We all look forward to the summer. To the long, warm evenings sitting outside street side cafes or stretching out on patios; to bright, sunny, carefree days lounging in the sun or relaxing in the shade; to the vibrant, captivating colours and the sweet scents and evocative smells that are the mark of every much-loved and well-tendered garden.
And being a nation renowned for its green fingers – unlike the Germans who according to a saying they have pride themselves on their green thumbs – we enjoy spending endless hours shaping and styling shrubs and hedgerows, trimming bushes and manicuring lawns and generally spending just about every spare minute we have pottering around in our own little refuge.
There’s always something to do in a well-kept garden. Especially, of course, at this time of the year. In fact sometimes the days just can’t be long enough depending on the size of the garden that you are lucky enough to call your own. If you are already into self-sufficiency – or simply love the taste of home-grown produce – and are fortunate to have your own vegetable patch, then now is generally the time to harvest some of the early plants like carrots, cabbages, cauliflower, courgettes and kale and time to sow or replant others like Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, chicory and – peas.
You may want to give your lawn a treat and sprinkle it with fertiliser – also home-grown if you prefer. The grass clippings that many people are only too glad to get rid of when they have mowed their lawn are full of nutrients which put back the goodness into the soil. But as is the case with most gardening tips, and indeed many other areas in life, moderation is the key.
And what about every gardener’s pride and joy? Flowers. Glorious, full-bloomed, delicate, luscious, beautifully cultivated flowers. Flowers in every possible shade, colour, size and form.
What do they need to flourish? How do you know what the best possible place for your prized flowers and plants is? Read More
Imagine a strong smell. No, not just one of your average bad smells – a truly revolting one. But careful – don’t dwell on it for too long – because sometimes even only the fleeting recollection of being locked in conversation with someone serenely unaware that they were suffering from bad breath, a waft of boiled cabbage, the whiff of a clogged drain, the intense smell of sweat from a sauna or a pair of discarded socks can prove to be too much to stomach for some. In fact some smells are so overpowering that there seems to be little that one can do short of covering one’s face and mouth and making a run for it.
And we’re off! Yes, the countdown has started! During the course of the following four weeks you can save as much as 1% on each of the eight measuring devices depicted above for every day from the day you place your order until the cut-off day on August 13, 2011.
Most of the time people don’t give much thoughts about how to air their house or apartment. During the cold and frosty months of winter at least you mind to keep the doors and windows closed to keep the valuable and costly heating energy inside the house, don’t you? But as soon as the temperature rises again no one really cares anymore… Because if it is warm outside I can open up all windows and doors to let fresh air into my apartment, so there is no problem anymore with damp basements or moist walls, right? 
