Category: Gardening

How to choose a garden marquees

April 23, 2015 Gardening

There’s nothing quite like a marquee when it comes to creating a celebratory, fun atmosphere in a beautiful outdoor setting. These heavy duty tents come in a variety of sizes and designs, and can be used for events such as weddings, children’s parties or for as a simple social gathering place for friends and family.

Marquees don’t have to be expensive and if you’re looking for a low-cost canopy or gazebo option you have a number of choices depending on your budget.

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Image by David Higgs, shared under a Creative Commons Licence

The many uses for a marquee

This type of venue option is perfect for those sunny, spring, summer and autumn months, and there’s something just that little bit more festive about an outdoors party.

Garden marquees aren’t just for parties and weddings, there are plenty of other events that can take place inside a canopy, including family parties and picnics or they can be used as additional spaces on camping vacations or simply to provide shelter around a patio area. These canopies come in all different sizes to suit your needs and can be conveniently folded down and stored away if you’re not looking for a permanent garden structure.

Choose your design

A marquee is a lot more than just a simple ‘tent in the garden’ and today’s designs can come with clear plastic windows, durable frames and can be fully sheltered or semi-enclosed.

Pop-up designs are very popular as they take little effort to erect and larger tents do come with added water protection and floor coverings. You can also find gazebos with canvas walls that can be pushed aside to give an open-curtain effect and this is great for those hot days. A range of colors is available including the popular white for weddings as well as green, purple, natural sand and black.

Budget, standard and luxury

The type of structure will make a difference to the price – for instance a simple freestanding garden canopy is great for providing some shelter over your patio furniture and this is a very inexpensive option.

Luxury marquees for larger events and parties can hold over 100 people and these do come with windows, heavy-waterproof canopies and powder-coated frames, and the quality will be reflected in the price. The amount you pay will depend on the size you require (standing capacities usually start at around 18 people and progress upwards) but the smaller party tents are very inexpensive and a gazebo will cost even less.

Garden centers and auction websites are good places to search and compare marquees and you’ll find that prices aren’t hugely expensive; there’s also the option to purchase a second-hand unit if you wish. If the event is to be a one-off then you can always considering hiring for the day or weekend and this can be a financially cost-effective option to suit your budget.

Apply to Test & Review NEW Nuby Garden Fresh Mash n’ Feed Set

February 16, 2015 Gardening, Product Testing

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Do you have a baby between the ages of 4-12 months? Do you regularly make homemade baby food?

Go Apply to Test Out & Nuby Garden Fresh Mash n’ Feed Set

If you are selected to participate you will receive an email from a Nuby Team Member in the upcoming days. Participants will be required to try the Garden Fresh Mash n Feed with their child and post a short review of the product on Babies R Us. All Steam n Mash will be shipped to all participants from Nuby.

Feed Your Plants Right with Whitney Farms® Organic Plant Food

April 20, 2012 Gardening

This post brought to you by Whitney Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to garden as it provides me with fresh air, exercise, and of course fresh fruits and vegetalbes to feed my family. I also strive to keep it organic as I don’t want unwanted chemicals and pesticides on my food. I was excited when I learned about Whitney Farms® as it is organic plant food to help boost my garden’s ability to produce more food, and also will help to keep my plants healthier. As you can see my garden is looking very lush and the vegetables are coming in quite nicely.

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Whitney Farms® has 25+ years of gardening experience and has improved their products to have low to no dust which is great as nothing is worse than pouring out food that will blow in your face. No manure smell and is easy to apply. It contains beneficial microbes which will help to make your soil easy to work and accepts water easier. I love using organic soil in my garden to make it the very best I can which makes the plants produce the very best vegetables and fruits for me.

I know how expensive it is buying plant food so Whitney Farms has a $3 off coupon to help save money! What will you grow with Whitney Farms organic plant food?

Spring is in the Air

January 25, 2012 Gardening

I realize many people reading this post title are thinking I have lost my mind! They are looking out their windows to see snow covering the ground. There isn’t a hint of spring to be seen.

Here in the deep south, we are seeing a much different sight with spring already here. We did not have much of a winter this year. It was pretty mild, and this is the warmest January I can remember in years. January is normally one of the coldest months of the whole year in South Louisiana, but not this year. We are getting a day or two of cold weather, but then it warms back up to the 70’s and flirting with the 80’s! I have even had to run my air conditioner a few times already this month. That is really crazy!

The biggest sign of spring are the clover patches in my grass, and many trees are already blooming along with my azalea bushes. The picture above are blooms from one of my azalea bushes. They are so pretty. I usually do not see this sight until mid to late February. My husband actually had to cut the grass earlier this month. Again our grass is usually dead and no clover in the yard.

All of this spring weather has gotten to me thinking about my spring garden. If you want to grow your own transplants of tomatoes or bell peppers, then in Zone 9 you would have started earlier this month. I decided to skip growing tomatoes as we do not really eat them. I simply do not have the time to make sauces. I am growing bell peppers, but I have my fil giving me some next month as I only need a few plants. I usually chop them up to freeze. The main plant I want to grow this year is cucumbers. I eat at least 2-3 weekly in my salads, but I want to make Refrigerator Sweet Pickle Chips again this year. It was a huge hit with everyone. I will also get some blackberry shoots from my fil as I love fresh berries. One year I plan to tackle growing strawberries. I think I will also grow some red potatoes as well. Nothing like harvesting fresh vegetables and fruits.

Are you seeing signs of spring in your area, or does old man winter look like he is staying? Are you planning your spring garden yet? If you are, then please share with me what you are growing. I love reading about what others are doing in different parts of the country and world.