Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
We all spend our time in our houses so we’ve got to spend it in the best way. If we’ve got children we also need to keep our house clean and toxicfree. Media are talking about bio-house, bio-engineering so it seems that now we are all living in a non-bio environment. Too less I heard about bio-furniture.
A real piece of ecological furniture should have 100% materials ecological: recyclable and possibly recycled wood and toxic free paint (water based). Trees are the world’s only renewable structural material, let’s use them. The pack took 3 weeks from the order to arrive in America shipped directly from Italy, well packed and with well explained instrutions. My husband helped me mounting the wardrobe and the two beds. We found a ready to mount wardrobe with screws and all pieces needed. I ‘d like every single piece in my house to be part of an ecological forniture. I spent a fabulous weekend with my family.
Searching around the web I found very few articles about this topic. It seems that Europe forniture industry has more care rather than American one. So I found an italian firm called Mazzali producing bio-forniture like wardrobes, beds, bedsides tables. I’ve ordered from the e-shop two beds for my son and me and a wardrobe, pure italian style and toxicfree, hoping we’re just in a better future. I was a bit suspicious but I’ve got to admit the material’s high quality standard. You need to know how to distinguish what is pure ecological from what is not. Is not enough for a piece of forniture to have the label “recyclable”.
Tags: Changing, From, Start, Wardrobe, World
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Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Commercial interior space is at a premium, more nowadays than ever before. The cost of a hotel or restaurant property has risen to the point that every square foot must be utilised to the maximum, bringing in as much revenue as possible. One way of helping this process is to be thoughtful in the kind of furniture purchased. Big items of upholstered furniture like sofas or tub chairs are very comfortable and fine for keeping customers seated a long time but do not allow the proprietor to be flexible in the use of his or her interior space as they are heavy and cumbersome making them difficult to move. With a more considered choice of restaurant chairs or hotel chairs and tables one room can serve more than one function and can make the process of cleaning the room much easier for the staff. For example the room can be used for dining during the week with one type of stacking chair and if, for example a customer wants to rent the room for a wedding or private party then those chairs can be stacked away in a small space and the room can be left clear for dancing or other more suitable chairs can be brought in. A good choice is to use stacking chairs combined with either fixed leg or folding tables. Only a few years ago the choice of stacking chairs was very limited, and nearly all of the choices comprised steel frames with either a steel or plastic seat and back. The ‘Polyprop’ chair, designed in the early 1960’s by Robin Day for Hille International is the most famous of these early stacking chairs and was a very attractive simple design that had the main benefit of being extremely space efficient, being stackable vertically up to 15 high without a problem. These stacking chairs have sold in millions since their inception and many halls, conference centres and cafes still rely on them for their customer’s daily use. However, as a restaurant chair or hotel chair their plain style make them an unsuitable choice. Thankfully in recent years hotel and restaurant furniture suppliers have realised that many of their customers need to use their rooms for different purposes at different times and so have incorporated many modern designs of stacking chairs and stacking tables into their programme. One of the most economical of these designs uses a steel frame in square section steel with welded frame and a choice of back designs in either square or rounded shape. These chairs are predominantly coated with either a gold, black or silver painted finish and have upholstered seat and backrest. Previously these chair frames were manufactured in the UK but in the last decade imported frames have become available very cheaply and with better and better quality.
Some UK suppliers still upholster the chairs in house though, which means that they can offer a much wider range of upholstery colours and patterns and can use UK manufactured foam fillings which tend to be of a higher quality than imported ones. Another reason to buy stacking chairs that have been upholstered in the UK is that the UK has the most stringent fire retardancy regulation for foam and fillings of upholstered chairs. A manufacturer in China or Malaysia will supply chairs worldwide and while the buyer can specify that the foam and fabric are treated to be fire retardant, their foam filling’s fire resistance is made to a lower level than British made foam, being targeted at the U.S. home furniture market and is not usually suitable for contract use. Therefore, if buying stacking chairs that have been upholstered abroad make absolutely sure you have sight of the FR certification first.
In recent years many of the most stylish wooden chairs have been designed to be stackable. Traditional gilt wooden decorative backed wedding style chairs can now be purchased that are stackable to 8 or 10 high. Again these usually have an upholstered seat which can be specified to be removable so by buying chairs with extra seats in other colours, one chair can be offered with different seat colours to blend in with the bride and groom’s choice of wedding decorations. Another stacking chair that can perform the function of a wedding or restaurant chair are the aluminium framed stacking chairs which while being very similar in construction to the steel stacking chairs, have a visual advantage that come from the way the tubular aluminium is made. While tubular steel starts as flat steel and then is bent longitudinally and welded along the seam resulting in a plain square tube, the aluminium tube is made by the extrusion process where the aluminium, in a semi molten state, is forced through a shaped form that means that the tube can be made with a decorative design running along it’s length. When this type of tube is made into a stacking chair frame and painted bright gold it really looks very attractive indeed. These aluminium stacking chairs also have upholstered seats and backs and again it is wise to choose a chair supplier that upholsters them in their own factory premises.
Many bar and hotel furniture suppliers offer copies of famous 1950’s and 60’s stacking chair designs with simple formed plywood back and seat units on chrome round tubular steel frames. The famous Danish designer Arne Jackobsen’s series 7 chair is widely produced now in the Far East and can be purchased in quantity from under £20. These chairs are light and attractive although without upholstery they are only comfortable for sitting a limited time. Other stacking chairs manufactured in very modern designs are made by the injection moulding process where molten plastic is fired under great pressure into a steel mould to form the design. The cost of making the original mould is huge and is a serious investment to a manufacturer but once the mould has been created many tens of thousands of chairs can be made at little cost. With a worldwide market available, factories in China are now using their own or sometimes European designers to create truly beautiful stacking chair designs that can be marketed cheaply because of the huge sales they can achieve. If you decide to choose one of these injection moulded stacking chairs it is imperative to ask the supplier for certification as to its suitability in a contract environment because if it is to be used as a restaurant chair or hotel chair it will receive far tougher treatment than in a home environment. The best certification comes from U.K. testing laboratories for example FIRA (The Furniture Industry Research Association). These people have specialist machinery that give the chairs the kind of stresses and pressures that they would receive in a commercial setting and test the chairs to destruction so that a real understanding of their suitability for contract used can be achieved.
Tags: benefit, Chairs, could, Folding, From, hotels, Restaurants, Stacking, Tables
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Why go and spend a fortune at the nursery on new tools, when there is probably a wealth of unused stuff tucked away unused in your own kitchen, or someone you knows kitchen that will more than adequately do the exact job you want, without having to spend a cent.
Just make sure that anything taken from the kitchen really is not wanted there. As well as the fact that such stuff is on a one way permanent trip out to the garden shed.
Here are just a few suggestions of stuff that are useful kitchen refugees,
Old dinner knife for digging weeds out from between concrete sections or pavers.
Old kitchen fork for light weeding in around tight places or where you do not want to disturb root systems that are close to the surface.
Good sharp kitchen knife or a pair of kitchen scissors are great fro dividing up clumps of plants, or for taking cuttings off of a branch.
Kitchen tongs can be used to pick up thorny cuttings or to help you repotting thorny plants like cacti.
Serving tray or placemats to keep things organised or for carrying produce, cuttings or even weeds.
Potato Masher for pushing past a thorny plant or rose.
BBQ or Carving Forks for digging out stubborn rooted weeds and root vegies.
Kitchen funnels for pouring various liquids into containers or for accurate pouring around plants. or to get seed or even small screws & nails into storage packets or bottles.
Chopsticks make great little pot stakes (metal and wooden skewers work too), or construction sets even for some jobs.
I’ve seen bamboo placemats and chopsticks cut down to make scenery pieces for bonsai planters, along with old aquarium ornaments.
Set of measuring cups and measuring spoons are great as scoops for fertilizers and potting mixes.
Icecream or soup scoops for measuring and scooping potting mix in around new potplants.
Egg rings and biscuit cutters for shaping growing fruit just for fun, or as a simple handheld hoe for light weeding in around plants.
So theres a few things which can obtain a second life out in the gardenshed and garden, nstead of being stored for years in a drawer, or being thrown out or passed on to a charity store.
Tags: Drawer, From, Garden, Kitchen, Tools
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
When you kick back at the end of the day and pop your drink down on that end table of yours as you turn on the TV to see what’s on, you may be in a posture much like King Tut or Cleopatra. It turns out end tables and other table forms go back that far, or further.
While King Tut had a lot of servants, and likely could have had people stand there holding anything he wanted held, even he wanted a surface of his own to put things on. The original end tables, made back in Egyptian times, weren’t what we think of today for end tables. They were pieces of stone stacked to create a flat surface where one could put food or other items. But they did the job. When you wanted to put something down, there was a flat counter to put it on without calling on someone to stand there and hold it.
It seems the Romans also understood the importance of a platform upon which to place things. They created end tables out of stone, as well, although theirs were a little more defined and looked more like altars. It also seems the Romans had more of an interest in lounging at the table than sitting at the table. Their tables were formed much lower than modern day end tables, at a height that would be appropriate if you were lounging back on a couch while placing and retrieving items from the tabletop.
Wood tables came into popularity in the medieval era. They understood the idea of using wood as an eating surface. It was much easier to move than stone, and the wood was readily available. Carpenters of the time created large wooden tables with strong, solid legs to take on the role.
As end tables and other tables continued through history, they came to the new world. Frontier tables and end tables were a far cry from the solid stone pieces that were created in Egyptian and Roman times and the solid wood ones made in the medieval years. No, in the west, you used what you could. Often a table was created out of a flat board being set on top of whatever they could find to balance it. It could be a couple of barrels, some wood blocks, or whatever they could make from the nearby supplies.
Since then tables have gone through many growths and transformations into the endless variety of them that we see on the market today. There are always new kinds being created, like modern and contemporary tables that are as much art as furniture. Additionally, many like the idea of repeating history and are purchasing tables that are being made as reproductions of those pieces of centuries past. There are also now tables for specific uses that never used to exist, from dressing tables to drafting tables.
One thing is for sure, while the world of tables is constantly changing, the need for them will not.
Tags: Egyptians, From, Tables
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Monday, April 6th, 2009
Wardrobes are generally the key piece of furniture in any bedroom as they often dominate the room. Other furniture is often covered or concealed by ornaments, photographs and day to day products like jewelery boxes and makeup. The wardrobe is usually the most clearly visible piece of furniture so the look and style of it can influence your whole room. Fashion can change over the years but the wardrobe in your house can stand the test of time. A wardrobe will last as long as you want it to, this depends on how much you are prepared to spend. If you invest in good quality furniture you will not be disappointed and it will serve you well for years to come. Alternatively many people spend less on furniture so they can update to keep up with the latest fashions. Our customers have invariably tried the cheaper route and found that the cheaper quality products let them down due to bad construction and finishes that do not stand the test of time so they look to us for an alternative which is unique and practical.
Our particular style of antique wardrobes are original and usually between eighty and one hundred years old. Each one being unique as we rarely get two the same apart from a few pairs that have come in over the years. The wardrobes are all pine as we don’t deal in any other type of wood. All the wardrobes have been hot caustic stripped to remove years of old paint and kill any wood worm. When all all the paint or varnish has been removed we can see what sort of repairs are required, hopefully not too many, as we try to keep all the original features where possible. Normally the first job is to replace the feet with new ones in a style and shape that matches the wardrobe, a victorian bun is a good choice. The feet have a dowel so you have to drill a hole in the base to fit them, they can be glued in but if you have a good fit, leave the glue then you can remove them later. I have to change the top cornice sometimes as they get damaged over the years, plus any splits in the panels are glued and clamped. Check the drawer runners for wear and replace them if necessary. The wardrobe can be sanded down now if there are no other major repairs and stained down with a water based stain to blend in the repairs ready for waxing. Locks and keys are also repaired and replaced.
Our wardrobe collection are mainly of a breakdown type with one, two or three doors. The construction is normally fitted together by tongue and groove joints on all the larger parts and dowels on the rest, this allows the wardrobe to be completely disassembled and easily reassembled in your home. The joints are held together tightly by a wooden or metal taper on the inside on all four corners which gives a good solid construction.
We endeavour to find the best quality pieces with good lines and age but also good solid craftsmanship when they were fist made, so you get furniture that will keep its value and stand the test of time
Tags: Antique, Dissmantle, Europe, From, Original, Pine, Wardrobes
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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
From sexy summer clothes, fall and winter fashion trends took an
about turn. Anything that seemed sexy in summer now looks tarty.
Your grandmother’s wardrobe is now in vogue. Now everything you
own seems so out of fashion. What is a girl to do?
First of all, do NOT panic.
The trend now is well tailored, high quality, hard to knock off
clothing. A look that demands respect. The look is romantic.
Feminine. In darker, somber colors. A gothic Cinderella if you
will.
That translates to quality, not quantity. With just 9 pieces,
you can rebuild your Autumn and Winter wardrobe from scratch,
and look totally chic as the temperatures fall. Every piece has
to be really well made. Go for the best you can afford. The look
for this season is ladylike chic. The kind that demands and gets
respect.
Get ready for plenty of somber black, plum, deep colors with a
light touch of pink
fashion pieces to lift things a little.
Choose your color scheme. Black, plum and bright pink, or
Navyblue, gray and pale pink are some ideas you could work with.
Pick colors that you look your best in and which go with one
another. Alternatively, try a striking combination of black,
white and red.
Once you have decided on your color scheme, stick to it. That
way, everything in your wardrobe can be coordinated with
everything else, giving you countless looks from those few
pieces.
Feel free to choose items with frills, ribbons and other
romantic details as these define this season’s romantic fashion
trends.
#1 Gorgeous women’s
winter coats (at least 1) or a fur vest. This is going to
be your main look whenever you are outdoors. The fur vest is the
latest thing for this fall, winter season though. And it really
dresses up everything you wear it with. Even a pair of jeans
looks formal when you put on your fur vest.
#2 Beautifully tailored women’s
suits (at least 1) in any of your 3 chosen colors. A well
tailored skirt and jacket combination that is feminine and
versatile. This is something you can wear everyday.
#3 Ok. I know that feminine, loose floaty clothes are in. What
with the tulip skirt and all. But seriously. Who wants to have
hips that look even larger than reality? No, you still need a
pair of jeans. I don’t care what the fashion magazines or
designers dish out to us. Women have a right to wear clothes
that flatter the real figure. What is hot, has always been hot
and always will be hot is a pair of tight jeans.
A pair that makes you look your very best. You wear the clothes,
not the other way around.
#4 Wool
tights, pantyhose or stockings. Again for warmth and class.
to keep your legs warm when you wear a skirt or a dress.
#5 A romantic women’s
blouse. This time around, the look is romantic. The
oversized man style shirt wouldn’t do. You need something
romantic. The blouse is the new season’s must have.
#6 A beautiful dress. What could be more romantic than a dress.
Dresses
are hot this season, especially now that the romantic look is
big. You need at least 1 blouse in your new wardrobe.
#7 A pair of boots that go
with everything in your new wardrobe. They keep you warm they
are versatile and give your outfit an edge.
#8 A pair of leather
gloves to keep your hands warm and which look really sleek.
#9 A knit top to stretch your wardrobe further. The classic
every autumn and winter is the turtle
neck. It looks elegant and keeps your neck warm
Tags: Build, Chic, Fall, From, Scratch, Wardrobe, Winter
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Saturday, February 28th, 2009
There is nothing more relaxing than resting and sleeping in a nice comfortable bed. Whether you want to buy additional mattress or buy a new one in replacement of the old, you need to get more information about the mattress that would make you and your family feel comfortable. Without this information, you might be spending a certain amount of money that would give you less satisfying product.
Fortunately, you can have all the information you want through the Internet. You can choose to search for different suppliers of mattress, read their profiles and products and testimonials or reviews. This option will get a considerable amount of your time because you need to search a lot of resources online. Nevertheless, you can also choose to find a site that would provide you with all the information about different type mattresses and their providers. This way you don’t have to use so much search engines and get separate information from various sources. You simply have to enter into site on the mattress review to get all the information about mattresses.
In mattress review, you get to see the top rated mattress available in the market. You will see who their suppliers are and what they offer in their mattress products. The site will provide you with a brief description about different mattresses from different providers. Plus, you get to see mattress reviews from customers and sources that have something to say about the product and providers. The description and mattress reviews available in the site are relevant information for your choice in buying a mattress. Aside from the mattress reviews, there are also mattress ratings in which you evaluate the functionality and the efficiency of the mattress offered by the providers. With mattress ratings, you get to know if the particular subject mattress is rated very poorly or rated excellent, or in-betweens.
Aside from mattress reviews and mattress ratings, which are both important in knowing how well the mattress is, you can also get information through the news section in the site. The news provides an updated report on mattress-related subjects. Also, if you think that the top-rated mattresses and other reviews are not enough information for you, check on their advertisement to see what mattresses are being promoted.
In mattress review site, you don’t just read reviews and other relevant information available. You also get to participate in the site if you think you have something to write review about a particular mattress in mind. For example, if you are not satisfied with the quality of your current mattress and you decided to replace it, then you can put a review about it on the site. Just look at the directory section, input the name of the mattress by the first letter in the directory arrange alphabetically, and write down your mattress review and the corresponding mattress rating. By doing so, you are actually contributing information which would also be relevant for others buying decisions. In essence, you are interacting and participating in mattress consumer site.
Tags: From, mattress, Mattressreview, Ratings, Reliable, Reviews
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Friday, February 6th, 2009
Turn your kitchen remodel into a chef’s dream. Show off a modern kitchen design straight out of New York City. Think kitchen remodeling. Whether you want to update the space with a modern or traditional kitchen remodel, or start over from scratch, Italus will provide the kitchen design and planning you need for your kitchen remodeling.
Spacious, functional, breathtaking… kitchen remodeling by Italus will allow you to spend more time cooking, entertaining, and just plain old laughing in your modern kitchen or traditional kitchen. Italus can provide you with everything you need in a kitchen remodeling, including a full range of products like custom-made cabinets, faucets, fittings and installations.
Kitchen remodeling doesn’t have to be hard. From start to finish, Italus works with you through every step of the kitchen remodeling process to select and install the modern kitchen or traditional kitchen of your dreams – even a kitchen design from New York City. Begin with a kitchen remodeling consultation, then sit back while Italus designs, plans, prices, and recommends materials for your kitchen remodeling. We’ll then order materials and begin working. Finally, you’ll meet with Italus to finalize your kitchen remodeling project.
Once the kitchen remodeling is complete, you’ll feel relaxed and revitalized in a kitchen design right out of New York City. The focal point of your everyday life, your kitchen provides a centerpiece for your family, and a kitchen remodeling makes everyone happy. Italus… your destination for kitchen remodeling.
Kitchen Ideas
Your dream kitchen is within reach – all you need are a few kitchen remodeling ideas to get you going. Experience the magic through Italian kitchen designs from Italus. A modern kitchen or a traditional kitchen – the choice is yours. You can’t go wrong – kitchen remodeling ideas from Italus are the highest quality you’ll find anywhere, even New York City.
At Italus, we’ve got everything you need to create truly masterful kitchen ideas, including a full range of products from custom-made cabinets, faucets, fittings and installations. And, Italus will manage your project from inception right through to completion. Your Italian kitchen design – your dream kitchen — will be yours.
With the most advanced technology and finest Italian kitchen design products at our disposal, Italus has the most innovative kitchen ideas around. Discover modern kitchen and traditional kitchen products by Rossana, Febal, and Prodomo Cucine – a dream kitchen in the making — and Italus is the exclusive U.S. distributor. No matter whether you want a modern kitchen, a traditional kitchen, or a particular kitchen design from New York City, Italus has the kitchen ideas you’ll need to help build your dream kitchen.
If you’ve been longing for an Italian kitchen design of your own, look no further than kitchen ideas from Italus. Whether it’s a modern kitchen, a traditional kitchen, or a kitchen design from New York City, Italus will deliver your dream kitchen through extraordinary kitchen ideas.
When it comes to kitchen ideas, no one has more brainstorming capabilities than Italus. Do you love a modern kitchen or a traditional kitchen? If you want a modern kitchen, see our innovative kitchen ideas by Febal and Prodomo Cucine. If it’s traditional Italian kitchen design, both companies offer Italian kitchen design lines with your taste in mind. For a kitchen design from New York City, Rossana has kitchen ideas you’ll swoon over.
Tags: Design, From, Green, Ideas, Italus, Kitchen
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
There’s nothing quite like staying at an outstanding luxury hotel. The service is excellent, the facilities superb and the entire experience leaves you feeling relaxed, invigorated and utterly spoilt. Yet there are plenty of so-called luxury hotels out there who are not worthy of the title, who fall short in some critical area and leave their guests wanting more.
Every hotel is unique, and there is no checklist or official seal of approval that marks out a great hotel from a merely average one. But if you are staying at a hotel that claims to be one of the best, there are certain philosophies of excellence that you should expect to be followed. Whether you are staying at a tiny boutique hotel with only a dozen rooms or a massive 5 star resort hotel, here are some of the things you should look out for to really test the quality of your accommodation.
Superb attention to detail
What marks out a true luxury hotel from the pretenders is the attention to detail. There are a thousand and one little ways in which a luxury hotel can demonstrate its quality, from a complimentary bottle of champagne when you arrive to a main hall that seems like a work of art. The best hotels are those which take great pains to instil quality in every possible way, and which even the most hard to please perfectionist would struggle to find fault with.
Highly personalised service
A truly great luxury hotel stands or falls on the quality of its staff. They should be polite, knowledgeable and helpful, but above all you should be treated like an individual, not as just another patron. If you have individual needs or desires, staff at a true luxury hotel will work hard to accommodate it. Not all will go as far as the staff at President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, who once hired a crane to get a requested bed up to the penthouse suite, but if you stay at a luxury hotel, expect personalised service!
Luxurious accommodation
If you have paid luxury hotel prices, you should expect your room to be of the highest quality. To say the least, the room should be spotless when you arrive, but more than that, it should exude luxury and comfort from every corner. In many boutique hotels, each room is individually designed for that personal touch, but whether your room is one of a kind or one of a hundred identical rooms, a luxury hotel room should ideally leave you with nothing to complain about.
Top quality facilities
The sense of luxury shouldn’t stop at your room. Luxury and boutique hotels often have additional facilities attached to them – restaurants, spas, gyms and so on. If they do, then they should be of same quality that you would expect from your room and the main hotel. If a hotel has outstanding rooms but a mediocre restaurant attached to it, or a perfunctory sports centre or hotel bar, it is a missed opportunity to truly dazzle its guests.
Tags: Expect, From, Hotel, Luxury, Stay
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
If you are looking for ways for you or your children to provide cheap presents for the extended family, or just like to give gifts that have a personal element to them, then here is a suggestion or two for you.
If you are looking to make a present for the gardener in the family or someone who has recently moved into their own home, someone in a flat or unit, or a person who can’t manage a full sized yard, or a family member who loves to cook with fresh ingredients, etc. Then why not consider giving them something from your own garden? Here I am talking about plants that you have divided off from your own garden plants.
There are many plants growing in the average garden that can be divided, or that have naturally self layered themselves. Where you could go along and take a rooted section, pot them up and with a bit of dressing up of the planting container, you could produce a really nice gift for someone you care about.
These plants include many herbs as well as perennials or shrubs and even some trees which manage to send out self-layering branches or suckers from the root system. Some perennials or bulbs will increase their size or number of bulbs over time. Chance seedlings coming up in the wrong place for you, can easily also be used. All of these provide you with an opportunity to cheaply create a wonderful present for someone else.
First things first you will need to obtain a number of pots either plastic ones left over from additions to the garden population, or from someone you know, or you can go out and purchase a pot plastic/ceramic/terracotta etc., to suit your needs. If the person you are giving the plant to is not a real gardener, then you might consider getting a pot with a waterwell in the base to increase the plants’ chances of surviving.
Next, you need to begin looking for your plant material, so take a careful look around your garden at the soil level. Check out which plants are showing multiple stalks growing out of the ground. Or those sprawling plants where a branch has leaned over on to the ground and taken root along the branch, maybe one where a branch has become buried under the mulch.
Or one where there is a sucker growing from the soil a short distance from the parent plant. Another possibility is seedlings growing in the garden a distance from the parent plant material. Maybe there is a clump of plants or a big patch of bulbs where you can do some dividing.
Many of these plants benefit from being divided up or being allowed some more growing room in the particular area where you have taken away some material.
Different parts of Australia will have a differing range of plant species, which lend themselves to this form of self-propagation. If you can’t find any plants that are doing this in your own garden, why not look at a friends or neighbours garden. Or you could maybe join forces and give a joint present using plants from another family member’s garden. Or another possibility is to buy a plant in a pot that has several plants already established in it.
Divide that up before you use half in your own garden, and still have half to repot and give away. Even if you are not confident about your gardening skills you can still pick up cheap plants at the local market, school/church fair, garage sale etc. Repot them into a bigger or nicer pot for a fairly cheap present.
Another possibility is to multiplant a few different plants into a long or large round tub. This will create an instant garden on the move. Some themes you might consider here is herbs, indoor foliage, bulbs, annuals, alpine/rock, cacti/succulent or even patio gardens mixing annuals and perennials.
It is best to moisten the ground around the plant that you are going to work on well before you do the dividing, as this allows you to remove the maximum amount of root mass during the dividing process.
The first step is to divide the clump or cut away the joining branch to make the separate plant available. Then using a spade, fork or gardening trowel, dig as far out from the potential plant as practicable, because this will give you the biggest root mass possible.
Go down as far you believe you need to, (this will depend on such circumstances as size of new plant, species of original plant material, type of soil, other plant or landscaping material around the area, etc.). As gently as you can dig out the new plant. Shake off any excess soil and refill the resulting hole in the ground if necessary.
Prune back the foliage of the new plant to roughly equal size of the root mass, trying to protect some of the new foliage growth. Repot as soon as practicable, so that the roots do not dry out and die.
Another thing to consider is what sort of pot you are gong to plant into; if it is only a plastic pot then you do not need to prepare it beforehand. However if you are looking at painting it, then do this before you get digging.
When painting up pots, you will need to do some preparation work for the paint to stick properly. Plastic pots should have their surface roughened up with a bit of sandpaper. While some terracotta pots should have a primer applied to the outer surface before you paint them. Try not to get primer or paint onto the inside of the planter, because while most wont, there are still some paints which contain chemicals that may affect or contaminate the soil and plant over time.
Other possibilities for decorating up pots include simply gluing on bits and pieces including stones, tiles, buttons, sticks, shells, ornaments, ribbon, stickers and decals, etc. Other ways of decorating up a pot for the initial presentation is to wrap up just the pot (not the actual plant), using either wrapping paper, cellophane, material, a cheap teatowel or even hessian. Hold these wrappers in place with string, ribbon, bandana, scarf, etc.
Other possibilities for adding value to the potplant is to provide some growing information and name tags for the plant/s included. Other little quirks you might add include a personalised name tag, (Hi, my name is David the Diffenbachia . . . ), or a little watering indicator, miniature hand tools, small amounts of fertiliser, pot ornaments, watering can etc.
So as you can see, creating a very personal gift for just about anyone can easily be within the grasp of anyone. Why not go out into your garden and start thinking about what presents you can be preparing for Christmas this weekend.
Tags: From, Garden, Plant, Presents
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