Many hundreds of years ago Wind Chimes were used around shrines and temples to scare away animals. They have been around since the 2nd century C.E. They were also made for the purpose of scaring away bad spirits. There is a belief in China and parts of Asia, that Wind Chimes brought good luck to the families whenever they were placed on the corners of the people’s homes.

Although there are 2 types of wind chimes made, one type are made for just making some kind of in harmonic noise. These were the one’s that were made for frightening away animals. The other type is called Harmonic Wind Chimes, which were made for bringing luck. These types were made to produce specific notes that were pleasing to the ears.

Half way down the chimes length is the center plate, which is called a ball — it is centered exactly . This would help achieve hitting certain soft sounding notes. The tubes are cut to a certain length, depending on what note the maker wanted to hit. So a little knowledge of music would be a great help in producing a Great Wind Chime. Wind Chimes can be made out of almost any type of material, such as wood, glass, different types of metal, shells, bamboo, porcelain, and stones and other things.

Many hundreds of years ago Wind Chimes were used around shrines and temples to scare away animals. They have been around since the 2nd century C.E. They were also made for the purpose of scaring away bad spirits. There is a belief in China and parts of Asia, that Wind Chimes brought good luck to the families whenever they were placed on the corners of the people’s homes.

Of the 2 types of wind chimes made, one type is called Harmonic Wind Chimes, which were made for bringing luck. This type was made to produce specific notes that were pleasing to the ears. The other type was made for just making some kind of harmonic noise. These were the one’s that were made for frightening away animals.

The center plate, which is called a ball, is centered exactly half way down the chimes length. This would help achieve hitting certain soft sounding notes. The tubes are cut to a certain length, depending on what note the maker wanted to hit. So a little knowledge of music would be a great help in producing a Great Wind Chime. Wind Chimes can be made out of almost any type of material, such as wood, glass, different types of metal, shells, bamboo, porcelain, and stones and other things.

The owners of small gardens need to utilise every scrap of space and they, therefore, must be more selective in their choice of plants. Climbers and wall plants will provide the answer to many problems for they will add both space and height to congested sites and will bring colour to every available wall. However, enthusiasm should be tempered with discreet understanding for there are climbers which love to be baked into brilliance of flower by hot sun, whereas others must be soothed by moist shade.

Tradition has it that clematis produce their best efforts when the roots are shaded but the flowers are allowed to reach up into the sun. However, I believe a well-drained soil to be more important, otherwise losses in winter are liable to be heavy. A mulch of peat mixed with a handful of bone- meal is all the feed necessary.

I could till a book with a selection of climbing and wall plants but as before will restrict the choice to those which have been proven in the crucible of the garden. There are two species especially suitable for wall culture, butoboth need different treatment.

The furniture that we buy for rooms in our home and those which we buy for our patios are most certainly not the same.

For instance the furniture that we have inside our homes has no need to be proofed for extreme weather, damp and cold.

Patio furniture doesn’t have to match perfectly with its surroundings as there are so many colours already in a garden.

Saying that, there are features of patio furniture that need to be sorted out, such as how it will be treated to save it from harsh weather conditions.

Perhaps the most commonly used material for patio furniture is cedar wood.

There is a huge amount of advantages that cedar has over other types of wood.

Firstly cedar wood is an all-natural material, taken from the cedar tree which grows in the Mediterranean and Himalaya mountains.

The way that the wood grain lies (in almost tubular structures) means that when it is in wet conditions the rain runs through or over it, rather than getting absorbed and causing the wood to become swollen.

You live in the US. Surely if you live in the US you couldn’t be drinking drugs when you drink a glass of tap water? Could you?

How about we begin with a quote from the Ralph Nader Institute. “U.S. drinking water contains more than 2,100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer.”

Now what does toxic chemicals mean? Does it mean drugs? Either way it doesn’t matter, it’s scary. But there is plenty of evidence of drugs in our drinking water. Especially antibiotics.

We start in 1999 with Ashley Mulroy, a West Virginia high school student who decided to do a high school project on contaminated water. For 10 weeks she took water samples from the Ohio river. And had them tested for 3 antibiotics, penicillin, tetracycline and vancomycin. She found them in all samples.

So she decided to test tap water for antibiotics, and got the same result.

Lets take a quote from the Environmental Health Perspectives website. “Roughly 100 pharmaceuticals have now been identified in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters throughout Europe and the United States.”

The form of L. japonica known as aureoreticulata has proved more resilient in my line of a millstone grit boulder in the rock garden. L. periclymenum is the woodbine and its variety belgica makes the perfect company planting. The first crop of yellow-flushed dark red flowers opens early in June to be followed in September by a late indulgence of the same quality if not the quantity. Softwood cuttings in July root rapidly in the sand frame. To prune shorten back the side shoots to 4 buds after flowering in September.

The Virginia creepers are especially noteworthy for brilliance of autumn colouring. Parthenocissus henryana is a Chinese climber which I use to disguise a rather unimaginative iron fence. Now the rusty iron has disappeared under a panoply of leaves which are tinged purple in the shade, but all turn deep red in autumn. P. quinquefolia from North America is the true Virginia creeper, a self-clinging species whose leaves turn scarlet and gold with the first frost of autumn; a vigorous plant which will cover a three storey building, chimney included.

Clematis macropetala species with large violet semi-double blooms, was her favourite and it was always grown through a wisteria which flowered at the same time. C. montana is the robust, independent, ‘go out and conquer the world’ member of the clan, growing well in any position. I have seen it on walls, potting sheds, thatched cottages, Scots Pine, apple trees, even a ruined church. I grow the white form granditiora , the rose-purple flowered, bronze-leaved rubens and the pearl- pink, sweetly fragrant Elizabeth. All flower in May and some years a small second crop appears rather apologetically in August.

The species grow readily from seed or cuttings, and the most obliging of all is C. tangutica. Some years ago I tried three plants in a limestone rock garden and they are now very much at home rambling about amongst the stones. The flower stems are 12 in. long, each topped with a deep yellow, Chinese lantern-like flower. These are followed in due season by silver seed heads which in their own way equal the beauty of the blooms. Internodal cuttings should be made in August -September and placed in pumice or peat and sand mixture.

Home Greenhouse in January

This month the daylight is theoretically on the increase, but it is surely slow. Stormy weather obscures the sun so that the actual total of light is still low. However, snow and January thaws produce some beautiful days under the greenhouse roof. The standard roof slope of one in two is such that it sheds freely.

The quiet blanketed feeling of a sunny morning with 6 or 12 inches of snow on the roof is likely to be interrupted by a “whoosh” as the snow unloads in a junior avalanche. Afterwards the bright sunshine and reflected light from the outside snow make a fine spring-like world indoors, and a beautiful sight altogether.

The dumped load of snow from a sizable roof should be considered in planting close to the foundation outside. Brittle shrubs should not be used here unless they are carefully protected.

In full bloom now or beginning to bud are most of the late-sown annual seeds. Many of these are cool loving plants, which do well in a 50-degree greenhouse. Among these are alyssum, lobelia, calendula, wax begonia, impatiens, pansy and the greenhouse strains of snapdragon, stock, didiscus and carnation. From sowings the previous spring, flowers will be appearing on cyclamen, streptocarpus and Primula.

Are you looking for new and unusual plants for your garden? Are you hoping to find something that will stand out and make you the talk of the town?

Look no further for I have assembled this unusual collection of rare plants and flowers for your reading pleasure. Take your pick from this odd assortment and your garden will never be the same again!

For my first selection, you’ll have to travel deep in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. There you’ll find the Rafflesia Arnoldii better known as the “corpse flower.”

Unlike other plants, the corpse flower has no noticeable leaves, stem or roots. This parasite lives on the Tetrastigma vine which also grows in rainforests. Like fungi, it gets water and other nutrients from its host. What makes the plant unique is the fact that it produces the largest individual flower on earth. The flower is huge – over three feet across – and has a reddish-brown color.

It has a hole in the center that can hold about seven quarts of water. Its moniker comes from the fact that it stinks of rotting flesh much like a corpse. The bad smell attracts flies that pollinate the plant.

Ceratostigma willmottianum takes the very sensible precaution of becoming herbaceous in severe winters. The first time this happened I assumed the worst, and was just about to plant a very expensive replacement in the same position when I noticed bright scarlet buds poking through the soil, which on investigation proved to be the timorous ceratostigma.

Avoid only the form listed as rosea, a villainous washed-out pink, hideous to behold and parsimonious in producing flowers.

Pruning is accepted with equanimity even when amateurishly performed by rabbits, cows and a very unpredictable rotary grass cutter. Propagation can be by cuttings or layering, whichever is more convenient.

The ebullient, irrepressable Chaenomeles japonica is dazzling in flower, cheerfully ugly the rest of the year. I would always have one plant about the place somewhere but I prefer them trained onto a wall. By pruning back the young growth right through the summer a mass of plump flower buds are formed the full length of the spurs.

The rock roses are Mediterranean shrubs which like light, free-draining soil and a warm sunny position. Three varieties of those tried in my garden lived seven years, and cuttings taken from them continue to grace the garden in a sheltered bed by the house.