Everything Poolside - The Options Are Virtually Endless

Purchase statuettes, decorate with potted plants, experience the sweet dim light of lamps in your garden at night and much, much more. Purchase porch swings, purchase garden benches, and even reclining chairs and many kinds of patio furniture for your outdoor enjoyment and overall poolside dcor. There are virtually endless possibilities for your home outdoors. You may be surprised at the amount of accessories, furniture, heating and lighting that can enhance (and almost transform) your poolside ambiance significantly.

There are many different things to consider when you decide what kinds of poolside accessories to buy. Now, not all pools have them, however, I believe that a hot tub, reflecting pool, or a swimming pool is almost incomplete without an underwater light or two. Why? I think it is because you make it more uncomfortable to swim at night, debris in the pool may not be visible, and sometimes it just seems a bit primitive, or weird, to be swimming in the dark. And sometimes the reflecting pool is right there in your yard or garden, but only slightly visible at night because of the lack of any sort of lighting.

Some people prefer non submersible lighting, whether inside or outside of the reflecting pool, its luxury and allure is wasted without decent lighting. Its elegance seems to be diminishing as quickly as the sun goes down. This is because your reflecting pool is literally, as a matter of fact, becoming less and less impressive when you, friends and family members and /or other guests can not see it well. Therefore, you are taking away half of the relaxation, comfort and outdoor enjoyment potential of your pool, whatever kind of pool you might have.

We all know that your home dcor outdoors can be just as (if not more) important as your special home dcor within. Many people consider their yards and / or gardens as a sort of sanctuary . . . a place to relax and unwind in his or her spare time. Currently, especially in the United States of America most of us are under extreme stress and seem to have very little free time as it is. This is why many different people, under many different circumstances, want to get the most out of his or her free time outdoors in their own personal space.

Everything from high quality pool heaters to alluring waterfalls are options for you as pool accessories. Then there are poolside accessories to consider such as lamps, lanterns, speakers, pool sheds. In addition you want to have excellent furniture items such as elegant, decorative tables, chairs, and chaise lounges. You can consider as well that plants are beautiful additions to the ambiance for your swimming pools, reflecting pools, patio gardens, extra accessories, or garden ponds.

You do not want to waste your Saturday soaking up the sun in an uncomfortable lounging chair or on a towel by the pool. Of course you want to have the very best, most comfortable surface on which to relax by your pool. Who doesnt? You dont want your special, relaxation time combating with your ability to get in a comfortable position. Imagine, back pain on Monday from your weekend by the pool.

While we are discussing poolside reclining and relaxing, some of the safest ways to do that is to build your pool in a shady area. In case your pool is already pretty much consistently encased in the sunlight, you may want to build yourself a structure to provide shade. Anything from an awning to an enclosed patio area is a great idea for your garden, yard or poolside.

Nonetheless, many people simply enjoy soaking in the sun. If you prefer to rest while exposing your self to the sun light, be sure to use a high quality sunscreen for protection. Do not take this lightly, even if you are often in the shade. In addition, sometimes people like to wear sunglasses. Or, to avoid the goofy sunglasses tan-line many people will wear a brimmed hat, anything from a visor, to a baseball cap, to a stylish summer-wear hat brimmed all around. The latter of these, as a woman, is my personal favorite. Wearing one you will avoid tan lines and the many hats available for you are often very striking and stylish. Get one to match your bathing suit, your towel, your beach bag and other accessories!

Many different poolside items, without even exploring the summer styles for bathing suits, beach bags, sundresses, and other accessories, are available that can transform your outdoor ambiance completely. As a matter of fact, you can even increase the length of time throughout the year that you can enjoy a more comfortable temperature in your outdoor space as the chillier months approach.

Of course, there are not only many high quality pool heaters available on the market right now, but there are also patio or poolside table and / or area heaters that may be perfect for you. In addition, elegant outdoor fireplaces come in an enormous number of styles, shapes, designs and sizes to best suit your personal taste.

When you discover the possible ways to enhance the ambiance of your personal space, the private sanctuary in which you can relax and unwind. Find the most beautiful poolside furniture, lighting, and other accessories for your pool. Whether you have a reflecting pool, a swimming pool, or even a waterfall, or garden pond, there are great poolside accessories available to choose from.

There also exists, a thing I consider the latest miracle in outdoor furniture technology: plush yet weatherproof outdoor furniture. Purchase sets of these amazing new outdoor lounging and even dining furniture. High quality, and absolutely pleasing to the eye selections of chairs, sofas, chaise lounges and other furniture with cushions (that are virtually maintenance free) are now available on the market of outdoor furniture.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching, gardening, and fashion. For more of her articles on poolside decor, please visit outbackpatio.com, supplier of high quality Patio Fountains and Garden Furniture.

Rare Orchids - An Overview

Orchids are one of the most ancient plants still in existence. Their life began in primordial times, with the species being highly adaptable so that the orchid could grow and change as the Earth itself did. Rare orchids are being protected as different eco-systems collapse.

With their ingrown sense of survival, the orchid lives in every climate, excluding solid ice. They do not necessarily need soil, as they can grow symbiotically in nature. Orchids will live in trees, mountains, bogs, grasslands, rocks, and forests. The roots of orchids will grow in the air, as well as laterally. Today there are over 35,000 orchid species living in every corner of the world. If the orchid doesn't have what it needs, the plant is clever enough to make the world around it create certain living conditions. Ants have been coerced into living with the orchid so that the acidic content can be put to use within the plant. Since orchids have existed before the birds and the bees, they have found a way to mimic pollinators to trick them into propagating.

Sometimes living in such harmony can become difficult for rare orchids. Orchids have become rare due to the care they need to thrive subsiding or the care is overdone. Other reasons such as deforestation and/or imminent extinction allow orchids to be added to the rare list.

Following are some examples of rare orchids.

- Ladyslipper orchids grow wild in Britain and have been harvested so much they are now on the verge of extinction.
- Phal Amboinensis flava is an albino orchid discovered thirty years ago in Singapore and whose stems grown indefinitely.
- Maxilliara Mombarchoenis and Epidendrum are found only on the Nicaraguan Mombacho Mountaintops.
- Bulbophyllum Hamelini is suffering from Madagascar's deforestation.
- Fly Orchids disappear in the Netherlands every time their forests get thick.
- Habenaria Psycodes is located in the South Appalachians and is rarely seen.

More recently in 2007, in an ancient tropical forest in Vietnam's Green Corridor, a new orchid species was found. The specialty of this species is that they are leafless. Not only that, but they have absolutely no chlorophyll or green pigmentation. The forests of the Annamites breed many other rarities, as well. In 2003, it was reported that in dense evergreen forests of Similipal, Orissa there are housed 93 species of orchids. Among these lives the rare orchid Goodyera Hisipada.

On the other side of the globe, in Washington State, lives the Phantom Orchids. Leafless and completely white, the plant will stay dormant for up to seventeen years after blooming just once. Development and logging is destroying the Phantom Orchid's habitat and is a protected species in Canada.

More than 3,000 orchid hybrids are created annually. Sizes, shapes, and colors abound in the orchid families. There are certainly enough orchids to thrive on the planet. However, some rare orchid species will continue to dwindle and meet extinction if mankind continues to destroy their habitats. Some rare orchids are dying out not because of man, but due to low propagation. The smaller specie classes will need to grow to continue.

As you can see, the rare orchids are far outweighed by the sheer number of living orchids. Who knows - with the brain that these plants have, maybe the devolution of the rare orchids will stop and arise in evolution as the orchid yet again adapts to its ever-changing world.

Mel Beauchamp is an orchid enthusiast. For more great tips and advice on rare orchids, visit Easy Orchid Care Secrets

Tips on Basic Composting

Composting is is very easy method of recycling your household organic waste and turning it into a nutrient rich humus that is beneficial for your garden.

Choosing a bin for composting is the first thing you need to do. There are allot of different types to choose from. Homemade bins or commercially made. There are stationary bins and rotating tumbler bins. Each type has it's advantages and disadvantages. Pick one that fits you needs.

Choose a location that is level, well drained.and easy to access year around. Choose an area that there is soil and not concrete or pavement so worms and beneficial organisms can get to the pile. Building a compost pile on existing grass isn't the best practice. It is best to remove the grass and turn the soil first before starting your pile.

Collecting material needed to start your compost pile are divided in two parts. Brown material (carbon-rich) and green material ( nitrogen-rich). Brown material such as leaves, hay, straw, paper, cardboard, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags and sawdust. Green materials such as grass clippings, plant trimmings, annual weeds, fresh manure, fruit and vegetable peelings.

Don't use meat, fatty food waste, dairy products, treated wood or human, cat, or dog feces.

Too start making compost first place a 4" to 6" layer of twigs, straw or corn stalks on the bottom. Then place a 4" to 6" layer of brown material followed by a 4" to 6" layer of green material. Continue these layers until the bin is full. Once you have filled the bin turn the pile every 2 to 3 weeks watching the moisture content of the pile. Add water by sprinkling layers as you turn the pile as needed. DO NOT SOAK THE PILE.

The time varies to getting a finished compost. It can take from 3 to 4 weeks to a year depending on the material and method used in making your compost. When finished compost has a sweet earthly smell. It is dark in color and crumbly still with small pieces of leaves or straw in it. They can be screened out or left to finish decomposing in the garden.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Certified Organic Gardening Nurseries - Getting It All at One Stop

For a variety reasons that often include environmental and health concerns, many people are choosing to make their vegetable gardens organic gardens. Even though a newcomer to the world of organic gardening may feel more than slightly overwhelmed with the concept of, there is no reason to be worried; organic gardening does not have to be hard. In fact, it can be incredibly rewarding to watch your family enjoy vegetables and fruits that you know are completely free from harsh, potentially dangerous chemicals.

Many people do not know that there are certified nurseries where you can purchase all organic products in a way very similar to health food stores. When you go to a certified organic nursery you can be confident that whatever items you purchase will be one hundred percent organic, something you cannot say of traditional nurseries.

What Is Available at Organic Nurseries

Organic gardeners face challenges that normal gardeners simply do not have to deal with. In order to get assistance with these difficulties, you can visit a certified nursery where a wide variety of products that will help you to successfully grow organic fruits and vegetables. These nurseries are the best places to find and purchase certified organic seeds and pest control products. Most of these nurseries carry live insects that can be used in your garden to keep plant destroying pests under control. Using live insects is good way to save money on organic pest control.

Since compost is a very important part of any successful organic garden, obtaining nutrients from a local nursery can help you make your compost of more benefit for your garden. Phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium can be released into your compost pile by adding worms to it, which can also be bought at a certified nursery. Fortunately, you will not have to purchase many worms because they reproduce quickly.

The Importance of Knowledge and Experience

The people who work at certified nurseries are quite knowledgeable about all things related to organic gardening. You can get lots of great advice simply by visiting such a nursery and asking questions. Since success is so related to experience, you can get some great tips from experienced gardeners who work at organic nurseries.

Do not forget that the way in which you care for an organic garden has much to do with where you are located, so suggestions from local farmers are best.

Are you looking for living green tips you can use but are afraid it's going to be more expensive? Get some environmental tips that will not only help save the world, they'll also help you spend less. Stop by the How Can We Go Green website for more information.

Compost Tea - the Gardener's Tea Bag

One of the things that has come to the forefront of gardening knowledge in the last few years has been the realization of the effectiveness of liquid fertilizers. Organic gardeners have known this for a long time. After all, for a plant to absorb nutrients they must first be dissolved in water for the roots to take them up. An additional boost is present if the dissolving has already taken place so that food is already prepared for the plant. Some of the nutrients may be absorbed by other plant tissue such as stems and leaves for an additional surge of growth.

Compost is known to be a good source of readily available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the big three of fertilizer nutrients. However, the nature of compost as it comes from a vast array of plant materials determines that it is a fantastic source of the micronutrients that are needed for optimal growth. Plants fed on compost tend to be healthier, tastier and better looking. So how is one to get the benefits of compost coupled with the benefits of liquid fertilizers? Quite simply, make tea.

The easiest thing to do is consider your nearest teapot and kettle around tea time. While you may throw in loose leaves to strain them later through your mustache or at least a tea strainer, generally one uses a tea egg to hold the leaves or takes a ready made tea bag from the box. In it goes into the pot and boiling water from the kettle goes in to start the dissolving process of part of the tea and a mass of soluble chemicals from the leaves. After a brief wait the tea is ready to be used and then the residue goes into the compost pile. For compost tea, we do the same.

1. Make a teabag. Get a burlap sack or similar and shovel in some compost. The amount is not critical but be generous. There will be no waste. Tie the bag shut.
2. Get a tea pot. Five gallon buckets work fine. If you happen to have a dark one, so much the better. Black garbage cans are great.
3. Place the tea bag in the tea pot.
4. Add water. It does not have to be hot but if you have a hose sitting in the hot sun, it helps.
5. Let it sit for a couple of days or longer. That dark can will absorb heat and make the tea stronger and faster. No matter how strong, I have never heard of compost tea made this way hurt plants.
6. Remove the "tea bag" and water plants with the tea.
7. Put the spent compost on the pile that is accumulating material (remember, there is no waste)
8. Refill the bag and start more tea.

Now all you have to do is stand back to watch the plants grow with their great boost. You might even get a cup of orange pekoe and sit back while both you and the garden enjoy your tea.

Darrell Feltmate is an avid gardener who has been composting and gardening for over 25 years with gardens up to 1/2 acre and compost piles for each. His composting site may be found at Compost Central. You can be a master composter in no time at all.

Much of his compost uses wood shavings from his wood turning hobby. The site for wood turning may be found at Around the Woods.

Why Go Green - More to the Point, Why Not?

The new Obama administration has indicated a strong focus on developing America's renewable energy resources. So whether you believe global warming is man-made, or purely a result of the earth's natural cycles of warming and cooling, now is a perfect time to adopt an individual green lifestyle that will conserve energy, save water and result in a cleaner, sustainable environment. The availability of eco-friendly products and services is becoming a great green wave that will make it easier for everybody to become more environmentally friendly. And it doesn't take a major change in lifestyle to contribute to a cleaner and greener world.

Historically there has been a high cost barrier to moving to green products, but that is becoming much less of a hurdle as more companies compete to offer better, greener products. While certain high-end goods remain out of reach of all but the most well off, the energy saving benefits of many green products quickly offset any higher up-front cost. Green cleaning products are often more concentrated than the regular chemical products and therefore offer good cost comparison for their total use.

In most areas of the country recycling programs are the first introduction to helping protect the environment we live in. Unfortunately, the incredible variety of different collection programs leaves much to be desired and there is much to be done in the future to improve the effectiveness of this process. Maybe this is one area where sensible State or Federal regulation could create common recycling procedures and improve the efficiency of collection and re-use. Back yard composting can reduce the disposal of yard and food waste which is estimated to make up around 30% of the waste stream going to landfills.

With the increasing pressure on energy costs around the world and the improving technology developments in solar and wind power, we can expect to see greater utilization of these natural resources in the future. Solar technology is developing very quickly and becoming more usable and cost effective. Solar lighting and water features are now very efficient and an attractive, clean addition to any garden landscaping. While solar leasing programs are making solar power more available for individual homes. Wind power is a very hot topic right now with the Pickens Plan receiving a great deal of publicity. If we are able to capture the tremendous wind energy resources in the US, and then develop an environmentally friendly means of distributing it around the country, it could make a significant contribution to the greening of America.

Along with the growth in the availability of green products has come the problem of identifying what is truly green and "how green is it?" As with any product for sale, the claims of the best and the greenest can often be somewhat exaggerated. However, this need not be too big a distraction. It is not necessary to choose the most energy efficient, or the most natural cleaner, to contribute to a greener world. A higher efficiency rating in a replacement appliance, or a natural cleaning product that gives the best results, enhances the green footprint but should also fit in to the personal choices of a modern lifestyle.

The decision to go green can be as dramatic or as gradual as each individual or family wish to make it. Once the "green light" goes on however, it does appear to take on a life of its own. Each green choice, small or large, contributes to the growing movement towards a more eco-friendly world.

If the choices are there and the barriers to their use are coming down, who wouldn't want to reduce their use of the earth's finite resources and convert to a cleaner, less polluting, healthier, green lifestyle.

Peter O'Grady is the owner of It's Eco Time.com and writes on a variety of subjects involving our impact on the environment and the options available for living a healthy and sustainable green lifestyle. To find products to save money, energy and water and for other green topics visit http://itsecotime.com and share your comments and questions.

Flower Gardening: Have Your Flower Garden Bursting With Color All Year Round

Flower gardening need not be restricted to just summertime. Planning carefully and planting ahead of time, will have the garden filled with an array of flowers for all of the year round.

Let's plan the seasons, then for spring flowers, the best thing would be to plant bulbs. Any nursery will supply them, and if you're more disposed towards the exotic, and rare flower bulbs, there's a good chance that they will need to be ordered specially.

The most popular amongst bulb lovers are early springtime Crocuses, and cheerful Snowdrops. Tulips though, have shown to be the most famous of bulbs in demand by flower gardeners, and are available in a variety of colors, including a black-colored one, which is really more of a dark maroon.

Remember that all spring flowering bulbs should be planted in mid autumn, as this is the best time for them. Come any closer to winter and you're in danger of losing your whole crop of bulbs completely.

Moving through to summer, perennials are the firm favorite for flower gardening as they bare blooms almost continuously throughout the summer season, and on occasion longer. With a little luck and care, the perennials will last through to next year, and the following year. It's also found that as the years and the seasons roll on, your perennials will become fuller, and generally will become more abundant than the first year you planted them.

As autumn approaches most flower gardens are left with only few small hardy plants to choose from. For those more dedicated to flower gardening, that need not be the case. Hardy, drought resistant plants like Asters number among the many types of fall flowers available, and will look stunning in late summer/early fall, Generally, autumn plants will grow to a good 3-4 feet in height, and have vivid colors, as well as the more genteel pastel colors to choose from. Ornamental grasses are another favorite and will nicely complement your fall flowers.

So, take heart, take plenty of notes, plan, and buy to your heart's content. By the end of it all you truly will have a flower for every season, and your flower gardening efforts will be rewarded most bountifully

Ron is the webmaster and owner of http://www.gardeningmoments.com and would like to share his passion and ideas for creating a fantastic garden. Flower Gardening is not restricted to certain times of the year have flowers bursting with color all year round.

Efficiency Equals Reduction

Imagine that if at the grocery store the person bagging your purchases left empty, unused spaces in each bag causing you to carry 10 instead of 5 bags out to your car then into your home. You would be investing some extra time, energy and space when it was unnecessary. Now transfer that thought to the waste and recycling industry. Instead of filling a trash bag or bin with large empty spaces, we can all do some simple acts to help keep transportation costs down while reducing fossil fuel consumption and saving ourselves some time and money.

The flattening of boxes greatly increases space efficiency in a bin. This does not just apply to cardboard boxes, but also includes any paperboard (cereal or pet food) ones as well. Crushing cans before recycling is much more easily done if it is possible to remove both the top and bottom lids first. Foil products are easily flattened by hand.

Periodically crush your garbage bag down to its true size -you will find that it does not need to be placed on the curb as often. Fewer trips to the dump means less fossil fuel consumed and reduced curbside idling - idling is known to be terribly inefficient and more polluting than vehicles on the move. Garbage collection fees are more easily maintained by the company due to reduced costs per bag, and some companies even offer a discount for those who produce less waste. Also worth noting is that the household will go through fewer plastic garbage bags.

Some kitchen waste disposal units tend to put unnecessary pressure on overtaxed sewage plants. A much better option is to practice composting or vermiculture methods instead. Composting organic waste reduces household trash by approximately 30%. Go one step further by reusing various plastic bags to isolate smelly meat, bones and pet waste. By controlling odors in the garbage, the bag will not have to be put out on the curb as often.

So, imagine that if your waste and recycling was now half the size that it typically was before. That means in theory the waste pickup service would decrease costs by 50%, the landfill would be receiving half of what it used to, fewer trips to the recycling depot, less pollution...

Well you get the picture. It is easy to make a difference and we can all start at home. Right where we are.

~ Dave & Lillian Brummet:Authors of the books Trash Talk, Purple Snowflake Marketing and Towards Understanding; co-host of the Conscious Discussions radio show (http://www.brummet.ca)

Chickens - A Delightful and Valuable Part of Organic Gardening and Homesteading

Adding chickens to your backyard farm is the fastest way to a healthy, organic garden, and a delightful way to make your homestead more self-sufficient.

Why Chickens are Invaluable To Self-Reliance

In the thirties, during the Great Depression, horror stories abounded about soup lines and folks facing starvation. But those who owned their own land along with a dozen or more hens and roosters never went hungry. That's because in a bad economy, those who can raise their own food are way ahead of the game. With a dozen or so hens and a rooster you'll have a steady supply of eggs and meat.

Live in the city? You probably won't be able to keep a rooster, but most city ordinances will allow you to have up to six hens. Those lovely birds will supply you with two and a half dozen eggs per week.

Your Organic Garden Will Thank You

The manure from your hens or rooster is one of the most fertile substances in nature. While you should never add the manure directly to your soil - the nitrogen is too strong and can burn your plants - it does marvelous things when added to your compost pile.

Better yet, if you keep goats and some of your hay has gone moldy, add it to your chickens' roosting box or to the brooder. The chickens won't care, and when they're done with it, that wonderful moldy, manure-laden hay will jump-start your composting.

Great With Children

Save for the occasional ornery rooster, these birds are gentle and safe around children. Your little ones will love holding the baby chicks.

Easy to Raise

Although they do require some special care those first two to three weeks of their life, chickens are - on the whole - easy to care for. All they require is a little shelter, fresh water and food every day. Gallon water feeders are available. Use those and you'll only need to provide water for your birds once a day.

On hot days, be sure to check their water at least twice a day. Chickens need plenty of water and won't drink warm water.

Raise Your Own Eggs, Improve Your Health

A survey done by Mother Earth News revealed that chickens - particularly those who live in chicken tractors moved daily - have up to one third less cholesterol and a fourth less saturated fat than commercially raised eggs. They also have more vitamin A and a lot more omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and beta carotene than their commercial counterparts.

Free range birds eat more of the diet they are supposed to have - lots of leafy greens, bugs and worms. They enjoy their lives; my birds love it when I move their tractor about. Everyday they get a new supply of grass to scratch in! Commercially raised birds, on the other hand, spend their entire lives cramped in the same small, dark, dirty space. They consume a diet of cottonseed, soy and corn with additives thrown in.

This stressful environment can make them sick, so they're also given antibiotics to keep them from dying too soon. You and your family ingest those antibiotics when you eat their eggs. Plus, you're eating eggs from stressed-out, potentially sick birds.

With your own free-range birds, you're providing a kinder environment for your brood and better nutrition for your family.

Fresh, clean meat

Naturally, the same goes for the birds you raise for meat. Less stress and no antibiotics. Plus, the meat will be cleaner. Chickens that are commercially processed and killed are plucked and then thrown into a large vat of hot water until they are ready to be cut up. A lot of fecal matter collects in the vat. The chickens are literally cooking in "fecal soup". The feces soaks into the flesh of the bird and is in the liquid that comes in the packaging. When you butcher your own birds, you eliminate the "fecal soup." Hence, cleaner meat.

Eggs Are An Easy Income

Everybody loves fresh eggs, so they are easy to sell. Keep a few extra hens to produce more eggs than you and your family can eat. Sell the surplus, and within a year you'll recoup your startup and feed costs. Keep selling your extra eggs, and the following year, you'll have free eggs and earn a little income besides.

Sue Merriam is author of the website, Organic Gardening and Homesteading. http://www.organic-gardening-and-homesteading.com

Design Your Garden With Permaculture Principles

It seems there are two big reasons people are reluctant to do more with their yards: money and time. But you can save a lot of both if you take a little time to consider how your yard fits into the environment around it and you can let Mother Nature do some of your gardening for you.

The fancy word for thinking about and organizing intelligent ecological design is permaculture, coined in the late 1970s. It was first intended as an alternative to destructive industrial agriculture, but its principles make absolute sense for the home gardener as well.

The first and most important step (yet also free) is to observe the effect of the elements and how they interact on your property. So get out a pencil and paper, and draw a bird's-eye view of your lot and buildings. You can get a great overhead photo of your property from Google Earth. Trace the outline of your roof and all other surfaces and buildings where water runs onto your property, and use it as your master. You can then use tracing paper to draw the water flows to see where you have a natural water harvesting opportunity.

You can also observe and plot sun/shade patterns. Did you know that the sun doesn't really rise in the east and set in the west? Okay, yes, technically it does, but it differs dramatically from summer to winter, moving far to the north in the summer, and south in the winter. How does that actually affect your yard? Track the sun patterns at the fall and summer solstice on the diagram you made earlier. Knowing where the shade is thrown is important for choosing the placement of garden plots, trees and plants. How do the buildings on and around your property provide shade? What about your trees or your neighbor's trees? Maybe you don't have much shade. That may dictate how you design your new space, and most importantly, what you plant.

Here in the desert, we've got to make the most of our water. Soil built with plenty of compost and other organic materials actually retains water best. You can also design your garden in a way to maximize retention as well: every drop that flows down a storm drain is a drop that could have raised the water table on your own property. The best way is to build a system of berms and swales, either on contour, or as is the case on most urban lots, as a path system with sunken beds. You'll eventually use less municipal water and create a cooling effect with more moisture around your home. Think about using barrels or cisterns to collect rainwater and help with day-to-day watering. Arizona rainwater harvesting expert Brad Lancaster has a great website filled with resources.

So now you're ready to start digging, but what's the best type of bed? Surprisingly, sunken beds have some advantages in the desert that are worth considering. They're cooler, hold water better, and give plants a little extra shade. Raised beds allow you more control over the content of your soil, but they may also limit the depth of your garden, and they dry out faster. Most plants have roots that grow down, so if your raised bed is not at least two to three feet high, your plants will grow through your wonderfully amended soil and only to hit our Arizona clay. If you must use a raised bed, be sure to also turn the soil under the bed before you build it. If you're concerned about the content of your soil, or want to know what it might be lacking, you can get a soil test at one of the agencies listed at the your local extension office

Google the word permaculture to learn more and find on origanization in your area.

Doreen Pollack is the Garden Goddess and owner of Down 2 Earth Gardens. Join her newsletter for free gardening tips on monthly What to Do in Your Garden this Month. She also holds garden consultations and gardening classes in Phoenix AZ. To find a workshop near you, visit http://www.down2earthgardens.com