Category: feature

Whether you are a buyer or seller, stunning landscaping can really enhance the appearance of your home. Beautiful grounds can also increase your enjoyment of your home. These five fresh landscaping ideas are sure to give you plenty of inspiration.

Classy Courtyard Landscaping

Yards of any size can look especially handsome with an elegant courtyard. Likewise, there’s no need to completely forego greenery if you include attractive trees and stylish planters. Planted borders and vibrant flower beds can also add plenty of foliage and blossoms. You can also enhance visual appeal with ornate paving tiles as accents.  In addition for a more complete courtyard, consider sophisticated statues or soothing water features. 

Edible Garden Landscaping

Rather than huge lawns that typically require lots of maintenance, how about swapping your space to plant an edible garden? Many fruits and vegetables only need the same conditions as grass to grow well: sunlight and drained soil. Vegetable and fruit plants can look neat and add interesting bursts of color to a garden. There’s also the added benefit of having fresh homegrown produce at your fingertips. Growing edible plants can be a great hobby for anyone with green fingers, potentially offering more satisfaction than tending to blooms. Fruits and vegetables that grow particularly well in Southern California include carrots, tomatoes, corn, peppers, avocadoes, radishes, lettuces, beans, cucumbers, and eggplants. For a smaller setup, fill planters with herbs and edible flowers like nasturtiums, chamomile, and calendula.

Entertainment Spaces

More and more people are expanding into outdoor living and entertaining as opposed to always remaining indoors. The days of a sole picnic bench in the garden or perching on a low wall for an alfresco drink are coming to an end. Instead, many homeowners are thinking of ways through landscaping to really make the fullest use of their yards. From beautiful decks kitted out with comfortable outdoor lounge and patio furnishings to full outdoor kitchens with features like barbecues and pizza ovens, people are spending more time outdoors. You might consider elements like pools, Jacuzzis, built-in bars, fire pits, canopies, and gazebos too. Plan for plenty of shaded areas and adequate lighting to really make the most of outdoor living trends.

Wild World

A growing number of homeowners are opting to switch large labor-intensive lawns and formal flower beds for a garden that’s more in line with nature. The trend is commonly referred to as rewilding. Requiring less upkeep, natural gardens can still look — and smell — amazing. They don’t just provide a peaceful sanctuary for people either; gardens filled with an array of flora tend to attract lots of local fauna too. If you love sitting quietly among birds, butterflies, and bees, nature-inspired landscaping could be perfect. Think of things like pebble pathways meandering through free-standing trees and flowers that are allowed to take root anywhere, small reed-surrounded ponds, rustic log piles, boulders, and secluded benches that are perfect for reading, painting, and reflective moments. 

Sensory Stimulation Landscaping

Thinking of ways to invoke the five senses remains a popular trend when considering landscaping ideas. Sensory gardens are especially popular in families with young children. Likewise, people of all ages can benefit from the calming nature of gardens that arouse the senses. Use diverse colors, shapes, and sizes for visual appeal, including plants, pots, and landscape accessories. Aromatic plants and incense burners are perfect for stimulating smell, while varying textures, like wood, slate, bricks, pebbles, sand, and water are ideal to meet the touch criteria. From vegetable patches or fruit trees to herb boxes, edible plants appeal to the sense of taste. For the sound requirement, water features create a soothing background to the chattering of birds and whirring of insects. 

It’s another week and another round-up of the leading tech headlines from around the world. From MGM on Amazon to Major Lyft Changes and more, we have you covered. Stay connected with all the major changes in the world of tech with our micro breakdown of news you want to know!

Netflix Testing New Feature to Charge USers for Account Sharing

So long are the days of seamless password sharing. Netflix is testing a new feature that will charge users a fee for sharing their login credentials. In a blog post,  Chengyi Long, Netflix director of product innovation stated the company feels the ease of logging in has created confusion. Stating that it “created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared.” She continues by adding, “As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.” According to Long, the company has been working on the crackdown feature for some time. Adding that the new feature will allow members to share their accounts outside their household, “easily and securely, while also paying a bit more.” In the next few weeks, Netflix stated the company will test the feature in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru.

Amazon Closes out Deal to Buy MGM for $8.45B

Classic and current MGM content may soon be available on your Prime account. This week Amazon announced it closed on a deal to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion. The deal was announced in May and will serve as a way to boost Amazon’s original production capability. “We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling to our customers,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in a blog post. Likewise, this agreement includes a catalog of more than 4,000 film titles with popular franchises like James Bond and Rocky. In addition, Amazon also said that MGM will complement its work in “delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers.”

Maserati Sets Plans for 2030 EV-Only Goal and Unveils Gran Turismo EV

Luxury Italian automaker Maserati has unveiled its first EV vehicle. The company announced this week that it would only offer electric versions of its entire model lineup by the year 2035. Likewise, this goal aligns with the company’s goal of being an EV-only brand by 2030. In addition, Maserati’s EV plans will pick up speed when the GranTurismo sports car hist the market. The company showcased a preview of the vehicle during a virtual business roundtable this week. The new four-seat model will debut in 2023 with over 1,200 in horsepower with a 0-62 mph time in the 2-second range and a top speed of over 186 mph.

Instagram Parental Controls Arrive in the United States

The social media giant has unveiled its long-anticipated parental control features in the U.S. Instagram launched the feature today after announcing its rollout in December. Adam Mosseri the service’s head considers the parental controls its “first set” of parental supervision tools that are underway, The new feature will allow parents to set limits on the number of time teens can spend on Instagram. In addition, they can also get updates on which accounts their child is following and who they are being followed by. Likewise, the feature will also let parents receive notifications when they report another user as well. These changes come after Meta shifted away from its Instagram for kids app plans. In addition to Instagram, Meta will also be launching a parental controls feature for Quest VR.

Lyft Follows Uber in Increasing Surcharge for Rising in Gas Prices

Your next Lyft ride might be a bit more than expected. To account for the nationwide rise in gas prices, Lyft has followed Uber is upping its cost. Users will incur a temporary surcharge for rising gas prices as announced by the company this week. “Driver earnings overall remain elevated compared to last year, but given the rapid rise in gas prices, we’ll be asking riders to pay a temporary fuel surcharge, all of which will go to drivers,” Lyft said in an emailed statement. Likewise, this change will come with a 55 cent surcharge that goes directly to the driver. The surcharge will continue for the next 60 days. Currently, California has the highest gas prices compared to other states across the country.

EV Charging Stations by Volvo and ChargePoint to Debut at Starbucks in 5 States

Charging up your car while charging up your mind, why not? Volvo has announced it is teaming up with ChargePoint to bring EV chargers to Starbucks across 5 US states. The chargers will be installed along the 1,350-mile route that stretches from Seattle to Denver (sorry California). Each station will have four plugs with a total of 60 chargers for the 15 statins planned for the trek. Volvo’s decision to place the chargers at Starbucks locations coincides with the mindfulness of what drivers. The placement gives drivers something to do while waiting for their car to be juiced up. As far as how large of an investment the company is making in the move, Volvo has declined to comment. 

New ‘Scan & Secure’ Feature by Tile Helps Users Track Unwanted Tracking

Tile announced this week a new feature to help users feel more secure. The company has rolled out its “Scan & Secure” feature on the company’s app to help with privacy concerns. The Tile app will run a scan to see if there are any unwanted Tile tags or trackers near you. Likewise, the safety feature has been long-awaited as privacy concerns arose with trackers like the Apple AirTag. The app works for both iOS and Android users and allows users to scan for other tags besides Tile. The new feature will be available to anyone that has downloaded the Tile app.