Solar Fountains are not really costly if you make them on your own. A low electric power solar panel, dc pump, bowl or a basin, and your choice of wall fixture is all your need.

4 simple techniques to conception your own solar fountain are listed here:

This is how easy it is to prepare your own solar water fountain! They are by all odds one of the most fabulous paths to keep money on your energy bills and have a decorative element in your patio.

Are you interested in creating a butterfly garden? Perhaps it is for the purposes of providing some habitat for butterflies in your area? Maybe you just want to attract them to your garden so you and your children can delight in their antics. While there are several things you must consider when building a butterfly garden, a major consideration is providing shelter for them.

Butterflies need shelter from both wind and rain. In winter, if you are lucky enough to have over wintering adult butterflies, they will need shelter for hibernation. So as you begin to create your butterfly garden, you will need to provide shelter.

To begin your butterfly garden give consideration to the direction of the prevailing winds of your area. In the US, mostly the prevailing wind is out of the Northwest but check in your area to be sure. In my area, we can at times get a mean upsloping eastern wind but our normal winds are western winds.

If you do have a prevailing wind from the Northwest, this means you will want to provide some type of windbreak along the northern or northwestern side of your butterfly garden location. If you are creating it on the southern side of your home, you may already be one step ahead. You will simply need to continue your windbreak along the western side of your home.

A windbreak can be created with trees and shrubs, walls and fences or even a stack of firewood or rocks. You will want the taller plants to be on the northern or northwestern side of your butterfly garden. If at all possible, create a protected area for the butterflies by putting the tallest trees, shrubs or whatever on the north side and progressively smaller plantings coming around to an almost open southern side which will allow the sun to shine in.

It may be easier to picture this as a circular area. It does not have to be circular but any shape you desire will work as well as long as there is a windbreak towards your prevailing winds and it allows plenty of sun to shine in from the south for the butterflies to bask in.

The plantings and structures you use to prepare the “bones” of your butterfly garden will provide shelter from rain as well as from the winds. Butterflies will hide from the rain under leaves of the vegetation as well as the eaves of your home and any little nook or cranny they can find.

If you use hard structures such as fences or trellises, add plants such as passion flower or pipevine that will grow up or along these structures to further your butterfly garden goals. Not only will you be providing shelter but, in the case of the stated plantings, you will also be providing host plants. Choose nectar-providing shrubs as your living windbreaks.

Follow these tips and you will have a great start on providing a little habitat for butterflies within your own landscape. Doing so will provide you with many opportunities to watch the butterflies of your area.

Copyright 2006, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson

Remember When . . .

In the not too distant past, the words “outdoor rug” referred to something like a small patch of Astroturf that one placed out on the patio. Those old outdoor rugs were basically utilitarian, and they sure didn’t add anything aesthetically pleasing to the landscape. But then again, few people cared much about what patios looked like at the time.

Outdoor Rooms Come into Their Own

All that is changing. Now, it is not uncommon to hear decorators, architects, and outdoor enthusiasts talk about “outdoor rooms,” showing that patios and decks are much more than just somewhere to store a grill. They have become integral parts of the home, and as such are treated like any other room in the house. Of course, along with this exalted view of outdoor rooms came the desire for higher quality and more stylish outdoor products. Enter braided outdoor rugs. An improvement over the older models, braided rugs were more pleasing to the eye, and, being made of polypropylene, they were also water, UV, mold, and rot resistant.

Indoor / Outdoor Rugs

Recently, though, there has been an even bigger leap in outdoor rug manufacturing. Now, polypropylene threads are actually woven, as would be done to make a normal indoor rug. The result is rugs that are tough enough to withstand outdoor use, but comfortable and beautiful enough for indoor use, especially in high traffic areas. And because they are available in virtually any imaginable color and pattern, they can easily be matched to any home decor.

One advantage of these indoor / outdoor rugs is how easy they are to clean. Usually they can simply be hosed off, and even if they get especially dirty, all that is needed is some mild soap. Thus, in addition to patios and decks, woven all weather rugs are also ideal for kitchens and mudrooms, where spills and messes are common.

Indoor / outdoor rugs are one more step in blurring the traditional distinctions between the inside and outside of homes. These amazing rugs can take comfort and elegance outside, as well as bring rugged durability inside.

Trey Collier is owner of BackyardCity.com, North America’s finest Outdoor Casual Living Store, designed and created to help fashion the outdoor living space, deck, porch, or patio you’ve always dreamed of having. Since 2001, BackyardCity.com has offered internet customers quality outdoor living products at very reasonable prices.

Water fountains inside a large garden pond, water bodies, or farm ponds, lends a beautifully elegant touch to them. The water fountains, due to filtration, keep the water clean, and provide additional oxygen to the pond fishes.

While selecting a fountain, make sure that the height of the water fountain spray is less than one half the width of the garden pond. This helps to prevent excessive water loss. For proper distribution of water, it is necessary to match the fountain spray with the fountain pump. Most of the fountain pumps contain devices that adjust itself with the height of the fountain spray.

Fountains are the best way to provide a cooling effect on your house during summers. A wall fountain near the front door produces a pleasing sound to your ear. You can even opt for a standing water fountain with all its necessary accessories like a pump, container, water plant and pebbles. They give a decorative touch to the fountain. If you stay in a dry area, either because of the rugged terrain or due to air conditioning, fountains are very helpful. The increase the humidity of indoor air and prevent your skin from drying. It is said that the negative ions released by fountains, is good for the mood and concentration.

You can easily prepare your own fountain at home with the help of a waterproof container, a water pump, pebbles and water plants. Using a suction cup, place the pump at the bottom of the bowl. Plug the pump to an electric outlet and cut the tubing accordingly to fit the container. Place rocks and pebbles at the bottom of the container and adjust the water volume as required to produce the sound.

You can place water plants, moss, figurines, and other decorative items to make it look attractive and at the same time hide the tubing. A candle placed beside the fountain makes it look all the more attractive due to the glistening of the light in the fountain.

It is necessary to take proper care of the fountain to ensure its long run. Try to keep it dry during the winter months. Cover the fountain with blankets or burlap bags to protect it from severe cold. To avoid clogging during summer, it is required to clean the leaves, twigs, and debris. Avoid using bleach if pets have access to the fountain. Fountains are beautiful assets to your house, and enhance the beauty of indoor and outdoor surroundings.

Sharon Albright is the owner of Fountains Site. Read more articles on Fountains and visit her recommended resources.