With the arrival of the heat, it is habitual that, in terraces and gardens, refuge below awnings and sunshades is taken, these last always being more economic. To have them lasting from a year to another, we need to know how to keep them in good condition. In this article we offer some keys to preserve them in good condition, and thus to be able to enjoy them without setbacks.

'Ikebana' :  Known as floral art, it is a thousand-year-old tradition with a whole philosophy of its own behind.  Ikebana (Japanese: ??, literally "living flowers") is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kado (?? or ??)—the "way of flowers".

In contrast to the decorative form of flower arranging in western countries, the Japanese flower arrangement creates a harmony of linear construction, rhythm, and color. While westerners tend to emphasize the quantity and colors of the flowers, devoting their attention mainly to the beauty of the blossoms, the Japanese emphasize the linear aspects of the arrangement. They have developed the art to include the vase, stems, leaves, and branches, as well as the flowers. The entire structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on three main points that symbolize heaven, earth, and humankind.

This art is divided into different elements: the subject line is the highest branch of all the composition; the secondary line, not as long, highlights the value of the main one; the object, that are the flowers or leaves themselves; and the complements, that is to say, the small notes of decoration and backfill.

In dwellings of reduced size, any effective use of the space available becomes especially important. In the following article, a number of keys to obtain the maximum performance of a reduced number of meters are offered.

A crucial aspect in this type of homes is the search of a tidy and not overloaded presence. In the case of studios, it is fundamental to achieve a visual continuity, where one same style governs the whole of the dwelling.

[ - Picture on the wall of the image by María Eugenia Espejo - ]

Macro photography is a kind of close-up photography. The classical definition is photography in which the image on film is at least as large as the subject. Macro photography permits us to explore objects that cannot be appreciated with the human eye, and thus shooting images with a macro lens is an interesting and exciting area of photography. Even though there is an infinite number of subjects that can be explored in macro photography, the most common one is centred on the natural world - plants, flowers and insects of all types. Some of the more creative photographers use macro photography for abstract imagery.

[Photography by María Eugenia Espejo titled 'Green Hand']