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Creating Outdoor "Rooms"

What is the difference between an outdoor "room" and a garden? Well, in my humble opinion, Lol it is the addition of Decor pieces, furniture, artwork, or architectual elements. Don't get me wrong; gardens in and of themselves are beautiful, but sometimes adding some extra features you can help establish the sense of having specialized rooms like you have indoors. Think dining room, conversation areas, meditation spots, or hideaways to read and/or take a nap! By having different "rooms" within these outdoor areas it make the overall area seem larger since it creates a variety of destinations and interesting perspectives to look at from different places. Whatever rooms or themes you to decide to design; you will definitely enjoy a...

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Ladybugs - The "Good" Insect

  "Ladybugs are capable of consuming up to 50-60 aphids per day but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft bodied insects".*  Sooo that means Ladybugs are the "Good" insects that eat the "Bad" insects and make for a healthy, organic, and pesticide free Garden - how awesome is that? The more things you can do to attract Ladybugs the better, and having one of our Ladybug Castles in the Garden does just that (and they are just so darn cute too). Enjoy! T   *Excerpt from: www.gardeninsects.com  

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Plant Nanny "2.0"

Anyone who has ever asked me what are some of my favourite products Portico carries knows that I will always include something from our Plant Nanny line. Why? Because these self watering plant stakes WORK! The photo here is of the XL Garden Stakes; originally developed for Tomatoes, and using a 2L bottle for the reservoir. Since this size launched last year I have used it for some of my massive containers outdoors but I also found it to be invaluable when I planted new trees and shrubs. By putting one of the XL stakes beside each new plant it guaranteed that the roots were gently (and consistently) watered, ensuring the root system was well established and got the plant...

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