Tips on Hiring Lawn Mowing Services in Roswell GA
Visit: http://lawnfrogslandscapes.com Keeping their grass quick as well as pleasant retains on benefits of your home. Unkempt yards can easily easily reprodu...
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Tips on Hiring Lawn Mowing Services in Roswell GA - Video
Rockville, Maryland (PRWEB) March 16, 2015
With spring right around the corner, this issue showcases award-winning landscape and remodeling projects by the region's top architects, interior designers and landscape professionals. These stunning designs are sure to provide fresh and inspiring ideas for the home. This issue also features the hottest picks in home technology from the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The latest in fine furniture is spotlighted and combines style and sophistication.
Further highlights from this issue include Excellence in Landscaping, where four award-winning projects deliver alluring outdoor escapes; Glass House, where a design team creates a light-filled modern retreat on the Magothy River; Simply Chic, where interior designer Erica Burns combines function and period style in a Northwest DC home; Modern Aerie, where Patrick Brian Jones revamps a Logan Circle penthouse with a vibrant modern art collection in mind; Rivers Edge, where Architect Jim Rill and designer Jodi Macklin focus on stunning water vistas in a waterfront renovation and H&D Luxury Remodeling, where four custom-home remodeling projects are featured.
An excerpt from Glass House: It gets better, whispers architect Scarlett Breeding, touring a new home she designed near Annapolis. Surveying this virtually transparent steel, glass and stone creation with sweeping water views, a visitor wonders what could possibly get any better than this.
The owner assembled a team of experts he knew could create the modern retreat he imagined. Scarlett Breeding, landscape architect Kevin Campion, builder Bret Anderson and interior designer Helen Sullivan had already collaborated on his DC home and other residences. Together, they delved into the projectpossibly one of their most challenging to date.
As a starting point, Breeding found inspiration in the local vernacular. The form comes from the traditional Chesapeake cottage, with its simple gabled roof, she explains. There is one gable form in the middle and matching ones on either side. We reduced them to their simplest elements, then subtracted out the roof and wall planes so they became far more transparent, to maximize light and views. Even the garage doors are glass.
Dormers and skylights create lofty second-story spaces, yet allow the house to maintain a single-story presence. It has large room volumes but does not feel inappropriate for the neighborhood, which is primarily cottages, says Breeding.
As always, this issue's Indulgences section tempts everyone with the best of the good life in travel, toys, spring fashion and food. It's an issue you won't want to miss!
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The Spring 2015 Issue of HOME & DESIGN Magazine is Now on Newsstands
At the private Witt Ranch, historic trees establish a sense of history in a landscape that combines personal favorites and native plants. (Santa Barbara Botanic Garden photo)
By Rebecca Mordini for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden | Published on 03.16.2015 9:27 a.m.
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has put together a truly unique version of its annual Cultivating the Wild: Native Gardens Tour on Sunday, April 19.
Heading out to the Santa Ynez Valley in limousine buses, the tour goes behind the scenes to explore very different approaches to sustainable landscaping. Dry farming at a vineyard, personal style at a private ranchero and an entire neighborhood of native landscaping all challenge preconceived ideas about the limitations imposed by drought. This years tour includes the delicious culinary creativity of New West Catering enjoyed with dry farmed Stolpman wines at the private Montanaro Farm.
Landscape architect Puck Erickson provides the foundation of the tour at the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden. As one its founders and designers, she identifies key native plants in the area, and gives an inspiring view of how creating this garden brought a community of native plant lovers together.
After 19 harvests were just as obsessed with improving our wines as we were with our first vintage in 1994, according to Peter Stolpman, managing partner of Stolpman Vineyard.
The vineyard implements sustainable viticulture techniques, including dry farming, in which the vines are not irrigated after they have matured. A personal tour from the owners will give a rare view, and taste, of dry farming.
What would it look like if everyone replaced their lawns with native landscaping? Guests will see for themselves in the tour through the gated Mission Oaks community in Solvang. The common areas are landscaped predominately in native plants that blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, while front yards show the wide variety of personal expression available using natives.
Witt Ranch is a private ranchero where historic trees establish a sense of history in a landscape that combines personal favorites and native plants. A guided tour of the gardens around the main house and the charming guest cottages will inspire your own landscape designs.
Guests who wonder just how good a dry farmed vintage actually tastes, will not be disappointed as Stolpman wines will be served with a mouth-watering lunch from New West Catering. Valley insiders know that New West is owned by the same chefs as the eclectic Industrial Eats, one of the hottest dining destinations in the area. To complete this incredible insiders experience of the valley, this delicious meal is served at Montanaro Farm, where visitors are transported back to Californias ranching heyday in the original grocery restored to its 1887 style.
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Botanic Garden Tour to Showcase Creative Ways to Garden with Little Water
Omaha, Nebraska (PRWEB) March 16, 2015
Shrubs dont get no respect.
Call them the Rodney Dangerfields of the landscape. Shrubs are the under-appreciated, unheralded, forgotten plants in gardening. They provide much-needed greenery, and they fill the important gap between small flowering plants and the giants of the landscape, trees. But despite their crucial role in a great garden, shrubs just dont get any respect.
Every landscape needs shrubs, said Jeff Dinslage, president of Nature Hills Nursery, an online seller of trees, shrubs and gardening supplies at http://www.NatureHills.com. Not only are shrubs the backbone of a good landscape design, but when shrubs are properly selected for appropriate growing conditions and visual interest, they can become stars in the landscape.
Shrubs Get Overlooked
Dinslage admits that most shrubs are overlooked because they have historically been known for their green foliage and roundish shapes. But a new crop of shrubs now offers distinctive colorful foliage and even bright flowers that can dazzle and delight.
One of the newest shrubs to garner attention in the gardening world is the Florida Sunshine Anise Shrub, also known by the botanical name Illicium parviflorum Florida Sunshine. This broadleaf evergreen shrub can be used as an accent plant, or planted together to form a vibrant hedge along a property line. Unlike most shrubs, Florida Sunshine has eye-catching bright-green leaves that turn yellow-gold in the spring and summer months.
A Ray of Florida Sunshine
Florida Sunshine Anise is just as the name impliesa ray of bright sunshine for your yard, said Dinslage. Its an evergreen shrub that delivers superb four-season color and also provides a sumptuous fragrance. It even has small white flowers in the spring.
Florida Sunshine will grow up to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, and it is cold hardy in USDA zones 6-9. It has no significant disease issues and insects tend to leave it alone. A 3-gallon plant sells for $49.95 from http://www.naturehills.com/florida-sunshine-anise-shrub.
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New Shrubs Earn Respect in Landscape and Gardening Design
Press Release -- Your landscape is there to be enjoyed by you and your family. Its the setting for your home and provides a space for outdoor activities. Lawn areas offer a wonderful place for kids to play, and family get-togethers and parties take place on decks and patios. If your family includes pets, your landscape will likely be used by them as well.
In some ways, having pets in your landscape is like having young children. Although pets are less likely than a young child to get hurt in a landscape, you must still take some similar precautions, such as watching out for poisonous plants. Pets can also cause problems in the landscape, but pet owners who love their pets generally manage to tolerate or forgive minor indiscretions.
Pets still raise two major issues keeping your landscape from harming your pet and keeping your pet from harming your landscape.
Hazards
All of us likely grow plants in our landscapes that could be toxic to dogs or cats. The good news is, despite the abundance and ready availability of these plants to pets, incidents of plant poisoning are not especially common. In the number of poisoned pet contacts reported to the ASPCA, plants ranked after human medications, insecticides (particularly those applied to dogs and cats for flea control) and people food (like chocolate). Rat poison, veterinarian medications and poisonous plants all had similar numbers of calls. The plants involved were mostly indoor plants, not outside. The ASPCA website has an excellent list of plants poisonous to cats and dogs.
Azaleas, for instance, can be fatally toxic to dogs and people, too. As they bloom this spring, look around at how many azaleas are in peoples landscapes. Obviously, dogs dont typically eat azaleas and get poisoned by them. I was made aware of an incident involving a puppy left alone inside a house all day with a potted azalea that resulted in the puppys death.
There is one plant, however, that dog owners should be very aware of. The cycad we call sago palm (Cycas revoluta) is not actually related to palms. It is a gymnosperm related to conifers like pine trees and bald cypresses. As such, the reproductive structures are cones.
Sagos come in male and female, and the females present the more dangerous situation. The females form large, dome-shaped cones on top of the plant during summer. The seeds mature in January and February and drop to the ground sometime thereafter. The seeds are covered with a fleshy red coating that dogs must find tasty, because they will eat them.
Although all parts of the sago are toxic, the seeds are highly toxic to dogs, and Ive heard of numerous fatalities over the years. Seeds from female sagos should be gathered up and disposed of as soon as you see them in late winter or early spring.
Learn which plants are especially toxic to animals lilies, for instance, are highly toxic to cats and avoid planting them in your landscape. But Im not sure how far I would go to radically change an existing landscape like rip out all of the azaleas to eliminate all potentially toxic plants.
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How to Ensure You Practice Pet Friendly Gardening
BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Despite there being no change in government on the agenda, China's routine March meetings -- dubbed the "two sessions" -- are set to be closely watched as the country's political and economic dynamics are changing significantly.
Attention will be focused on China next week as lawmakers and political advisors attend the annual full sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body.
The two sessions are held to discuss political and economic developments, and adopt policies to deliver the reform promises and economic growth targets set by the Chinese authorities.
Over the years, the sessions have helped navigate the development of China, which is not only very important to the country itself, but also matters much to the world.
FOUR COMPREHENSIVES
Since Wednesday, the Communist Party of China mouthpiece the People's Daily has been running a series of editorials to elaborate on and promote President Xi Jinping's new political theory ahead of the two sessions.
The theory, called the "Four Comprehensives", refers to "comprehensively" building a moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing rule of law and strictly governing the Party.
The four aspects are strategic objectives outlined in Xi's blueprint for China's future. Analysts believe the two sessions will provide an ideal occasion to discuss the new theory and help pool strength to implement it.
Ding Yuanzhu, of the Chinese Academy of Governance, expects extensive discussion among lawmakers and political advisors, saying that the Four Comprehensives theory focuses on the four key issues in China's modernization drive.
Kuang Xianming, director of the research center for economy under the China Institute for Reform and Development, said the importance of this year's two sessions could be associated with the expected role of the year 2015 in China's development history.
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"Two sessions" anticipated amid new political, economic landscape
Home Designer Interiors 2015 | Home Remodeling Architectural Home Design #08
Home designer suite 2015, home design software, home designer pro 2015, home designer suite, home designer pro, home design 3d, home design plans, home designer interiors 2015. Home ...
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Home Designer Interiors 2015 | Home Remodeling & Architectural Home Design #08 - Video
Interior Designer Westlake Village
At A Glance Decor 4607 Lakeview Canyon Rd. Suite 658 Westlake Village, CA 91302 805.427-0200 designer@ataglancedecor.com http://ataglancedecor.com/ Our furni...
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The evolution of South Broad Street and the transformation of Philadelphia's skyline continues as one of the world's most renowned interior designers partners with Sam Nazarian and Carl Dranoff for his first ever project in Philadelphia
sbe Introduce Philippe Starck as Exclusive Interior Designer of SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel
Today, Dranoff Properties, a premier developer and owner of luxury apartments and condominiums, and sbe, an industry-leading hospitality, lifestyle and real estate development company, announced Philippe Starck as the exclusive interior designer for the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel, which is set to be built at the prominent corner of Broad and Spruce Streets in Center City Philadelphia. The SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel, with its 47 story tower and 152 boutique hotel rooms, will mark Mr. Starck's first ever project in Philadelphia, further transforming the "Avenue of the Arts" into a glamorous destination for culture, art, fine dining and more.
"French design has long been a hallmark of Philadelphia's aesthetic," said Carl Dranoff, Founder and CEO of Dranoff Properties. "In the early twentieth century, it was Paul Philippe Cret who gave us the celebrated Rodin Museum, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the National Memorial Arch in Valley Forge. Today, it is Philippe Starck who is poised to redefine Philadelphia design with the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel. To have an interior designer of Philippe's caliber and world-class acclaim for this project truly speaks to Dranoff Properties' and sbe's shared commitment to excellence but also, to the transformational nature of this project for Philadelphia as an emergent global city."
The famed French designer's relationship with sbe and Sam Nazarian, sbe's Chairman, began in 2005 as the design-centric brand planned to open its first luxury hotel in Beverly Hills. Mr. Starck guided the interior vision for this landmark project, notably its crown jewel, "The Bazaar by Jose Andres," which serves as an indoor piazza for the property. Since this successful collaboration, Mr. Starck has served as the exclusive hotel interior designer for all SLS properties. He now brings his extraordinary global vision to Philadelphia for the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel.
"From London to Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, the name Philippe Starck is synonymous with design excellence," said Sam Nazarian, Chairman, Founder and CEO of sbe. "He is effortlessly chic and his focus on reimagining the art of living through design made Philippe the perfect partner for all of our SLS hotels but especially Philadelphia where the property upon which we will build is steeped in such history. I have seen firsthand how important interior design is to defining and redefining a property, infusing it with life and a persona. Knowing that this property has been so important to so many, there is no one I trust more than Philippe to deliver exactly this for the SLS LUX Philadelphia."
Today's announcement was made at a special event held in The Hamilton Garden at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which is directly across the street from the future site of the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLS International Residences and the former home of the legendary Philadelphia International Records. Founded by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Philadelphia International Records is defined by its creation of "The Sound of Philadelphia" (TSOP), which delivered an astounding 175 gold and platinum albums during its prime. With Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Kenny Gamble also offering remarks at the event, the legacy of Philadelphia International Records was honored and celebrated. Although its former physical home is being prepared for deconstruction to make way for the transformative SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLS International Residences, Mr. Dranoff, Mr. Nazarian and Mr. Starck, all spoke to how the history of Philadelphia International Records will be carried forward. Mr. Dranoff spoke to the project as setting a new "gold standard" of excellence on the Avenue of the Arts, just as TSOP had, while Mr. Nazarian reminded the audience that the name "SLS International" was chosen to the pay homage to what Gamble and Huff had created.
"To be entrusted to design the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel on the former site of Philadelphia International Records is an extraordinary privilege and opportunity, especially for my first project here," commented Mr. Starck. "The cultural richness of this city and its history provide unending inspiration and now knowing the history of this property, it is reminiscent of my work with EastWest studios in Hollywood. I am excited to continue my collaboration with Sam and SLS and I look forward to working with Mr. Dranoff and the incomparable Gene Kohn of Kohn Pederson Fox Associates in creating one of the great architectural and design properties in the United States, if not the world."
With SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLS International Residences, sbe and Dranoff Properties will offer guests the world-class amenities expected from both brands. The 90 condominiums at the SLS International Residences will set a new benchmark as these exquisitely designed condominiums will begin more than 200 feet high at Floor 20 and extend through Floor 47. Built with best-in-class design materials and finishes, every condominium will have open, airy floor plans with walls of windows, 10 foot ceilings, a full size balcony, and offer panoramic views of the city. Residents will share all of the best amenities with the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel, including a landscaped sundeck, a 75' indoor pool, state-of-the-art fitness and a sumptuous, full-service spa. Residents will also enjoy all of the benefits and services of a luxury hotel concierge, housekeeping, laundry, valet parking, 24 hour food service as well as meeting rooms and banquet facilities. They will also enjoy the celebrated SLS food and beverage facilities, which will be within an elevator ride of their residence.
Information for the SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLS International Residences can be viewed at http://www.sbe.com/slshotels/philadelphia. To learn more about sbe, visit sbe.com or download the company's mobile application here. For an overview of the entire Dranoff Properties portfolio, please visit DranoffProperties.com.
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sbe Introduce Philippe Starck as Exclusive Interior Designer of SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel
It is impressive to hear Steven Snider rattle off a list of all the things he can control from his iPhone: the ventilation in his garage, the music streaming to speakers in multiple rooms of his home, every light, the TV, the thermostat, even the Blu-Ray player in the guest house.
But Snider, who turned his century-old Newton home into a fully connected house during a major 2012 renovation, had no special knowledge before beginning the project.
Im not as tech savvy as it sounds, Snider, who was profiled in Boston Globe Magazine in 2013, said. This works just like any other iPhone app. You push a button and it brings you to the next menu, you select what you want to do and it brings you to the next menu, and youre done.
Sniders house runs the Control4 automated home system, which New England-based firm simpleHome installed and maintains. Both companies are championing a whole-house system, fully integrated with a homeowners smartphone or iPad, as a way to finally bring connected home technology into the mainstream.
Greg Premru
Connected, or smart, homes have been a long time coming. Bill Gatess mansion made news in 1997 for having a series of televisions that displayed artwork according to his guests preferences by communicating with a special pin each person wore.
The Internet of things, the network of physical objects injected with software and able to communicate with each other, has been adopted slowly by the general population.
In 2014, the Consumer Electronics Association found only 3 percent of homeowners had a smart thermostat, like the Nest. Of the people who didnt own one, 61 percent said they never expected to.
The most familiar products bringing the Internet of things into our homes ask homeowners to take a DIY approach to installation.
Ever installed a light fixture? Nests website asks. Then you shouldnt have any trouble with Nest. In fact, 99% of the people who installed Nest themselves would do it again.