Backyard Gardening Tips

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Themes in Your Backyard Garden

8:21 pm by webmann in gardening, lawn care

It is good to have a theme that you can follow throughout your garden and work on a plan and a selection of plants that will go along with that theme.

By having a theme to follow this will dictate, not only the types of plants that you will be buying, but also anything else that you put in the garden.
This will include everything from sculptures and garden furniture, to the colors of the pots that you will choose.

While some people might think this is restricting their freedom of creation, it does in fact allow you to create a garden that has more freedom of flow rather than being disjointed with a variety of different themes that never quite gel together.

Sometimes the theme of your garden will be determined by the style of the house that you have on the property, and other times it will be determined by the geographical location that you are living in.

If for instance you are living near a beach, you will probably want the theme to tie in with the beach setting. By doing this you are likely to get plants for your garden that are more appropriate and will endure the conditions that they will be growing in.

Plants that are suitable for growing in coastal areas will be able to withstand the winds and the salt of the sea air that could quickly damage other plants that aren’t suitable for those conditions.

Likewise it wouldn’t look quite as appropriate to have a tropical garden with palms where a cottage garden would compliment the style of the house.

And tropical plants are not going to flourish as well in cold harsh climates so there are many factors that need to be taken into account when deciding on your garden theme.

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Lawn Improvements Will Make Your Gardens Look Better

9:44 am by webmann in backyard gardening, lawn care

As well as drainage and irrigation there are other areas that can enhance your lawn and make it look more beautiful and more enjoyable.

Regular mowing, catching of the grass clippings and also rolling will help to maintain the condition of your lawn.

There are people who believe that cutting the lawn at particular phases of the moon can slow it’s growth and increase the time between mowing.
There doesn’t appear to be any evidence to support this but there is no harm in trying.

If you are interested in experimenting on your own lawn try mowing during the waxing or full moon.

Just don’t do it while the neighbors are sleeping:-)

Getting rid of insects in the lawn will help with its condition and this can be achieved with the use of insecticides that are commonly sold through garden stores or better still with the use of natural methods.

Using natural methods is the healthiest solution as it won’t affect children and pets and more often than not the natural methods work better for longer than the insecticides.

Without the toxic contents that are used in the commercial insecticides you will be happier to walk on the lawn and know that you won’t be putting any of the residue into your system.

Some people still use soap as a natural insecticide in the garden but you need to be careful that you are using the correct soap, as some household soaps can be harmful to plants.

Obviously you won’t want to be flooding your lawn with soapy water and in fact this is banned in many areas where soap can cause problems if it enters in to the waterways.

More and more insecticides are also getting banned so it makes sense to look at the natural alternatives that are available.

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Time To Learn About Lawn Care Before Next Summer.

1:03 pm by webmann in backyard gardening, lawn care

Well we are getting more settled in but we are finding plenty of things that keep us busy. We started our first backyard garden and learning a lot about gardening.

We have tons of gorgeous flowers that start in the early spring and continue all the way to freezing temperatures in the fall.

Unfortunately our lawn looks like it has never been cared for and we know if we want a great looking backyard the flowers and vegetables aren’t going to make up for an ugly lawn.

Time for some lawn care, but where to start? Harry’s Lawn Care Videos, that’s where.

As a computer instructor, website designer and property owner I do a lot of reading. I am not the fastest reader and quite often have to read the same thing more than once. This makes for a lot of time reading so when I can view videos that teach me the same thing I tend to pick it up much faster.

Harry’s Lawn Care Videos are compatible with both PC & Mac. That makes my graphic designer brother happy for a change.

Here is a sample of the topics covered in these videos:

•  Discover How To Get Started With Turf or Seeds
• Learn The Best Way To Improve Your Existing Grass
• Use This Technique To Level Your Grass In One Step
• Identify Exactly Which Type Of Grass You Have
• Combat Lawn Grubs
• The Quick Weeding Solution
• How To Spot Pests and Insects That Destroy Your Grass
• Learn The Tools Of The Trade
• The Secret to Laying Your Grass
• How To Get The Best Grass Coverage
• When To Use Seeds
• About Thatching and What To Do
• How To Avoid Weeds Alltogether
• Little Know Methods Of Fertilizing
• The 3 Step Process To Beautiful Lawn
• Discover The Difference Between Good Grass and Weed Grass
• What Causes Brown Spots on Your Grass
• The Truth About Spraying for Weeds
• How To Encourage Growth in Dry Patches
• About Roots and How The Sun Effects Them
• Cures For Burnt or Dry Grass
• What You Must Look For When Shopping
• Approaching Your Lawn For The First Time
• How Different Mowers Can Effect The Look Of Your Lawn
• Reading The Directions On Weed Killer Liquids
• Advanced Techniques and Tips

Harry’s Lawn Care Videos cover so much that you can help but have a great backyard.

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Remedy For Ant Hills In Gardens And Lawns

3:00 pm by webmann in backyard garden, garden, lawn care

Ant hills can ruin a yard pretty quickly if not taken care of. The remedy for ant hills in gardens and lawns is to deal with them immediately upon finding them. Easy to say but if you don’t know what you are doing it can be a real challenge.

About 15 years ago my wife and I bought a duplex thinking the we would make lots of money and pay off our mortgage quickly. We didn’t realize the problems we were buying into as the previous owners were experts at deception. Not to go into too much detail I will only talk about the yard, it was a mess and needed plenty of love and care.

When we bought the place the yard looked great because they had laid new sod and planted lots of flowers. All of this was done to cover up the nightmare just below the sod. Lawn and garden pests galore. We thought the yard had a nice slope to the side walk but it turned out the it was not a slope but a hill, one big huge ant hill.

It took a lot of work to get rid of the pests in our garden and lawn, not just ants but also earwigs, which gross me out. If I could have done something to get even with the previous owners I think I would have taken all the ants and earwigs and move them directly to their new property, but then again I am an honest person and couldn’t do that.

We tried a home remedy for ant hills in gardens and lawns that a friend told us about but we ended up going to our local lawn and garden store to get real advice from a professional and in just a few weeks they stopped coming around and now our lawn and the slope to the side walk is all landscaping and not a big ant hill. We have since sold that place and moved into our dream home where we hired a professional to check out new property before we signed the dotted lines, although today we have protection against crooks like those people that sold us that place.

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The Grass Seed You Choose Is Important For A Great Looking Lawn.

2:33 pm by webmann in gardening, lawn care

There are many people who take pride in their lawn, and these people know that a great lawn is a huge selling point if you are selling your home. Other people just prefer to put a lot of time and energy into their lawn because they love the look of a green, and lush grass covering. If you have a lawn that looks less than perfect, there are many things you can do. Besides watering and fertilizing, you should consider planting grass seed to fill in some of the blank spots.

You can find grass seed at almost any home improvement store, and you may be able to get someone to help you choose what you need. What you buy will depend on what type of grass you already have, or if you want to start all over again, what type of grass you would like. Many people don’t know it, but there are different types of grass seed that each give a different look to a lawn. It is relatively easy to plant as long as you follow a few simple rules.

I walked through our neighborhood and looked at the best lawns, then I politely knocked on doors and started asking questions about the best grass seed and lawn care. It’s surprising how talkative people become when you ask them about their beautiful lawn.

Most people lay down grass seed in the fall so that it has time to take root, and then it will grow properly in the spring. When you do this, you want to rope off the part of the lawn that you are seeding so that no one walks over it. It might be best to place a few signs stating that the lawn is roped off because of grass seed. There are many who will ignore ropes unless they know why they are there. Don’t leave them guessing. You will find that most will respect this.

You want to cover your grass seed with hay so that the birds don’t feed on it too much. Traditionally, the seeds are thrown down on the top of the soil, and this makes them easy pickings for birds and even squirrels. A layer of hay will help keep them away. If you are going through a dry spell, you should make sure you water your grass seed, as well as the rest of your lawn at least once a day. This will help it grow more quickly and take root before the winter comes. Though there are some that claim you should only water your lawn at dusk or after dark, it is really okay to do so at any time of the day.

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