A ripe persimmon is a thing of beauty � sweet, succulent and an amazing shade of orange-red. Orange and red continue to be popular colors in decorating this year but 2004�s shades are softer and more vibrant, like ripe persimmons and pomegranates.
Use accent pieces of dark wood or brass. Pile a brass tray high with exotic fruit such as persimmons, tangerines and glossy pomegranates.Houseplants and flower help bring the garden indoor and add a human touch to your decorative scheme. The delicate structure of leaves and flowers also helps to soften hard outlines of modern furniture. With care, and frequent dead heading, they will last a lot longer than cut flowers, as long as they get sufficient sunlight at some time during the day. Choose plants with a variety of shapes and colors and try to include some trailing plants to break up horizontal lines.Houseplants bring a fresh, lively look to a bathroom and ferns, ivies, bromeliads and epiphytes thrive in low light levels. Maidenhair ferns are delicate and are unsuitable for draughty windows. You can also buy plastic hanging baskets with drip trays attached. Cacti and succulents need plenty of direct sunlight; ferns and palms survive in the shade. To avoid drips, stand plants in saucers or on shallow, gravet-filled plastic trays and keep permanently moist.Initially, you will need to purchase enough container soil to fill all your planters and urns, but you may cheat a little the next year and just replace half the soil from the previous year and top-up for the next year. This may be false economy and it is very good practice to replace all the soil every year and then you know that you have the best conditions for your new plants. Just add the spent soil to the compost pile or the �old� soil to pot up those plant sale donations.Your very large planters and pots may be cumbersome to move around, so consider setting them in position before filling them with your potting mix. Even with the lighter pots, it is often easier to fill them where they will eventually reside. Just move around with your container mix and plants and fill up your planters with those flats of beautiful new flowers, herbs and perennials.If you�d rather not have curtains, consider using the same fabric as a tent over a table or a chaise. Some nettings come with a center hanging unit, or you can easily make one of a 2� square piece of plywood and some rope.If you are considering Cacti and Succulents for your planters and containers this year, they certainly use less water; this is a soil mixture that may be considered. Start with five parts perlite, 4 parts bagged potting soil, 1 part coarse sand and a pinch of rock dust. Once your plants are in, just top dress with small rive rock, gravel, aquarium stone or a fine grade of gravel to keep the crowns of the plants from rotting. To increase the acidity (succulents thrive in acid soil), add a tablespoon of white vinegar to 5 gallons of water when watering.Moroccan-style lanterns usually have some sort of filigree work, whether wicker, metal or some other material. They are often pointed at both ends, necessitating hanging. Most often, they will enclose a flame, either of candles or small oil torches. You can also use white or ivory pillar candles instead of, or in addition to, hanging lanterns.Intricate latticework is another element often seen in Morocco. You can emulate the look by edging pieces of plain lattice (the closer the weave, the better) with old carved porch posts. Paint roughly with turquoise or azure and then further distress the finish with sandpaper. Alternatively, you can install a carved wooden room screen.For greenery, use succulents such as banana trees and mother-in-law�s tongue, and tropicals like palms and ficus. You can also add more color to your space with lush pots of bright geraniums. Use the rich color and sensual textures of Morocco in your outdoor space and this summer you�ll be escaping to the casbah!
Author: Debbie Rodgers
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