This year, cocktail gardens have popped up as a new and hip gardening theme taking over gardens everywhere. Enjoying a nice cold cocktail after a long hard day at work, or during weekends with friends, has become something a lot of us have come accustomed to, especially during the hot summer months. Now that summer is winding down, yet still staying a little warm for us to enjoy time outside after work, we decided that a little knowledge about building your own cocktail garden could be helpful for the upcoming year.

What is great about cultivating your own cocktail garden is that you can start indoors now that the weather is getting a little chillier. Container gardening has become a lot more popular this year, and has gained an immense amount of attention, where people everywhere are noticing that although you may not have a piece of land suitable enough for gardening, you can always set up a planter or 2 indoors or out, to satisfy your gardening needs. We know this to be true from experience. This past summer, some of us at Algreen decided to start planting some tomatoes and herbs in our new Valencia planters. We were all so happy and surprised to see how successful this venture was, as we began being able to make fresh tomato basil salads every afternoon at the cottage. Not only did the tomatoes and herbs taste amazing, but there is something super exciting and rewarding about harvesting your own produce for eating, enjoying, and sharing with friends and family.
 
Our Modena windowsill herb garden is absolutely perfect for your cocktail garden throughout the cooler months and is especially helpful as it comes with a self watering element to allow you to leave your plants without care for an extended of time without watering! Depending on which herbs you have, place them by a window with enough sun, and ensure you water them as much as they need to be. Because each plant requires different things, like more sun, or less water, it’s helpful to do research on each herb or plant you plan to have in your cocktail gardens to ensure you don’t over water them or dry them out.
 
Some perfect herbs to have for some essential drinks during cocktail hour are herbs like mint, basil, rosemary, cilantro, dill, and one of my favorites, lemon verbena.  You can make some of the most common and well known cocktails like Mojitos with mint or basil and Limonana (frozen mint lemonade)! Both of these are extremely easy to make, and absolutely delicious!
 
Below are a few of our favorite summer time cocktails using herbs from our herb garden!
 
Hope you enjoy :)
 
 
Limonana – Frozen Mint Lemonade
Blend & Serve!

• 1/2 cup sugar (or more to taste)
  
• 1 3/4 cups water (divided)
  
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
  
• 3 1/2 cups ice
  
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
  
• 6 mint sprigs for garnish (optional)
  

Mojito - Blueberry Thai Basil
Combine, Shake & Serve!

• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Thai Basil Leaves
• 1 Tbsp. Agave
• 2 oz. Light Rum
• ¼ C. Fresh Blueberries
• 2 tsp. Lime Juice
• 6 oz. Sparkling Water
• Ice
• Optional: Extra Basil for Garnish
  

Algreen's Cascata Rain Barrel received the BEST BUY award this past month and scored highest on flexibility, durability, and practicality by one of our top retailers in the UK.

Unique Characteristics to our Cascata Rain Barrel:

• Available in Terra Cotta, Dark Brown, Sandstone & Charcoal
  
• 65-gallon rain barrel with a timeless look and extreme durability
• Made from roto molded plastic that won't chip, crack, or fade
• Double-walled for extra strength and durability
• Comes with screen guard and removable crown planter (planting or bird baths)
  
• Measures 24 x 46 inches

Dave Finkle goes into a closer look and concludes:

"This water butt not only looks really good, and would bring a little architecture to your garden, but it also h a few tricks up its sleeve! Indestructible and solid in build, it manages to look delicately refined too. The terracotta finish really has you fooled into thinking it is a huge pot, but its much more than that. Something I liked is the fact there is a nice solid plastic fiber in the lid that allows you to remove any build up of leaves that get washed down the gutter. Another great finishing touch to the product has to be the dual purpose lid. You have the choice of using it as a planter or a bird bath, which is a great idea. All in all, its well worth its price tag."

- Dave Finkle at Harrod Horticultural 

June is always a crazy time for gardeners! We constantly notice our neighbors outside their house after work and on the weekends, trying to squeeze just enough time to get their shrubs trimmed, their flowers planted, and their lawn tended to.

A few days ago we took a look at container gardening, and how it has flourished as a trend throughout 2015. Today, we thought it would be beneficial for our customers to go over Algreen's Top Selling Products so far this summer!

#2: Valencia Planter Line (Available: Online)

• Weather and UV resistant
• Robust and durable yet light and easy to move
• Made from natural and recycled materials
• Textured finish

#3: Soil Saver Composter (Available: Online)

• Produces a rich organic dark compost humus in 6 to 8 weeks from food scraps, kitchen and garden waste
• Save up to 30-Percent of household waste while saving money on applicable curbside pickup costs; Made from 100-Percent recycled environmentally-friendly material
• Locking Self-Watering Lid keeps animals out while openings allow air to move through composter to speed up the composting process

#4: EcoCascata 65 Gallon Rain Barrel (Available: Online)

• Made from tough roto molded plastic
• Rain barrel with planter top or bird bath option
  
• Convenient spigot & threaded drain fitting at bottom and corrosion-proof screen guard
• Measures 23 x 33-Inch

#5: Modena Self Watering Planter Line (Available: Online)

• Many different shapes, sizes & styles
  
• Contemporary indoor/outdoor planter with self-watering level indicator
• Manufactured from a resilient and durable polymer
• Frost resistant and UV stabilized to provide protection from the sun and the elements
• Removable internal liner makes planting anywhere effortless
• Available in a range of elegant glossy colors as well as sophisticated matte tones to suit any decor

With summer around the corner, it's nice to reflect on the 2015 trends that have come to be. In the last few years, people who used primarily raised beds to grow veggies, have started to incorporate more container gardening, as a means to grow fruits or vegetables indoors and out. With a heightened awareness in regards to the importance of nutrition and exercise, people are realizing that growing their own produce is not only more delicious, but a lot more nutritious for our bodies as well!

If you read the first few lines of this article, and thought, 'Well, I don't have enough space for a whole vegetable garden!" DON'T FRET!! This is totally possible with smaller planters, or even products like our StackN'Garden, or our ErgoGarden, which come in 3 different varieties! If you do not have the space to create a huge garden bed in your backyard, there are many other ways to bring a little life to your kitchen or patio.

In the last year, edible landscaping has introduced people to of all sorts to gardening. People who don't have as much front yard or back yard space, are given opportunity to grow delicious herbs, or veggies, in the comfort of their own home. Even if you only have a small balcony, or no balcony at all, windowsill planters (which are generally kept inside by your window), and containers of all shapes, sizes, and styles, are commonly seen inside and outside. These small planters are ideal for growing your favourite herbs or pepper plant, that you like to use for cooking. There is no need to have your beautiful veggie gardens stuck in your backyard! Have them around the house, or in the kitchen, let those babies shine!! A plant or two, can really brighten a room and even improve your mood. Find the right planter for you & start planting today!!

Making a Drink?
Don't have any Mint? No Problem! ;) Find an herb garden that is right for you! Fresh Herbs Make Summer Even Better :)

Klaus Weber's "The Big Giving," is a bizarre yet eco-friendly fountain installation that uses recycled water. The bodies are made out of stone and industrial waste. The statues were modelled after Weber himself and a few selected (former?) friends.

Image courtesy of freeyork.org

Located in Treviso, Italy, the Fontana delle Tette (guess what that translates to) looks totally nonplussed as streams spurt from her breasts. The statue (this one is a copy; the original one is under glass at the Palazzo die Trecento) was commissioned in 1559 by the mayor after a severe drought struck the region. After the rains returned, citizens were allowed to drink free red and wine from the nipples for days. Ciao! 

Image courtesy of pocketburgers.com

Yet this child is really putting the swan into a chokehold in Ribe, Denmark. Talk about animal cruelty, and just down right weirdness... 

Image courtesy of villageofjoy.com

BEWARE. This gargoyle-esque bat spews copious amounts of water in Albert Square, Manchester. 

Image courtesy of aspiremetro.com

We're pretty sure the person who cast this water sculpture didn't intend for it to look this salacious. 

Image courtesy of jawdrops.com

Mermaid milks herself from many different holes at the Fountain of Neptune.

Not sure where this photo was captured... We can be certain though, that the artist of these fountains was definitely not lacking a sense of humour. 

We are starting to sense a theme here in regards to fountains and bodily functions. Not only is this fountain excreting water from almost every hole possible, it is demonstrating a rather sexually explicit pose and is evidently found in Paris, at the Museum of Erotic Art. 

Image courtesy of planetwaves.net

So let's get this straight, you want us to drink from penius-shaped spigots? Yup, that would be the case! This peculiar yet intriguing quartet resides in Jeju Island, South Korea, in a place called Love Land. The park is filled with oversized, x-rated anatomical sculptures, making it a must-see destination. 

Image courtesy of aintgettinnodamnplanefool.wordpress.com

This popular Manneken Pis ("Little Man Pee" in Dutch) bronze statue in Brussels has been urinating into a fountain's basin since the 17th-century. Cool backstory: either the statue was modelled after a two-year-old boy who urinated from a treetop basket onto offending troops or a little boy urinated (and extinguished) a fuse, saving Brussels from a potentially deadly fire. Either way.. pretty cool! 

Image courtesy of wallpapers.wiki.org