yardz

STYLISH LOG STORAGE WITH WOODSTOCK

Most log racks look like small wood sheds with lap fence walls treated with horrendous orange wood preservative so favoured by British fence manufacturers. The Woodstock Log Rack from www.extremis.be is different. The functional design makes it not only easy to use, it comes with its own moving trolley, but is sculptural in its own right! 

SWEET CHARITY ON A SNOWY DAY

Mahonia 'Charity' is a great evergreen winter shrub. At the moment it is a shining beacon glowing in the snowy wastes of England. Though rather large for small yards, it can be grown in a good size container and it is really worth the effort.

'Charity' is very architectual with long upright stems holding  long dark green with spiny leaflets. This alone makes it a great choice but to top it all from late autumn into winter 'Charity' bears wonderful slightly fragrant deep yellow flowers.

www.crocus.co.uk   £12.99

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/mahonia-×-media-charity/itemno.PL00080263/

THE YARD WILD LIFE RESERVE

The recent severe weather has brought wild birds into the yard that we do not nomally see. These have included blackbirds and thrushes that are ground feeders and will not feed from a hanging feeder.

Before Christmas I bought a ground feeder tray that is composed of a wooden frame holding a wire mesh sheet. The food is placed in the wire mesh allowing any rain or snow to drain through keeping the food dry. The frame is held off the ground on 3" legs so unless the snow is deep will keep the food available for the birds. I am feeding a general seed mix, suet pellets and dried mixed fruit that blackbirds especially love.

My yard is only 5 x 5 metres and enclosed by high walls but by creating the right enviroment, not cutting down grasses and perennial plants in winter, and providing the right bird food I have created my own mini nature reserve. 

WOOLLY WALLY POCKETS MAKE GREAT VERTICAL GARDENS

Woolly Wally pockets from www.gardenbeet.com are a great way to make a simple vertical garden.

They are suitable for indoor and outdoor use and are available in one, three and five pocket sizes. Woolly Wally pockets are enviromentaly friendly being made from 60% recycled plastic bottles. Prices start at £35.00 for the one pocket version.

www.gardenbeet.com is a great website that is well worth a visit - attached to it are two blogs - one looks at design in general and the other Eco Chic Garden ideas.

 http://www.gardenbeet.com/index.html

CHRISTMAS HANGING BASKETS WITH A WOW FACTOR

You don't need to cover the front of your house with lights to create Christmas magic.
This winter hanging basket filled with a mixture of evergreen grasses looks stunning highlighted with blue LED lights. They are so cheap to buy now, from only £2.99 for a string of twenty lights that are a powered by four AA batteries. Because the lights are LED they use very little power so the batteries last a long time. These battery lights are available in a variety of colours including bright white.
So why not give your baskets the wow factor for Christmas and then keep the lights for those summer patio parties!

REAL COOL OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS DECS

I saw these great decorations on Carnaby Street, London, last week. They are so different from the normal street decorations and I'm sure would be great in a smaller size for garden use.

WINDOW BOXES WITH A FESTIVE FLOURISH

Decorating window boxes at Christmas can be great fun - there is more you can do than just trailing flashing lights over bedding plants.

There are many Christmas tree decorations that are shatterproof being made of plastic. These are perfect for using outdoors as they are light and weatherproof. It is better with windowboxes to stick to a simple colour scheme and design, taking into account the style of house or apartment. 

Why not carry the theme of your decorations through from the window boxes into the inside, using the same style on your main Christmas tree.

Lighting is very easy with a wide range of micro LED lights that will not overpower the size of your display. LED lights are also very economical to run. If getting power to your lights is a problem, try using battery LED lights which are easy to install and cheap to buy - from £2.99 for a set of 20 lights.

RABBITS,PIDGEONS,LETTUCE,JELLY AND DECK CHAIRS

It may be a strange time of year to look at deck chairs but these are super stylish and would make great presents. Available from www.rume.co.uk , they are available in two colourways - 'rabbit & lettuce' and 'pidgeon & jelly' .

The chair frame is made from solid merpauh from sustainable forests in Malaysia. The sling is hand printed in the UK on cotton canvas. 

The really neat thing though, is that you can get matching cushions in heavy canvas. These would be great to link existing leisure furniture to your deck chairs - or just use them inside and snuggle down dreaming of summer days!

Deck chairs £115.00   Cushions £55.00
  

 

MORE THAN JUST TRELLIS

www.DWR.com is a great site and blog that looks a design in many areas. It also sells a range of amazing stuff.

This is one of their offers, a stainless steel trellis for indoor and outdoor use. It is expandable and can be used both vertically and horizontally. The stainless steel is joined with brass connectors to keep it expandable and rust free for many years.

Available in two sizes: Small  $80 Large $130

COOL COOL SNOWMAN FOR CHHRISTMAS

I'm not that mad on illuminated outdoor Christmas decorations but this one, pardon the pun, is really cool! Standing 4' high when fully inflated, it is illuminated inside with 50 LED lights - which makes it cheap to run.

Available on www.ebay.co.uk for £36.95