Outdoor Wednesday

It is outdoor Wednesday again and the last one of 2009.It was and still is hosted by Susan from A Southern Daydreamer. Thank you Susan, it was a pleasure to follow you every week. As it is the last Saturday of the year that I really started blogging I decided to make a mosaic of some of my favorite outdoor pictures of 2009.

Please click on picture to enlarge.
 
For more outdoor pictures go to Susans blog. There is a list of all the participants of this weekly event.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody. I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2010.
Riet

My world Tuesday.

For my world Tuesday is have two more picures of the snow we had. All is gone now but there might be more coming in the weekend. For me it has been enough though.But it looks wonderful on a picture.

 

 
For more my world photo's go here.

I heart faces

This is the first time I participate in I heart faces. The challenge this week is "Hilarious outtakes"

 

 

 

 

For more I heart faces go to HTTP://iheartfaces.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing all my friends in blogland a very Merry Christmas.
Riet
 

I will be skipping a few memes this week due to busy days ahead.:))

Best Interior Design on Black and White Mobileffe

Best interior design is not always decorated with something luxury or elegant design, here are some creative, artistic and inspirational interior design that improves the way our homes look with black and white from Mobileffe. With Mobileffe’s inspirational design, I’m sure you will not only get inspired but also will got star trucked with the beauty it brings. The black and white stripes makes you feel like having a zebra near you. Or simply fill your house black and white items like the cabinets, chairs, pillows, lamps, vases and more. The contrasting color of black and white is simple yet elegant and cool. You can also add some other colors into it if ever you are not favorable with a two colored interior design. [via]

Outdoor Wednesday

For outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan from A Southern Daydreamer I made this mosaic of inside and outside photo's I made these last two weeks. Some have to do with snow and some with Christmas.
PLease click on photo to enlarge.
 
For more outdoor photo's go here.There is a list of all the participants of this beautiful weekly event.

My world Tuesday.

My world Tuesday. Wy world these last few days is snow, lots of snow. We haven't had this much snow for many many years, I can hardly remember when that was. All the dark spots on the first pictures are snowdrops falling down.

 

 

 
For more my world photo's click here. You can find a list of all the participants there.

Best Extension Interior Design with Glass Wall

 

It's important in creating a best contemporary home interior design to ensure that it doesn't just look good, but that it's practical and suits your needs, too. On this gallery, you can browse several advice about designing a contemporary interior design.

Modern building control insists upon glazing of a certain standard and specification, but it's worth paying for the best that you can afford, rather than sticking to the minimum. Ensure your extension is well insulated and that the glazing is capable of keeping heat in (in winter) and out (in summer)

If you can get planning permission to create a vaulted roof line, do so. It will look more interesting from the exterior, but from the inside, it can make a major impact - taking a room that's potentially low-ceiling and on the small side and transforming it into one that feels bright and spacious.

Flooring is the other important things, if you look carefully here, the flooring inside is exactly matched to that of outside in the garden. The effect? In a room with a lot of glazing, it visually extends the room within, making the space feel larger

If you are introducing a lot of glazing into your extension, you'll ideally want to keep the structure of the building as delicate as possible, so as not to divide your view. [channel4]

Winter Pruning

The growth of plants is at its lowest during the month of December, but that does not mean the garden is inactive. Below the surface, there is a lot going on ... bulbs pushing their noses ever nearer the surface, trees and shrubs making new roots in moist soil, earthworms making compost from leaf litter, and you, looking ahead and making plans!

Now is the time to lift and divide those perennial plants that may have outgrown their space or maybe they aren’t flowering as well as they should be due to overcrowding. Shrubs and trees that are in the wrong place and were screaming to be moved earlier in the year can all be moved during this dormant season.

The late dormant season is best for most pruning. Pruning in late winter, just before spring growth starts, leaves fresh wounds exposed for only a short length of time before new growth begins the wound sealing process. Another advantage of dormant pruning is that it’s easier to make pruning decisions without leaves obscuring plant branch structure. Pruning at the proper time can avoid certain disease and physiological problems.


Reasons for pruning
1. Prune to promote plant health.

• Remove dead or dying branches injured by disease, severe insect infestation, animals, storms, or other adverse mechanical damage.
• Remove branches and branch stubs that rub together.
• Avoid topping trees. Removing large branches leaves stubs that can cause several health problems. It also destroys the plant’s natural shape and promotes suckering and development of weak branch structure.

2. Prune to maintain plants; intended purposes in a landscape, such as:
Encouraging flower and fruit development, maintaining a dense hedge, or maintaining a desired tree form or special garden forms.

3. Prune to improve plant appearance
Appearance in the landscape is essential to a plant’s usefulness. For most landscapes, a plant’s natural form is best. Avoid shearing shrubs into tight geometrical forms that can adversely affect flowering. Alter a plant’s natural form only if it needs to be confined or trained for a specific purpose. When plants are pruned well, it is difficult to see that they have been pruned! Prune to:
control plant size, keep evergreens well-proportioned, or remove unwanted branches, waterspouts, suckers, and undesirable fruiting structures that detract from plant appearance.
4. Prune to protect people and property.

• Remove dead branches.
• Have hazardous trees taken down.
• Prune out weak or narrow-angled tree branches that overhang homes, parking areas, and sidewalks — anyplace falling limbs could injure people or damage property.
• Eliminate branches that interfere with street lights, and overhead wires. REMEMBER, DO NOT attempt to prune near electrical and utility wires. Contact utility companies or city maintenance workers to handle it.
• Prune branches that obscure vision at intersections.
• For security purposes, prune shrubs or tree branches that obscure the entry to your home.

Pruning is really the best preventive maintenance a young plant can receive. It is critical for young trees to be trained to encourage them to develop a strong structure.
Pruning begins at planting time.

• Prune to shape young trees, but don’t cut back the leader.
• Remove crossing branches and branches that grow back towards the centre of the tree.
• As young trees grow, remove lower branches gradually to raise the crown, and remove branches that are too closely spaced on the trunk.
• Remove multiple leaders on evergreens and other trees where a single leader is desirable.
  Pruning young shrubs is not as critical as pruning young trees, but take care to use the same principles to encourage good branch structure.
• When planting bare root deciduous shrubs, thin out branches for good spacing and prune out any broken, diseased, or crossing/circling roots.
• When planting bare root deciduous shrubs for hedges, prune each plant to within 6 inches of the ground.
• Newly planted shrubs require little pruning if they were container-grown or were dug into a soil ball.

Pruning large established trees
Leave the pruning of large trees to qualified tree care professionals who have the proper equipment. Consider the natural form of large trees whenever possible. Most hardwood trees have rounded crowns that lack a strong leader, and such trees may have many lateral branches.
The three most common types of tree pruning are:

1. Crown Thinning-selectively removing branches on young trees throughout the crown. This promotes better form and health by increasing light penetration and air movement. Strong emphasis is on removing weak branches. (Don’t overdo it on mature trees.)
2. Crown Raising — removing lower branches on developing or mature trees to allow more clearance above lawns, sidewalks, streets, etc.
3. Crown Reduction — removing larger branches at the top of the tree to reduce its height. When done properly, crown reduction pruning is different from topping because branches are removed immediately above lateral branches, leaving no stubs. Crown reduction is the least desirable pruning practice. It should be done only when absolutely necessary.

Proper branch pruningTo shorten a branch or twig, cut it back to a side branch or make the cut about 1/4 inch above the bud.
Always prune above a bud facing the outside of a plant to force the new branch to grow in that direction.

Pruning large branches
To remove large branches, three or four cuts will be necessary to avoid tearing the bark. Make the first cut on the underside of the branch about 18 inches from the trunk. Undercut one-third to one-half way through the branch. Make the second cut an inch further out on the branch; cut until the branch breaks free.

• Before making the final cut severing a branch from the main stem, identify the branch collar. The branch collar grows from the stem tissue around the base of the branch. Make pruning cuts so that only branch tissue (wood on the branch side of the collar) is removed. Be careful to prune just beyond the branch collar, but DON’T leave a stub. If the branch collar is left intact after pruning, the wound will seal more effectively and stem tissue probably will not decay.
  
• The third cut may be made by cutting down through the branch, severing it. If, during removal, there is a possibility of tearing the bark on the branch underside, make an undercut first and then saw through the branch.
• Research has shown wound dressing is not normally needed on pruning cuts. However, if wounds need to be covered to prevent insect transmission of certain diseases such as oak wilt, use latex rather than oil-based paint.

Pruning hedges:
After the initial pruning at planting, hedges need to be pruned often. Once the hedge reaches the desired height, prune new growth back whenever it grows another 6 to 8 inches. Prune to within 2 inches of the last pruning. Hedges may be pruned twice a year, in spring and again in mid-summer, to keep them dense and attractive. Prune hedges so they’re wider at the base than at the top, to allow all parts to receive sunlight and prevent legginess.
Renewal pruning for older or overgrown shrubs:
Every year remove up to one-third of the oldest, thickest stems or trunks, taking them right down to the ground. This will encourage the growth of new stems from the roots. Once there are no longer any thick, overgrown trunks left, switch to standard pruning as needed.

Pruning Evergreens:
With few exceptions, evergreens (conifers) require little pruning. Different types of evergreens should be pruned according to their varied growth habits.
o Spruces, firs and douglas-firs don’t grow continuously, but can be pruned any time because they have lateral (side) buds that will sprout if the terminal (tip) buds are removed. It’s probably best to prune them in late winter, before growth begins. Some spring pruning, however, is not harmful.

• Pines only put on a single flush of tip growth each spring and then stop growing. Prune before these “candles” of new needles become mature. Pines do not have lateral buds, so removing terminal buds will take away new growing points for that branch. Eventually, this will leave dead stubs.
  
  Pines seldom need pruning, but if you want to promote more dense growth, remove up to two-thirds of the length of newly expanded candles. Don’t prune further back than the current year’s growth.
• Arborvitae, junipers, yews, and hemlocks grow continuously throughout the growing season. They can be pruned any time through the middle of summer. Even though these plants will tolerate heavy shearing, their natural form is usually most desirable, so prune only to correct growth defects.

Tools to use for pruning

The right tools make pruning easier and help you do a good job. Keeping tools well-maintained and sharp will improve their performance. There are many tools for pruning, but the following will probably suffice for most applications:

• A good pair of pruning shears is probably one of the most important tools. Cuts up to 3/4 inches in diameter may be made with them.
• Lopping shears are similar to pruning shears, but their long handles provide greater leverage needed to cut branches up to 11/2 inches in diameter.
• Hedge shears are meant only for pruning hedges, nothing else. They usually cut succulent or small stems best.
• Hand saws are very important for cutting branches over 1 inch in diameter. Many types of hand saws are available. Special tri-cut or razor tooth pruning saws cut through larger branches — up to 4 inches in diameter — with ease.
• Pole saws allow for extended reach with a long handle, but they must be used carefully as it’s difficult to achieve clean cuts with them.
• Small chain saws are available for use on larger branches. Operators must wear protective clothing and exercise caution when using them. Never use chain saws to reach above your shoulders, or when you are on a ladder.
• Strong pair of gloves. A thick pair of work gloves will help protect your hands from thorns and blades.
  

Too many young trees are pruned improperly or not pruned at all for several years. By then it may become a major operation to remove bigger branches, and trees may become deformed.
At planting, remove only diseased, dead, or broken branches. Begin training a plant during the dormant season following planting.

Time Flies

It seems that time really has run away from me. It's been 2 weeks since I have posted and what a hectic time it's been.

In all of the craziness, I have hardly had a moment to think about Christmas. Harry and Brad can't believe how uninteresting our Christmas tree is this year!! They think that I have turned from being a Christmas obsessed maniac to a Christmas Grinch! Not so, I keep on telling them...just lots of other great things I am trying to work through...

As from this Wednesday I will be taking one month away from the blog. I need some time to recharge and refresh...however, I am very much looking forward to continue to share my experiences, inspirations, travels etc. with you all in 2010 here on ABT!!!

Image - John Dolan photographer

Mosaic Monday

Today is our weekly mosaic Monday, hosted by the lovely Mary from The Little Red Door.
Today I have these two mosaics of pictures I made these last weeks before Christmas. The tree, the ornaments,the decorations, the snow, our walks.
PLease click on photo's to enlarge.
 

 
For more beautiful mosaics go to Mary's blog. There is a list of all the participants of this wonderful weekly event.

This Year Best Home Design in Hollywood

This is the best home design in Hollywood with including CinemaScope Theater, pop-pup television, and multiple surround-sound areas. This best home design of the Year sits among the Hollywood Hills, where the stars shine as brightly inside the homes as they do in the night sky. It's familiar with some of the A-list technologies here. The residence was designed and built by Temple Home, whose co-owner, Xorin Balbes, has earned recognition for his restoration of famous Los Angeles-area homes. Balbes and architect Paul Ashley brought the vision, and left the audio-visual pyrotechnics to DSI Entertainment Systems.

No corners were spared in blending the cutting-edge theatrics with the clean and modern design, and neither do all the high-tech props compromise the views from nearly every room. The family room’s 60-inch plasma TV stays hidden when not in use, then rises from the floor on a quiet hydraulic lift. In the master bedroom, another flat panel pops up at the foot of the bed when powered on.

Also in the family room, round and trimless Sonance speakers pulse audio from inside the ceiling, while a Sonance subwoofer booms its bass from an inconspicuous mount in a wall. “We didn’t have any place for speakers in there,” Thies adds, “and if someone wasn’t looking for them, they wouldn’t notice anything.” Source: electronichouse

Scenic Sunday

For Scenic Sunday today I have three pictures here I made two days ago after we had our first bit of snow. We usually don't get much snow in our country so I took my camera and out for a walk in the park we went.

 

 

 
For more scenic Sunday photo's go here.

Monochrome weekly

Monochrome weekly These pictures I made last week while walking in a favorite park.

 

 
For more monochrome weekly go here.