In this modern 21^st century, the words “honor” and “appreciation” can sometimes be seen as old-fashioned values. When loved ones receive an invitation to spend time at your home, it is their initial impression that sets the stage. With the help of an arbor or trellis – that may double as a comfortable bench or flourishing planter – family and friends feel special with the arched entryway that gently leads them in.

An Invitation to Admire:  A trellis is known as an architectural structure typically made from different pieces of wood, bamboo, or metal to guide the growth of a climbing plant. An arbor is similar to a pergola – except they tend to be smaller and act as a outdoor archway instead of a shielding patio roof. By adding either of these structures to your outdoor area, a yard becomes a curated space that etches itself into the memory of all visitors.

Lattice and Benches and Gates, Oh My! To take it a step further, outfit your cedar arbor with lattice and attached benches, or make it an arbor with gates, to add lateral personality to the design. Like a exterior foyer, arbors with benches or a fence section of the space. Guests can sit and take in the elements or converse about the hard work that has been put into design your personal landscape.

Flourishing Plant life:  While many different kinds of plants can be trained to grow up a trellis, some of the most popular flower choices for arbors and trellises are snapdragon, trumpet vine, wisteria, morning glory, kiwi vine, and canary creeper. Although metal trellises are beautiful and ornate, they should be avoided with more tender plants – such as sweet peas, beans and morning glory – since they heat up with the sun and can actually stunt plant growth.

Nothing says magical and creative like an outdoor archway with budding vines or trellis blooming in spring. Create an exquisite invitation to your home that leaves a lasting impression by including any variation of an arbor or trellis to your outdoor space.

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed with Earth Day? Perhaps you feel pressured to fly up to Northern Canada to personally save a baby Polar Bear today… or completely renovate your roof to be one of those green-roofs you saw in photos from Europe.

Believe it or not, you don’t have to wrestle down global warming with your bare hands to celebrate Earth Day. Relax.  Today should be fun! Here are 10 ways you can celebrate Earth Day today without making over your whole life.

Use a Reusable Bag, or Reuse a Plastic Bag:  Heading to the store?  Even if you’re just picking up a quart of milk or even going clothes shopping, using a reusable tote bag really cuts down on the waste you’re producing today.  Don’t have a reusable tote yet? Don’t be afraid to grab a plastic bag you got with another purchase earlier this week.  Then, at least, you’re getting more than one use out of it! And, if all else fails, really consider whether you NEED a bag or not.  Have you ever noticed that if you just get one small item, they always give you a full bag?  If you can simply carry the item in your hand, or even stick it in your purse, just say “no” to another plastic bag!

Have a Picnic: Your Earth Day picnic can be as expansive or as simple as you want.  If you have an outdoor grill, picnic table, or outdoor dining set… have at it!  Invite friends over, cook outside, skip the paper plates in favor of reusable ones, and celebrate how great it is to be outdoors.  If you haven’t created an outdoor room, don’t be afraid to spread a blanket out on the grass, cook your food indoors, and just enjoy it outside.  Working all day? Do what I’m doing: make your lunch (in my case, that’s heating up a can of soup and grabbing a yogurt) and take it outside to eat!  No matter how you do it, just enjoy one of your meals outside today.

Plant Flowers: Not everyone has the time and space for a full garden.  Heck, some people just don’t like it!  But, try it out, just for today.  You can get already blooming flowers that just need to be put in the dirt.  Or, you can go get a pack of seeds and spread them.  No yard? Try putting them in a planter or even just cutting the top off an old plastic soda bottle, filling it with dirt, and putting the seeds in there!  Today’s the perfect day to get your hands a little dirty and plant something that will grow.

Get Out Your Patio Furniture: If you haven’t done it yet, today’s a great day to get all of your patio furniture out of storage.  Remove those outdoor furniture covers, dust off the outdoor furniture cushions, and get your porch swings, porch chairs, and garden benches back to their favorite spots.  This will not only get you working outside today, it will open up opportunities to enjoy the outdoors for the rest of the summer.

Fill a Birdfeeder: Help out a fellow creature today by filling a birdfeeder.  Hanging a birdhouse or birdfeeder will help the birds get ready for the summer and give them plenty of nutritious food.  You’ll feel good helping out your local wildlife, and will probably learn something too.  Make sure you can see your birdhouse or birdfeeder from a window or a favorite piece of outdoor furniture.  You’ll be amazed how many kinds of birds and birdcalls you learn just by casually observing them.  And, remember, the first step to saving our earth is learning about it!

Go to a Farmer’s Market: Ditch your usual go-to super market today, and hit up the farmer’s market.  Buying fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables is good for your health, good for your local economy, and good for the earth as it reduces the amount of fossil fuels used to transport food over long distances.  You’d be surprised how much of your usual foods you can pick up at a farmer’s market, and usually for not any more money that you’d pay normally.  It’s an extra stop, but it’s a stop that makes a big difference!

Go For a Walk: Adopt a lower impact form of entertainment this afternoon.  That’s right, turn off your television, turn off your computer (After you finish reading this blog post, of course! … or not, you can click out and shut off your computer now if you want.) , even leave your cell phone at home (can you do it?) and go for a walk.  And, don’t bring that ipod either!  Listen to the birds and the wind in the trees.  Focus on the smell of the air and the colors of spring.  You’ll be glad you did.

Use Water Bottles and Travel Mugs: Still reading? Okay, good.  But, seriously.  Go for a walk and have a picnic after you’re done reading this post! Don’t you dare grab a one-time-use bottle of water to take on your walk, in fact… don’t do it all day! If you stop for coffee on your way to that farmer’s market, bring a travel mug with you.  You won’t believe how many plastic bottles and paper coffee cups people throw out every single day.  Changing to a reusable water bottle or travel mug will reduce your impact a ton.

Hang Clothes Out to Dry: Did you know that people cooked, cleaned dishes, and washed laundry before modern appliances? It’s true!  There were no clothes dryers on the frontier.  Reduce your use of electricity by doing things in a more “old fashioned” way.  Hanging your clothes out to dry instead of throwing them in the dryer will reduce fading, make them smell fresher than any dryer sheet, and uses absolutely no electricity whatsoever! Run a line in your backyard, or even just pull your clothes rack out on your back porch.  If it’s sunny, it won’t take very much longer than a dryer anyway.

Make Earth Day Resolutions: Doing things like using water bottles and travel mugs, going outside instead of watching TV, hanging your clothes out to dry, going to farmer’s markets, and using reusable bags are all great things to do today.  But, imagine if you adopted some of these practices into your everyday life?  You don’t have to revolutionize your daily routines overnight, but just make one or two commitments for the rest of the year.  Will you change all your light bulbs to the Compact Fluorescents? Will you always remember to keep a travel mug in your car? (FYI: If you’re driving through a Starbucks and hand them a dirty mug, they’ll gladly rinse it out for you before filling it backup), how about opting to hang-dry your clothes all summer?  Little changes can make a big difference!

Happy Earth Day!

Hazel.

As the weather warms up, some people are eager to get back outside and start doing some serious gardening, while others would rather spend their time relaxing on their patio chairs, porch swings, and hammocks.  There are also those who would love to be able to produce gardens full of gorgeous flowers, but fear that it’s an unattainable goal.

Sometimes, their trepidation stems from the idea that the talent for nurturing plants is innate, and they simply weren’t lucky enough to be born with it.  In other cases, people think that their schedules are just too hectic, and they could never give a garden the time and effort that it needs.  Then, there are many instances in which people living in apartments, townhouses, or condominiums, feel that they don’t have the room to grow anything.

These concerns, however, are generally unfounded, because virtually anybody can raise a garden.  The thing to remember is that there are all types of gardens; and having one does not necessarily mean that you must cultivate a large plot of land, or even one little flower bed.  No-o!  In fact, you can create one in something as small as a single window box or planter; and that’s why container gardening is becoming one of the most popular pastimes in the country.

Actually, container gardening offers many advantages, including giving you more choices, and more freedom, than the traditional kind.  For example, it allows novices to start small, before deciding whether or not to try full-scale gardening.  It’s also a great way for extremely busy people to get all of the pleasure out of growing beautiful flowers, without having to devote a lot of time to them.  On top of that, it solves the problem of having limited space, because even people with very small terraces, balconies, or decks, can have lovely container gardens.

Furthermore, even a huge garden, or a lavishly landscaped lawn, can be enhanced by strategically-placed flowers, and even small trees, in attractive planters.  They can add color, life, and excitement to porches, patios, decks, and gazebos, and extra height, texture, and interest to garden beds.  They can also be used to brighten up trouble spots that are inhospitable to plants, and dull or empty-looking spaces; and they can easily be moved from place to place.

Moreover, besides having endless varieties of flowers and plants from which to select, you’ll find that there are so many more kinds of planters than there used to be, with options extending not only to the different materials that are available, but to the styles, sizes, and colors.  In addition to the standard plastic, terra cotta, and wood planters, there’s a wonderful assortment of metal, polywood, vinyl, and plastic-coated steel planters, as well as planter tubs, planter benches, and planter trellises.

Whether you use just one container, or a combination of several, you can create a garden that will take your breath away, while breathing new life into the scenery.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

It’s interesting, the way that people tend to make associations about things.  Sometimes, it can involve colors; everyone develops ideas about which ones go together, and, before they know it, they have these unbreakable, personal rules.  That’s not really a good thing, because it can get them into a rut.  What’s even worse is when they take the advice of so-called experts who tell them what goes with what, and end up adopting someone else’s senseless views as their own. 

The same is true for food and beverage pairings.  While, undoubtedly, these usually stem from our own preferences, they are also notoriously dictated by self-proclaimed authorities who profess to have educated palates.  Unfortunately, these blowhards are everywhere, telling us, for example, that there’s only one specific wine that simply must accompany a certain dish, and if you serve anything else, you belong in a doghouse.

Sometimes, we relate things to particular seasons, and can’t envision them in any other context.  Garden structures, for instance, have long been connected almost exclusively to the warm-weather months.  While they have always looked spectacular in the spring and summer, covered with colorful climbing flowers and vines, pergolas, arbors, and trellises were often left looking forlorn and lifeless in the winter, standing dejectedly in a corner, entwined with a few dead branches.

Luckily, however, this practice is also becoming out-dated, as millions more people each year are realizing that their garden pergolas, planter benches, trellis screens, arbors, and arbor extensions can be fantastically integrated with their holiday displays.  In fact, in many cases, these structures, as well as planter trellises, garden bridges, and, of course, gazebos, can even be the main attractions, when adorned with strings of lights, holly, tinsel, and other ornaments.

Even beyond the New Year – in the time that’s known as the dead of winter – outdoor structures can bring new life to your landscape and brighten your outdoor décor.  Moreover, there’s no standard way to use them; they lend themselves to creativity, so you can show off your own, individual style.

Remember, the only rule that everyone really should live by is the Golden Rule. 

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

No matter what kind of home you have, whether it’s a grand mansion, a modest ranch, or a small trailer, a colorful, well-kept garden can only improve its looks. Nothing makes an impression – good or bad – as quickly as the state of a home’s exterior, and its grounds. It’s so important that it can make or break a real estate deal. Although nearly everyone strives for a beautiful garden, those of us who are not experts may quickly become discouraged when our efforts don’t produce the spectacular results that we see next door. We point, in envy, grudging admiration, or a combination of the two, to the neighbor’s green thumb, and tell ourselves that, as with any other coveted talent, some of us have it, and some of us don’t. Even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have the garden of your dreams. What’s the exciting solution? Planters!

You may already be using planters when you want to add color, life, and a little pizzazz to dull or empty-looking areas on your porch, patio, deck, or gazebo. So, why shouldn’t you do the same for the sparse, hungry-looking spots in your garden? There’s no better way to give it an instant lift, or to make it immediately look fuller, than with planters. In fact, they’ll perk you up just as fast, too.

Besides simply filling in spaces, planters will add height, structure, and style. Furthermore, it’s easy to make the whole thing look like a grand design, when you mix and match the materials, and the colors of the flowers and planters. For wood planters, a good choice is cedar, which has natural oils that make it resistant to decay and insects, along with dimensional stability that helps to keep it from warping. You may also want to use teak, which, although a bit more expensive, is richly infused with a high concentration of oils and minerals that keep it free from rot, insects, and warping, and make it practically maintenance-free.

For more colorful containers, add some thermo-plastic coated steel planters to your collection. These have high thermal stability, which means that they will not freeze, or be affected at all by temperature extremes. They clean up easily with water, but will not absorb it. Virtually indestructible and maintenance-free, this material is particularly desirable if you live near the ocean, as it will not be corroded by salt spray. Best of all, it comes in a huge variety of vibrant colors.

CedarStore.com has one of the largest selections of planters, made from cedar, cherry, teak, wrought iron, polywood, and thermo-plastic coated steel. In addition, they have planter tubs, planter benches, fern stands, tree boxes, arbors, trellises, pergolas, and scores of other accessories that will brighten up your landscape.

One of the best ways to add variety, color, and interest to your garden is to use planters.  These versatile containers offer many advantage, including allowing you to cultivate plants that are not indigenous to your area.  You can display them in your yard during the summer months, and, if you wish, take them indoors when the weather gets cold.  Planters also lend structure and height to dull areas that need a little extra zest.

When selecting your planters, choose durable materials, especially for those that will be left outside during the winter.  Ceramic, stone, and terra cotta can all be susceptible to damage from the cold, so your best choices are planters made from rot-resistant woods, metal, and synthetic materials.  You should always make sure that the planter has adequate drainage as well; and even if it does, just for insurance, cover the bottom with a layer of drainage material, such as broken pottery, stones, or non-biodegradable packing peanuts before you put in your flowers.  Use lighter materials in the planters that you will be moving from place to place.

CedarStore.com has one of the largest selections of planters, planter tubs, planter benches, fern stands, wheel barrows, and tree boxes, all of which are designed to endure harsh weather for years.  Besides decay-resistant cedar, cherry, and teak planters, you’ll also find colorful thermo-plastic coated steel and polywood planters that are immune to temperature extremes, impervious to water, maintenance-free, and virtually indestructible. 

We also have a great collection of arbors, trellises, pergolas, and scores of other accessories that will help to make your garden spectacular.  And, speaking of spectacular, you’ve got to check out our new resin solar-powered planter/cooler, which comes in six bright colors, and has built-in light-emitting diodes that will last up to 20,000 hours; and, yes, it really can be used as a cooler!      

Just remember, when you’re using it for beverages, keep your other planters out of reach, so that tipsy guests won’t accidentally pull your prize flowers out of the soil.  Of course, those plants may not be safe from the sober guests, either – if they’re looking for root beer.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

While we have recently been discussing the challenges faced by beginning gardeners, that absolutely does not mean that veterans of the soil have it easy.  No-o!  Indeed, Mother Nature incessantly hurls her never-ending arsenal of obstacles into the paths of all who try to cultivate vegetation.  This means everyone, everywhere, and every time; it’s just that, the more experienced you are as a grower, the more likely you will be to know the solution to any particular setback.  Furthermore, she has tons of weapons up her sleeve, and the ones that she unleashes on you will often depend upon the part of the country in which you’re located. 

Over the past several years, however, one big problem that keeps getting bigger for people in specific regions is a serious, consistent lack of rain (I guess you could call it a growing growing problem).  Although periods of dryness are common during the summer in many cities, there are certain areas, sometimes entire states, where severe drought conditions are prevalent year-round. 

The hardest-hit areas are in the west, as residents in some towns in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada are frequently asked, and sometimes ordered, to restrict water usage.  While every municipality imposes its own limits, it’s not unusual to find lawn watering restricted to two days per week in communities where the drought has not reached drastic proportions, and prohibited in places where it has.

If you live in such an area, or if you simply wish to conserve water, the first thing to do is to consider your gardens and yards carefully.  Survey them from different vantage points, such as a porch swing, a garden bench, or a patio chair, and decide which beds or plants are most important to you, and to the overall scheme of the landscape.  

Don’t waste time or water on diseased, ragged, or scraggly plants, or those that have refused to respond to your best efforts; forget about them now, and give them another try when conditions are more favorable.  Give precedence to your established trees and shrubs, no matter what.  

Another option is container gardening.  When you grow flowers in planters, you can more easily control the amount of water that is used, keeping it in the pot, instead of letting it seep into the vast underground.  Just make sure that you don’t over-water, or it will simply leak out the bottom of the planter and be wasted anyway.

You can find a great assortment of colorful, durable planters, plants stands, and planter benches right here at CedarStore.com.  Best of all, you can surf our site for hours, without using a single drop of water.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

As I mentioned before, many people are turning their yards, porches, decks, patios, and gazebos into outdoor living rooms; but they’re not stopping there.  No-o!  They are also creating outdoor kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, game rooms, and many other types of rooms.  Moreover – and I’m sure that I’ve mentioned this, too, at least once before – our stunning variety of outdoor furniture makes it possible to decorate them as comfortably, appropriately, and fashionably as any room in the house.

Of course, it’s just as important to furnish them tastefully.  Because these areas come in all different sizes, you should devise at least a sketchy plan of the layout and the motif of your outdoor room-to-be before you shop for furniture.  Knowing the dimensions that you’re working with, and coordinating colors, will help to keep it from looking over-crowded and disorderly. 

These schematics are even more important if you’re going to design more than one room, because, without specific design ideas, things can really get jumbled and confused; but you can solve this problem by using trellises, arbors, pergolas, and lattice enclosures as walls, ceilings, archways, and entryways.  Not only are these fantastic ways to define your spaces, but they add beautiful color, texture, and depth, and afford privacy and shade, while allowing air to circulate.  Planter benches with lattice backs will provide seating, flowers, and a wall, all at once; and you can instantly create a spectacular, secluded haven with two- and three-paneled garden trellises.   

No matter how much – or how little – space you have to work with, you can use these attractive, versatile, and durable garden structures to design striking outdoor rooms.  CedarStore.com offers cedar, pine, vinyl, and wrought iron arbors, trellises, and pergolas in all sizes, as well as magnificent gated arbors, and arbors with built-in benches and swings.

Of course, they’re not just for building outdoor rooms.  Any one of them, standing alone, covered with bright, gorgeous flowers, will be a breath-taking sight; and, you can’t deny, it will make a lot of scents!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy  

If there’s one good thing about today’s economy, it’s that it is bringing out the resourcefulness in us.  With nearly everyone having to cut back on expenses, millions of people are discovering new abilities, as they’re forced to do jobs for themselves that they have, heretofore, paid others to do for them.

These undertakings can range from the simplest tasks, such as mowing the lawn, to big projects, such as landscaping.  Certainly, more people than ever are struggling to learn not only how to design garden beds, but to actually make things grow.  While this may not sound like a monumental chore to some, it can really feel like an impossible dream to someone whose lack of a green thumb results in a flower bed so pitiful that it stands out like a sore thumb.   

If you’re in that number, don’t despair, because there are many places where you can go to get professional advice, without paying an expert to do the work for you.  Remember – the lack of ability is not a point of shame; the only thing to be embarrassed about is not seeking help.  Why, that would be as silly as driving around lost for hours, instead of simply stopping and asking for directions.  And nobody would be that foolish, right?  (A-hem!).

Getting the help that you need is as simple as going to a nursery or home gardening center, where the employees are generally pretty knowledgeable, and will be happy to answer your questions.  In many cases, for true amateurs (you know, the ones who are green everywhere except their thumbs), they will recommend honing their skills on a container garden.  This is a great idea, and one that many talented, experienced gardeners and landscaping professionals use every day, for large and small areas, in a variety of designs.

Whether you’re new to gardening, or have been growing beautiful flowers and plants for years, you’ll love the great assortment of planters and planter boxes at CedarStore.com.  We’re not talking about any plain, old flowers pots here; we have planter benches, with or without lattice backs, planter trellises, tubs, stands, window boxes, and wheelbarrows.  They also come in a wide range of materials, including decay-resistant woods, such as red and white cedar, treated pine, and cherry, as well as nearly indestructible polywood and thermo-plastic coated steel, which are available in over a dozen striking colors.

So, stop in and see our fantastic selection.  We’re sure you’ll give it a “thumbs up,” no matter what color your thumb may be!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Planters that are overflowing with colorful flowers can make any outdoor space look full, rich, and inviting.  Luckily, there is a huge variety of plants that can really thrive in containers.  Besides potting annuals, perennials, bulbs, and tubers, you can even plant climbing vines, vegetables, herbs, fruits, and even small shrubs and trees, such as miniature alpines, as long as you use the right containers.

At CedarStore.com, you’ll find a great assortment of planters, including planter benches, with or without lattice backs, planter trellises, tubs, stands, window boxes, and wheelbarrows.  You can choose from red and white cedar, cherry wood, metal, and polywood, which is available in several colors.

So, if you’re planning to do a little container gardening, here are some of the basics you need to get started.  Once you decide what you’d like to cultivate, choose a planter that’s large enough to give them room to bloom, and accommodate their roots as they grow, but small enough so that the plant does not get lost in it.  Usually, one that’s about an inch wider in diameter than the root ball will do nicely.  Make sure that the bottom of the container has at least one hole, or is slatted, to keep the roots from drowning; if it has no holes, cover the bottom with a one-inch layer of gravel, or stone or marble chips.

The standard soil for most plants will be composed of one part perlite, one part peat moss or compost, and two parts sterile potting soil.  If you’re growing azaleas, hydrangeas, or other acid-loving plants, or varieties, such as clematis, that flourish in more alkaline conditions, adjust the soil mixture accordingly. 

Give fruiting plants and perennials an initial feeding of high-nitrogen fertilizer, which will encourage faster growth, followed by a high-potassium liquid tomato fertilizer.  It is also recommended that annuals receive a weekly dose of liquid fertilizer; and the same should be given to potted roses and perennials every two to three weeks.  Because most container plants need more water than those grown in the ground, keep an eye on the soil to make sure that it doesn’t get too dry.

If you have any questions about planters, or any of CedarStore.com’s outdoor furniture, outdoor décor, or home accents, you can always call a design consultant or customer service representative, at 888-293-2339.  If you have questions about growing your plants, you’d better ask at a nursery or garden center.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy