Spring is drawing to a close, and summer is within touching distance. You may be thinking about spending lazy days in the garden, but is your home ready for summer? Here is an essential checklist to prepare you for the warmer months and ensure you’re all sorted and ready to relax in the sunshine.

Prepping your garden

Most of us get excited at the thought of spending free weekends in the garden. Are you planning to get friends and family around? Are you looking forward to playing with the kids in the open air? If so,  it’s a good idea to get your garden prepped and ready now. Start by having a good clear out and getting rid of any loose patio tiles, weeds, and dead leaves. Give decking and paved areas a sweep and then jet wash them clean. Mow your lawn on a dry day, and plant your seeds. When the weather warms up, dust down your patio furniture and give the barbecue a thorough scrub. If you’re eager to add some color or create an entertaining area, look for inspiration online. You can convert a modest decking area into a chic dining space. Add a rattan table and chairs set, some oversized lanterns and a couple of patterned floor cushions.

[Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture/pixabay.com]

Spring cleaning

Nothing prepares you for summer better than a good, old-fashioned spring clean. Now is the time to declutter. Tackle those boxes that have never been unpacked and be ruthless. If you have items that are in good condition, give them to charity, or organize a yard sale. Visit the tip and get rid of anything you don’t want. Once your rooms are clear, get your rubber gloves out and clean from top to bottom. Open the windows and let the fresh air in. You may not enjoy cleaning, but you’ll feel much better when it’s done. Pack away winter clothing to give you more closet space.

Maintenance checks
Before summer arrives, it’s a good idea to get any DIY jobs completed and to book some essential maintenance checks. Finish off painting jobs and put those shelves up in the spare room. Call a service man to carry out appliance repair, and book boiler and air conditioning checks. Replace broken appliances that cannot be salvaged. If you’re looking to save money on energy bills, go for products, which have a high energy rating. If you’re expecting hot weather, it’s particularly important to get air conditioning units serviced.

Interior design
If you fancy brightening up your home in time for summer, you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a difference. Invest in finishing touches, such as lamps, vases, and cushions to inject some color and give your home a new look. Look through some magazines for ideas.

[Photo courtesy of midascode /pixabay.com]

If your home is not quite ready for summer, don’t worry. You’ve got time to work through your to-do list. Investing time and effort now will enable you to put your feet up and enjoy the warm weather when summer arrives.

Our gardens can often be something we don’t think about. Until we want to sit out and use them. However, like any part of your home your garden should be very much a part of it. It should be a place that is an extension of your rooms. Somewhere that you can utilize all year round. So I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some tips and advice to make sure you get the most out of your garden.

[Photo courtesy of Steve Morgan/wikipedia.org]

Do you have an area to sit and relax

Does your garden have different areas for different things? Perhaps. A lawned portion and some flower beds. These are all garden zones and most likely will have different features and plus points. But what most people require is a place to sit and relax. Somewhere you can enjoy the evening sun, or drink your morning coffee. If your garden hasn’t got particular zones, then it’s worth trying to create some. If you can create a space where you can sit and enjoy the garden. You will find that this part of the garden will be the place you use the most.

What do you want from your garden?

The next thing you need to do is decide exactly what you want to achieve from your garden. Do you want it to look appealing? Then you may want to read these 10 Quick Tips About Landscaping that will take your garden to the next level. If it’s more about having an entertaining space for friends and families, then make sure you have the right areas to do that in. If it’s a place where you want your kids to play safely, then think about all the aspects that need to go along with that. Once you know what you want from the garden, you will be able to create the perfect place for you. This means you will make more use out of it.

[Photo courtesy of Antranias/pixabay.com]

Is there a place to store things

Some gardens can be a bit of a dumping ground for one thing or another, so this is where you may want to consider investing in a shed or space to store things. This will transform your garden almost straight away as you will be able to see what you have to work with. A shed could also become an outside room that you retire to from time to time. She sheds are becoming the new man caves.

Why consider alfresco dining?

Eating outside may not have been high on your priority list before but why wouldn’t you want to enjoy the good weather? Cooking outside on the BBQ and then enjoying the food you have prepared is one of the life’s simpler pleasures. The problem is you may not have an area to cook and eat in so if this is something you want to do more of then work on the garden to create it. A BBQ doesn’t take up too much space and all you need is a nice table and chairs to enjoy the food and drink on.

I hope these tips help you get more out of your garden.

There are plenty of ways to make a garden look stunning, without adding anything unnatural to it. If you want to keep your garden organic and beautiful at the same time we’ve got some great ideas for you to try. You can forget about adding a water feature or stone sculpture. Don’t bother with the stone path or the new lights. With our ideas your garden is going to look fantastic without any of this nonsense. So, where should you start?

[Photo courtesy of condesign/pixabay.com]

Make Sure The Grass Shines

[Photo courtesy of SilasCamargo/pixabay.com]

The best part of a beautiful, natural garden, is green lush grass. But we think you’re probably aware that not everyone gets this in their garden naturally. Either due to weather or other elements the grass in your garden might be looking a little worse for wear. Not to worry though because we’ve got the solution you need. The first thing that you should do is cut the grass nice and short. Preferably, you should cut it as short as possible. That way, it’s going to make your garden look bigger and more open. Once you’ve done this, you should sprinkle down some grass greener. Doing this, you should see some startling results in a couple of weeks. It’s the perfect solution if you’re grass has been scorched by the sun or marked by a pet. If you’re having trouble getting your grass to look healthy, speak to a landscaper. Landscaping professionals know exactly what to do to make difficult grass grow.

Add A Variety Of Flowers

[Photo courtesy of Fotomanie/pixabay.com]

Next, we suggest you buy a whole variety of different flowers for your garden. You can choose different species and colours. Put them around the garden, framing the grass if you like. Or, simply add clusters of flowers around the garden by digging up the soil in areas and planting the seeds. If you do this, in no time at all your garden will start to look colourful and vibrant. Once the flowers start to grow you might need to think about protecting them. Particularly if you live in an area with a hot climate. That’s why you might also want to consider planting some trees to provide shade. Screener trees are perfect for your garden if you have an eyesore near your home. Or, if you just want some privacy from the neighbours.

Getting Rid Of Weeds

[Photo courtesy of blickpixel/pixabay.com]

Once your grass is beautiful and your flowers are colourful, you have to clean up the garden a little more. Pull out all the weeds and other nuisances around the yard. Make sure that you lay down some weed killer to make sure that they don’t grow back again. You need to do this regularly because weeds are quite resilient, as suggested by the name.

Natural Water Feature

While we don’t encourage you to add an artificial water feature to your garden, you can add one that’s a little more natural. You can do this by digging a pond in your yard, if you have the space. This will look truly stunning and could be the perfect centre piece of your space. Add some fish and you will have even brought real life to your new garden.

Most of us love having friends and family over for a meal and a drink or two. It’s a wonderful way to spend quality time together. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. But having enough space to relax and feel comfortable can be a challenge for a big party. That’s why our outdoor spaces can be ideal for a big gathering.

If you’re thinking of hosting an event at home this year, why not treat yourself to a garden makeover? Landscaping your garden to make the most of the space can be a good idea. And it needn’t cost as much as you think. Best of all, it’s a great project to take on if you enjoy improving your home and DIY.

[Photo courtesy of Field Outdoor Spaces/flickr.com]

To create a great space for entertaining in the garden, you may need to bring in some extra tools and equipment like a Dingo. Dingos are mini-diggers that make light work of your garden remodel. Levelling the land you have makes it perfect for laying patios or installing decking. Once your garden is cleared and levelled, you can see clearly just how much space you have. Now it’s time to sketch a design.

Ideally, you will create a dining area just in front of your patio doors. This makes it easier for carry dishes in and out of the house. You don’t need a huge space here, but it can be a good to create a little more room than you think you might want. This allows for walking around the table when people are seated, and you can squeeze in one or two more chairs. Cover over this area is essential too. If you can’t stretch to a full outdoor room, consider a gazebo.

From the patio, you should create paths that lead to the other key areas. You may choose to do this with concrete, pavers, or even decking. Decking is the easiest choice if your garden is multi-level so you can create the steps needed. You may want a seating area with garden sofas or a bench. Perhaps you are building a water feature or some planters. An artificial grass lawn can be an excellent addition to a child-friendly garden too.

You may be in a good location for growing your own vegetables. If your soil isn’t ideal, why not build up a planting area? You can then fill it with good quality compost and soil and plant what you need. It is often easier to cover if you’re prone to insects or frost. You can even use hanging baskets for growing fruits. It can be a nice gesture to let your guests pick their own while they are with you too.

Installing garden lights means your gathering can continue to use the garden after dusk. Use cascading fairly lights on the gazebo. You can even hang lanterns along your veranda. Most garden lights are solar powered with a movement sensor. This means they will only come on while people are in the garden, and they’ll cost you nothing to run. Enjoy your party.

Saving water is something that we should all be making more of an effort to do. It will help the environment, but it can also help you to save some money, so keep that incentive in mind. Here’s how you can start saving water today.

Wash on a Full Load

When you’re filling the washing machine or loading the dishwasher, do you always make sure that it’s full? Most people don’t, but this wastes water because it means you’ll be doing more washes in the long-term. It’s a common sense idea, but most people don’t even think about things like this. So, wait until the machine is full before turning it on next time. You should also think about the quality of your washing appliances. When you decide to upgrade it, make sure you go for a more water-efficient option.

[Image courtesy of  Edal Anton Lefterov/en.wikipedia.org]

Collect Rain Water

You can use a tank to collect rainwater in your garden. You can funnel the water down to your tank as it falls, and this helps you to save water when it comes to watering the garden. By cutting your reliance on the mains water supply, you will save a lot of water and a lot of money too. It’s very cheap to set up a tank to collect the water, and it will be very useful at the times of the year when there is plenty of rain. In the dry summer months, this won’t be a great option though.

Avoid Overwatering Plants

Watering your plants too much is one of the most common ways in which people end up wasting water. As I mentioned above, you can save some by collecting rain water. But this won’t provide enough water to cover all your garden watering needs. So, you need to be careful when you are using a hose on the plants. It’s very easy to overwater them and waste lots of water. To avoid doing this, you could start using an irrigation system. Visit http://proirrigation.com/ to find more about that.

[Image courtesy of Piotrus/en.wikipedia.org]

Don’t Leave the Tap Running

Very simple things like leaving the tap running when it’s not needed can waste a lot of money. For example, if everyone in a household left the tap running every time they brushed their teeth, think of all that wasted water. You should try your best to turn the water off. And that’s just one of the examples of wasting water around the house that could be easily avoided.

Install a Water Meter

A water meter allows you to closely control how much water you use. You then can pay for exactly the amount you use. So, if you use a lot of water, the bill will be larger. But if you use less, you will pay less. This gives you an extra incentive to use less water. Simply being able to keep tabs on your own usage is a big boost when it comes to saving water. It means that you can no longer forget about your water usage because it’s always there for you to see. Go to http://www.economicshelp.org/ to find out more about the benefits.

If you look at your garden and feel as if it’s lacking in certain areas, there are a few things you can do to perk it up. You want your garden to be a place you can relax and get some fresh air, maybe even play with your kids during summertime. These 10 tips will help you to make your garden even better:

1. Make Sure You Have Appropriate Seating

Depending on what you want to use your garden for, you’ll need appropriate seating. This might be a simple wooden table and chair. You might even go all out and choose comfortable, lounge style seating for your outdoor area. You just need to make sure that they are properly protected from the elements.

2. Get Rid of Weeds and Plant New Things

To make your garden look better, get rid of your weeds and plant new things. Weeds will always come back, but using a weed killer and being consistent should allow you to get rid of most of them. Planting new things will add personality to your garden and give it a new lease of life.

[Photo courtesy of Kampus Production/pexels.com]

3. Install Outdoor Lighting

Having outdoor lighting is not only practical, it’s far safer. You never know when you might arrive home at night and not be able to see what you’re doing. Hinkley outdoor lighting will allow you to stay outside later and make sure you arrive home safely.

4. Make Sure You Have CCTV

Having CCTV is another great way to keep your home and garden safe. The great thing about CCTV is that you don’t even need to have real cameras. Fake CCTV cameras can be just as effective as real ones.

5. Create Educational and Play Areas for Children

If you have young children, creating educational play areas for them can be a lovely way for them to learn more about the outdoors. You can create a fairy garden, for instance, or create their own park area.

6. Invite in Some Wildlife

Inviting in wildlife to the garden will make it way more fun for kids, and can even be more educational for them. You can do this by keeping the grass a little longer, having a body of water, and putting out bird feeders.

7. Have Garden Storage

Having garden storage will help you to keep the garden clean and tidy when it isn’t in use. You can buy storage containers especially made for outdoor use!

8. Consider Artificial Turf

If the grass really does seem greener on the other side, then why not consider artificial turf? Your grass will always look bright green and healthy. You will barely be able to tell the difference, and the maintenance will be minimal.

9. Clean it Up With a Pressure Washer

Hire a pressure washer and clean up your slabs and other elements to make them look like new again.

10. Screen Messy Areas

If you always have a messy area in your garden, such as the bin area, then cover them up by screening them. You can use materials like bamboo for the best effect.

Have fun!

During the last global recession, there was an emerging trend for growing your own food in your garden. I know a few people who started doing this to save money, and discovered a lifelong hobby in the process! If you’ve been cultivating your garden seriously for a while, then you’ll need to protect it all from hungry animals. Here’s some simple and humane ways you can go about this.

Source: Geograph

Let’s start with rabbits. Although timid, these furry little guys can be a total nightmare when you’re not around to guard your plants. Like most vermin, rabbits aren’t exactly fussy about what they’ll munch on. Having said that, they do tend to gravitate towards pea pods, beans, and beets. I assume you’ve already got a fence that’s taller than a rabbit! However, if they’re really determined they’ll burrow under one of these with relative ease. The next best way of keeping rabbits away from your garden is making it smell dangerous. Soaking a few corn cobs in white vinegar and scattering them around works pretty well. Failing that, you could purchase some fox urine and use it to soak cotton balls. For an economical option, ask your local hairdresser’s for some excess hair, and scatter this around your garden.

Birds might be a little more common as a pest in your garden. The best defence against these is getting a cat – but let’s keep it humane. Birds are easily scared by any kind of intimidating shapes and sounds. Be very liberal with how you define “intimidating” here. Remember that these animals can fly, and have probably spent a lot of their lives soaring suddenly away from danger. Scarecrows can be pretty effective, but I’m guessing you don’t have the time or resources to make one convincing enough. A good alternative is to get a replica owl. Almost every smaller bird is fooled by these. That or they don’t want to take chances! Perch one on your fence or greenhouse, and all those pesky birds will stay the heck away!

Source: Dr Tobler

Finally, deer. Don’t worry, I was as traumatized by Bambi as you were. These creatures are truly beautiful in their grace and general aesthetics, but if they see your plants they’re likely to go crazy! So how do you get around this? You could try scent-based deterrents similar to the rabbit ones. While these can be effective, it can often vary from deer to deer. For a fool-proof plan, I recommend getting some high-quality deer fence. Surround your entire garden with this, and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your beautiful garden isn’t being touched. Although getting tangled in plastic mesh will scare off most deer, it’s always a good idea to check for damages in the fence.

These tips will keep some of the most common critters in the woods and away from your crops. These solutions don’t cover everything, but after setting them up I’m sure you’ll notice far less damage from animals. Keep trying different measures, and your prized garden will be airtight!

[ Tagged In ] Backyard Gardening, Garden, Gardening, Keeping Animals Out of the Garden, Protect your Garden from Animals

With spring finally upon us, we can start to think about really getting back into the garden with some regularity to. I absolutely love the sunshine, not just because it is so much warmer than the dark winter months, but also because the garden is full of color and you can start to grow your own fruit and vegetables.

There are a huge number of different vegetables that you might want to consider when filling out your patch, but before you do that it is important that you have the right equipment required to do the job. Gardening is a specialist activity and if you don’t have the correct items, it will be much more difficult to get the necessary results.

What tools are necessary requirements?

Now I like to make sure that I have every base covered, you may not necessarily feel the same, but I think it would be prudent to cover for all eventualities especially living in a country like England where you’re not sure whether you’re going to get consistent rain or sunshine throughout the summer months. If you walk into a garden center or flick through a horticultural magazine you will be able to see there are a huge number of different items available.

[Image source: en.wikipedia.org]

In my opinion the main items that you’ll need include a garden hose, a shovel and trowel. The shovel and trowel will allow you to make any digs you need to, be it large or small and a hose will ensure that your fruit and veg can get the water it so dearly needs even when the sun keeps on shining.

How can you benefit from a greenhouse?

For any keen gardener a greenhouse is an absolute must. They enable you to be able to experiment a little bit more with the types of fruit and veg you can grow. The main benefit is that you can control the growing process as you are in charge of the amount of water that the plants will see.

Once the sunshine comes you can’t keep me out of my greenhouse, I just absolutely love tending to my vegetable patches. Throughout the summer you can fill out your greenhouse with a wide selection of different products.

Fruit and veg can also have health benefits

We all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away – or so we’ve been told for many years – but growing your own fruit and veg really is very rewarding. I’m not sure whether this is scientific, but I find the taste of my own produce much better than anything I can buy at the supermarket – which might have something to do with the lack of additives! With a small initial outlay you can get yourself started in being partially self-sufficient.

Not only will this have great health benefits because you will be eating more fruit and veg, it could also quite easily save you money in the long run as the capital you would have spent on fruit and veg previously can go on something else.

Perhaps you’ll get the chance to grow something a little more left field such as borlotti beans, pumpkins or even black Russian kale. This could also help you to broaden your horizons somewhat with your cooking, as well.

It can be difficult to establish a presentable garden that is both decorative and low maintenance. Some people hire professional gardeners or landscapers to create their garden and then pay to have it groomed or maintained periodically. Your garden doesn’t necessarily have to be an award winning masterpiece, more so a presentable feature your home has to offer. Here are some tips to creating a low maintenance garden.

Establish the garden to preferred size and shape

Depending on the size of your garden will also determine how much maintenance it will require. A larger garden will incorporate more plants, flowers and weeds, therefore require much more effort to maintain. Once you have determined the size and shape of your up and coming garden, you can then begin preparation.

Construct your garden with necessities to survive from establishment

To establish this low maintenance garden will involve creating it in a friendly environment. This includes exposure to sunlight and rain as plants require these natural resources to blossom and survive. Insert plants into small pots with soil as they will absorb more water from rain and bury the pots into the garden surroundings until hidden. Use mixed fertilizer and compost to generate nutritious soil for your plants and flowers. This will provide them a healthier lifestyle and longer life span and will naturally be exposed to sun and rain water, increasing their chances of survival with minimal maintenance.

Use stones or bark to surround plants

To avoid excess weeds and unwanted pests, use stones or bark opposed to excess soil to surround your plants. As your plants will be living and growing in the soil invested in the pots, this is all they require. By filling excess space with stones or bark, this will prevent growth of weeds and be less attractive to insects or other pests. It will also provide a unique presence as most gardens today are an abundance of dirt.

Choose larger plants or flowers to minimize maintenance

It may be worthwhile to choose larger plants of flowers to decorate your garden. Choose an arrangement of larger opposed to a variety of smaller plants as this will again minimize maintenance. Think about how much more effort it will take to water or weed 20 smaller plants, opposed to 6 or 7 larger ones.

Decorate your garden with fixtures and gnomes

To finalize your low maintenance garden and make it look presentable to the eye, you can now finish it off by decorating it with presentable fixtures such as garden gnomes or other novelty items. Not only do these items fill the remaining empty space in the garden but they are attractive and present some character to your garden. Finally, distribute rocks or decorative pebbles around the edges of the garden to secure it. There are numerous options for the perimeter of gardens so choose the best option that suits your new gardens charm.

By following these simple steps you will have created your garden from scratch to minimize the maintenance required to keep your plants alive and healthy. With your unique touch provides a garden that is appealing and incorporates charisma suited to your distinctive personality.

Author Bio
Shane is one of the leading Landscape Gardeners on the Gold Coast, Australia. He works with many of the leading home builders the Gold Coast has to offer to produce exquisite home designs with amazing low maintenance gardens.

A garden can turn an ordinary area into a colorful and vibrant place. My mother had been busy arranging and moving her orchids in the side of our house.  She’d asked my father to look for extra drift woods for the orchids since the old ones were already dried and eaten by termites.

My mother decided to move the orchids so the dogs of our neighbors will not jump in our walked path to sleep or eat the food of our cats.  The walked path should have steel fence but our house is far from being finished so putting the orchids in the side is an alternative solution.

Growing orchids is a source of income too, there are times that there is someone who buy the flower per piece. It cost ₱1.00 per piece for white orchids and for those with colors are ₱2.00 per piece, the flowers where used in town for special purpose.

[ Tagged In ] Gardening, How to Grow Orchids, Orchids, Raising Orchids at Home