An Short Guide to Herbs in Your Garden
An Short Guide to Herbs in Your Garden A lot of gardeners find that they are pulled to learning more about herbs as they are painless to grow and fun to use in cooking. These plants are easy to grow and have the appeal of instant gratification, as they can be used in soups, marinades, and other recipes.
Modern Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. Inhabitants of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains had to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains usually depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. Fountains played a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Modern fountains are used to adorn public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.