As the Garden Grows

What's blooming today?


You are here: Home / Archives for Tricia

Update the look of a room with custom window treatments and designer fabrics

by

It’s spring and I’ll bet good money that a few of you have thought about updating the look of one of the rooms in your home. I think many of us begin to think about re-decorating when spring rolls around. Perhaps it’s the fresh air and that sense of renewal that spring brings that makes us think of giving our homes a new look?

It would be nice to hire a decorator every time we get the urge to redecorate a room, but few of us can afford one, especially these days with the economy, high gas prices and other expenses! I think it’s best to do what you can yourself and purchase decor items at wholesale prices whenever possible in order to save as much money as possible. Plus when you come up with your own decorating ideas and then redo a room you get quite the sense of satisfaction when your project is finished, don’t you?

When you are decorating a room consider fabric as a decor item. Certainly updating your curtains or adding decorative pillows can change the whole look and feel of a room.

If you are about to start redecorating a room or are thinking about your next project and want to get some ideas visit FabricWorkroom.com. They have a huge selection of luxury bedding, designer fabrics, decorative pillows, shower curtains, Window Treatments, upholstered headboards and more to choose from at reasonable prices. In fact you can save 25% to 35% just by shopping at their online store.

I spent some time looking at the wide variety of custom window treatments offered at FabricWorkroom.com and I was impressed. You can view classic, semi and full custom styles for drapes, curtains, valances, shades, swags and other types of window treatments.

Just browse through the selection and once you’ve found a window treatment style that you like you can then move on to selecting the type of fabric that you’d like to use. Fabric choices range from silk, linen, cotton, faux silk, satin and many more. In fact there are thousands of fabrics and fabric designs to choose from at FabricWorkroom.com.

So if you are redecorating don’t forget about fabrics! Visit Fabricworkroom.com for ideas and to save money! They also have free shipping on most items!






Pet Alert – Cocoa bean mulch can be toxic to dogs

by

I use mulch in my garden beds, as I’m sure many of my fellow garden readers do as well.

I use shredded cedar and sometimes small cedar chips. It sure works well on the garden and looks nice too, but I suppose from a pet point of view that mulch isn’t the best bet. Plus the mulch I use is colored red and I have no idea if the dye is toxic or not, but I do know that coniferous woods like cedar are toxic to most animals.

My puppy is slowly learning to stay away from the garden, but when she was younger she was attracted to the cedar mulch and I found myself constantly pulling pieces of it out of her mouth (as soon as she grabbed it of course). She’s a Labrador Retriever – a breed that’s notorious for eating just about anything they can get in their mouth. They also have one of the highest rates of bowel obstructions (and surgeries due to said bowel obstructions) because of all the indigestible stuff they eat. That’s why I’ve been worried about my dog and my garden ever since I got her. Not to mention the toxic plants that I grow as well!

Cocoa bean mulch has become quite popular in recent years. It looks nice in garden beds, breaks down like other natural mulches and I believe it smells nice too.

If you happen to use Cocoa Bean Mulch in your garden and own a dog you might want to read the report that i just received in my ASPCA newsletter. Here’s an excerpt:

If your dog likes to spend his summer grazing in your garden, his treat-seeking nose may lead him to one danger in particular: the sweet-smelling, but potentially harmful cocoa bean mulch. Made of cocoa bean shells and considered desirable for its eventual degradation into organic fertilizer, this gardener’s choice can be toxic to canines if eaten in large quantities—and some dogs have been known to eat amazing amounts!

In 2007, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) handled 26 cases of cocoa bean mulch ingestion—a third originating in California. “Dogs are attracted to the fertilizer’s sweet smell,” says Dr. Steven Hansen, ASPCA Veterinary Toxicologist and APCC Director, “but like chocolate, cocoa bean mulch can be too much for our canine companions.”

Ingestion of large amounts of cocoa bean mulch, which contains residual amounts of theobromine—a methylxanthine found in chocolate and known to be toxic to dogs—may cause a variety of clinical signs. These typically start with vomiting, diarrhea and elevated heart rate, and if large amounts are consumed, they may progress to hyperactivity, muscle tremors and possibly other more serious neurological signs.

Treatment includes administering medical-grade activated charcoal, bringing tremors under control, cardiac monitoring and preventing further exposure.

“One key point to remember is that some dogs, particularly those with indiscriminate eating habits, can be attracted to any organic matter,” says Dana Farbman, APCC Senior Manager, Professional Communications. “Therefore, if you have a dog with such eating habits, it’s important that you don’t leave him unsupervised or allow him into areas where such materials are being used.”

By now most of you have probably already added mulch to your garden, that is, if you regularly do add mulch. If you used cocoa bean mulch be sure to keep your dog away from your garden beds!

Meta