Feed: Outdoor Living Place - AggScore: 45.6

Rock Enclosures Hide Unsightly Sights

My Grandma has a beautifully landscaped yard. She has this elegant stone birdbath at the center of her yard with deep red wood chips covering the ground around it. On each side of the birdbath, she has ceramic pelican statues and a flower bed of tulips with pepper gray cement blocks bordering the bed. From there, she has various blooming bushes and statuary which makes the yard complete. But then, you come to the end of her yard, and there is a bright blue curb stop circle in the grass. It kind of unsettles the entire effect. My grandma hates it with a passion, but what are you going to do? You can’t exactly remove it.

But you can hide it. I suggested my Grandma look into a kind of rock enclosure. It has the look of real rock, but is hollow on the inside so you can hide things like electrical outlets, septic pumps, even a satellite dish. Keep your utilities without sacrificing your garden look.

My Grandma ended up purchasing this Fake Rock Septic Cleanout Cover-Model 105. It was the exact size she needed to cover up this curb stop, but what was also cool was that she had an address plaque mounted to it as well. It just added more finesse to her yard. This rock enclosure had the paint and texture part of the rock material instead of some of those cheap ones you see in stores with the color painted on. The color and texture were cast right into the stone, so it won’t succumb to chipping or cracking. Made from recycled materials, this rock enclosure was almost as good for the environment as natural rock.

So, that’s how we solved my Grandma’s curb stop problem. Ingenious and easy, they really give outdoor decorators more to work with.

Palazzo Fire Chat Set: Make Shopping Easier

What’s really neat about firepit table sets is that it has everything you need in one collection. It makes decking out your patio super easy because you get it all in one purchase. I’m not much of a decorator, but I always get self-conscious when I have friends over because I’m unsure of whether my patio looks nice or if it looks like I picked out furniture without my glasses. Firepit patio sets are designed to coordinate with each piece, so the entire set is completely complementary.

This Palazzo Fire Chat Set caught my eye because it looks like something you would have in your dining room but made for the outdoors. Each chair has at least six inches of thick foam, I would guess, so the chairs are really more comfortable than a lot of the furniture I have inside my house. Also, it has a lot of options with the fabrics. They’re Sunbrella fabrics which are treated with UV protection and resistant to water, stains, and mildew. Super tough fabric but with a designer’s selection–seriously, the fabric options are extensive and beautiful, and I found a ton of color and patterns options that I loved.

The firepit table top is cast aluminum (the furniture is wrought iron) and every single piece is fashioned with such detail, it’s just plain amazing. The firepit table also has fire media as an add-on so you can get ceramic logs to make it look traditional or fire glass. I like the fire glass because it makes the table look so elegant and fanciful.

I’m not nearly as self-conscious now. I don’t want to sound vain; I didn’t buy it to impress people. It just gave me more confidence to have something that looked good and that other people would enjoy. A real classy set!

Spring Fever Fire Pit Purchase

It’s so good to have an early spring! Around February I make a habit of looking out into my backyard willing the snow to melt. It usually never works. Last year, we had our last big snow dump the first week of May. Everyone was pretty nuts about that. But somehow, this year, we’ve actually had a spring when it was supposed to be spring. But looking out on my patio area, I realized it looked so Soviet out there. My patio furniture was worse for wear: Plastic fading chairs, a cracked fold out table, even my garden gnome was chipped.

So, as a treat to myself (and probably spring fever had gone to my head) I decided to get a fire pit. But, where to start? There’s lots of fire pits which are functional, sure enough, but I wanted to add class and pizazz to my patio.

And I found this Outdoor Fire Pit with Decorative Tile Mantel. Yes, I thought the name was pretty lame too, but this fire pit had class. It was more like a table with a firelight centerpiece. It ran on propane, so I didn’t have to worry about finding wood to buy or chopping logs myself, and the constructed base hid the propane tank perfectly. What I liked most was the fire glass—the fire burned through these glass beads which just made the effect enchanting.

It was a winner for me and knew it would help me get over my winter blues. I probably won’t mind if we have a long winter next year.

Fire Pit Covers Save Animal Lives

I went over to my friend’s house for a pot luck recently. They were chancing having it outside in their backyard. It’s been a pretty rainy spring, and even though everything was still damp, it didn’t look like it would down pour that day. Her husband was making beer brats and other grilled foods on their charcoal grill. I brought a case of Leinie’s Honey Weiss as my contribution, and her husband joked that had he known, he would have waited on cooking the brats until I came. I told him it would be a dreadful waste of beer to use it on the brats and that he should stick to Miller Lite or some other watery beer.

My friend decided that, even though it wasn’t rainy, it was still a little brisk and that we should fire up their fire pit, so everyone could be warmer. Their fire pit is nice and big, but also cumbersome, so it took some people to move it. It also needed to be dumped and wiped out—with all the rain we’d had, it was like a small lake. Generally, I keep a fire pit cover over my fire pit, not just to protect it from the elements but also to keep it clean. There’s nothing worse than wiping out mushy leaves and pine needles out of the bowl. I like this Terrazzo Fire Pit Cover because it’s lightweight canvas that’s treated to be waterproof and UV resistant. It’s really easy to work with and fits on my fire pit like a glove.

Well, as we were dumping out the water from her fire pit, a body of a dead bat washed out onto the ground! I screamed and dropped my end of the fire pit. It was the grossest and saddest sight! I don’t know how the bat got in there—whether it was sick and just fell in there or if it had had too many drinks the night before, but it had drowned in the fire pit bowl. That, I reminded myself, is just one more reason why I cover my fire pit. Besides keeping it clean and protected, fire pit covers save animal lives.

Fire Bowls for Outdoor Decor

Fire bowls are very essential for outdoor gatherings, barbeque and similar social experiences. You can put out a fire bowl in your backyard, garden or even on your terrace and light a fire and sit around it having a good time. Fire bowls are also very easy to clean and store. All you need to do is scrape out the ash and burnt coal and wipe the bowl clean. The grill and stand of the fire bowl can be reattached whenever required.

A big fire can be lit up in a fire bowl instantly, and the flying ash can also be contained in the bowl by the putting the grill on top of it. You can use many types of fuels in the fire bowls, including wood, charcoal or wood chips. The more contemporary models of fire bowls have gas burners fitted in the bowl and use natural gas or propane gas as fuel. Gas fire bowls  produce a much cleaner and better fire than wood or coal.

Fire bowls are mostly used for decorative purposes in backyards or terrace. Most interior designers use it complement backyard patios. If installed in the right place, they can beatify the surroundings very well.

Apart from this, fire bowls are used for grilling and cooking. The grill is placed over the fire bowl and is used for roasting and grilling meat. It is excellent for barbeques where you can cook in open air and serve hot meals to your guests.

Wallflower Sets Are Like a Hanging Garden

When I first got engaged, I was determined that I would arrange my own bouquets for the wedding. I thought it would be a nice creative outlet for me along with saving me from having to hire a florist. I knew what I wanted, and I bought a bunch of fake flowers to practice with. I thought it would be easy. I just pick the types of flowers I wanted, and made sure the colors didn’t look terrible together. How hard could it be?

Really hard, in fact. Many of the flowers that I loved didn’t work together stylistically in a bouquet. I didn’t even know how to arrange them together. And, I thought I knew how to match complementary colors, but for some reason, the shades I picked out looked like a tie-dye disaster. Or, I assembled various reds, whites, and blues together, and it looked like I was having a patriotic wedding. I found myself near tears trying to make these darn flowers work.

In the end, I hired a florist. At first it felt like I was admitting defeat, but the bouquet my florist came up with was more beautiful than I could have imagined. She has a natural talent for it, and I was grateful. She made my wedding breathtaking.

I’ve stuck to the same policy when attempting outdoor décor—trust an expert. A person who knows what they’re doing will save you a lot of headache and tears. That is why I like these Wallflower Sets. Pamela Crawford who is an award-winning designer and author created this coordinating patio accents line called Color Your Patio. She took these wallflowers, pillows, and rugs and designed complementary collections (called patio makeovers) which work from wall to floor. Pamela’s has been doing this sort of thing for years, so I trust her to give me a beautiful ensemble. The wallflower sets were designed as a sort of hanging garden which is gorgeous out on the patio or in your living room. But, they are also incorporated in these patio makeover collections which include rugs and pillows which match your wallflower theme. The effect: breathtaking.

I encourage you if you’re thinking about re-decorating a patio or outdoor area to check out these wallflower sets. It’s a really easy way to brighten it up.

Solar Pond Pumps: Make Your Pond Sensational

In front of the building of the company I work in, there is a little pond placed in a beautifully arranged and regularly maintained small park. This pond did not have a chance to fully shine in its glow until recently when we came to an idea to place in the pond a few little pond pumps. You would not believe the change they made in the complete appearance of the whole park, and not just the pond.

Since we wanted the pond to fit the environmentally friendly concept of the whole park, we looked for solar pond pumps. They do not need electricity power to operate. The only thing they need is access to the sunlight which is the easiest thing to provide when speaking about ponds. The water by itself attracts the sun and the pond pumps placed in it will only transform the collected solar energy into power to operate the pumps. After we looked over the offered pond pumps in the online stores we decided the Floating Lily Solar Pond Pump model is the best for our pond.

Aside from the advantage of working on natural sun energy, this pond pump is also very attractive because of its design and the effects it makes when the water sprays from the pump, up to 18 inches in height, and gets back in the pond again, creating beautiful natural sounds on its road. As I already mentioned, we bought few of these solar pond pumps and placed them in the pond quickly and easy without any installation complications. The only limiting condition of these pond pumps was the minimum needed water depth of the pond. It must be at least 6 inches so that the pump can correctly operate.

Our new solar pond pumps enhanced the complete appearance of our park and now everyone could enjoy the relaxing natural sounds of the sprinkling water from the pond, our colleagues and our business guests too.

Veranda Elite Round Fire Pit Cover: Better Than a Plastic Bag

I was in the market for a good fire pit cover. I really like my fire pit, but with the snow/rain/heat of the area I live in, I was afraid that it would rust or corrode. It was already showing some wear after the first winter I had it, and for what I paid for it, I wanted it to last more than two years.

I don’t know if you’ve looked, but there are a lot of covers out there. At first, I just went by price, wanting to get the cheapest cover I could find. But as I was browsing through sites, many companies made a case that the material of the cover actually does matter. If I wanted cheap, I could just cover my fire pit with plastic bags, but on top of looking trashy, plastic bags just won’t protect my fire pit like I need it to be. It’s the same with fire pit covers–a lot of the plastic covers are cheap, but then again, they’re cheap. If exposed to extreme temperatures, they can potentially crack or deteriorate. So, it may protect my fire pit for a season, but then I’ll have to buy another cover again.

This Veranda Elite Round Cover caught my eye though, as I was clicking through covers. It’s made from a heavy-duty fabric which is water proof and won’t crack in cold weather. It has an elastic hem cord with a toggle, so you can pull the cover to fit tightly on the fire pit. It even has air vents to prevent condensation from being trapped on your fire pit and causing mold or mildew. And, it wasn’t too spendy.

If anyone else is looking for a cover, I would suggest this one. It’s well made and will protect my fire pit nicely.

Charcoal Grills: Win Friends and Influence People

If you’re looking for an outdoor grill, your first choice is a gas or charcoal grill. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. But it takes real skill to use a charcoal grill. Though there are disadvantages to a charcoal grill, the benefits out-weigh them all.

Charcoal Grill Pros:

1. Cheap-Because of their simple design and functionality, charcoal grills are much cheaper than gas grills. Less construction and mechanics are involved, thus less cost. Also, charcoal is cheaper than propane.
2. Durable-Less things can go wrong with a charcoal grill. Buttons won’t break off (because there aren’t any). Wiring won’t short out (because there’s no wiring).  The most you can do to a charcoal grill is dent it.
3. Flavor-It seems to be a consensus that charcoal grills give your food better texture, smoky flavor, and deeper taste. Because charcoal grills have hotter flames, this is also an optimal grill for searing steaks and other meats.
4. Impressive- Starting a fire from scratch will impress friends and may get you dates.

Charcoal Grill Cons:

• You have to start a fire from scratch.
• The heat is hard to control.
• You have to clean up the ashes and grease after grilling.

But what work you put into a charcoal grill will pay back tenfold just by the quality of grilling you get. Trust me, your food will taste better, and you will be happier. Plus with all the money you’ll save on a charcoal grill rather than a gas one, you could invest in grilling accessories or a new car. I’m just saying.

Reasons to Get Battery Powered Solar Water Fountains

Reason to get battery powered solar water fountains:

Solar water fountains are eco-friendly and they require less maintenance. A solar water fountain is an excellent addition to your garden.  Solar water fountains harness the power of the sun. The battery will not only store the solar energy but will also deliver the energy to the fountain at a more reliable voltage and over a longer period of time. All solar water fountains are not made the same and there are some things to consider while purchasing a solar water fountains and placing them:

• Consider placement and positioning
• Consider the battery use
• Consider your budget and style
• Consider installation
• Purchase battery powered solar water fountain with AC adaptor.

One of the best features about battery powered solar water fountains are that it can be installed anywhere you have suitable sunlight. When the sun is not as bright as it could be the backup battery will use the power stored in it. The power stored in the battery of the fountain is used to drive the motor.

Advantages of battery powered solar water fountains:

• Solar power is free
• Solar power is user friendly and safe
• Solar fountains offer beauty and safety
• Solar fountains require very low maintenance
• Solar panels have no moving parts. With minimal care they last for many years.

Many fountain manufacturing companies have developed the perfect battery operated submersible water pump specifically for use with small cordless water fountains. Using distilled water greatly extends the life expectancy of the pump and reduces the frequency of cleanings.  The pump can be easily cleaned using warm water, a mild detergent and a soft bristle brush. If you like to find a wide variety of fountains to keep in your garden, search for them in online sites with good craftsmanship. Water fountains are a unique gift for a person who loves calmness.