Terrace Gardening Part II: Aesthetics

        In this article I will discuss the features and accessories that will add to the aesthetics of your Terrace Garden. Various features that have to be considered for your Terrace Garden are seating, lighting, and accessories like planters, water fountains, etc.
        Seating: This is a very important aspect of your garden as good and comfortable seating can make your garden much more relaxing. You can opt for wooden furniture which has been treated well or stone benches with cushions. Swings are also great additions to a garden but they would need a strong stand to hang from. You can get cushions and seat covers made in materials which are dust resistant, dark in colour (so as not to show stains) and if possible water repellent. There are various types of acrylic and polyester fabrics meant for the outdoors available in the market.

       Lighting: In the daytime lighting plays no role except maybe that of ornamentation but in night it can make your garden come alive. Strategic placement of garden lamps, lanterns, or other lights like up-lighters or recessed lights can make your garden look much more interesting.

       Planters: Use of planters helps you place plants where you would not want to or maybe cannot construct the complete structure for gardening. They demand less of maintenance and can be used as decorative features as well. Small planters can be placed on stands, hung from the ceiling or placed on sills.

     

           Water-features and Sculptures: Besides being decorative, water-features also provide you with a symbol of flowing energy. The trickling sound of water in a garden waterfall helps in unwinding after a tiring day. Sculptures can be used for beautification of your garden. For example, a small statue of Buddha can give your garden a Zen type look and feel. Also use of other materials like stone, wood or terracotta adds character to your Terrace Garden.

Other Accessories: You can use many more things to add to the natural beauty of your Terrace Garden, for example, weather-vanes, bird-baths, bird feeders, etc. It all depends on how you use your creativity in personalising your space of the Terrace garden.

         Make sure that you satisfy and stimulate your senses through your Terrace Garden and be ready to give yourself freedom to experiment. Pay attention to even the smallest technicality as ignoring them can later lead to much bigger problems. So start planning on how you want your dreamy haven, your Terrace Garden to look like.

Terrace Gardening Part I: Technicalities

       Getting a garden made on your terrace is a beautiful and environment friendly concept. Imagine relaxing in your own personal haven of a garden after a gruelling day at work. Living in a concrete jungle and not living on the ground floor is no more the limitation for having your own garden as Terrace Gardening is the answer to this limitation. People who enjoy gardening were unable to do so because they were living on the higher floor without the access to the ground for gardening; but now more and more people are opting for using the roofs and terraces of their houses for a greener purpose.

       One can plan and make their own terrace garden quite easily, but there are certain Technicalities that have to be kept in mind which are discussed in this article. Also it is advisable if you can get opinions of professionals on these technicalities.

       Strength: You have to make sure that your terrace/roof is strong enough to bear the load that would be added by the plants, the soil and any other features that you would be adding to your Terrace Garden.

   

       Drainage: The terrace should have adequate drainage to help drain out the excess water that would be constantly used for watering and cleaning the garden.

       If you are planning to use more of planters then you can make do with a normal drainage system but if you want to have grass and more plants on the roof surface and you are planning a garden bigger than 500 sq. ft. then you have to get drainage chambers made to help in the drainage. They are to be constructed at various places on the terrace with pipes leading towards the main drainage holes. Also they are quite useful for countries like ours as we get heavy rains in the monsoons. The drainage chambers also prevent water from stagnating and hence from seeping in the roof. These chambers should be made as such so that they get covered when the garden is complete. Professional help is required for the construction of drainage chambers.

      Waterproofing: Your terrace should be waterproof so that the walls do not end up getting damp marks. Also before constructing the garden, proper waterproofing for the terrace surface needs to be done with suitable waterproof membranes, easily available in the market, so water does not seep in the roof and cause dampness in the floors below.  

         Planning the Terrace Garden: Start with making a layout plan for your Terrace Garden. Decide on the features you want in the garden namely, the plants, seating, lighting and accessories. I’ll be discussing accessories in the next article, "Terrace Gardening Part II: Aesthetics" which is a follow up on this article.

     

         Selecting the Plants: You have to remember that there are certain limitations in selecting the plants as you will be planting them in either planters or on the terrace ground and I am sure you do not want the roots of the plants trying to find their way through the roof floor. Hence plants with fibrous roots and not tap roots are suitable for Terrace Gardens.

         Plants having soft roots like bamboo, money plant, palms, flowering plants (rose, orchids, pansies, etc.) and herbs are good choices for Terrace Gardens. One other option is to go for bonsai plants. They can be easily kept on a ledge or a sill. You can also maintain a small kitchen garden with plants like tomatoes, lemons, chillies, lady finger and some herbs in your Terrace Garden.

       Soil to be Used: The soil or the growing media should be a light one so as not to add undue weight on the terrace. Soil rite or peat moss is a very light and excellent growing medium for terrace garden. However because of its cost it is best to prepare a growing medium with a mixture of garden earth, manure and soil rite or peat moss.

         Construction: First step is to spread out brickbats (totally burnt bricks only) of approximately 2” to 4” evenly as per the garden layout. The brickbats are used to facilitate drainage. Instead of brickbats corrugated sheets can as well be used. They have to be placed at a distance of 3" and in such a way so as to lead water to drains. A commercial drainage board can also be used for this purpose.       

          Next step is to spread a wire mesh or a HDPE net over the brickbats. This prevents the garden earth or the manure from getting in the gaps in between the brickbats.

           After this get the drainage chambers, if required, constructed and then spread the growing media. All you have to do now is start planting as per the layout.          

         

         The construction of the garden being done, I would also like to discuss the aesthetic aspect of your garden. Various ornamental and functional features add to the appeal of your garden. In the next article I have discussed these features. Combining the two as per your taste would definitely give you the Terrace Garden you have always dreamed about.

For Kids - A Room Of Their Own

       A lot of people these days want to have separate rooms for their children. It is an interesting concept since it inculcates a feeling of independence in the children from the very beginning. If you also share this thinking then this article can be helpful to you. In this article I have given a few pointers that you should keep in mind while decorating your child’s room.

Flooring and painting are the first steps that you should decide on.
For Flooring: Hard wood or wooden laminate flooring, Marble and rubber tiles are good options for your child’s room. Do not use carpeting as in India it is a really bad options for a kids’ room. Carpets are difficult to maintain and can be sheltering dust mites and hence give your child allergies. Area rugs and playmats can make a child’s room safer and more playful.

Rubber tile flooring

I would suggest not to decorate the whole room according to a theme as your child might outgrow the theme and you might still not be ready to redecorate the room. You can have influences from that theme showing in instances. Highlight the theme using accessories like lampshades, curtains, cushions or bedspreads. Also your child will create his or her own theme as they grow up.

Paints: The next step is to decide on paints for the walls. Let us crossover the ‘blue for boys and pink for girls’ threshold. You have to experiment with other colours. Green, dark blue, earthy tones like beige in combination with dark browns can be good choices for boys. For girls, go for pastels like sea green, peach, violet, etc. with flashes of bright colours. For finish, use durable and washable paints. Another good idea is to use stencil borders or painting an image on the wall that your child would not outgrow soon enough.

You can also use IDEAPAINTS, which is “a patent-pending single-coat roller-applied paint that transforms any smooth surface into a high performance dry-erase writing surface.” It is available with Futura Concepts, Dinkar Chellaram(dchellaram@futuraconcepts.net).

Storage is very important for children’s room and is never enough for those toys, clothes and later books. Closed storage as well as open shelves are a must for children’s rooms. Storage can be quite interesting and colourful in a child’s room. Place a wicker basket in a corner for it makes for attractive storage and can be used for keeping the toys and the oddments when a quick cleaning is required. Keep in mind that the furniture and accessories do not have sharp corners and edges. The curtains should not have strings as your child might fancy using it to swing.

Do not over crowd the room with either furniture or accessories. Your child is quite capable of keeping the room looking full with his/her toys and other curios. You can hang the child’s artwork or photographs of the child alone and with various family members on the walls. If possible, place a blackboard for his creative scribbles or a bulletin board so that you can keep the walls neat. Also too many frills can make the room look childish and cluttered.

Do involve your child in various decisions like selecting the room’s colour scheme and choosing furniture. Be experimental and at the same time practical while decorating your child’s room and I am sure you would create a dreamy haven for your little one.

Dining Tables Should Look Like This!

DINING TABLES SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS!

           And guess what?? Your Dining table can very easily look like this. You need not buy designer, and hence overtly expensive dining tables to have them looking refined and attractive. Just follow some simple steps to make your ordinary dining table look like the ones in the pictures I have shown above.

           The first thing I would like you to do is remove all the stuff from your Dining table. That’s right, ALL THE STUFF, and that means your table covers go as well. Now if your table looks decent without the cover, that means if it is in good shape and without visible scratches and marks, and also if you do not have toddlers in your house then I would tell you to get rid of the Table Cover. But if you find your table unsuitable to be without a cover then do use a Dining table cover but it has to be in a single colour depending on the colour scheme of the room. DO NOT GET TABLE COVERS IN PRINTS.
           The next step is to follow the principles of Minimalism. ‘Less is More’ is so true in this case. Get a nice vase with some flowers or attractive candles as centre pieces for your table. Some other Accessories, though totally optional, for your Dining table would be a chic napkin holder and a set of salt and pepper cellar. You can also use a cloth runner for adding character to your Dining table. Some examples for these Accessories are shown in the following pictures.

          After you are done with these steps, I would advise you to stop right there. No more stuff on the Dining table. Accessories like toothpick holder, coasters, cutlery stand, placemats, etc. can be placed inside your crockery cabinet (or storage of the dining table) and can be taken out when required. Hence these accessories need not be permanent fixtures on the Dining table. You can also have an interesting ceiling-mounted lamp above your Dining table for a luxurious feeling.

           Another thing you need to remember is the most important rule for maintaining the sophisticated look of your Dining table. The word ‘Replace’ says it all. There are so many attractive things in the market that you want for your Dining table. Do buy them if you want to, but before placing it on the Dining table remove one thing that was already on it. If it’s a centre piece then remove the previous one. That’s easy to do and keeps your Dream Dining table clutter free.
           Remember to follow these simple steps and I am sure you will ‘Dine in style’ every time.

"Throw Culture"

The “Throw culture” has been around since quite some time in India but they are even now not that popular. With a comfy couch or a lounge chaise or chair or even on ur bed, u have to have a Throw on it. It looks great, makes a style statement and is there for you to comfort yourself.


Yes COMFORT! Imagine lying on your cushiony couch, watching t.v. or reading a nice book and feeling cold; because of your air conditioner or coz of the slight chill in the weather. Ruins the fantasy, right? Well it won't get ruined if you have a nice soft Throw draped around your the backrest of your couch. You can simply pull it and wrap it around yourself and feel all cozy. Fantasy restored.

A Throw gives you warmth and is so easy to handle. When you are done with it simply drape it back on the back rest of your lounge chaise or armchair or couch. On your bed it would look nice if neatly folded and placed in a stylised manner and since its just a bit larger than a shawl and not as bulky as a quilt or a blanket, its quite easy to fold.

Not in the mood to buy a Throw? Simple, just take out a nice shawl of yours and play with it to drape it interestingly as a throw where u wud like to. Even better if its a Pashmina.

Here are some pictures to show you all wat i mean.