the Garden Rake

A garden tour of garden writer Doug Green’s garden landscaping project. www.landscaping-ideas-for-gardening.com Shots of the plant trial area as well as main cottage garden landscaping area in its very early stages. This video was shot as a history piece by this award winning garden author. The trick with most of this kind of landscaping is a mix of colors and plants to bloom all season long. Doug explains this in other videos on his video channel. In short form though, there is no such thing as a bad cottage gardening landscape design. Cottage gardening started as a poor man’s garden – with a jumble of plants of all shapes and colors. it was adopted by the gentry and “improved” with blended colors and all one-color gardens. My reality though is if I have a mix of plants that bloom at different times, and get all the garden occupied, it’s going to be an authentic cottage garden and spectacular. It may not be fashionable, but the perennial flowers there will more than carry their own in this landscape design. Given I’m an organic gardener, you may also notice a few holes in the leaves here and there. This doesn’t bother me and the plants recover nicely with little imput on my part. The trial gardens have a wide mix of roses, lilies, perennials, baby shrubs, not to mention perennials and annual flowers. I test different plants to see how they grow and how hardy they are so i can write about them in my gardening newsletter. www.simplegiftsfarm.com i also answer gardening …

Gargoyles have been a part of history and architecture since the early days of the ancient Greek and Egyptian empires and are most commonly associated with medieval lore. Though gargoyles often have a fearsome appearance, their use is thought to be far more altruistic. The power to ward off evil spirits is a significant part of the mythological explanation surrounding gargoyles. Many Greek gargoyles are very often seen as happy or jolly characters and are often seen mounted on the parapets of many public buildings or spewing water as part of a public fountain.

Garden Gargoyles are the ‘cutest’ ugly things you can put in your garden landscaping to add charm and beauty to your garden. Some of the earliest known forms of gargoyles have been found in ancient Roman and Greek ruins and were made of terracotta. As time passed on, these figures were carved of wood, with a complete shift to stone by the 13th century.

Gargoyles were created as waterspouts and drains to keep rain water from damaging the foundation of buildings. The term gargoyle, comes from the Latin gurgulio, and the Old French gargouille, not only meaning “throat” but also describing the “gurgling” sound made by water as it ran through the figure. Superstition held that gargoyles frightened away evil spirits while serving their practical function. In the sixteenth century, after the lead drainpipe was introduced, gargoyles primarily served a decorative function.

Although most have exaggerated and scary features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of figures. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, gnomes, dragons and combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous.
Unusual animal mixtures, or chimeras, did not act as waterspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They serve more as ornamentation, but are now synonymous with gargoyles.

Many gargoyles take the shape of animals, especially reptiles. Often dragon like in appearance, their gaze was usually facing down from the structure. In mythology and lore, dragons were thought to be the guardians of sacred places or great treasure troves, greatly contrasting with the more popular view of dragons as fierce and fire breathing creatures. Other animals such as birds of prey or the mythical Roc were the inspiration for many gargoyle figures.

The history and lore of garden gargoyle figures takes many forms. Garden gargoyles may represent combinations of human and animal forms sometimes taking on the appearance of hooded monks and friars. Just as they may be used to ward off evil, they were thought to have other uses, such as avoiding the wages of sin as well as be a powerful force used to keep people from straying into a life of eternal damnation. It is thought by some historians that garden gargoyles may have been placed in prominent view to remind people that Satan, or other supposed forces of evil, were all about and these areas should be avoided.

Since many gargoyles appear with wings, they may very well have been the inspiration for the flying monkey characters seen in the movie the Wizard of Oz. Many dragons of myth were often depicted with wings and were though to be capable of flight, reflecting the myth of flying gargoyles. From the funny to the frightening, many other modern day film and cartoon monsters have been patterned from these legendary winged figures.

Whether collectors of garden gargoyles are seeking redemption is certainly open to debate. Gargoyles do appear in many pieces of medieval artwork. They can often be quite scary in appearance and could be used to frighten away superstitious people. Given the wide variety of garden gargoyle shapes, many collectors may have more of an artistic motivation to maintaining their collections.

Today, garden gargoyle figures stand vigil as yard ornaments, water fountains and various types of outdoor statuary. Even though warding off evil spirits may not be in your garden decorating plans, some interior design schemes can also benefit from the addition of gargoyles. Garden gargoyles make the perfect the perfect gift for fans of medieval mythology and religious history.

ToddD Smith has 1 articles online

ToddD is the garden landscaping design guru. For great deals on all things gardening, visit Garden Gargoyles.

Houses and gardens are places which require just about constant upkeep. Within the United kingdom you will discover over 25 million households living in a range of accommodation which represents a tremendous potential market to anyone providing services or products. Furthermore, new homes and apartments are built every year which increases this figure annually.

Home and Garden franchise opportunities mainly specialise in giving provision of necessary maintenance services for properties and gardens. Some examples of the kinds of services offered are:-

Utility Franchise opportunities

These are crucial disaster or repair services like Plumbing, Gas and Electrical services. There’s also Disaster Management franchise businesses which cope with insurance flood/fire damage to residences.

Home Restoration Franchises

These are highly attractive services for affording some part of your house a ‘face lift’. This might be internal or exterior door replacements and also a fresh set of cupboard doors on your kitchen cabinets to provide your kitchen a new look.

Outdoor Franchise businesses

You will discover a range of garden upkeep franchises for sale such as Garden Landscaping, lawn management and drive or path renovation/cleaning.

It is easy to see that each one of these services are most attractive to house owners with a number of them being critical crisis reaction type services. This makes them very good as franchise businesses since you can find frequent demand for this type of work to be carried out.

To run this kind of franchise it’s essential that you’d enjoy going to customers houses and meeting people since you are likely to be in frequent contact with them, irrespective of whether you are setting up a purchase or whilst carrying out a job.

For those who consider that a house and garden franchise business may very well be a great option for you then its important to research your options properly.
You can start by reviewing some of the home and garden franchises for sale you’ll find in online franchise directories. After building a short list, discover as much as you are able to about the franchise business opportunities you are interested in, their operating history, background and the folks behind the franchise. Then plan to meet a couple of of the franchisors to acquire some insight into their operations. It’s additionally helpful to obtain the contact details for a few of their franchisees to get a little 3rd party outlook on how a franchise business operates ‘on the ground’.

It’s also crucial that you talk to one of the high street banks. The majority of them have devoted franchise business departments whose function is to advise on financing and could have heard of the franchise opportunity you’re looking to make an investment in. The most central thing is take your time and make sure you  take the very best preference for you. Don’t be rushed, but make sure you  feel relaxed and assured with your decision. No business enterprise is guaranteed, but you could make the most of your potential for achievement by being as clued-up as possible as to what you’re taking on.

Nick Strong has 19592 articles online and 21 fans

Nick Strong is MD of Select Your Franchise and a leading Franchise Expert in the UK Franchise Market. Visit our UK Franchises site for more information on franchise opportunities.