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Allan Gardens can easily be called the Secret Gardens of Toronto. It is located in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is nestled between Sherbourne Street to the east, Carlton Street to the north, Jarvis Street to the west and Gerrard Street East to the south. Admission is free. Allan Gardens is comprised of 6 greenhouses covering 16,000 square feet located on over 5 acres of park grounds.

Allan Gardens was founded in 1834 by Sir John Colborne, who was the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada from 1828 to 1836. Its first president was the Honorable George Markland, who at the time was the inspector-general of Upper Canada. Allan Gardens became the first horticultural society to be organized in Ontario. The purpose of the gardens was to encourage the introduction and cultivation of a variety of fruits, vegetables and plants in Canada. The Honorable George W. Allan then donated five acres of land to the horticultural society. On September 11, 1860, the gardens were officially opened by the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) during one of his visits to Canada. In 1901 the gardens were renamed "Allan Gardens".

A striking feature of the greenhouses is the domed "Palm House" built in 1909-1910 by Toronto's city architect Robert McCallum. It was built to replace the pavilion that had burned down in 1902. The Palm house has been designated an historical building by the Toronto Historical Board under the Ontario Heritage Act.

A permanent collection of plants is housed in the greenhouses and seasonal plants are rotated throughout the year. Each greenhouse has a unique theme. One of the greenhouses has a special orchid collection. It is also the only greenhouse at Allan Gardens to feature a small bridge and waterwheel. Another greenhouse recreates desert like conditions and features numerous species of cacti, including the organ pipe cactus, the beavertail cactus and the barrel cactus.

The teaching greenhouse is a newer addition, designed to encourage and teach children how to garden. Three of the greenhouses feature small ponds with gold fish swimming lazily in the ponds. One of the ponds also features a decorative statue from England, which depicts the story of Leda and the swan from Greek mythology.

You can often find artists in the greenhouses and in the park as they sit on a bench and sketch the local scenery. The park has several pathways, benches and numerous large trees. Most of the trees are over one hundred years old and include beech, oak, maple and cherry trees. As well, during the summer, the rose garden is in bloom all year long. A statue of the Scottish poet Robert Burns can be found in the east part of the park. In the west part of the park is a fountain. Recent renovations have added a leash free dog park, which is fenced in to keep the dogs in and away from danger.

As an interesting side note, several episodes of the tv series "Kenny vs. Spenny" have featured the park in the show and local tv stations have featured the greenhouse on the news. As well, permission can be granted for wedding photos to be taken in the greenhouses.

Please visit http://www.thegardenersescape.com/Gallery/AllanGardens/AllanGardens.htm to see photos of Allan Gardens, showing its breathtaking beauty and unique features. As well, check out our Picture Gallery http://www.thegardenersescape.com/Gallery/PictureGalleries.htm for reviews of other gardens and conservatories.

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Drive a free car !! Get paid to drive your own car !!!Are these claims about free cars too good to be true? Are there companies who will actually provide you a free car?

Yes, almost, but not quite true. There's a little more to it. However, there's enough truth in it and enough potential opportunity to make it worth a serious further look.

The companies DO exist, and they DO pay people to drive, and they DO provide free cars. Real people are currently participating in these kinds of programs every day.

How Does it Work?

In short, you agree to drive a car that displays advertising for a company's product or service. Since you do the advertising, you get a free car to drive or get paid to drive your own car. In some cases, you may get a free car AND get paid to drive too.

These arrangements are typically not handled directly by the company selling the product or service, but by an marketing or advertising company hired by the product/service company. Some of these marketing and advertising companies provide brand-new vehicles, some offer almost-new vehicles from their fleet, others may pay you to drive your own car.

The company "wraps" the car in an easily-removable paint-safe vinyl film that contains an attractive graphic ad that promotes a client company's product or service. For example, the ad might promote a cell phone service or a new restaurant in town.

Some ads might cover the entire vehicle (looks great on SUVs, minivans, PT Cruisers), some only partially, and some only on side or rear windows. Don't worry, you can see just fine through windows that have vinyl ads applied.

The company offering the product or service pays the advertising company, who pays you to drive your own car or provides you a free car with the advertising already applied.

The amount you get paid, or whether you get a free car, depends primarily on three factors:

• Number of miles you drive per month
• Where you drive
• Where you park

In other words, you're selected according to the number of people who will potentially see your wrapped vehicle in an average day. You'll be paid more and have a better chance at a free vehicle if you drive lots of miles and drive in a heavily populated and high traffic area. In some cases, you may be asked to drive a specific route every day. The more people that have a chance of seeing your car as it's being driven or where it's parked, the greater your opportunity.

If you only drive a few blocks to a part-time job, back and forth to school in the suburbs, or just to church on Sundays, you probably won't qualify for this kind of program.

It's not too difficult to figure out whether or not you might qualify for one of these cars-for-free programs when you consider the objectives of the advertisers. They simply want their ads to be seen by as many people as possible in a specific area.

What's the Catch ?

You have to be at least 18 years old, have a drivers license, and have a good driving record. You pay for insurance and, in some cases, for maintenance, especially if you drive your own car.

New cars aren't always available and you may not be able to drive the make/model of your choice. However, depending on the company, you may have enough choices that you can find something that you like.

You may or may not be able to select the ad that goes on your car or the duration that the ad stays on the car. Of course, if you don't like the ad program, you can turn it down and wait for a better one. Most ads are attractive and well designed so that you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with it.

Keep in mind that the "free" car belongs to the advertising company, not you. At the end of the agreement, which could be as much as five years, you give the car back.

Also remember that the ad stays on your car 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can't take it on and off. If this is your only car, you must be prepared to drive the car everywhere you go - to weddings and funerals, to work, to school, to the mall, and everywhere else that you drive.

Competition for free cars is very heavy, outstripping demand in many cases. It may take up to 90 days to get accepted into a program. Therefore, you have to be well qualified and patient in your attempt to land one of these deals. Free is not always easy.

But, for a car, it might all be worth it.

eKnow Inc., a Leading eBooks Company Find More Tips and Info to Get a Free Wrapped Car, or Get Paid to Drive

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A landscape is as much fun decorate as a house. You should, of course include ornamental items as a part of your design. But too much stuff can result in cluttered chaos. Use the design principles, balance, unity and accent to make your decorations striking.

Balance, Unity, Accent
You can achieve balance in different ways. Example, a symmetrical grouping of hand thrown pots will divide itself neatly into identical halves. For an asymmetrical arrangement, group small pots beside a big one. Balance is also a matter of relating a piece to the space around it. If a lion's head fountain is too small a relation to its surrounding wall, the fountain will get lost. You could choose to buy a larger fountain, but what if you particularly want to use the small one? Train a plant to grow flat against the wall a technique known as espalier to provide an intermediate matte to balance the object with its setting. Then the fountain no longer appears out of scale.

Understanding different unifying techniques can give you new ideas. Alternating the same large and small terracotta pots on the ledge is an example of rhythm. Stagger the pots from largest to smallest that's sequence. For design with repetition, Use the terra-cotta color elsewhere in the scene by echoing the hue in the stain on an arbor. Place accent items where the composition needs pizzazz. Don't always aim for eye level, unexpected accents place high or low keep a design dynamic. Rusted relics, architectural fragments, salvaged items, and antique tools find new life as garden accessories. Keep in mind that it is the position of an article that makes it an accent.Contrast the color, texture, line, of form of an item with it's setting to make it noticeable.

A bright Mexican tile can add a colourful accent where you need one, but where not needed, it could be and unwanted distraction. A layer of coarse-textured river rock can serve as a foreground to a planting bed, but too much rock could upset the balance of texture.

A little something extra
Furniture is an amenity that's also functional. Even a landscape designed for a lot of family activity needs a place for repose. No matter how lovely your courtyard may be, if there isn't a comfortable and convenient place to sit, you probably wont spend time there. There are benches and table and chair sets of all styles to choose from but don't stop there. Swings, rocking chairs, and hammocks also offer rest, and they introduce a relaxing from of movement. Vertical structures offer all sorts of design solutions. Arbors serve as doorways and suggest a division of space. A gazebo can add a distinct focal point to an outdoor room and make the landscape usable in wet weather by providing a dry, comfortable place to sit and watch rain fall. Storage sheds can do more than keep clutter out of the sight, properly positioned, a shed can increase privacy by blocking views.

Paint doesn't need to be limited to interior walls. Color can help camouflage utilitarian items such as meters and irrigation risers. Black is often the best. It tends to recede. Muted shades of olive green and brown are effective, too, but avoid bright greens. Artificial colors stand out among natural greenery and may ambush your camouflage attempts. Bright paint colors can add eye catching accents. Furniture and fences are easy canvases for brushing on color. Picket fences are traditionally painted white to make them more noticeable. But if your fence is intended to serve as a background for your composition, a dark or neutral paint or stain may be a better choice.

Movement of all sorts adds interest to the landscape. Incorporating water is an excellent way to keep a space from becoming static and dull, swimming fish and falling water and motion. Wind chimes, weather vanes, and some sculptures react to breezes flowing through an area. Wildlife can add movement that comes and goes, feeders and houses combined with habitat and food source plants will attract birds to your landscape. Plants attractive butterfly larvae and nectar-bearing flowers will entice butterflies as well as hummingbirds to grace your yard.

Albert Thomas is a experienced landscaper and would like to give ideas and tips on how to start working on your own front yards and backyards and creating your own ideas and putting it to plan. Visit his site http://www.landscapingway.com to learn more about landscaping tips and designs

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Did you know that your lawn in its natural and wild state would be around a metre high and really untidy?

It is unnatural for the lawn plant (whether it be couch/Bermuda grass, kikuyu, fescue or durban turf grass) to be cut or mowed! Also, did you know that your lawn is placed under a tremendous amount of stress just by mowing it?

So, in the pursuit of the perfect lawn it is helpful to know that the regular mowing of the lawn is quite an unnatural and stressful event for the lawn. So to counter this stress and hardship, we need to provide our "green oasis" with a good supply of food.

The quickest way to a beautiful lawn every year is by fertilizing your lawn. By feeding your lawn you create a thick lush turf grass that outperforms weeds. All lawns need to be supplemented with the proper nutrients to enable healthy turf growth and to counter any competition for food by other plant life including weeds and trees.

So, to help the lawn overcome the unnecessary stress it undergoes with mowing, it makes a great deal of sense to bump up the lawn's food intake.

Now that we have established that regular feeding is highly beneficial for your lawn, we need to determine how often and so on.

Warm season turf grasses such as couch grass [as is known in Australia (or Bermuda grass as it is known in North America)], kikuyu turf grass, zoysia grasses, buffalo grass [as is known in Australia (or St Augustine grass as it is known in North America)] and so on respond nicely to being fertilized in Spring, Summer and Autumn (Fall). The better fertiliser types used in sports field situations are slow release granular fertilizer products that last up to 13 weeks (3 months). These slow release granular fertilisers are sold in hardware and garden stores and can be applied to coincide with the growing seasons.

Cool season turf grasses such as rye grass, fescue and Kentucky blue grass will require feeding all year round including winter.

In the next Lawn Care Secrets Revealed article we will look at just what are the right fertilisers that you should be using to feed your lawn.

Gerry Faehrmann is the managing director of Lawn Green Pty Ltd based in Sydney, Australia.

Lawn Green specialises in "turning your tired old grass into lush green lawn." All Lawn Lovers please go to http://LawnGreen.com.au for your Free Report on "The 5 Secrets To A Great Looking Lawn."

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When looking for health insurance it is very important to keep in mind that there are many companies out there that will try offering you the best prices for your needs. However, not all of them are known all around the United States and not all of them offer you the same benefits. One of the many companies offering coverage in the continental United States is Private Health Care Systems best known as PHCS. They are the primary national PPO network and care management product of the company MultiPlan.

Before talking about PHSC it's important to know a little bit more about the parent company. MultiPlan was founded in 1970 and is the oldest and largest of independent, network-based cost management solutions. They have more than half a million health care providers that service an estimated 40 million consumers. To top it all of the estimated millions of consumers have about 70 million claims that are processed through MultiPlan's networks each year. How about that for a health insurance option?

On the other hand Private Health Care Systems (Owned by MultiPlan as said before) has the largest proprietary preferred provider (PPO) organization in all the United States. With about 450,000 members attending one of the 4,000 facilities PHCS members have access to a variety of providers around the United States. They are also the first and only propriety network to earn five endorsements due to quality from two nationally recognized quality assurance organizations, URAC and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

PHCS' job is to contact their providers in order for them to allow their network member to visit them at lower costs. The network also has something referred to as a "High network retention rate" which means that once a customer selects a Primary Care Physician (PCP) that doctor will remain available all through their health plan. Most of the people that are members of this great network include large employers such as companies and enterprises, commercial insurance carriers, regional managed cared organizations and third party administrators. The PHCS network offers the following to its members:

National Access with Excellent Cost Savings: No matter where the members are, they offer a variety of services from coast to coast. You can contact them at (866) 750-7427 to see how much they can save you in health care costs.

PHCS Healthy Directions: Eliminates the need of having an HMO, PPO or POS because it pays full charges for services when a member travels or goes to school outside the coverage area. As a member you will be able to have freedom in order for you to choose a provider from within the national network, to lower your out of pocket costs for members with providers in the PHCS Network, and to call a toll free number in your I.D. card for provider information.

Quality: PHCS didn't just link a variety of little networks and pierce them together, instead they created a national network that allows them to credential and re-credential their providers to maintain good quality healthcare.

Private Health Care Systems is a care management company as well as network based insurance. PHCS is the second largest independent care management company functioning in the United States today. Their care management specialists review any patients' cases to make certain that patients receive the best treatment available as well as giving them freedom to from a variety of options that nest suit their unique utilization review needs. You are able to employ this care management system in the area of your business where it will make the biggest impact. PHCS Core Plan includes the following utilization management products, however, is important to keep in mind that you can add some supplemental products that will be discussed below in addition to the Core Value ones.

Core Value Plan:
1. Concurrent Review
2. Certification
3. Discharge Planning

Additional Supplemental Modules that can be purchased:
1. Chiropractic Review
2. Selective CT/MRI Review
3. Podiatry Review
4. Outpatient Rehabilitation Review

The key to finding the best health insurance plan for your needs is to compare quotes from top companies side by side. To compare health insurance quotes from top companies like PHCS, United Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and others then visit http://www.HealthQuote360.com today!

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If you are a cat owner that truly loves you furry friend than it is imperative that you understand the importance of healthy cat food. Cats have very unique nutritional needs and if they are ignored the results can cause your cat to become sick, or even shorten its life considerably. The good news, is that finding and procuring the best cat food for your beloved pet is now more easy and convenient than ever.

Happy Playful Cats

The main problem is that cats can't talk, so if they are feeling bad due to their diet, they are completely unable to tell their owners about it. This means that right now what you are feeding your cat may be causing it to feel terrible, but you wouldn't even know it. A properly nourished cat is a happy playful cat, so it is also in your best interest to see to it that your cat is being provided the best nutrition possible.

A shocking Discovery

One recent current event that brought the issue of healthy cat food to the attention of cat owners world wide, was the discovery of a certain practice of unscrupulous Chinese pet food manufacturers. What was discovered, has more cat and dog owners around the globe taking a closer look at what they are feeding their pets.

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They were found to be adding a dangerous chemical additive to dog and cat food that mimicked the presence of protein. They could have gotten away with this unseemly practice indefinitely, but for one thing. That is, that the chemical that they were using is fatal in some instances. Thats right! Cats and dogs were dying from the food that they were being fed and while the practice has stopped for now it is only a matter of time until they start in again.

Written by Johnathan Trammil. Learn all the top info on Healthy Cat Food plus even Pet Care Products

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