Category Archives: Environmentally Friendly Ideas

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Outdoor Living Spaces

Arboria Eucalyptus Furniture – The New Way to Enjoy Outdoor Luxury!

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Eucalyptus Outdoor Dining Set
Eucalyptus wood is quickly becoming a leader in the patio furniture industry. There are so many reasons to choose Eucalyptus, especially the beautiful new Arboria Eucalyptus Wood Furniture line. The wood used in this furniture is plantation grown to prevent the destruction of precious forests. When grown and sourced correctly, this wood is one of the most sustainable materials available. Arboria is proudly certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®. This certification is the mark of credibility and assurance that reflects commitment to the environment.

In addition to the company and wood being environmentally responsible, the furniture is also strong and durable. Eucalyptus ranks very highly compared to other hardwood furniture in strength tests and had durability of up to 15 years, even when untreated! The Arboria collection comes pre-treated with linseed oil for a beautiful color and great conditioning right out of the box. With continued conditioning over the years, your furniture will remain beautiful for decades! With chairs, tables, rocking chairs, benches, and more, you will find exactly what you are looking for: gorgeous, durable hardwood furniture from renewable source!
Eucalyptus Adirondack ChairEucalyptus Outdoor TableEucalyptus Porch RockerEucalyptus Garden Bench

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips, Holidays & Gift Ideas, Innovative Solutions, Insect Control

April is National Lawn and Garden Month

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Lawn and Garden
April is National Lawn and Garden month! This gives you a wonderful reason to get outside and get your backyard and garden ready. Whether you are starting from scratch or are an experienced pro, here are several tips that you can use to celebrate Lawn and Garden month in style!

  • Consider Backyard Composting – Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Backyard composting is an acceleration of the process that occurs in nature. It is recycling at its finest! Use kitchen waste (such as food or paper towels), lawn clippings, and wood chips to provide rich and powerful soil for your garden and lawn. Anything that was once living will decompose, giving you endless options for composting. Composting is good for your plants and for you! Adding organic materials to the soil improves moisture retention. It provides a balanced, slow–release source of nutrients that helps the soil hold nutrients long enough for plants to use them. Healthier plants means a healthier you! It will also save you money because you will no longer have to buy fertilizer. Add a compost bin to your garden and start today!

  • Add a fountain – Outdoor fountains offer an easy and affordable way to add style to your lawn or garden. The soothing sound of running water will help to create a tranquil and relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Transform your garden into your own personal paradise!

  • Consider adding variety – If you are fond of flower gardening, venture into edible vegetables! You will be thrilled with the sense of accomplishment you feel when you feed your family fresh, healthy produce that you loving grew on your own. Beans, squash, cucumbers, lettuce/greens, tomatoes, peppers, beets, and garlic are all great vegetables to start with. They are relatively easy to maintain and will offer beautiful variety. If you are already growing your own vegetables, consider planting an eye catching flower garden (try marigold, lupine, daisy, or wildflower mix seeds). Fruits are also a great option. Apples, figs, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are great for beginners. Variety is the spice of life!

  • Go high-tech – Modern technology impacts our daily life. Why not let it impact your backyard? There are several innovations in outdoor living that you will wonder how you ever lived without. The Robomower will make mowing your lawn virtually effortless. No more back-breaking work and labor intensive afternoons spent cutting grass. You simply install special sensors around the perimeter of your yard and push a button. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Another product worth trying is the Mosquito Eliminator. Gone are the days of tacky bug zappers and pesky insects at parties. It is so beautiful that your guests will never guess that it is fighting mosquitoes and other pests. The Eliminator uses high-tech black light technology to cover up to 1,000 feet and capture up to 6,000 mosquitoes with one cartridge. Other garden technology to be on the look for: gardening apps for smartphones (such as iVeggieGarden, which allows you to view over 500 varieties of vegetables and offers tips and ideas), time lapsed garden cameras (which take pictures at various intervals and produce videos or slideshows showing growth progress), and electronic soil testers.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Outdoor Living Spaces, Shade Solutions

Add Bright, Beautiful Bursts of Color to Your Outdoor Area

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Outdoor areas are often decorated in the calm, peaceful colors of nature. While these tones and color schemes are peaceful, why not make a bold statement in your outdoor area? Modern outdoor areas can have exciting pops of color and eye-catching patterns to fit your style and flair! Try one or more of these ideas to bring some excitement to your porch, patio, or outdoor room!

  • Cabana Stripe Outdoor Rugs are made of the great polypropylene  material that all Capel outdoor rugs feature, but they come in varying colors of bold stripes. Celery green, navy, red, or black stripes create great contrast and will hold up to everything that Mother Nature has to offer. They are fade, mold, and mildew resistant so the color will stay intense for many years to come!
     

  • Porch swings are a wonderful retreat after hectic, stressful days. You can add vibrant beauty to your easy swinging with Adirondack swings in various eye-catching colors! The swing pictured below is made in the USA and is both durable and environmentally friendly. It is made of 90% recycled materials. No matter which color you choose, from Aruba Blue to Mango, you will know that your swing can stand up to anything. No one would ever accuse THIS swing of being boring!

  • Bright, exciting patio umbrellas are perfect for fun and function. Enjoy your backyard or the beach from sun up to sun down without having to worry about the sun’s harsh rays. There are colors and patterns available to match any and every taste and desire. No more squinting or suffering harsh, aging sun burns. These beautiful umbrellas have got you covered! Exotic colors like the lime green “Parrot”, bright “Sunflower Yellow”, and dreamy “Air Blue” make sure that your umbrella will stand out like no other!

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips

April Showers Bring Opportunity to Save Water and Money

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Rain Barrel

If it’s true that April showers bring May flowers, then now is the time to take advantage of capturing some of that rain so you can water your garden on drier days.  Rain barrels offer an effortless way to collect rain water, so you can avoid having to open your faucets (and your wallet) to give your posies a drink. 

Need another reason to love rain barrels?  You can water your garden when you feel like watering — not just during your assigned days and times of the week.  To conserve water, many communities set restrictions on when and how long you can water your lawn and garden.  This is a good idea that makes sense, but restrictions can make it a challenge to keep gardens in top shape throughout the growing season. When you collect rain in one or more rain barrels, you can water when your flowers and plants need it, and you are only limited by the amount of rain in your barrels.

Whether you are motivated by saving money or by saving the planet, rain barrels are a smart solution that fulfills both desires at once.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Outdoor Living Spaces

Using Nature to Mask the Noises from Nearby Roads

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Solar Water Fountain

When you live within earshot of a busy road or train tracks, relaxing outside on your porch, patio, or deck may not be all that relaxing.  Train whistles, sirens, honking vehicles, and even the steady drone of cars and trucks passing along the road can interrupt your need for silent reverie.

Music played quietly nearby can effectively draw your attention away from the road noises.  When sitting outside, though, what most of us prefer to hear is nature’s own music.  Birds, gentle breezes, flowing water.  One of the most common ways to bring the soothing sounds of nature into your outdoor living spaces is to introduce a solar water fountain.

Water fountains, in general, provide you with the gentle and relaxing sounds of flowing water.  The constant trickling and gurgling of the water mimics the natural sounds of a mountain brook and quite effectively masks the noises that drift over from nearby roads.  Solar water fountains, in particular, make it easy to place the fountain in any sunny spot where you prefer to sit, even when electrical outlets are nowhere near.  Solar water fountains draw their energy from the sun, so no electrical components or wiring are required to make them work.

Water fountains, solar or otherwise, may not be able to completely mask the noise of train whistles and sirens — no outdoor sound device can do this completely.  But, they do reduce significantly the constant whirring and buzzing of passing traffic that too frequently disturbs quiet moments, and they leave you free to enjoy the music of nature in your own backyard.