Most people will spend money on garden stakes from their local DIY stores or garden centres to provide certain plants in their gardens with support. However you will be astounded to discover that they can actually be used in a variety of other ways.
Today some of the stakes people use in their gardens do so to add another kind of decoration to their garden. Whereas some will purchase garden stakes that provide an additional source of light in their gardens at night. So of course what sorts of stakes you purchase for your garden will depend on how you are going to be using them.
So in order to help you with deciding which sorts of garden stakes you should be buying we take a look at the various kinds and how they can be used.
Type 1 - Wooden Stakes
These are the cheapest of all stakes you can purchase for your garden today. They come in a wide variety of lengths and widths and are made from a variety of different woods. It is best however if you purchase those that are made from a good quality hardwood such as cedar. This is because these ones are able to cope far better with the changes in the weather that happen during the year.
Also if you are intending to purchase these types of stakes for the garden especially when using to provide support for plants they should not have been treated. If the stakes have been stained or painted there may be chemicals in the coating that can prove harmful to the plants health. Also there may be chemicals in the paint or stain that can then leach into the soil around the plant that they then absorb.
Type 2 - Recycled Plastic Stakes
As well as being environmentally friendly you will find that these are very affordable to buy and will generally last a lot longer than some others. Not only is there less risk of you getting splinters from these but also you will find that they are able to cope with all kinds of weather. These come in a variety of different colors; however instead of being painted the colors are infused into the plastic so there is no chance of contaminants from them leaching into the soil around the plants.
Type 3 - Solar Stakes
These are actually the most expensive of all the types of garden stakes you can purchase today and aren't actually designed to provide any support to plants. What these are specifically designed to do is provide you with another light source in your garden without the need to run electrical wiring to them. Instead on top of these stakes there is located a small solar panel and which collects the energy from the sun and then stores it inside the stake until it is needed at night.
When you are considering buying any kinds of garden stakes make sure that you select ones that are actually going to compliment other areas of your garden. Otherwise you may find yourself needing to replace every one of them in the future as they don't look like with the rest of the garden's design.
For those living in Australia, Australia-Best-Buys.com supplies a great range of Garden Stakes and Raised Garden Beds along with other interesting garden related products.
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