This year we decided it was best to maximize my deck, so we took the beautiful decorative umbrella covered only a small part of space and installed a nice porch. The result has been better than we expected, now we not only protect from the sun, but we have a new home environment more welcoming and endless decorative possibilities.


So we want to share with you some of the ideas that were among our favorites in the process of “selection”, the truth is that they are very decorative, but adapt to different structures of houses, meters and of course every budget.

A porch or pergola with canopy:

This is perhaps one of the best alternative when you want a decorative and practical solution at a time. The beauty and warmth of wood practical joins a fabric, which cover your terrace while natural light passes. The advantage of this porch is that you can pick up the awning in the winter when it rains or if you spend days or long periods away from home.

Closing canopies with windproof and metal:

This sheet is perfect when you just want to win privacy at certain times. The front closure guarantees shade and a cool indoor environment, so that is also very useful and practical for the hot days.

Decorate with white awnings and pergolas:

Not always the design and materials outside of a house or apartment allows a wooden pergola, it is sometimes better to opt for other materials (metal) or colors that mimic the environment. For a beach house nothing better than to continue with the harmony of white, and always directing our outdoor spaces to the sea.


Simple awning:

The alternative economic is to place a awning attached to the wall. The advantage of this type of cover is that, besides being able to choose between different colors and designs, its operation is very comfortable. The new models come with a remote control that allows you to regulate from within your home the opening of the canopy. Some also include wind sensor, thus avoiding accidents is collected automatically.

Go ahead and creates a cozy terrace with awnings and pergolas. So not only enjoy in the summer, weather permitting can be a pleasant meeting place for the winter.

Wood is particularly resistant to harsh weather and humidity, as well as wood decay and trot children and crowds of people, due to its extraordinary hardness and resistance.


Exterior wood types available:

The first step to having a garden or terrace luxury is to choose the wood that we placed and we can easily buy one at any DIY store.

The cheapest is the pine. This is a semi-hard wood that comes even treated to withstand the elements, usually requires treatment and maintenance every six months. Although normally sells treated with autoclave, to resist moisture and insects that attack wood has a medium resistance to fungi, so easily lost its color, and low to the xylophagous nesting in the wood.

The tropics are more expensive, but maintenance is minimal. A few years ago only care about the Ipe, which is highly resistant to shock and trot and is maintenance-free, except for a teak oil capita for its annual beautification. Its color is dark red and beautiful and elegant with a high density (up 1.050kg/m3) and maximum resistance to fungi and insects of wood.

Bangkirai wood is a little less shock and insect resistant wood that Ipe wood is a bit clearer and all these reasons, it is somewhat cheaper. Nor does it require treatment abroad and has a high resistance to moisture and fungi.


The existing developments in home centers:

However, one can already find in DIY centers Massaranduba wood, which has identical features as you can still buy at a reasonable price, perhaps because it is new. It’s very hard not need treatment, dense and reddish color is less dark than the Ipe. It is the wood of the pictures that illustrate this report.

The other option that can be loaded into the car itself by going to a DIY center is the composite. These strips or tiles of a base material made of homogeneous combination of wood and plastic fibers together by new technology and offering high quality.

The composite will not rot or splinter, is easy to clean and resistant to borers high. There is variety in colors, although a defect that could not get to have the beauty of color and brightness that provides wood “truth.”

First, due to the small amount of substrate that supports them, this must be a specially adapted to this crop if you do not want to spend all day with the watering can in hand. This special mix for hanging baskets, is mainly composed of peat moss that retains moisture better than any other type of substrate.

Similarly, you should add fertilizer every two weeks to go granules slowly providing nutrients to the substrate. Thus the flowering will be spectacular and will be able to enjoy it all summer.


Which plants to choose for hanging baskets

Lantana: belongs to the family Verbenaceae and pretty flowers grouped in blossoms attract butterflies. Lantana is a hardy plant that blooms nonstop and with very attractive colors. In winter it is best to enter it at home to prevent frost can damage it. The lantana live many years in good growing conditions, and open land are beautiful hedges.

Petunia:It belongs to the nightshade family and has many hybrid varieties. The best for hanging baskets are surfinia, tumbelina and calibrachoa. They need constant credit and removing the flowers and dried to facilitate the continued flowering. They want more sun and is sheltered from the wind adjourn. The petunia is an annual plant, so come the cold end its life cycle.

Ivy Geranium: This variety of geranium is ideal for a hanging basket. Its single flowers in all shades of pink or red, coupled with the beauty of its leaves are a spectacular set. He likes the sun and is necessary to remove the dried flowers to prolong flowering. In winter they prune and the cold. Watering a month at this time is sufficient.


Verbena: Verbenaceae family. Easy to grow, a plant so resistant to adverse weather conditions like a weed. Form rosettes of small waterfalls with flowers in colors: pink, purple, red and violet that attract butterflies. Likes full sun and need fertilizer every three weeks. The festival is biennial, we can keep it for two years if, during the winter we went home.

Not all flowering plants can live in hanging baskets. The rapid growth suffers from lack of substrate and not to be transplanted quickly languish. Varieties presented here are easily found at any florist are priced very affordable and entirely adequate for this crop providing a spectacular flowering well into autumn.

The approach of a rational and aesthetic will make the effort worthwhile. It is not accumulating plants just because they are pretty or were on offer. Visual clutter, crowding, poor provision or sectorization disproportionately hinder and will predispose to poor care necessary maintenance.


Awareness space:

With a pencil and paper and for a few days should be studied instead. Determine how much space in the balcony you can fill with plants, without thereby to impede the passage or other difficulties appear. This detail is important when selecting the size of the species and their distribution. It is also important to choose the right pots. The design must be functional in response to the vital needs of the residents.

The orientation and height determine the luminosity and the prevailing winds:

Note the orientation of the balcony, many hours of sunshine received, if in a direct, diffuse light only, or is a very dark area. Pay attention to the quality of wind, if they are loud or soft, cold or hot, wet or dry. This will define whether it is necessary to place a enclosure total or partial.

Each area has its particular climate and the height of the balcony will affect the amount of wind you get. We must also take into account the difference in temperature during the day and night and the seasons. Keep a complete record will select on the basis of plants fittest, and know where the balcony will do best. Nature provides a variety of species more adaptable to different situations.

Study the habits of the inhabitants:

If the balcony is used for resting, reading or listening to music, to enjoy a meal or snack with friends, take into account the need to reserve a space for chair or stool and a small table if you need it. If there are children or pets, book a room for them and place the pots or containers out of reach. Whether an area with hanging plants or by placing a separator. This will prevent breakage, dug from the earth, dirt and even injury.

Quantifying the time available:

It should be self-critical and reasonable in determining the time will be dedicated to this company. You might have an hour a day or one hour a week to care for your plants. Also consider how much time you are absent on holiday or the travel department. If you have chosen plants that require daily care and then there are those who can not attend, surely this will cause disappointment and discouragement. You have to think ahead if you will help or should be placed special irrigation systems for the green on the balcony did not die. Before you buy becomes aware of this limitation and how solve. There is the possibility of dry gardens.

Selection of pots or planters for the balcony:


Already have an idea of ​​the number of pots that can be placed and whether they will be fixed, mobile or pendants. It is advisable to be uniform in the material is purchased and preferably several sizes. This can create drops that are very striking.

They come in different materials, which retain more moisture or not, isolated from excessive cold or that resist direct sunlight. You can also decorate by hand. The size should be suitable for development of roots, and avoid transplants followed. The right choice will extend the life of the pot and have the plants well nourished, with a maintenance minimum.

The main purpose is to create a environment harmony between the inside and outside to be enjoyed by those living in the house. It is the intention to create conflicts for which we must be cautious. Do not exaggerate the problems and respond to the needs of plants and people respect the work and family structure. The balcony transmit sensations, images and colors that help to strengthen emotional and aesthetic, individual and collective who frequent the place.

Favorite trees:

They each tell a story, a memory of the past. Its beauty and ecological balance derived food and produce negative ions that neutralize electromagnetic fields in the leaves and roots are attracted absorbs them.

The Ginkgo has the power to attract the friendship to its owner. The weeping willow is found in many religions and traditions of ancient Greece when it was considered the favorite tree of witches. For them, should not be missing in gardens as it is endowed with medicinal properties. It symbolizes immortality.

Bamboo is widely excellence in China and is determined as a tree virtuoso, drives away evil spirits and good for everything. Reinforces the structure of the houses is part of the grass and it starts to be purchased a copy of at least two years.


The most suitable:

To be able to integrate into your garden classify trees by species, size, color of their leaves, bark or duration of their foliage. A sick tree brings bad Sha. Tune in harmony with each other using a common ground and avoid those trees with horizontal branches that intersect to form nodes.

Maple is known for its bark, which divides into films that entertain children. It is elegant, is produced from him a painkiller and a sweet syrup. Linden has a globular and elongated bowl, flowers in May and June. Very feminine and a symbol of conjugal love. Its leaves are soothing and digestive obtained.

The oak gives security, balance, serenity and tranquility for its strong trunk and leafy crown. The magnolia has white flowers and oval leaves, its perfume and its silver bark is native to China where traditionally the floor next to the door of a building, its beauty and sense of protection it has.

The pine with cypress, evokes immortality, thanks to the robust wood and evergreen leaves. It is said that the resin when it penetrates the soil, occurs after millions of years a fungus that gives eternal life. Lifeforce, good luck, longevity, along with bamboo and blackthorn.

Beech can reach large dimensions and it is advisable to be careful because it has healing properties. Plum and cherry must be booked a place in your favorite outdoor space. Convey hope. Arouse different energies after and during the winter months.

The flowers should never miss:

With sensitivity and insight we can hardly go wrong in your choice. Always try to treat them with discretion and respect for existing vegetation in the garden. All together they add energy to the colors and shapes of all green plants that compose it.

The most beloved is the rose. It grows among the rocks near the sea and in all climates. Religious symbol of the Catholic, Islamic and Hindu mythology present in the Greek or Roman. To increase the Ch’i, the best are yellow, rose Tea and China as well as the Old Bus, Arethusa and Nemesis. Plants with flowers Camellia tougher stands by its perfume, for walls and driveway and honeysuckle, associated with fidelity.

But the queen of flowers is the peony called the “rose without thorns” in China. Symbol of wealth and fortune. From the color from white to cream with gold embroidery. Keeps away the Shah.

Flowers most recommended:

In very hot climates it is advisable geranium easy to grow and insects away from the gardenia that can reach ten meters flourish only in summer. The hibiscus flower is grown for indoor greenhouses. Open in summer and early fall. They can be blue, white, yellow, purple, or red.


In Mediterranean climates is used lavender to scent, to create peace and freshness to the environment. Hydrangea symbolizes Yang and is highly regarded by the Chinese, blooms all summer and prefers full sun.

It also highlights the lotus and chrysanthemum. The first represents spirituality, wisdom. If compassion is red, blue intelligence. Generally represents peace and friendship. The second flower longevity is providing a lot of energy, tough. Blooms festivities dedicated to the deceased. It means “prosperous gold” and has healing properties.

Predominates in climbing plants jasmine Yin symbol of friendship. Covering walls and pergolas and a climbing frame ideal for the garden. Passion flower is native to Mexico and floods blue beauty. The dye produces its leaves is useful as anxiolytic and cure insomnia. Similarly, the lilacs associated with virility can be opened in June and September. Resistant to pollution, city or area adapted to be pink or purple.

If you want to redecorate a little green meadow that space you have in your garden or patio, you can do something very simple, curved edges that is used to attract attention to particular features you have there. For example, if in the back have a fountain or sculpture that you like, you can take a curved path toward it and so have all the attention it deserves.

And if you want that you and your visitors have a place to watch your garden or your patio a little closer, just create opportunities. A good idea is to put a bench or chair is a corner that does not get much light and where you can see the landscape. Over time you’ll see that depending on the time of the season and the light it looks completely different.

However, a good lawn that looks great is one that is very well maintained, that is neither too long nor too short, and that is perfectly surrounded by plants and flowers you have chosen. If you like a bit more formal appearance, it is recommended putting each of its side’s geometric edges to follow a bit the style you have in the rest of the house.

The hanging garden made up boxes, homes or warehouses, could provide a direct contact with nature, often in cities you can not have, to improve the internal climate of the houses, but also immediately outside and also allows you to recover unused space such as covers precisely the garage or flat roofs of the top floors.

What information is a green roof?

On a flat roof is made of a complex layering of materials, each with a specific function:

* First, the first layer that is encountered is the insole; It not only has a supporting function, but must also provide the 2% slope for water drainage.

* Second is ‘sacoustic insulation, Lying on the slab: it is a layer of glass wool, rock wool or polyurethane foam panels, weighing about 30 Kg / mc, with a vapor barrier is required when the green is built on a roof or on a terrace of a house, to avoid condensation within the same.

* after the sound insulating material, we find ‘Waterproofing: This is a bitumen with the addition of resins , reinforced with a fiberglass mat with a thickness of 3-4 mm, the surface must be perfectly bonded to the substrate, sized flame along its entire extension, and not only joints. This sheath also prevents the roots to infiltrate the base. The weight of the sheath is between 10 and 20 kg / m.

* the protection layer, Inserted between the waterproofing and drainage layer is made of geo-textile and must protect the insulating layers and the structure of the building.

* the drainage layer never measure less than 4 cm in thickness, it has a dual function: to remove excess water and provide water supply during drought periods, usually the drainage layer is composed of plates printed in recycled plastic, and ecological.

* above the drainage layer is a cloth filter, Which prevents the material for the substrate to come down and clog the drainage layer: it consists of a membrane of tissue in direct contact with the ground.

* the network of roots, Plastic and consists of coarse to which the roots can cling to give the plants greater Anchorage area is used for shrubs, and fixed to the perimeter walls, with a total weight of 25-30 kg / m.

* Finally, the real growing medium consisting of a mixture of potting soil lightened with expanded clay small particle size, lapilli and pumice, bark and peat, and these materials will improve aeration and drainage and retains moisture in the right way.

Benefits of green roof:

Let’s see in detail what exactly are the benefits of a green roof, both from the standpoint of environment and community, both from the individual point of view of your home:

* Water Balance:
the green roof can retain up to 70% of the rains to return the water to the environment in the form of water vapor, so it slows down the flow of water to the canals of disposal and you are contributing to the water regime.

* Air cleaner:
the green roof can seal up to 20% of harmful dust that circulate in the air, as these are fixed on the leaves covered by their distinctive layer of moisture.

* Noises muffled:
the turf is made of materials that have properties such as sound absorption; strikes in the home so the noise of 8 dB.

* Temperatures Mitigated:
reduces heat loss in winter, but fades in the summer heat, the costs of heating-cooling are controlled.

* Longer Covers:
green waterproof liner protects from weather and temperature changes, and then extend over time the integrity of the cover below.

The environment gains from the roof garden:

Green roofs are a great help to the environment, especially the city, just a few of the reasons listed above: the improvement of air quality, water balance, the thermal regulation of buildings. It also follows a great save energy, which not only lighten the wallet of the inhabitants of a house in the long run, it helps further the environment in terms of consumption of non-renewable energy and reduction of discharges filled with toxins and harmful gases, as well as also a decrease in heat loss and the resulting greenhouse effect.

For all these reasons, the interest in green roofs is growing more and more throughout Europe, from Germany, and is penetrating in Italy.

Here are two galleries for you to get some ideas for decorating, of course it depends on the style and decor of your home.

The first model is a closed gallery, allowing us to make the most of the year. Has a set of chairs with their cushions, really comfortable. In general, the furniture used here are rustic, like the ornamentation used as the mirror and embellishments that can be observed. The environment turns on the red hue of purple and white. It is an excellent choice if you have the same decorative style throughout your home.



The second option is developed in the open and has a roof that protects diners from the elements. This proposal consists of a table and chairs set for share lunch. It is a sober style and colors chosen are black and red. You can add some ornaments or small table with chairs arranged behind the big table.


This type of galleries may be used less frequently than the gallery closed, but on the other side is more enjoyable to share a lunch or dinner outside and enjoy the scenery.

As we have seen, decorate a garden is a pleasure in every way, both physically and mentally. Therefore, if we garden, we must not miss the opportunity to decorate. In addition to a haven of peace, the garden is an important element of decoration in the home habitat.

The beginnings are hard. At times you wonder if you’re doing it correctly or not. But soon start growing flowers and plants and our uncertainty will be rewarded. To start with, we choose plants and flowers that we put in our garden. To do this we must first consider the type of weather in our area and plants that are adapted to it.

Choose plants depending on their resistance to cold. How we can see, the weather will be the area where they live will largely determine what plants will live perfectly throughout the year. A good way to know correctly what plants grow well in your area to consult a professional gardener. He may inform you plant species that are well adapted to the climate where you are and no. It is a good way to ensure the success of the plantation.

Also depend on the characteristics of our garden as the soil type is equally or more important than the weather. Therefore, we must do a slight study of the characteristics of our soil to determine what kind of plants grow well in our land.

And once we have weaknesses and strengths of our land, then proceed to decide what we want and where to plant or cultivate. We must make a study of the major problems that may arise and possible solutions we can develop.

Here is perhaps the trickiest part of the process, as this is when we started to decorate our garden. It is recommended that we get a map of our garden and on the plane do a small representation of the colors that are going to give depending on what you’re going to grow.

And I say it is a complicated issue, it is difficult to get an overall picture of the terrain. To get a little situation we can use cardboard, wood or anything that resembles and may represent the plants that you want to put in each place.

You can always enlist the help of a landscape architect who will design a garden journal, because he knows exactly what is best for your land, what will do better and how to maximize its features.

Of course, you can decorate your garden yourself without outside help from professionals, but we assure you that it is difficult to guess right the first time. As already mentioned in a land so vast it is difficult getting an overview of the entire distribution.

Finding your ideal garden is an empirical question, trial and error to find exactly what you want for your land. How council will say that although there are many possibilities, it depends on your imagination. You must take into account the sizes, shapes, colors and textures that have each of the plants and flowers.

A lot of people follow this sort of pattern, which is absolutely fine, but the problem is that by the time people realise that they want to garden, they have normally let their garden get into the sort of state which is pretty hard to turn around. Of course, it probably looks that way, but as long as your garden is not huge, then it is normally pretty easy to get the place into shape. To do that though, you are going to have to have the correct implements to do the job.

Again, the list is not too long. You will need a spade, a shovel, some smaller implements, such as trowels, and you will need a wheel barrow and of course a lawn mower. Don’t forget though, with all of this equipment, you will need somewhere to store it all. You should get yourself a garden shed, and you can pick up very well made Garden sheds at york timber very cheaply.

In fact, you might be able to find some of your other tools, because there are all sorts of york timber products that you can buy for the garden. You need to get everything you can to aid your work, because sorting out your garden might be hard work!