Friday, March 7, 2014

A Variety of Outdoor Fire Pit Designs

When it comes to choosing an outdoor fire pit design that is well suited for your home or business, there are several options out there that can be explored. Below we will show off several varieties available here at Warming Trends.

Portable Fire Pits

This particular 12 sided, 42" diameter, finished with custom faux stone includes a manual light 30" burner system (120K BTU), plate, lava rocks, key valve and flex line. We have several varieties to choose from including square and rectangle.

Portable Hearths

These portable hearths are available in either octagon or square, with custom tile finishes available in 8 Colors, 8 granite tile options (or supply your own custom tile) and includes a MLS 24" system (60K BTU), glass or logs. Please check out the other variety of styles, granite and color options here.

Cast Limestone Hearth

This Cast Limestone Hearth is sure to be the centerpiece of your backyard entertainment space. Elegant and contemporary, this model is 42" square x 18" high and includes a 24" MLS Burner and aluminum pan, logs or glass, 1/2" flex line & key valve. Available in 5 color options, please see the other model here.

Here is a video showcasing the Cast Limestone Hearth with an option electronic ignition system (***not included in standard purchase***).

Parallax Tables

This Parallax Fire Table is about as sleek and contemporary as they come (unless you have a custom design you want built, and well get to that in a second). They include a MLS system with glass, 60" x 30" Rectangle and a 36" x 6" Aluminum Plate. Available in 5 colors, you can check out the other options here.

Ready to Finish Fire Pit Kits

These ready to finish fire pit kits are available in square, circle or octagon and come in a variety of sizes. The include a 7 piece Pine Log Set OR Cool Color Glass, Drop in Manual Light Burner in Pan, 5/8" 36" Flex Line with 1/2" Key Valve & 12" Key.

Our fire pit frames are manufactured right here on site. We cut the aluminum frames to your specs, weld the frame and then finish with fire-proof concrete fiber board. These frames are light weight yet durable, can be lifted by one person and then finished off with stone, concrete or faux stone. However you please.

Custom Fire Pits

Or, if you have a custom design that you have imagined, we can take care of that too. We specialize in custom fire pits and have a portfolio full of custom fire pit designs we have built for homeowners, business owners, contractors, builders and architects. We also have manufactured custom fire pit burners and pans for the same. If you can dream it up, we can build it. And the best part, is all of our products are built right here in the U.S.A.

So when you are in the market for a centerpiece for your backyard entertainment space, please dont hesitate to contact us online, or pick up the phone and call today! 1-877-556-5255.

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Feature Plant Heuchera Coral Bells A Perennial for all Seasons



Over the years as a gardener and designer I have become fascinated with the beauty and endurance of heuchera in the garden.  Known originally as a shade plant, newer cultivars of heuchera have proven to be more and more tolerant of a multitude of conditions.   Heuchera have made a significant rise in their appearance in gardens around the world, as newer varieties with dramatic striking foliage are cultivated.  Heuchera can be grown in hardiness zones 4-9 in sun to part shade in a variety of soils.   Heuchera come in a variety of colors ranging from green to chartreuse to yellow, red-pink and burgundy and serve as an excellent accent piece in the garden border, woodland or cottage garden.  

Heuchera Palace Purple Flower
My all time favorite for durability and color is the reliable Heuchera Palace Purple, a cultivar with large deep maple-shaped burgundy foliage that lasts from spring until fall and even into the winter months in zones 4-9.  Spikes of creamy-white flowers emerge in late summer that resemble babys breath.   If kept in part shade, the color of Heuchera Palace Purple will be deeper and more dramatic but when placed in full sun its color will range from burgundy to possibly an orange-bronze.  Palace Purple heuchera prefers a moist yet well drained loamy soil.

Heuchera Plum Pudding
The next variety worth mentioning is Heuchera Plum Pudding.  Plum Pudding is also tolerant in zones 4-9 and should be grown in indirect sun to part shade.  The color of this heuchera is a little more on the plum side as the name indicates.  I find from experience that Plum Pudding is less tolerant of full sun and does best grown in partly shady and moist conditions.  Its low mounding appearance and silvery-plum foliage also makes it an excellent addition in the shade garden. 

Heuchera Caramel
Heuchera Caramel  has become one of my new favorites in the garden and at its second year is climbing highly on my list.  Caramel is hardy in zones 4-8 and is more tolerant of sun than its predecessors.  Caramel will eventually spread to one to two feet in width and produces light pink flowers in June-July.  This cultivar prefers medium-moist rich soil and will grow in full sun from a northern or eastern exposure.  When in a southern or western exposure it is best to give this plant some afternoon shade. I have found this perennial to be highly successful in zone 7 and it adds a statement to the garden with its wonderful color.

Heuchera Solar Eclipse
A new heuchera that I just introduced into my gardens this year is Heuchera Solar Eclipse. Showing a burst of color in a shady spot, Solar Eclipse displays broadly scalloped leaves of red-brown bordered in lime green. Hardy in zones 4-9, Solar Eclipse is a vigorous clump-forming grower that also prefers moist rich but well drained soil in part to full shade. 


Heuchera villosa Citronelle

Another exciting variety of coral bells is Heuchera villosa Citronelle.  Citronelle is a hybrid stemming from Caramel  making it more durable in high heat and humidity.  Citronelle is a medium grower to twelve inches in height with neon yellow lobed foliage and produces white flowers in mid-late summer.  It is hardy to zones 4-9 and to -20 degrees Fahrenheit and prefers to be grown in a moist loamy soil with good drainage.  Citronelle will tolerate full sun in a northern or eastern exposure.   I have found that the leaves can scorch if in too much sun so if planting in a southern or western exposure give Citronelle partial shade.  It will perform beautifully and make a bold statement in the landscape with its bright lemon-lime colored foliage.
Heuchera Palace Purple with Grasses and Norway Spruce
Heuchera require minimal maintenance.  The foliage of heuchera starts to emerge in early spring and lasts throughout the entire summer and fall and even into winter making it a perennial for all seasons. Foliage will remain throughout the winter but plants should be mulched for winter protection. An early spring pruning to remove spent foliage will encourage new growth.  Heuchera form evergreen clumps of rounded, scalloped or fringed foliage that grow from 12 to 24 inches in diameter over time.  There are approximately 50 varieties to choose from with new cultivars being developed each year.  Heuchera also attract butterflies and are deer resistant, meaning that deer do not prefer this perennial.

Heuchera Solar Eclipse in Garden with Sedum backdrop
These are a few of the varieties that I have found to be most hardy in my zone 7 northeastern landscape. If there is a heuchera that you have found to be either reliable or not please do share.

I plan on testing as many varieties as I possibly can for this perennial is certainly a welcome addition to this designers garden.  


As always...Happy Gardening.

Author: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.


(Updated August 17,2012)



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landscape design

Basic Landscape Design Rules 
In the world regarding landscape design, a few basic but critical principles are widely-used in every productive attempt. Oneness throughout the whole yard or garden is very important. Its accomplished by the blend of varying colours and height, transitions among parts of the backyard, proportion towards the size of the actual yard, stability achieved simply by types of vegetation and design used, as well as the repetition of specific key elements during the entire yard. Actually, many of the very same principles utilized in art does apply to this exercise since landscaping is essentially outdoor fine art!
landscape design


Unity will be achieved from the consistency and also repetition of specific elements during your garden. For instance, repeated plant life, groups of crops, or various decorative factors lend a feeling of unity towards the landscape design. Plants which can be roughly exactly the same height, feel or retain the same colours could be regarded as a recurring element. Employing statues or another decorative aspects pulls a garden together in a very united concept. For instance, if you want frogs, you may opt to place a smaller pond using a waterfall someplace on your home. In this lake you may need to grow lily shields while integrating frog statues about the surrounding leaves.

As a beginner, the ability of simplicity is amongst the best aspects to learn! Commence with simple ideas, perhaps just a couple of colored crops with tiny decor. You can add more when you learn.

Another essential element in order to landscape design is harmony. Balance really comes in a couple of very different kinds. Symmetrical stability creates a yard that could simply be divided on the middle along with form one image. Either side shares comparable sizes, designs and colors inside a similar design. In contrast, irregular in shape balance will create a yard with similar finishes, colors, as well as plants and not in an quickly divided routine.

Color is surely an element that includes dimension as well as interest in your garden. Oddly enough, certain hues like vibrant reds, yellow or a melon can actually help to make an object look closer whilst cool colours, which include green veggies, blues as well as pastels, will make the thing seem out-of-the-way. So by just using shade, you can add degree to your room.

Avoiding sudden changes, whether or not in color, dimensions or any other component, is known as all-natural transition. An all-natural landscape design should include steady transitions among various factors. For instance, the gradual elevation difference has to be better choice rather than large plant life towering more than small plant life in the identical small place.

landscape design photos


Natural move leads to our own final essential element of percentage. A large sapling or figurine will not operate in a small yard, just as an individual small place or ornamental piece might look out of place in a very large back garden. If you have a sizable yard, yet prefer little plants, you are able to divide the garden area directly into smaller areas that are related by distinct themes.

Spending some time to plan expose landscape design is the starting of a entertaining outdoor expertise that your total family can engage in! By applying some elementary principles, get ready to enjoy your outside paradise everyday.

landscape design ideas
landscape design plans
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Do It Yourself Propane Installation Training

Hello there Friends of Warming Trends,

For all of you out there who love the outdoors, what better way to warm up these chilly spring evenings than by entertaining on your patio around a beautiful and warm, custom fire pit. Warming-Trends.com can supply you with any and all of your outdoor burning system needs.

Our Crossfire Burner system conserves propane and natural gas by consuming only half the fuel of a conventional fire ring system. And by mixing a perfect ratio of oxygen to gas, the Crossfire Burner system produces TWICE the flame. Twice the flame and half the fuel consumption, how about that? Now thats thinking green! You can learn more about our Crossfire Burner here.


And if you are a fan of conserving energy and utilizing propane to heat and cool YOUR home, check out this presentation on how propane can enhance the performance of your home while saving you money on fuel costs.

http://www.buildwithpropane.com/?page=homeperformance.
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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Testimonial from Yellowstone Park Hotel

We always love getting feedback from our customers here at Warming Trends. Below is a recent email we received from a very happy hotel owner we recently built a fire pit for:

"I had to write and tell you how impressed we are with your unit. Once we had the gas line installed installation was simple, everything fit perfectly and the results are amazing. We created the fire pit on an outdoor patio in front of our hotel just for guests to enjoy but your flame system with the huge dancing flames makes such an impression that people driving by see it like a sign of quality and stop to inquire about a room.

Our new fire pit really attracts guests that drive by our hotel in the evening. Its better than a sign out front for attracting late walk in reservations. Your revolutionary burner system makes giant dancing flames that draw guests every night like moths to the flames. Thanks for making such a great new product.

Since we have something unique and upscale from other properties they assume the rest of the hotel must also be upscale. It is better than a Vacancy sign. We absolutely love it. We cant wait until next year when we plan to install the auto system. Your design made it possible to test the concept late in the season at an economical budget and then expand the following year once we saw how effective it would be. Thank you for personally answering all our questions on the phone and for creating such a great web site to make our decision easy. We will recommend your system for the other hotels in our company considering a fire pit."

Don Hill - West Yellowstone Kelly Inn

If you are interested in learning more about our custom burners, fire pit kits, hearths and more, please visit us online or call today. 1-877-556-5255.

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Landscape Design Custom Paisley Fire Pit Design

Thank you to one of Warming Trends faithful clients, out of Chico, California, for sending in these great photos of their completed fire pit. We think this custom paisley fire pit design is outstanding. Paired with the grey slate and tile finished stone work, the blue fire glass looks fantastic with the 250K BTU Crossfire Burners dancing flame.


Cute dog by the way :)

We here at Warming Trends take great pride when our customers send in pictures of their completed fire pits and we love to share them on Facebook, Pinterest and Houzz as well as our website portfolio. So thank you to Larry and Jan for sending these in.


Still a cute dog by the way :)

If you are interested in more information about a custom fire pit kit or outdoor burner, please dont hesitate to visit us online or call today. 1-877-556-5255.

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front yard landscaping ideas

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas
Every residence will look excellent if the entry is effectively kept and also decorated. Thats the reason many homeowners specifically mothers get extra time to tend to their yard meticulously. They desire that everyone will likely be welcomed together with good environment before they will enter the residence. It provides relaxing sensation most especially for you to family members who will be stressed through work.
front yard landscaping ideas for small homes

An advanced novice concerning front yard landscaping, I am sure that you may have hesitation throughout pursuing the program. You are both confused or even a little bit frightened about the upcoming expenses. Youll want the sensibilities and braveness to carry out the blueprint without reducing your budget. An intelligent homeowner reaches have his / her dream front yard landscape without having to spend much. Your creativity of the individual plus his or her resourcefulness in making use of available resources will guarantee a fantastic work.

So that you can maximize your occasion creating your landscape, listed here are the basic suggestions you might think about.

o Employ a smaller yard

A smaller region simply means that youre going to only need to increase the plot using lesser charge and yet in conclusion is great. Theres no need to plant many grasses to disguise your entire grass. On the long haul, maintaining the well-groomed front yard using smaller location is much easier but you just have time to enhance the landscaping.

o Exchange the use of clover using grass.

Clovers are utilized in some cases as it requires lower frequency for you to mow in comparison with usual low herbage. Using it pertaining to front yard landscaping will enable you to slice your charge and minimize occasion spent actually your effort to be able to plant low herbage. If you are situated in an area susceptible to drought, making use of clover instead of low herbage is a good idea. An additional notable benefit for using clover is that you simply wont be frustrated by insects because pest hate clovers.

e Automatic Watering must be set up.

You must count on that of a front yard landscape, you will have to water the particular plants along with grasses. It does not take right way regarding caring for your grass. If you dont have plenty of time and sluggish to go back and also forth sprinkling the crops, installing a mechanical sprinkler system is an excellent option at the moment. Having youll let you preserve lots of money instead of to mention your time and effort. It is recommended that anyone hire a specialist for the installment to make sure things are set appropriately. It is the very best tip that you need to consider particularly if you want to conserve a well-kept front yard.

front yard landscaping ideas


As being a novice, you need to do some research prior to hitting the concluding decision of having a new front yard landscape. You can check publications and internet sites for it incorporate pictures and further info in case you want to have his or her lawns embellished.
front yard landscaping designs

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Faux Fire Pit Logs Rule over Natural Wood Logs

When it comes to selecting an custom outdoor fire pit, there are several factors involved when selecting logs to adorn your flame. You can go with natural wood, or you can go with faux fire pit log kits.



Natural wood creates ash, soot and embers that fly into the air posing a fire danger to you and your neighbors homes. You constantly have to clean and replace the logs, store them in a dry area where spiders and snakes like to make haven, and the smoke the burns off from the wood is bad for the environment. Finally, natural wood is hard to control and contain. You never really know when a natural wood fire pit is actually extinguished as the ash and embers can remain active for hours after you think you put the fire out.....this is dangerous.



Why not go with a natural gas or propane fire pit dressed with Steel Oak logs? There are several styles available and they can actually help radiate heat as they heat up. Custom steel logs are a great alternative to wood as the hollowed out logs are designed to look like real logs and as the heat up they radiate and disperse heat throughout the fire pit.



Another option are high heat concrete logs that have several styles. Designed to look like real wood, you can choose from Pine, Split Bark, Driftwood or Birch. You can mix and match them as well to create a variety of wood styles as well. These high heat concrete faux logs also radiate heat as they warm, but not as well as the custom Steel Oak logs. And the best part of these log alternatives is that there is no messy clean up, no flying embers, noxious smoke and they will last the lifetime of your fire pit so no replacement necessary.

Pine Log KitsSplit Bark Kits
Driftwood Log KitsBirch Log Kits

So how do you know how many logs you will require for your fire pit? Typically, a 7 piece kit will cover a 24" footprint, 9 piece kits cover a 30" footprint and a 14 piece kit will cover a 36" footprint. You can also throw some lava rock in there to help hide the pan in which the burning system sits. For any of your fire pit and faux log needs, feel free to contact us with any questions you have and well be happy to help. Happy fire pit hunting!
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Indigenous Beauties Bird attracting garden

My team and I are busy with the tidying of the garden of a beautiful old Durban home. It has a well established indigenous garden, with some exceptional plants.


Halleria lucida - Tree Fuschia

The Tree Fuschia is a great plant for attracting birds. Sunbirds in particular love the nectar that they get from the tubular flowers that sprout profusely from the Hallerias stem. Fruit loving birds also love the green berries that appear in Spring.
Its an excellent plant when youre looking for fast growth, and it grows to a height of anything from about 3m to about 15m. It will grow in full sun or semi-shade, but will look better in a slightly sheltered spot.
It has been used medicinally for skin and ear problems.


Carissa bispinosa

The Carissa, or amatungulu is a very useful plant. It has attractive white flowers, which appear in Summer, followed by bright red fruit, which are high in vitamin C. The fruit are used to make a delicious jam.
It grows in Sun or Semi-shade, and does quite well on windswept dunes. It is often grown as an impenetrable hedge, as it is covered in painfully sharp forked spines.
It is relatively fast-growing once established, but takes a while to get going. It will reach about 3m in height if left, but looks better when cut back into a dense shrub.


Schotia brachypetala

The Schotia is also known as the Weeping Boer-boon (Farmers Bean) . It has been given this name because of the huge amounts of nectar that drip from the beautiful bright-red flowers, and because its pods are shaped like beans. Because of the dripping nectar, its best not to plant it too close to paved areas, or near parked cars. Nectar-loving birds are frequent visitors to this tree. Its relatively fast growing, and reaches about 15-20m high and wide.

Some of the other well-established bird-attracting plants were Aloes, Cussonia, Indigofera, Polygala, and a Toad Tree. One plant I couldnt identify, which had an amazing sweet scent was this little shrub (1.5-2m high):



Any ideas as to what it is?
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Two Trump collections

Lexington Furniture launched the new Trump Home line with two full collections. Central Park is sleek and contemporary, with a hint of Deco. It features dark woods and leathers, offering

a lush but masculine appeal. Straight handles on wooden pieces are wrapped in black leather and tipped with touches of silver.

A signature piece is a bar with curved front corners that open to provide storage for wines, liquors and glasses, and a frosted glass central door that opens to more storage. In the Lexington showroom the bar was stocked with, what else, gold-colored bottles of Trump Vodka, introduced late last year.


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Granite Do It Yourself Fire Pit

This granite do it yourself fire pit comes standard with a 120K BTU manual light system, 30” aluminum plate, lava rock, 36” 1/2 “ flex line with 1/2” key valve and 12” key. 52" outside diameter, 30" inside diameter. As seen in below picture.

There are also options to upgrade to this contemporary look below by adding fire cubes and glass at an additional cost.

For more information on these fire pits, please contact us online or call today. 1-877-556-5255.

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Rushes

Juncus

* photos taken on Aug 25 2013 @ University of Maryland, College Park

* photos taken on Mar 7 2013 in Wheaton, MD


Juncus effusus ( Common Rush )
Reaches up to 3 x 3 feet, with deep green spiky, evergreen stems. This extremely widespread plant may be of great ornamental value in some areas yet invasive in others.
Hardy zones 5 to 9 in full sun to partial shade on moist soil.

* photos taken on Sep 14 2013 in Columbia, MD

* photos taken on Oct 14 2013 in Harford Co., MD

* excellent video found on Youtube


Big Twister
Coiled, twisted, rich-green stems reaching up to 2 feet in height.

Curly Wurly
Coiled, twisted, rich-green stems reaching up to 1 foot in height.

Unicorn
Robust and ornamental, reaching up to 1.5 x 1.5 feet with corkscrew twisted, deep green stems.
Hardy zones 4 to 9 in full sun to partial shade.
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