Landscape Juice

Landscape Juice review of 2008

I cannot believe that 2008 is all but over. It has been a whirlwind year with lots of news and goings on. For Landscape Juice, it was the year that woke the big boys up to its presence.

I hope that you have enjoyed the site over the last twelve months and I look forward to another cracking year with you being part of it.

Here I take a look back at some of the stories.

British landscaper in New Zealand

I would like to welcome Bill Howard as a guest blogger to Landscape Juice.

Bill move himself and his family to New Zealand in 2005 and mentions that the challenges are no less challenging wherever you may live.

"So much for the longest day or as it was in your case the shortest.

As the Northern winter bites, you will be pleased to hear that the weather isn’t perfect in our Southern Summer.

Making a simple garden bench - part two

I am not too sure if I am a little boring for working in my workshop for two hours on Boxing Day or if I can pass it off as genuine recreation.

However it is judged, I enjoyed the fresh air and the distraction while the kids played with their Christmas gifts.

Strengthening the weak joint.

The piece of wood which formed the splayed legs was originally made as one of the shelves in the kitchen.

The late late white Christmas

I hope everyone enjoyed their festive break. I certainly did and I am still to enjoy a few days yet.

My dream of a white Christmas came good yesterday and for two hours the snow fell in a frenzy and blanketed the countryside with a festive dusting.

With the wood burner roaring, a hearty cooked breakfast and a cup of steaming tea, we all settled down to watch Mama Mia.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas

I am going to take a few days off and I hope that you are too?

Time to relax, turn off the computer and watch the telly, eat too much and drink a tipple or two and be with my family.

Whatever you are doing and wherever you are doing it, I would like to wish each and every one of Landscaper Juicer regulars a very happy and peaceful Christmas and all the very very best for 2009.

Phil

Making a simple garden bench - part one

I have been promising myself for ages that I would make a garden bench so I thought that I would make the most of the darker evenings and get into my workshop.

I haven't finished it yet but I thought that I would add the latest so that I force myself to complete the job as soon as I can.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

It doesn't look like we are going to get a true white Christmas here in France. The weather has been warm and clear all day without a cloud in the sky.

I awoke to a sharp frost which looked really festive but when the sun came round and warmed the grass, the frost soon disappeared.

Why Barack Obama will lead us out of recession

'Change is coming' - Like an echo that will not die, this is the cry that is resounding across America.

Since the day Barack Obama won the United States presidential election and despite the ugly meltdown of the whole financial system, America, and with it the world, has new hope and opportunity.

Whatever walk of life you come from and whatever country that you live, you will feel this wave of change in the coming twelve months impact upon your life.

Where does the Christmas tree originate from

Have you ever wondered why we put up a tree at Christmas and how long the tradition has been practised?

Christina Odell has compiled a fascinating brief history of the Christmas tree on Greencraft landscaping blog.

It seems that the Picea abies - the Norway Spruce - was not the original tree that was worshipped at the time of the year of Solstice.

Pagans, says Christina, original worshipped the mighty oak on solstice eve to welcome in the longer days until it was felled St. Boniface who wanted to deter the old Pagan rituals and, according to folklore, a fir tree sprang up in its place.

I was also interested to learn that the humble Christmas tree was not decorated to adorn British homes until one was given to Queen Victoria from Coburg in Germany - F.W. Woolworth were the first retailer to sell baubles.

The Importance of great design in landscaping

I would like to welcome Susan Gallagher of Terra Firma Gardens as today's guest blogger.

Susan talks frankly and passionately about the lack of quality in many of the gardens being designed and built across the nation.

Who wants an ugly garden?

But people are having them built right now all over the country. We in the landscape gardening business have the responsibility of creating beautiful gardens that uplift people’s lives, bring the healing effects of nature to their doorstep and provide a refuge from life’s stresses.