Maximize Your Garden Space

Since it’s winter, that means it’s time to work on garden planning. If you’re like me and you have a small space to work with, one thing you’ll want to do is to stack functions. What does that mean? What is a function, and how do you stack it? Stacking functions is multitasking for the garden.While you can throw a few shrubs into a small garden and call it a day, if you’d like to grow food in your garden or create a multidimensional and beautiful garden that’s packed with color, you’ll probably want to add a little bit more. … Continue reading →

How to Create a Beautiful Lawn

Taking control of your lawn now in the spring will help keep it in the best shape for the entire summer. Here are the steps you can take to get your lawn back in shape. Start by cleaning things up. Take your rake and rake out the lawn. This will serve a couple of purposes. First, it will remove dead grass and other debris. Second, it will open up the lawn to allow the soil to absorb both water and nutrients. Your lawn has probably become compacted over the last year, especially if people have been walking on it. Compact … Continue reading →

Five Ways to Care for Your Lawn

There are five steps that you should take if you want a lush, beautiful lawn. Watering and mowing just aren’t enough. Do you know where to start? Save money by skipping the lawn service and doing it yourself. Get Rid of Thatch What is thatch? Thatch is what happens when roots and stems build up on your lawn, robbing it of air, water and nutrients. Thatch acts as a barrier, so no matter what else you do, you just won’t be able to have a healthy lawn. You can use a thatch rake, a power thatcher or even just a … Continue reading →

Spite Hedges

Have you ever heard of spite hedges? I hadn’t, until I read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald recently about shrubbery which is intended to block a neighbor’s view or their sunlight. Usually these spite hedges are planted after a disagreement between neighbors. But perhaps it could just be that people like a bit of privacy in the back yard. Certainly that was the case when we moved in. The back yard looked bare and we planted a few taller shrubs, buddleias that we brought with us from Orange, along the back fence. When Mick regains his enthusiasm for … Continue reading →

Should I hire a lawn service or not?

Some years we have a lawn service to help with the yard. Some years we don’t. This is definitely an on year. In making the decision to hire a person to mow the lawn, we considered several things. In the end, we feel the decision to pay someone else to do the job was a good one. 1. What does the yard look like? Our yard was an absolute mess. Weeds were taking over both the lawn and the flower beds. We couldn’t even keep up the two flower beds at the end of the driveway. The operative word here … Continue reading →

The Four Types of Mowers

What kind of shape is your mower in these days? Is it time to upgrade to a new one? The first step is to decide which type of mower to buy. There are some new options to consider. Gas Powered Mowers and Tractors Gas powered mowers and tractors are the usual type of mower we think about when we think about mowers. The loud engines that can be heard on almost any Saturday in the suburbs is what we have come to expect. This type of mower is usually the practical choice if you have a large lawn to mow, … Continue reading →

Deer in the House

Did you happen to see that story today about a deer jumping through someone’s window and into their study? The homeowner, he lives in Michigan, simply opened the door so the deer, a six-point buck, could leave. While a deer crashing through a window and into someone’s home is not that common, I have noticed that there has been a lot of deer activity lately. Last year, we would be delighted if we would spot a deer or two off in the distance. This year, they practically knock on the door twice a day. Just looking out of my kitchen … Continue reading →

10 Fall Plants that Attract the Birds: Part 4

This morning, the kids and I hunted around the yard for pine cones. We wanted to slather them with peanut butter and roll them in birdseed as a Thanksgiving feast for the birds that visit us. Unfortunately, it looks like the squirrels might have gotten to them all, because there was not a single pine cone to be found, including the one that served outside of one of our fairy houses. Still, there are other ways of attracting the birds. I have been mentioning different fall plants that will work. We are now at the end of this list. Here … Continue reading →

10 Fall Plants that Attract the Birds: Part 3

Thanks to some of our fall plants and trees, and the inclusion of a large window bird feeder, our view out of our window is not lacking for the number of birds. The little things are always pleasant to watch, and their antics are enjoyable. Did you know that the plants that you add to your landscaping can greatly impact the number and type of birds that visit? If you missed the earlier posts on this topic click here: 10 Fall Plants that Attract the Birds and 10 Fall Plants that Attract the Birds: Part 2. 5. Perennial Sunflowers This … Continue reading →

Turning Fall Leaves into Compost

Compost really makes sense. If you have some fall leaves just laying around (ha, ha), why not put them to work? Don’t trash or burn those leaves when you can use them to enrich your garden. You may have been following my continued ramblings about the fall leaves. First I talked about my love/hate relationship, and then I went into some of the useful things for which leaves can be used. Now, let us look at one of the most useful things of all for leaves: compost! You can have a natural bit of compost if you have leaves … Continue reading →