Adding Stereo to the Garden

Music in the garden is a beautiful thing. I remember my aunt first getting us all started on this years ago. It had to been in the 80s. Back then the speakers were bigger and buried right into the ground. The sound, nevertheless, was really impressive.

Years later I would think about this for my own business. We started with four "rock" speakers, later advancing to four other speakers and now I think we have about 18 (14 outside, 2 downstairs and 2 in the upstairs office. The sound is terrific at the shop.

I've become friends with the stereo guys. They're my kind of people. They do their own thing and they are super at what they do. The technology they gave me is far better than anything I could have ever imagined.

Apart from the speakers, we have new system called Sonos. It takes the place of controls on the receiver. Instead the controls are on the main computer (workstation one) and on a hand-held remote, an Ipodish sort of looking device.

Sonos opened us up to so much. I nearly cried with excitement when we first got it. Here's what we have:

(1) Internet radio stations from all over the world.
(2) Integration with Rhapsody, which as a member we can stream almost any CD we want! Free! Well we pay monthly dues.
(3) Channels by Rhapsody listed by genre (commercial free). Lots of them.
(4) Then there's Pandora's Box. This blew my mind. Pandora allows us to create our own radio station. By selecting a group, Sonos will continue, indefinitely, to play similar music. You then have the opportunity to rate the songs. If there is one song you don't like, it cancels it and others similar.
(5) Ipod integration, Rhapsody library integration, playlist, celebrity playlist and who knows what else. Oh a free subscription to Rolling Stone magazine.

I started reading the mag. It's good. I particularly like following the charts and then plugging in music titles into Sonos.

Check out sonos.com for specs. Mike Reed of Wired Up Home Theater is an authorized dealer. He can install the entire system in your house and garden, and you will love it. If you want to be the hit the next time your guest arrive, contact Mike Reed at michael@wireduphometheater.com www.wireduphometheater.com

Mike's contact information is listed on our contractor's board inside the shop. When you arrive, checkout the planter speakers (speakers in a resin/plastic-made terracotta type planter) at the entrance of the store.

Garden Tip:
This week I'm clearing out all the summer burnt plants from my garden and thinking about new shrubs I want to plant this fall. Remember fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs. I'm cleaning up my tools for pruning, getting my fertilizers together, and planting lots of fall blooming plants in my tree box. My trash can stinks too so it's getting a hit of Pine Sol.