Low Maintenance Landscaping

Most of us suffer with some form of time poverty; it is difficult to fit all the necessary things into our day. Gardens can be time consuming, and in some seasons need a large amount of upkeep. Weeding, pruning, training, these can all have a beautiful effect in a garden, but take a lot of time and energy. The temptation is to concrete or pave over a garden to minimise the impact on our time. But these can look stark, cold and unwelcoming. A low maintenance garden need not be paved over completely. With a few ideas you can create a garden you will enjoy being in but with the minimum of work.

ShrubsThese break up the garden, provide large sections of greenery and in some cases some beautiful blossoms. Arranging these in clusters in your garden provides a break from large squares of lawn.
GrassesGrasses provide variety to shrub bed areas and are easy to look after. These are available in a variety of shades so you can provide contrast.
ConifersThese grow quickly, and provided they are trimmed fairly regularly need little maintenance.

Decked areas
By designating a large part of your garden to a living area with decking you can have a barbecue and relaxation area complete with outdoor recliner sofas, minimising the amount of greenery in the garden but still leaving enough to enjoy.
Decorative lawnsLawns need cutting and feeding occasionally, but nowhere near as much maintenance as flowers and plants. Try shaping lawns to add a little character
Paths and graveled areas
By adding graveled areas and stone paths you can again minimise greenery yet provide a pretty focal point which is useful within the garden. There are other effects which can be created using bark chips, and stone or slate chips which can provide a design element in itself. Try a few potted shrubs arranged in an area layered with slate chips for a truly breathtaking but effortless look.
Weed control fabric

This is one of the best gardening inventions ever created. Simply lay the black fabric around the plants or shrubs you wish to keep and the fabric will block sunlight from the soil, preventing weed growth. This can save hours of constant weeding. Simply cover with bark chips and you have a solution to irritating weeds.

There are plenty of design ideas out there, with a few practical solutions you can create a garden which will give you pleasure. Instead of working for your garden make it work for you.

image source:google

The Chocolate Replica of Kujang Monument

June 3rd is the birthday date of my city (Bogor,West Java, Indonesia). The age of Bogor city is 529 years. To commemorate the city birthday this year, one chocolate producer made the chocolate replica of the most popular monument in Bogor, Tugu Kujang (Kujang Monument).

The height of this replica is 7.5 meters and the width is 4 meters (base). At June 13th, 2011 the replica has been documented in the national record achievement. It was displayed inside Bogor Trade Mall.

Shadows at Terrace

It was a very bright day. The sun that shone through wooden blinds made these unique shadows.
My entry for The Weekend in Black and White this week.

Sensible Management of Home and Car Air Conditioning: Importance of Educating the Elderly

Your air conditioner in your home, and your car, work on the same principles. Air conditioning will ultimately cost us money. However, the health benefits can be enormous. It extremely hot weather, elderly people, in particular, come under a lot of stress. The importance of air conditioning cannot be stressed enough. In this article, we look at air conditioning in the two main areas of our lives, and why we must incorporate these costs into our lives.

How Air Conditioning Works. Air conditioning works by transferring heat from the air that is sucked into the air conditioning unit out of that air. A simple refrigeration cycle is used in cars and homes, while evaporation technology is also commonly used in buildings. Refrigeration cycles use compressed coolants to transfer heat away from the air, cooling it in the process. Evaporative air conditioners use water to absorb that heat, and therefore, cool the air entering any given space.

Managing Cost. Modern air conditioning systems all have an optimum operating temperature. This temperature is normally around 23-25 degrees. The power consumption of any air conditioning system will be greatly reduced if used to cool to this temperature.

Cost Management Equals Health Management. By over cooling any space we are in, we are subjecting our bodies to extremes in temperature. Just because it is hot outside, there is no real reason to cool our cars and homes to ridiculously cold temperatures. When our bodies become accustomed to low temperatures in either our car or our home, we will find the heat outside, hotter than it really is. This is because we are subjecting our bodies to extremes of temperature. If you have to wear a jumper in your home, car or office, to accommodate the cold air conditioning, you are wasting a lot of energy and risking your health. This is the reason why many elderly people have been turned off by the idea of air conditioning, for health and cost reasons. They then risk living day to day in high temperatures because they feel uncomfortable with the temperature and the cost.

Total Cost. The total cost of not having air conditioning in their home and car can be very high. Premature death and other illnesses, such as heat stroke, can be extremely high. The elderly should be advised on the need for a modern car with modern and effective air conditioning. More modern cars will be cost effective in many other ways. Car insurance and other running costs, are much lower in modern smaller and more economical vehicles. In terms of health, this is extremely important. Home air conditioning can be very cost effective in Winter, as well. Actually, it is one of the cheapest ways to heat our home.

If you, like many of us, have elderly friends and family members, ensure they are using air conditioning in the correct way, and it is regularly maintained. Both cars and home air conditioning require correct and regular maintenance for them to be cost effective. Extremes of temperature put the health of our most important members of society at risk.