Wild Style

Does Your Home Garden Have a Style? You may be asking me “Style? For a garden? I just plant flowers.” But, if you think about it, you can see that there really can be different styles for gardens.

A garden style can help you decide what kind of look you want for your garden as well as where to put your plantings.

How do you take style design into your gardening plans when you have so many practical matters to think about? You have garden size, whether the area is in sun or shade, its proximity to buildings, and how you will be using the space.

The solution is to treat is element of your garden as a part of a single design. The walls, garden furniture, even potted plants should all relate to the overall garden style. The most successful and beautiful gardens have started with a plan.

Let’s take a look at some different garden styles:

You’ve probably heard of the cottage garden. This style is suggested by rambling roses, type of fencing (usually rock or stone walls) , stones for garden paths, ponds and other natural grasses and materials.

Some other garden styles can be classified as “national” styles. These garden styles can be Italian, Japanese, English, Spanish and American. American gardens are broken down further into southern, desert, southwest and others.

Many times, the style of a garden is determined by climate and location. Gardens located in Arizona, for instance, must be of a different style from those located in northern, colder climates. And plants in southern gardens with their lush greenery and overblown flowers won’t live in either hot desert or cold snowy climates.

So, you can see that the style of your garden is closely tied to the climate conditions surrounding it.

Gardens can also be defined in style as formal or informal. For instance, a simple rose garden can look dramatically different when planted in a cottage garden style than when planted in a more formal geometric style.

When trying to decide on a style for your garden, first look at your geographical location. Then, think about what style you have in your home. Is it more casual or quite formal? This will give you a place to start for designing your garden.

Now, decide on how you will be using the space. Will you be having family barbecues or will you be doing more formal entertaining? Do you have children or pets that will need a lawn or enclosed area to play in?

Next, take a look at your trees and buildings. You will need adequate shade (or sun) for certain flowers and plants.

Once you have taken these matters into account, you can start your actual garden plan. Draw up a plan for your garden. Even a rough sketch of the space where your garden will be and where each element (such as flowers, foliage, stonework,or pond) will be can be a tremendous help in planting your beautiful new garden.

Now, all you have to do is plant it!

Leadership style is an approach of giving direction, motivating people and implementing plans. As there are many leaders, there are different leadership styles. A good leader uses the right leadership style according to the situation. Whatever may be the situation, bad leaders tend to use only one style. Following are the different relationship styles

Authoritarian Leadership Style; Here the leader informs the employees that what they should do and how should they accomplish the task. Here the leader does not take the advice of the employees while giving orders. You can use this strategy when you know exactly how to solve the problem. You can also use this strategy when you have less time to complete the tasks and the employees are motivated. Some leaders think that shouting at employees, using abusive and threatening language is authoritarian style. This is totally wrong.  Yelling at the employees is an unprofessional and abusive style and is often referred to as bossing people around. This kind of style has no place in a friendly working environment. Authoritarian style should not be used frequently. It should be used on exceptional or uncommon occasions.

Participative Leadership Style; Here leader and one or two employees are involved in decision-making process.

Decision making process includes how to accomplish a given task. People think if a company is using this style then it is an indication of weakness. On the contrary using this style is an indication of strength. This style is used when you (leader) have incomplete information and the employees have accurate and complete information. That is why companies using this style employ highly skilled and knowledgeable employees. If you as a leader use this style then you will be able to make faster and better decision.

Delegative Leadership Style; Here the employees are free to their own decisions. That is the leader gives permission to the employees to take their own decisions. Leader is held responsible if the employee makes any wrong decisions. This style is used in companies where employees are highly knowledgeable and have the confidence to take correct decisions. The employees should also know how to handle a particular task, what strategies should be used to accomplish a particular task. You should not use this style to blame others when the employees take wrong decision or analyze a situation incorrectly. This style should be used when you have full confidence and trust in your employees. You (leader) should use this style wisely. Do not be scared to use it.

Bureaucratic Leadership Style; Here the leaders work by taking the help of a book. The book contains all the rules and regulations that must be followed by an employee working in a company. This style is appropriate and you (leader) should use this style if the employee work involves serious safety risks. If the employee is working with toxic substances or with machinery then are rules that must be followed by the employee.

Charismatic Leadership Style; Here the leader tries to inject doses of enthusiasm into the employees in order to increase their performance level. The leader using charismatic style should be energetic and enthusiastic.