A house is not a Home without a Gnome

Written by Hugh Harris-Evans


When confronted by a garden gnomerepparttar common reaction is to hold up your hands in horror and utter an expression of disgust while wondering how anyone can bear to allow such a creature to remain in their backyard. Onrepparttar 113438 other hand we are told on good authority thatrepparttar 113439 gnome population of Southern Germany is close on four million and, when you start looking, there are quite a number visible inrepparttar 113440 US.

Perhaps we should not be surprised byrepparttar 113441 Germans since gnomes were first created in their country inrepparttar 113442 early 1800's. The earliest recorded sighting in England was in 1840 at Lamport Hall,repparttar 113443 seat of Sir Charles Isham. It was not until 1872 that gnomes forrepparttar 113444 garden began to be manufactured in large numbers. According to German folklore gnomes were regarded as good luck charms. They were supposed to help aroundrepparttar 113445 house and garden and in rural areas often lived inrepparttar 113446 rafters of barns where they would keep a watchful eye onrepparttar 113447 owner's animals as well asrepparttar 113448 crops and garden produce.

Overrepparttar 113449 yearsrepparttar 113450 German gnome makers honed their skills and became master craftsmen. At its peakrepparttar 113451 Griebel gnome factory in East Germany produced some 300 different gnome characters. Followingrepparttar 113452 collapse of communism in 1989 entrepreneurs inrepparttar 113453 Czech Republic decided to enterrepparttar 113454 market and to produce cheap imitations ofrepparttar 113455 traditional characters. Initially they were prevented from entering Germany by a law which allowed customs to confiscate those gnomes infringing companies' copyright. However, now it is a free for all onrepparttar 113456 German border and Reinhard Griebel,repparttar 113457 great grandson ofrepparttar 113458 founder ofrepparttar 113459 firm, has just one workshop andrepparttar 113460 gnome museum.

Whilstrepparttar 113461 original gnomes were depicted as gardeners engaged inrepparttar 113462 traditional rural tasks,repparttar 113463 range was increased to include anyone from fishermen to musicians, sportsmen and farmers. It was not long before living individuals were being modelled in clay or stoneware. Among those currently available are gladiator Russell Crowe, TV gardeners Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock and even a Tony Blair wall plaque.

For gnome lovers no trip to Europe would be complete without a visit torepparttar 113464 Gnome Reserve set inrepparttar 113465 wilds of northern Devon in England. There you will find over one thousand gnomes and pixies inrepparttar 113466 four acre reserve. Gnome hats are loaned free of charge together with fishing rods, so you don't embarrassrepparttar 113467 gnomes!

MOSQUITO FARMS? IS THAT WHAT WATER GARDENS ARE?

Written by Scottie Johnson


What is nicer that a lovely backyard garden pond. The lush growth rising aboverepparttar water, graceful fish darting about andrepparttar 113437 soothing sound ofrepparttar 113438 water. These are just a few ofrepparttar 113439 reasons people are drawn to water gardens.

But when you think about adding a water feature to your garden, you are torn, because you know that a charming pond can also be a mosquito hatchery. And, everyone is concerned; rightly, about mosquitoes andrepparttar 113440 diseases they spread.

It is true, mosquitoes do need water to breed, but atrepparttar 113441 same time, there are so many effective ways to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in ponds, you should not let that stop you. Water gardeners are in a unique position; they can have wet spaces that can actually help stop mosquitoes from breeding.

Just a few simple precautions are all you need to feel safe and enjoy such a wonderful addition torepparttar 113442 landscape.

If you have a water garden, or want one, try these suggestions.

ØHave moving water in your water garden. Mosquitoes will not lay eggs in running water. The newly hatched mosquito must rest onrepparttar 113443 water’s surface for a few minutes to let its wings dry. Ifrepparttar 113444 water is moving,repparttar 113445 female mosquito will not lay eggs there.

ØGet some mosquito fish for your pond. Mosquito fish, or gambusia affinis, are very aggressive predators of mosquito larvae. They are also aggressive to other fish and will also eat dragonfly larvae, or nymphs. If mosquito fish are too predatory for your particular tastes, several other types of fish readily consume mosquito larvae, such as guppies, killifish, and small goldfish. Koi are too large and will not targetrepparttar 113446 larvae.

ØAdd Bti to your pond. Bti is a naturally occurring type of bacillus that is eaten byrepparttar 113447 mosquito larvae, and rapidly kills them. It is not harmful to fish, pets, wildlife or humans. It is sold under such names as Mosquito Dunks, or Mosquito Bits.

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