; this will facilitate their full growth and harvesting before the winter frost arrives.

Majority of the seed packages’ labels will say “early season”, or will mention that these seeds take the least number of days to mature. Always go for fall gardening seeds either in early summer or spring as they are normally out of stock near the summer’s end. Storage in cool and dry conditions will keep them good until you’re ready to do the planting.

Knowledge of the time when the very first very hard frost hits your area will enable you to best determine the most suitable time for commencing fall gardening. A great way of telling this is to consult the Farmer’s Almanac. These furnish exact dates along with being pretty accurate. Also you need to know the time your plants will take to mature.

In order to prepare your soil for fall gardening, any leftover crops or weeds from the spring or summer needs to be removed first, as they can lead to spreading of diseases and bacteria. Spreading some inches worth of mulch or compost can enhance the nutrient level of garden area, but heavily fertilized spring plants may not need this. Tilling the soil’s top layer, wetting it and letting it set for around 24 hours will make the area ready for planting.

For most gardeners, frosts are a great deterrent from attempting fall gardening, but acting wisely and planting tough and sturdy vegetables which can withstand few frosts will result in great tasting vegetables.

The Bad – Dandelions

Dandelions may appear to be nice looking flowers, and we all remember giving mom a bouquet of dandelions as a kid, but they are a vile weed. The problem with these seemingly innocent looking flowers is that their roots run deep into the ground and take up a lot of space away from your grass roots, or other flowers’ roots. Not only that but they also consume a lot of nutrients and water in the soil which in turn prevents your grass and flowers from growing properly. Dandelions should be removed from the root and not just cut on the surface or they will grow back. Once you’ve removed the weed be sure to add some fertilizer to repair some of the damage they have caused.

The Good – Clovers

A clover immediately conjures up the idea of a nasty lawn weed and we’ll rip it out along with dandelion without thinking about it. Before you do consider that clovers are beneficial to your lawn. Clovers are known to add nutrients to the soil and therefore help your lawn. Not only that but clovers also help to keep other weeds from sprouting by occupying the space where these weeds would normally grow.

The most important thing to remember about weeds is that they need to be weeded out by the root. It might seem like more work than just spraying herbicide but uprooting them will prevent them from growing back and you will protect your lawn from the harmful side effects of commercial herbicide. Remember to always add fertilizer to the area to promote growth from your grass.