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.

How to Locate a Reliable Handyman?

Finding a good handyman in West London is a challenging task, as compared to finding a home improvement contractor. Whereas home contractors are licensed, handymen doesn't need to be licensed for fetching work. It is really an uphill task to track down an experienced handyman, when there are hundreds of unprofessionals who pose to be expert handymen for earning some extra money.

Handymen are hired for day-to-day tasks like, hanging a picture onto the wall, trimming the fences of garden and performing small repair tasks. There is lack of of a governing body behind a handyman. Even there is no need to fulfill local licensing requirements for doing such odd jobs. All these factors make it difficult to find an experienced handyman.

Here are some tips to locate a good handyman in West London.

Search on-line for a good handyman

You can browse the Internet to find a local Handyman for your home. The list of home improvement professionals is endless on the Internet. Moreover, you can visit their websites and read the feedbacks provided by their previous clients. On the basis of the reviews you can decide whether the handyman is worth hiring for your household tasks.

Ask for references

Don't hire just anyone as a handyman, only because a friend or relative referred him. Always keep in mind the list of tasks for which you need handyman services. Whenever you contact a handyman, always ask for three to four references, before hiring him. Let the friends, relatives and neighbors suggest you with some handyman in West London, but its you who should be decided finally to hire or not to hire him.

Screening the handyman

Once you have made your mind to hire a particular handyman, you should screen him. Make sure that he is trustworthy enough to come into your home. You can check if there are complaints against them through Better Business Bureau. You can do Google search with the handyman's name to find his genuineness and experience. You can even contact the state licensing board to confirm whether any complaints had been filed against that particular handyman.

Handyman suitable to your requirement

Always hie a handyman that suits your requirement. A handyman is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Suppose you want him to unclog your sink, but he doesn't have the relevant experience in plumbing. He would be of no use to you. You may tell him your requirement prior to to awarding the job, so that your efforts of finding him don't get wasted.

Always look for a handyman who has local address and phone number. A good handyman west London should have experience in areas of plumbing, home repair, remodeling, and carpentry. He should have been serving as a handyman for a period of years. Hiring a novice is never a good idea, as it may lead to damaged things in your home. You should not ask to hesitate to ask a number of questions before awarding the job.

Five Tips for Keeping Your Home Safe while on Holidays

If you are planning on going on holidays it is important that you plan ahead and put in place methods of keeping your home secure. There would be nothing worse than coming back from your lovely relaxing holiday to find your home broken into, property stolen or damaged and your home vandalised. Get organised before you go and follow a few simple tips to keep your home safe while you are on your holiday. Install security doors, an alarm and even security screens.

Have your neighbour keep on eye out

Ask your neighbour to keep on eye on your property while you are away. Let them know that you are going away and let them know when you will be back. If someone enters your property when they are home they will most likely notice if they have been alerted to the fact that you are away. Get them to collect your mail for you too so it doesn't look so obvious that you are away, and it will also stop your mail getting damaged by the rain. It can also help if they park one of their cars in your driveway.

Security alarm

If you don't have a security alarm this would be a good time to have one installed. A security alarm will go off if it senses any movement within the house. A siren will sound, and often there is a flashing light that will go off too which is attached to the front of your house. As well as alerting the neighbours your alarm is connected to the security company's system in their head office and they will send somebody around to check out the problem.

Security doors and screens

Have security doors and even screens put on your windows for added safety. These are great to have even when you are not away. A security door will give you the flexibility of being able to open up your front door and let the breeze through on a hot day, without having your home open and unlocked. You can also answer the front door when someone comes knocking without having to open your security door at all. You can see through and still talk to the person without putting yourself potentially at risk. Thieves often break into houses through windows. Having security screens will stop this problem.

Keep the house tidy

If you are planning on being away for an extended period of time, for example you might be taking a trip overseas, then make sure you keep the front of your house maintained so from the street it looks like someone is currently living there. Pay a gardening service to come by every few weeks, depending on the season, and mow the lawn, tidy the garden and sweep up any leaves. It might cost you a little bit but it is worth not having your house broken into, plus you will come back to a home with a tidy front garden.

House sitter

If you don't want to leave your home vacant while you go on holidays then why not get a house sitter. You may know a friend or family member who would be happy to do it. They can also look after any pets while they are there, which will save you a lot of money in kennel or cattery fees. This is ideal if you are going away overseas for an extended period of time.