Wicker Outdoo Furniture Guide

If you are thinking of buying wicker outdoor furniture, then here are some pointers and tips. This will make it possible for you to buy and use wicker like a pro:

Natural wicker is not one of the stronger types of furniture. Therefore, natural wicker furniture is appropriate for adults that are less than 200 lbs each, and for families without overly rambunctious children. Except for these limitations, your natural wicker furniture will provide long service.

Wicker patio furniture is among the most beautiful and comfortable outdoor furniture available. There is something dramatic and romantic about it that makes wicker quite unique. It is a type of furniture that is in its own category.

Those concerned with these limitations may wish to consider vinyl or plastic wicker. The frames are usually tougher because they use metal, not rattan as with natural wicker furniture, and vinyl or plastic wicker looks remarkably like the real thing.

Here are some pointers:

1) Wicker is damaged by exposure to moisture and to excessive sunlight. Therefore, natural wicker outdoor furniture is best placed in a covered area. Good locations include a covered porch, patio, or deck, in a gazebo, or in a cabana.

2) Know how much space is available. Furniture should never be congested. Before buying patio furniture, first decide where you want the furniture to be positioned. From this you will be able to better estimate what size furniture will fit.

Be especially careful with larger pieces. If you want a dinning table with six chairs, make sure you have the room. The same is true with a chesterfield or sofa. It simply isnt fun to manoeuvre around a patio with too much furniture and not enough walking space.

3) Only buy wicker furniture that is factory-assembled. Because wicker is not easy to work with, it is wise to buy all wicker furniture fully pre-assembled. If you assemble the furniture yourself, take special care with the joints. Most problems with home assembly usually involve instability because of poor joint connections.

4) Dont forget to budget for covers for your new furniture. Wicker should be kept dry, so if wicker is placed in an uncovered area, it should be brought inside when it rains or completely covered. Covers for all sizes of patio furniture are easily available online.

5) Work out in your mind delivery and placement logistics. Thinking this through before delivery will save you time and trouble.

Wooden You Like to Know? A Primer to Wood Outdoor Furnishings

To many people, wood is the quintessential building material for furniture, both indoor and out. There's a wooden furniture form to suit every budget and dcor -- from rustic twig loveseats to classis cedar Adirondack chairs to sophisticated teak tables and benches.

In fact, the varieties of wood are dizzying. Which should you choose? How should you care for it? And is wood an environmentally-friendly choice for outdoor furniture?

Types of Wood

First, understand that hardwood is not necessarily hard and softwood is not always soft. The terms refer simply to the type of tree from which the wood is obtained: hardwood from broad-leafed trees, and softwood from needle-bearing trees.

All wood outdoor furniture may be cleaned with warm water and mild detergent.

Here are the most common types of wood used in the construction of outdoor furniture.

• Redwood is a durable hardwood, grown on the west coast of North America (the Coast redwood) and in China (the Dawn redwood.) Redwood is straight-grained with a reddish color, and has a high resistance to termites and rot. Treated properly, it can last more than 25 years.
  

The redwood harvested in North American is cut mainly from private lands that are zoned for timber use. Over 95% of these areas are previously harvested -- that is, they are not virgin, old-growth forests. The Coast redwood can grow to 130 feet in just 30 years.

• Teak is perhaps the most coveted of outdoor furniture woods and with good reason. It's a honey brown hardwood that is highly resistant to rot and decay and will last 50 years or longer, even if left outdoors year-round. Teak is now harvested primarily from plantations in Southeast Asia. Dwindling stocks and high consumer demand have combined to make the price of teak soar.
  

The high price of teak has made other tropical hardwoods, such as roble, shorea, jarrah and eucalyptus popular. All of these woods are dense, durable, and stand up well to weather.

• Shorea, grown in Indonesia and Malaysia, is stronger and heavier than teak but because of the large quantity available, is usually priced lower. Both jarrah wood and shorea will last up for up to 50 years.
  
• Roble is a golden, relatively lightweight hardwood harvested mainly from dry tropical forests in South America. It will last up to 25 years.
  
• Tropical eucalyptus is a native of Australia and is prized for its resistance to rot and handsome look. It also will last decades.
  

FIVE Steps To A Better Lawn And Garden

If you're lucky enough to have a lawn with a good topsoil base, much of the hard work of keeping a lawn beautiful is already done for you. But many of us do not have this luxury, and besides, even with a good topsoil base, you still have to work hard to keep a beautiful lawn and garden.
1. The best time to mow a lawn is when it is cool and dry. Wait for the morning dew to dry off, and before the afternoon heat takes hold. Alternatively, late afternoon or early evening following a watering in the morning is also a good time.
2. A hedge is a much better boundary divider than a fence. It will provide better privacy and keep pets and children in - or out. It will attract birds to its shelter, and provide a great backdrop for plants and flowers.
3. Bring the beauty of your garden to you; plant hyacinths near walkways and doors. Their magnificent perfume will swamp the spring air and make your garden really come alive.
4. Add your garden to non-garden items, such a lampposts and mail boxes. Surround these items with flowers planted to take advantage of the earliest to the latest flowerings. You could have white snowdrops, purple and gold crocus, blue hyacinths, and various colored tulips. You could also surround the posts with rocks to provide added interest.
5. Simple, but effective weed control can be achieved on your lawn by mowing often during spring. This will prevent dandelions spreading by eliminating the yellow blossoms and preventing seed formation. Mow high during late spring and early summer. This will allow grass blades to shade the ground, and will help prevent crabgrass from sprouting.
Your lawn and garden should be a source of pride and beauty. You don't need to spend lots of money on expensive fertilizers and herbicides, or fancy lawn furniture and ornaments. A little commonsense and thought can go a long way to making your lawn and garden a much better place.

About The Author

George Chapman is the author of several commonsense approach gardening books filled with his lifetimes experience of lawn and garden management. His website on the lawn and garden provides many useful tips: http://www.LawnAndGardenReferrals.com.

The Art Of TEAK

Teak is a close grained hardwood with high natural oil and rubber content. It is one of the hardest, strongest and most durable of all timbers, highly resistant to any rotting and almost impervious to the effects of hot sun, rain, frost or snow. These characteristics combine to make it the ideal timber for all outdoor applications. It has been the number one choice of boat builders for centuries.

Many other hardwoods are used for outdoor furniture and in fact a lot are even marked as "teak substitutes". There is no substitute for teak and no other hardwood in the world will perform to the same high quality standards as teak in outdoor conditions. Teak is simply the best hardwood in the world for outdoor furniture.

Our teak wood:
TEAK GARDEN INDONESIA uses teak (tectona grandis) hardwood for exterior furniture applications. Teak is a dense and durable hardwood suitable for outdoor applications where resistance to the elements is required. Teak has qualities unlike any other wood and is dense, rich in oil, almost impervious to splitting, buckling, and rot making it termite proof. Teak has been prized for centuries as one of the worlds most durable and stable woods for outdoor use. Traditionally used on boats and in outdoor furniture, teak has also been widely used for flooring/decking as well because of its superior ability to withstand the elements. When amortized over the years, taking into consideration its quality and longevity, teak wood is one of the better investments around. Teak should be used wherever the distinguished look of one of the world's most prized woods is desired. Maintained properly, a quality piece of teak furniture will last for many generations.

Javanese teak:
We use Javanese teak in the manufacturing of our furniture. The very first plantations on the island of Java were planted long ago by the Dutch, who were the colonial power at the time, in the mid 1800s making them some of the oldest teak farms in the world. These plantations are now owned by the Indonesian government agency Perum Perhutani, which is responsible for the control of these teak farms allowing the felling of a limited number of trees each year and the reforestation of these farms.