selection – Page 11

I’ve taken some time to have a really good look at this website and my overall opinion of the site is that it’s a great place to get some quality gifts in a wide range of prices from under $15 and up.Speaking of prices and selection, you can browse through the site in several different ways – by price, by occasion, by category, by recipient, and even by upcoming holiday. I’ll give them an A+ for that feature because I love visiting sites that you can do a number of things in a number of different ways, preferably all easy and straightforward.

One section that I really like is the Cheap gifts section. You can find items in that category that are listed as being under $10, $10 to $20 and so on right up to items listed at $100 and up.

Since Fathers Day is the next major special occasion that’s coming up in the near future, those of you who are looking for gifts might want to have a look at the Gift ideas for men category. Once you visit this category page you’ll find male oriented gift baskets, personalized gifts such as a stainless steel Army knife that can be engraved, a Pilsner glass, or a flask among many other items that can be personalized. There are also MP4 players, Picture frames, BBQ and grilling type gifts and a whole lot more gift ideas that would be perfect for a man.

I like that the menu, on the left side of the page has pop out sub categories. You can get to the area that you want to visit very easily in that manner, or you can just simply see what’s in each section by hovering over it with your mouse.

There is nothing in particular that I don’t like about this site. The prices are more than reasonable and the quality of the gift items is outstanding. When looking through the site I found that if you take a look at the gifts by recipient section you can even find gifts for pets and military personnel. I don’t believe that there are many designer gift sites out there that also cater to pets and the military.

One of the sections that I got caught browsing in for some time was the Picture Frames section. Yes, picture frames tend to be a standard gift for all occasions aren’t they? The are of the picture frame category that most interested me was the Digital picture frames area. I don’t have one of these yet, but after checking out a few different brands and styles I really really want one.

With some online stores my complaints tend to fall into the area of purchasing and shipping. I can’t find a fault in this area either. Designer Gifts accepts all major credit cards and even mail order purchases. They also ship to Canada, they do not however ship outside of the USA, US Territories and Canada. I’m personally pleased that they ship to Canada because I often find items online that I’d like to buy but can’t because the stores don’t ship to Canada. This can be really disappointing once you’ve taken the time to find an item and perhaps even started the purchasing process. So Kudo’s to Designer gifts for shipping throughout most of North America. Now if they’ll start doing international deliveries I’m sure many of you reading this would be quite happy.

If you do decide to purchase anything from Designer Gifts you might be happy to know that shipping is free if your purchase total is over $75. Since shipping can really add to the cost of purchasing an item online I think it’s great that they offer free shipping on some purchases.

Do check out this online store. I think you’ll be pleased with both the selection and prices.

If you have a small area of lawn like I do, or if you are tired of cutting the grass once or twice every week have you ever thought of putting in ground cover instead? You could carpet the ground entirely with low growing, easy care plants, known, naturally enough as ground covers.

You can use annuals as temporary ground cover – nasturtiums are excellent – but the best ground covers are spreading evergreen perennials or dense, low growing shrubs. Flowers are a feature of many, but far more important is the ability to make a carpet dense enough to smother weeds without growing too tall – ankle height is about right.

A good ground cover needs to be presentable all year; to need little in the way of trimming or spraying; and to be easy to propagate to cut down on cost. It is possible to weave patterns with several species, but the stronger will tend to crowd out the weaker, and simplicity usually looks better anyway. Ground covers cannot be walked on.

Prepare your ground cover bed as thoroughly as for any other plant, plant at the appropriate season, and mulch at once. The last thing you want is weeds getting in between the young plants. If you like, you can plant some low growing annuals between your permanent plants – and they will remind you to water and fertilize. Ground covers may be low, low maintenance when they are established, but when young they need care.

Here are some ground covers for both sun and shade:

Plant Name	Height (in)	Remarks
Table 1: Ground cover plants for full sun.
Achillea tomentosa Woolly yarrow	2-4	Grayish foliage in low mats.
Antennaria spp. Pussytoes	1-2	Persistent gray-green foliage in dense mats; excellent for rocky slopes.
Artemisia spp. Sage	10-15	Silvery foliage; A. schmidtiana (silver mound sage) most common.
Atriplex corrugata Mat saltbush	4-6	Evergreen; foliage greenish-white; for salty soils.
Centaurea montana (perennial bachelor button) Mountain bluet	15-18	Grayish foliage; blue flowers.
Cerastium tomentosum Snow-in-summer	6	Gray foliage; white flowers; very aggressive.
Cytisus decumbens Creeping broom	4-8	Green stems with tiny leaves; yellow, pea-like flowers in May.
Delosperma nubigenum Yellow ice plant	1-2	Succulent, light-green foliage; yellow flowers.
Duchesnea indica Mock strawberry	4-6	Aggressive creeper; looks much like strawberry; yellow flowers; inedible, red fruit.
Eriogonum umbellatum Sulphur flower	3-6	Showy flower stalk to 8 inches tall; foliage in low mat.
Euphorbia epithymoides (polychroma) Cushion spurge	12-18	Mounds of foliage that change from reddish to green in spring, then scarlet in fall.
Euphorbia marginata Snow-on-the-mountain	4-8	Green and white foliage; very aggressive.
Festuca ovina glauca Blue fescue	6-8	Tufts of grayish, grassy foliage.
Juniperus horizontalis Creeping juniper Some common clones include: ‘Bar Harbor’ ‘Blue Chip’ ‘Hughes’ ‘Webberi’ ‘Wiltoni’ (‘Blue Rug’)	10 10 10 4 4	Perhaps the best year-round cover; many clones and foliage hues available. Blue-green; purplish winter color. Bluish foliage year-round. Silvery-blue; distinct radial branching. Very low mat; fine texture. Very low; silver-blue; purplish tinge in winter.
Penstemon pinifolius Pineleaf penstemon	6-10	Has needle-like leaves and orange-red flowers; takes heat well.
Phlox subulata Moss pink or creeping phlox	6-8	Reddish, white or lavender flowers; moss-like foliage.
Polygonum affine Himalayan border jewel	12-18	Red, showy flowers late in season; excellent ground cover for dry areas.
Potentilla verna Creeping potentilla	1/2-1	Very low mat with yellow, showy flowers; aggressive.
Ranunculus repens Creeping buttercup	1-2	Yellow, showy flowers on creeping runners up to 2 feet long.
Santolina chamaecyparissus Lavender-cotton	10-12	Blue-gray, persistent foliage in dense mats.
Sedum spp. Stonecrop (sedum)	1-15	Many forms available; not usually competitive with weeds.
Sempervivum spp. Houseleek, hen and chicks	2-4	Forms dense, evergreen mats; grows in very poor soils.
Thymus serpyllum Mother-of-thyme	3-6	Low, mat-forming herb with tiny leaves; purple flowers; related species, woolly thyme, has gray-green foliage.
Veronica prostrata Prostrate speedwell	1-2	Dark green foliage; deep blue flowers in short spikes.

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Plant Name	Height (in)	Remarks
Table 2: Ground cover plants for shade.
Aegopodium podagraria ‘variegatum’ Bishop’s weed	10-12	Variegated, green and white foliage; aggressive.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Kinnikinnick	4-6	Evergreen; red, edible berries; use beneath established evergreens in acid soils.
Campanula carpatica Carpathian harebell	6-14	Can be aggressive; blue or white flowers.
Convallaria majalis Lily-of-the-valley	6-10	Fragrant, white flowers in May-June; inedible, red berries; aggressive.
Galium odorata Sweet woodruff	6-8	Very aggressive; one of the best covers under shrubs; white, fragrant flowers in May-June.
Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’ Hall’s Japanese honeysuckle	6-12	Will also grow in full sun, but forms denser mats in shade.
Mahonia repens Creeping Oregon grape	6-12	Evergreen; yellow flowers in spring; holly-like foliage.
Penstemon caespitosus Creeping or mat penstemon	1-2	Very prostrate mat of tiny narrow leaves; flowers in May-June; purplish.
P. strictus Rocky Mountain penstemon	1-2	Blue flowers in June-July.
Vinca minor Periwinkle	4-6	Semievergreen; white or purple flowers in spring.

I hope that this article helps you decide on the correct ground cover for your garden if you choose to cover an area with these practical plants.

Designer Gifts has quality gifts for every budget and occasion

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