Creating a Beautiful Garden

Creating a beautiful garden

There is enormous fulfillment when it comes to creating your own garden plan -- I have found the fulfillment, for me, comes from relaxing or entertaining in the garden as well as the pleasure that comes from a job well done, if I do say so myself. The effort that you expend in planning and executing a design unique to you will add to the enjoyment your garden will provide for, you and others, years to come.

Let me share with you some of the best ways I have learned how to begin to create a garden space that is unique to you? The following are ten simple steps that will help you move through the garden planning process.

1. Give some thought WHY you want a garden.

Who else will enjoy the garden?  Will this be your own private little secret garden, or can you imagine hosting parties there? How will you use it? Will you have an herb garden; grow food, flowers, or perhaps all of the above?  If you have a family, like I do, keep in mind that you may not be the sole inhabitant of your new garden, so get input from all family members on how your outdoor space will be used.

2. Dream a little.

A little dreaming will uncover those attributes that will put your personal imprint on the garden. Now that you have decided on exactly why you want a garden and how you intend to use it, let your imagination play with all the possible features in your special space. Formal gardens are highly structured, divided by a strong central axis and cross axes. Informal gardens have a more natural look with strong, flowing curves. For my outside garden, I went with the informal theme.

3. put together a list of "must haves"

Listing your needs up front ensures that your final plan won't be missing anything important. Will you need a privacy fence, or will you need a retaining wall, a pathway to the garage, or perhaps more parking space? What about pets, or a place to play? Make a note of everything that you consider essential in your proposed garden area, your final design should balance dream features and "must haves" to create a satisfying and functional garden.

4. The essentials you already have.

It really does help to know your starting point to get where you are going, garden-plan-wise. What is essential and stays and what is unnecessary, and has to go. Is your space large or small? Is the site flat or sloping? What is the climate? What type of soil do you have? How much water is available and from what sources? What are the predominate views? This list of questions is not meant to be a show stopper, but the more consideration given to your garden setup the easier it will be to maintain.

5. Your estimated budget.

Once you have determined everything that is necessary to begin developing your garden it's time to consider what you are willing to spend. The dollar figure for your garden will influence what features you include in the final garden plan -- landscape materials, plants, trees and architectural elements such as fountains, benches, or an arbor.

Remember that your "budget" may need to take into consideration two elements: Money and Time. In terms of time, does the garden need to be completed by a certain date or will you (like me) intend to build your garden over time and in stages? Another time consideration is how much time are you willing to budget to maintain your dream garden? Can you spare several hours a week or are you lucky enough to afford to pay someone to take care of your garden for you? Being as flexible as you can be will help, because you may need to spend more money if you can't spend the time and vice versa.

6. I think it's a good idea to identify the focal point of your garden

Every garden needs an eye-catching spot that causes you to pause a moment. Choosing a focal point focuses on the point you want visitors to look when they enter your garden. Did your list of "wants" include a waterfall or fountain, a garden sculpture, or an arbor retreat? Perhaps even a blossoming apple tree? If so, you are well on your way to identifying a focal point -- or points -- for your garden.

7. Make a rough design.

Take all the information that you've gathered and, incorporate it into a workable design that balances the "wants" with the "must haves". Create a space that is both satisfying and functional.

Use a pad of graph paper that contains 8 or 10 squares per inch and let each square equals one foot. (In other words, every square inch on the paper will equate to 8 or 10 feet on your property.) Create a basic map with your property lines and house drawn to scale.

Also have on hand some tracing paper, markers, a tape measure, a ruler, a pencil and a good eraser. Lay the tracing paper over your basic scaled map. Then refer back to your list of "must haves" and "wants" as you sketch the various areas of your garden. Show the approximate position of focal points, activity areas ("rooms") and pathways. Use as many sheets of tracing paper as necessary until you find a layout that pleases you and meets the goal that you identified back in Step 1.

8. Pick your plants and landscape.

The colors and materials that you choose will create the character of your garden, adding interest, movement, and visual appeal. Do you want harmonious colors or strong contrast, warm hues or cool tones, bold colors, or soft hues? Give your garden a strong sense of space by mixing different colors and materials and textures. In addition to plants, hardscape materials contribute variety and texture -- wood arbors, brick borders, gravel paths, bronze statue, and wrought-iron benches.

As you review your preliminary layout, consider the best material for each of the hardscape elements like brick, or rocks, to incorporate into your landscape. Try to make sure that each element fits with and compliments the whole. For example, a terrace constructed of the same material as the house unifies while railroad ties around a formal garden create discord.

9. Make a scale drawing.

So far, you have created a basic map of property lines and your house as well as an overlay sheet that shows focal points, "rooms" and pathways. You also have a list of the trees, shrubs, and plants for each area of your garden. Now you need to create a scale drawing that shows exactly where each feature will go. You will use this blueprint to lay the walkways, set the arbors and trellises, and plant the trees, shrubs, and flowers.

It is important that you have enough information to help you create in reality the garden that you just designed on paper. As long as your scale drawing or blueprint is in, sufficient scale to accomplish that purpose, you will be successful.

10. Just before you start to build.

Be sure to check all local building codes and regulations, before you get started, to make sure that you will be in compliance. Structures such as decks, patios and retaining walls may require a permit from the local city government. Once all permits are in place, you can start to lay out the garden.

When you are finally ready to execute your garden building design and with your scale drawing as a blueprint, use a tape measure to position all structures, walkways, and plants. Be sure to measure accurately so each element in your design fits its assigned space.

If designing a garden space sounds a bit intimidating, don't panic. Just follow these steps one by one and let a garden space unfold that feels right to you. Believe me when I say that starting your own garden can be done!  Don't be afraid to grow your own flowers, herbs, or food no matter how elaborate, or simple your garden space.

Green Tea Health

Green Tea Health

Green Tea has recently undergone a surge in popularity here in America and around the world even though this tea has always been popular in Japan, China, and Taiwan.

Green Tea has historically been thought to possess special healing properties that have been in many instances confirmed through modern-day research. Findings that prove when consumed on a regular basis (daily) green tea does indeed possess undeniable health benefits and has shown positive effects with neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer's, or Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, High Blood Pressure to name a few of the illnesses green tea is said to help.

In my opinion, this makes green tea is one of the most health beverages on earth. Alzheimer's a disease that mostly affects the elderly gradually causing memory to be reduced until there is sometimes nothing familiar about their environment.  One cup of green tea a day can protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinson disease the leading cause of dementia.

Cancer (the uncontrolled growth of cells in the body) is one of the most devastating illnesses in the United States. Researchers have sought a way to prevent and cure the disease. Chemotherapy, various other forms of medication and Radiation are currently used to treat Cancer. Green tea could reduce your risk of cancer because of the protective effect the antioxidants contained in Green Tea. This Tea is made from un-oxidized leaves and tends to be a little on the bitter side, however, a little sugar or honey can overcome the bitter taste.

Arthritis, a painful ailment that affects the body’s joints, can make it painful to walk, stand up or make even the slightest movements, while there is no known cure for arthritis; green tea is believed to aid in its treatment.

MS (Multiple Sclerosis) is also a very painful illness that gradually takes away usage of movement. Green tea is thought to possibly aid in the treatment of MS. I believe the word "possible" was used because not everyone responds the same way (if at all) to green tea when used as a cure. Once you are in the curative stage your doctor should be involved, for sure. It would appear to me that green tea is best used as a preventative measure, to stave off disease, by maintaining the healthiest lifestyle possible.

Other pluses associated with the regular use of green tea relate to things like skincare, a lower risk of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the lowering of hypertension or high blood pressure, depression, and the lowering of your weight, or weight loss, all things that can affect and in some cases prevent a healthy lifestyle. 

For a beverage that was used in ancient medicine, offers so many health benefits and does not require a prescription, if you haven’t already tried it green tea deserves a try.  I'm into preventative health measures when it comes to my health so green tea sounds like a good idea to me. 

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as professional medical advice or a doctor’s recommendation. Prior to beginning any green tea treatment regimen, individuals should consult a physician about any medications you may already be taking for proper instruction on whether or not any compound contained in green tea might interfere with any medication you may be taking. Upset stomach may result in some people after consuming green tea. n some people after consuming green tea. 

What's in Coconut Butter?

What's in Coconut Butter?


Coconut butter, also commonly referred to as Coconut oil, is a fat made up of more than 90% saturated fat. As its name implies, this oil is obtained from coconuts and is commonly used for cosmetics, as a baking ingredient, and cooking oil. The Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of Coconut oil and receives 7% of its total export income from coconut oil export alone.

Coconut oil is rich in a fatty acid and has a reputation for being among the more stable of all vegetable oils.  So let's take a closer look at this fantastic food that is not only popular for the reasons listed above but is also commonly used for cosmetics.


Many consider it to be a healthy product, which may increase metabolism and improve the bodies ability to fight illness by reinforcing the bodies immune system. For whatever the reason once an immune system becomes weakened the body becomes susceptible to a wide range of illnesses, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the bodies immune system must remain strong. It is essential to take the necessary steps to rebuild a weak immune system in order to protect the body from illness and disease.

Some of the information I have been able to find about the use of coconut oil is confusing because coconut oil is also high in saturated fat, some believe that it may increase the likelihood of possible diabetes,  cardiovascular and/or heart disease. In contrast, there are reports of lower rates of heart disease in international populations who consume large quantities of coconut oil which tends to make the health effect news for the use of coconut oil both good and bad. So as for using coconut oil as a food, my data gathering will continue.

For uses of coconut oil, other than food or a supplement the news is more positive since coconut oil is used for hairstyling in India, and used as a skin moisturizing coconut oil has deemed both effective and safe when used in connection with skin care. Coconut oil gets a big positive where the skin is concerned some users have actually reported improvements in certain skin conditions like eczema, a very uncomfortable rash that develops in the form of small blister-like lesions that are both painful and may result in scarring.

So as to what exactly is in Coconut Butter aka Coconut Oil? It would be a combination of all the above, some good, some bad, I do use coconut water in my smoothies and coconut oil in my hair some time so where this blog post subject is concerned, stay tuned!

As I pointed out my exploration into the healing properties of coconut oil will continue prompting perhaps a follow-up post when I can add to this information. As always please do not mistake any of my ponderings and the information shared in my blog as medical advice or as a professional recommendation. My blog posts are intended for information purpose only. Let your own personal physician or dermatologist be your source when seeking diagnosis or treatment for any kind of skin condition or illness.

Growing your own Food

Some Reasons To Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables

Not long ago I decided to join people returning to the old tradition of growing their own produce. Now based on the acres necessary and the suburban area I find myself living in I could never hope to accomplish what my southern relative once was able to do, namely, self-sufficiently producing all their own fruit and vegetables, even preserving some of their fruit crop with the process called canning so that even out of season fruits could sometime still be had. I decided to restrict my indoor/outdoor farming to a small mobile herb patch land. I plan to maintain an herb garden so that I can also enjoy certain herbs, all year round. Why is growing our own food becoming popular again, and why should you start your own food garden? Well here are a few things to think about.

Let's do this!

It's sometimes hard to believe that having your own vegetable patch or fruit garden was once commonplace but fell out of favor as the food industry grew more commercial and supermarkets began to take charge. More recently, however, more and more people (myself included) have started to explore growing their own produce again. So the following are some reasons why you might want to join us and even think about starting your own kitchen garden.

You can't beat the freshness

To me, fruits and vegetables always taste better when eaten as soon as possible after picking. You can't beat the freshness or all of the health benefits that come from fresh fruit. The fruit from supermarkets is often picked well before it is properly ripe, to extend shelf life, and this usually has an impact on flavor. Growing your own fruits and veggies lets you taste the freshest possible produce as it's meant to taste.

You can't beat the Quality

Commercially grown crops are often selected for their uniform appearance and high yields rather than for quality and taste. Growing your own produce lets you concentrate on the quality rather than the economic quantity.

What about the price?

A lot of supermarket fresh produce is incredibly overpriced, in spite of their advertising claims. Raising your own produce from a seed is about as inexpensive as you can get, even the small plants you buy at the nursery are likely to provide you with better food at a lower cost. With a lot of plants, you can use the seeds from one growing season to provide you with plants for the next in a self-sustaining cycle making you total cost only your time and effort to keep going.

Provenance

With chemical pesticides and GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms), from genetically engineered food more and more people have concerns about how our food is produced. Growing your own vegetable patch means you know exactly where your food is from and how it was grown.

Expand your produce variety

Supermarkets tend to concentrate on only the most profitable and easy to sell fruits and vegetable even though there are literally thousands of different varieties of fruit and vegetables to choose from to grow in your garden. For as long as I can remember fruit from the supermarket has always been limited to a few select varieties of apple, for example, rather than the hundreds of traditional kinds that exist. You pick the varieties you like most when you grow your own herbs and produce, and experiment to find new ones you'll rarely see in the supermarket.

The only downside to all of the above is that it takes time and effort. I had to overcome the thought that I might not have the time to spare, and starting small with a few herb plants on my windowsill, my little herb farm has grown to a multi-mini-acres spread that laid end-to-end would extend almost to the end of my kitchen table. My plants are healthy and still growing. Growing your own produce can be easier than you think and give you a taste of reconnecting to the earth by growing your own lemons, peppers, apples or corn and like me; the experience just might be enough to hook you into growing your own food for life! 

Coffee Medicine

I have enjoyed a good cup of coffee in the morning for a long time, in college and through my working career, coffee had been a very good bone warmer in my time spent out on the water boating on a cold morning or a stormy night. I have always looked at the number one hot beverage on earth, as far as I'm concerned, as the feel-good, soul-warming drink it was. Not once did I ever consider any health effects coffee might have, aside from keeping me from falling asleep when I was doing something that needed all of my attention like piloting or driving. Recently I have begun to learn about some of the health benefits of caffeine some of which make me feel really good about my coffee connection, however, a word of caution.

Like any drug pharmaceutical or fresh off the tree, there are side-effects so before I get too deep into the positive health effects associated with coffee, let me start by saying that coffee seems to work it's health magic because it affects heartbeat, breathing, and mood to mention a few. If you suffer from high blood pressure coffee might pose a problem, on the other hand, if you suffer from low blood pressure coffee might provide some relief from low blood pressure. So as always when you read one of my articles keep in mind that I am usually expressing what works best for me. You might have to do some experimentation, maybe even consult with your own doctor before achieving the same result. I was already a long time coffee user when I first learned of some of the negative effects caffeine could have on blood pressure, in my way of thinking because I was already a coffee user the negative effects I experienced were not as severe as they might have been for a first-time coffee user.

To date, all of the physical effects I have experienced from coffee have been positive health-wise. Depending on where your health conditions and concerns might fall along the coffee pros and con link here are a few of the more positive effects drinking coffee can have. Coffee can boost your brain power, especially in the morning, some mornings just the smell of coffee can jumpstart my brain. I have read that coffee can also relieve a headache, I have some friends and a daughter that swears to the pain-relieving effect of coffee. I believe that for those show use coffee on a regular basis (like me) a headache is simply prevented from forming. I did, however, go without coffee long enough to bring on a headache and once a headache started, drinking coffee did not help.

I'll have to try another coffee fast, and see what happens for a personal research followup; a side note all of coffee's positive benefit seems to be wiped out if I drink coffee on an empty stomach so I try to include coffee with breakfast. In many cases coffee is not only good for the immune system, it actually strengthens the immune system and is good for the liver, heart and digestive system. From what I have read most coffee drinkers can maintain a healthy weight because coffee suppresses the appetite and increases hormone levels in the body, caffeine also promotes the bodies production of dopamine and serotonin considered contributing factors in the low suicide rate amongst coffee drinkers.

Add in the fact that during most mornings I have long noticed an improvement in my short-term memory, my attention span, and concentration, on the days I start off with coffee. For those of you who are on the fence when it comes to including coffee in your day, I would have to say that the pluses (the positives) outweigh the negatives when it comes to whether or not to give coffee a try if you haven's already. The brewed coffee types are a little better than the instant coffee variety mainly because of the chemical preservative added to some instant coffees.

Vinegar and Honey

These two kitchen groceries, Apple Cider Vinegar, and pure Honey make a great health food combination when mixed with a cup of warm purified water, add a little lemon juice to the mix and you become practically bullet proof. Well not really, let me just say that the majority of people who use this combination of ingredients do experience some positive health effects. I guess the thing to keep in mind is that everyone's body chemistry is made a little different by their diet, the type over-the-counter, or prescription medications they use. I would guess that 80% of the people who use this apple cider vinegar, honey, and purified water combination will realize a benefit from it. What are the benefits?

Let me say this before I say that, if you're a breastfeeding mom, or pregnant you should consult with your doctor before trying any of my herbal suggestions. The same would be true for a prescription drug user, drug user, and people suffering from chronic medical conditions like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. There are some cases where herbs may interfere with your medication and could cause undesired side effects. My goal is to describe the effects, positive and negative, that herbs used by me for medication have had on me, and to let you know that my results may not be the same for everyone who reads about them here or over on my Facebook location.

The dose of the concoction (apple cider vinegar and honey) I have used for the past year is one teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and one teaspoon of raw honey added an 8 oz. cup of purified room temperature or warm water. Taken at night I have seen a glucose level drop of three to five percent by the next morning. The combination apple cider vinegar, honey, in warm purified water is good at regulating the amount of sodium in the blood and helps normalize blood pressure due to the high amount of potassium in both apple cider vinegar and honey, making this blend of nature a good blood pressure equalizer.

More than a year ago I started using apple cider vinegar and honey mixed into a cup of purified water each morning, at least an hour before I ate anything else and over a four or five week period lost two pounds; and that was without the exercise routine I have today. From time to time I get fancy with my apple cider vinegar, honey, and water mix adding a slice of ginger root, or some lemon juice. The combination of apple cider vinegar, honey, and purified water is said to have way more application than just the ones I use it for, the combo is good for your gut and anything good for your gut is good for your skin and overall health in general. I honestly have noticed an improvement in my skin health over the past year from using this combination of ingredients.

Some other examples of the beneficial effect from combining apple cider vinegar, honey, and water is an easing of heartburn, a decrease in bad cholesterol levels, the removal of acid in the body that can lead to a reduction of pain in the joints. It's an energy booster, and very effective against constipation. So far I have only monitored the blood pressure related benefit of this powerful natures mix but it's nice to know that all of the other bodily points of interest listed above are covered in the regular use of the apple cider vinegar, honey, and purified water blend. It has become my morning and sometimes evening tea.

I'm not sure if you can label the combination of apple cider vinegar and honey with a cup of purified water a panacea (cure-all) but this combination of nature's juices certainly has the potential of curing a lot. Gargling with one quarter-cup of apple cider vinegar in warm water, once an hour, at the first sign of a sore throat provides a natural remedy for a sore throat. When bacteria is the cause of experiences diarrhea try sipping some apple cider vinegar and water tea. Because the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar stops the growth of bacteria and the potassium it contains thins mucus just a teaspoon full in a cup of water can drain your sinus, and clear a stuffy nose.

I'm just happy with my decrease in glucose level, and weight loss since I started using this natural drink mix, and while I haven't had the chance to try all of the healing qualities of my apple cider vinegar honey and water solution, I can tell you this though, if the majority of remedies attributed to this combination of healthy ingredients turn out to be true, my medicine cabinet is going to have a lot fewer over the counter medicine bottles.

Growing peppers

Peppers have sprouted and are busy growing in the small planters being nursed along until they begin to produce fruit, or in this case, peppers. I am looking forward to a much larger yield this year because of a little growing secret I ignored last year. I ignored this little growing secret because in my rush to plant, and grow, thinking at the time that all I needed were some seeds and good potting soil. So what is the growing secret, Growth Pellets!

My last years' pepper growing season about fifty percent of the seeds I planted actually survived the sprouting process, and about 10% actually made it to the pepper producing stage. As a result, my Bell Pepper crop was very small and none of the plants made it through the winter months. This growing season because of the growth pellets I used I am closer to 100% of the seed sprouts making it to maturity and that has me smiling.

I found these Jiffy Pellet Refills at my local Home Depot, the pellets I originally got started with this growing season came with the Burpee Self-Watering seed-string kit and while the pellets looked different the results were the same when it came to the amount of sprout growth I see this season.