Improve Your Home and Garden
If you’re like many homeowners these days, the struggling real estate market may be keeping you in your starter home. If your dreams of moving to a larger or better-appointed house have been put on hold, creative landscaping can help you make the best of a bad situation while putting you in a position to [...]
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Do you have a concrete slab that is old and ugly that you would love to replace? You might not have to. There are a number of different types of concrete coatings designed to beautify and extend the life of your patio, walkway or pool deck. Decorative concrete or epoxy coatings are the perfect choice [...]
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As summer brings the double punch of high temperatures and low rain to many parts of the country, a smart gardener steps up his or her game, too. Check out these tips for a long-blooming summer border: Deadhead regularly. Remove the flowers off your plants after they fade, usually with a small pair of snips. [...]
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Inspired by the rising popularity of locally grown food plus a desire to be thrifty during these iffy economic times, many homeowners have begun growing their own fruits and vegetables. Come harvest time, however, even a modestly sized garden can produce a bumper crop of tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans and radishes that one family [...]
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In the Pacific Northwest, early spring is often a time of grey skies and rain with the occasional warm day. And on those warm days there is nothing like the smell of Daphne wafting through an open window. Daphne odora is one of those white bloomers that add sparkle to an otherwise monochromatic pallet. Below [...]
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It’s time to get motivated for all of those projects you need to do around your home and yard. Get ideas and inspiration at the 8th Annual Builders St. Charles Home Show. Located in St. Charles, Missouri, 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis, the St. Charles Home Show is Your Hometown Community Event with Free [...]
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I have been thinking a lot about allergies lately. I have suffered with serious allergies for years but my husband has never been bothered by them. Therefore I was hopeful that our children would be spared. Unfortunately, it is now obvious that at least our oldest child has inherited my tendency to “over react” to [...]
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As warm weather approaches, you may wish to make a checklist of things that need to be done outside your home and in the garden. Not only does this help you prepare for spring, it provides a perfect chance for you to begin enjoying the beautiful weather. Start by cleaning and preparing your [...]
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Modern pool pumps are focused of energy efficiency. High power consumption has been synonymous with the older models. The determining factor for your energy bill is the speed at which water passes through the filtration system. Modern designers have come up with a wide range of either variable flow or variable speed pumps. Variable speed [...]
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It’s an all-too-frequent mistake new homeowners make. They move in and immediately begin the process of making the home “theirs.” I’m not talking about slapping some paint on the walls and pulling up or installing carpeting. The changes I’m referring to are major – walls taken down, kitchens dismantled, bathrooms ripped out. If the homeowners [...]
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When your children need more room to play, there is no reason to pay for an expensive extension to your home when you can save money and create a beautiful focal point for your garden by installing a sturdy, affordable log cabin. As your family has grown, you may have realised that you do not [...]
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Water features in your garden can bring a lot of peace, harmony, serenity, beauty and functionality. For example, a garden fish pond can be an excellent addition to any modest garden as it can be designed wherever in the world. The most favored fish varieties for pond rearing are the Koi fish and the gold-fish. [...]
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Most gardeners that have ornamental grasses leave them standing during the cold months for winter interest. It’s a personal choice, but gardens in the winter need structure and the gracefulness of ornamental grasses adds this element much like evergreen do. Come late winter, before the new growth appears, though, you should cut them back to [...]
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The many intricate details of landscaping which people need to consider when selecting the right design for making their property look more aesthetically pleasing.
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Ever driven through a neighborhood where the houses looked pretty much alike, but some were clearly more interesting than others? Take a closer look next time and you’ll soon spot the difference: landscape design. The grounds that surround a home can often make the difference between the ordinary and the spectacular. And that, according to [...]
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Margarita pizza is very popular in Italy and has its roots in Naples Did you know pizza did not become popular in America until after WWII? When soldiers who were stationed in Italy came back home from their service, they spilled the beans on a little unknown secret the Italians gave away. It was the [...]
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The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a bustling bundle of nervous energy showing up in Spring in garden trees and roadside shrubs throughout southern Canada and most of the United States. The male bird arrives at his breeding ground to stake a claim before the females arrive. He looks for a low, wooded tract, preferably deciduous, [...]
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It is important to know the volume of water in your backyard pond for a couple of reasons. When you are constructing your water feature, you will need to know the volume it will hold in order to get the correct size pump to recirculate the water effectively. Poor water circulation will result in a [...]
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Whether for resale value or just the daily enjoyment of your home, sustainable landscaping designs are great investments. Sure, you can create your own garden and landscaping plan. But starting with a professional’s design ensures that all of the latest developments are incorporated. After that initial stage, handling maintenance yourself will be simpler and more enjoyable. [...]
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When there’s a bumper crop of fresh herbs, the best way to preserve them is in oil. Here’s a great recipe to do this. Pluck leaves from the stems and pack them down in a measuring cup. Place two hard-packed cups of herbs in a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup of good-quality cooking [...]
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