Category Archives: Yard & Outdoors

Solar Lights For Your Garden

October 10, 2023   Matt

Solar Lights For Your Garden

We all care how our homes appear to others and lighting is a big part of that. Solar lights are a popular and cost effective option for adding a little zing to your landscaping efforts.

Solar Lights For Your Garden

Many people enjoy the look of lights in their landscaping. Whether you want to light a path to your door or the area around your pool, proper lighting can heighten your night time enjoyment of your yard. You can choose from several options for lighting outdoors, but by far your best choice in this area are solar lights.

While you can choose from other different powering options for your outdoor lights, such as electric and battery powered, a choice of solar landscaping lights will definitely be the right one. Electric powered landscaping lights may seem economical and easy at first, but then you have to realize that they will add to your homes electric bill, as well as needing many dangerous extension cables and cords in order to obtain their power. Battery powered lights can be safer, but even more expensive, once you figure in the cost of batteries and the time and effort it takes to change them.

Solar lights work by recharging during the sunlight hours, and shining bright with that power at night. Solar panels are located on the lights, and these panels collect solar energy and charge a battery with that energy. The battery, in turn, powers the lights at night, eliminating the need for another power source. This is a very economical and eco-friendly way to light your yard area, and solar lights require little maintenance from you, the home owner.

You also have different options in styles of solar garden lights. Whether you would like to have a hanging solar lamp, a solar flood light above your garage, or even a solar security light that detects motion, there are options that can meet your needs. Solar post lights can be used to line a driveway or garden path to make your yard safer for nighttime use. Solar garden lights are available in a number of different wattages and sizes, so you can choose just what you need for your project. Most solar lights use LEDs, which are tiny but emit a strong light. They also take little energy to power, so your solar powered battery will last longer at night.

Choosing solar lighting for your garden is a great way to help the environment, while you are also helping to beautify your home. These lights can add value to your property, while also making your yard more useful at night – all in the most economical way possible.

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Bathroom Remodeling Ideas / The Finishing Touches

October 05, 2023   Matt

Bathroom Remodeling Ideas / The Finishing Touches

So you have finally finished that bathroom remodeling project by installing the last tile square, and applied that final coat of paint. The plumbing has been buttoned up and everything looks to be just how you pictured it in your head before you started. So where do you go from here? Do you have any other ideas that didn’t quite make it in? One thing you can consider doing is to add some small finishing touches to the room that will enhance all the hard work you just did, and bring the atmosphere to a whole new level.
We decided to put together a small list of bathroom remodeling ideas to really give the room a personal touch, and finish the room completely:
1 – Hang a shelf on a wall, and use it to display your collectibles or other decor.
2 – Fill antique bowls or shaving mugs with toiletries, such as soaps or bath salts.
3 – If you have a larger room, try adding a wicker chair or similar piece of outdoor furniture.
4 – Be generous in your use of mirrors on the walls. They will make the room appear larger and more open.
5 – Colorwash your wood cabinets to give them character.
6 – Try applying a colored stain to revive those old wood cabinets. Use a light-colored stain for the background and then apply a brighter color to some of the drawers to create a contrast.
7 – Always have fresh flowers or flowering plants on hand for fragrance and appearance. Put them in an old watering can or vase.
8 – Should your bathroom have a linen closet with a door, try replacing that door with a framed trellis.
9 – Frame in your mirror over the sink with tiles, perhaps alternating colors or styles in them.
10 – Install a brand new shower curtain. A cloth curtain will be more expensive, but it will also look nicer. You can also try a nylon or cotton curtain as long as you find one in a suitable color. Try to avoid anything plastic as it will look cheap and probably won’t last as long. Plus any stains will be magnified on it.
11 – With a multi-colored curtain, choose new linens in colors that reflect those of the curtain. For a striped shower curtain, get some solid towels in coordinating colors. Try not to match the pattern exactly because it will take away from the rest of the room.
These are just a few things we thought of. Most important thing is to be creative and experiment until you are happy. Your bathroom will be frequented by many visitors, and can become a statement of your unique personality or style. Don’t let any self doubt deter you from having the bathroom of your dreams. And even though the bulk of the work is done, any new bathroom remodeling ideas can be implemented at a later date. Consider your home a work in progress and have fun doing it.

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Hillside Landscaping – Properly Watering Hillside And Sloped Landscapes

September 30, 2023   Matt

Hillside Landscaping – Properly Watering Hillside And Sloped Landscapes

Sloped and hillside lawns and landscapes tend to develop dry dead spots during the hot part of the season. This is primarily due to water run off before it has a chance to saturate into the soil. Deep saturation is a key to a healthy lawns and plants. Deep watering helps establish deeper roots that can handle Summer heat stress.
Water that runs off or just barely breaks the surface, obviously does the lawn or landscape very little good. So how do you give landscaping and lawn on a slope better saturation?
Split your water cycle duration into two or three short cycles. If your water cycle is 30 minutes, you might split the cycle into three 10 minute cycles. So on watering days, you’ll run the system for the specified amount of time, let it soak for a few hours, then repeat this for the number of times needed.
To determine the exact amount of time needed, turn on the lawn sprinkler and watch for how long it takes for runoff to begin. This is the maximum of how long each cycle should be.
Don’t just split your cycles into different days. You need deep saturation for healthier plants. Plants and lawns like infrequent deep waterings much more than frequent shallow waterings.
Landscaping and specimen plants on a hillside will also benefit from better saturation. Plants should be planted in larger holes filled with good soil that absorbs water easily. Also, dams and water wells should be built on the downhill side of the plant. This will help give the water time to soak straight down to the root zone before it runs off.

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Hillside Landscaping-Proper Watering

September 25, 2023   Matt

Hillside Landscaping-Proper Watering

Sloped and hillside lawns and landscapes tend to develop dry dead spots during the hot part of the season. This is primarily due to water run off before it has a chance to saturate into the soil. Deep saturation is a key to a healthy lawns and plants. Deep watering helps establish deeper roots that can handle Summer heat stress.

Water that runs off or just barely breaks the surface, obviously does the lawn or landscape very little good. So how do you give landscaping and lawn on a slope better saturation?

Split your water cycle duration into two or three short cycles. If your water cycle is 30 minutes, you might split the cycle into three 10 minute cycles. So on watering days, you’ll run the system for the specified amount of time, let it soak for a few hours, then repeat this for the number of times needed.

To determine the exact amount of time needed, turn on the lawn sprinkler and watch for how long it takes for runoff to begin. This is the maximum of how long each cycle should be.

Don’t just split your cycles into different days. You need deep saturation for healthier plants. Plants and lawns like infrequent deep waterings much more than frequent shallow waterings.

Landscaping and specimen plants on a hillside will also benefit from better saturation. Plants should be planted in larger holes filled with good soil that absorbs water easily. Also, dams and water wells should be built on the downhill side of the plant. This will help give the water time to soak straight down to the root zone before it runs off.

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Camping Describes A Wide Range Of Activities

September 20, 2023   Matt

Camping Describes A Wide Range Of Activities

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the campers get away from civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or more nights at a campsite. It may be combined with hiking either as backpacking or as a series of day hikes from a central location. The idea of sleeping outdoors in a sleeping bag or in a tent on the hard ground, cooking a can of beans over a fire and using the bathroom outside were not necessarily what the majority of people might want to do on their holidays. It might have been ok for the young, energetic and childless people out there, but for the average family or older generations, camping was something that was seldom thought of as entertainment.

Many campgrounds have sites with special facilities such as fire rings, barbecue grills, bathrooms and utilities, but not all campsites have similar levels of development. Although those who find romance in the sleeping bag under the stars can still rough it any time they want to, even the hard core roughing it camper will likely find some tools, products or gadgets that they would love to have on their next trip. From the wide variety of locations and venues that are available, not just in the country, but internationally, to the wide range of camping products that are now made, you can virtually create the experience that you and your family may not have even thought to dream of yet.

If you haven’t considered camping as a vacation possibility for you and your family before now, take a moment to think about what it could look like. You arrive at a facility with a reservation for the spot that you would like. That spot could be anything from a parking space for your recreational vehicle to a gorgeous lakeside campground. It could be cabins with indoor plumbing, a site that has group facilities nearby, or a true wilderness location where you can get as close to nature as you’d like. When it comes time to have the next meal, your options are also incredibly varied. Depending on the habitation you’ve chosen, you could find yourself doing anything from cooking over an open flame to using your own high-tech portable oven or grill that provides you with comforts similar to those of home.

But one of the best aspects of camping is the endless array of locations and activities available at each of the different sites. You can find sites at some of the most beautiful natural locations in the world. But that’s not all. Whether your family would prefer to go to the mountains, by a lake, near the sea, or near a historic or tourist location, you can incorporate a number of fun activities into your camping experience. Horse-back riding, boating, hiking, swimming, and any number of games and sports are all possibilities that will satisfy the vacation dreams of every member of your family.

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3 Tips in Landscaping your Garden

September 15, 2023   Matt

3 Tips in Landscaping your Garden

Landscaping is usually a fairly big task, consuming much time and energy. But before you hire that professional, here are some tips that could save both time and money.

1. Spend some time thinking about exactly how you want the final design to be. You need to take account of the style and function of your landscape. Do you want to include an area for entertaining? A barbeque? Is there to be an area for children to play, a fishpond or a swimming pool? An idea of the plants you want to be there will also help. Focus on the area where you spend most of your time. That’s a good place to start.

2. Think twice before hiring a pro. An independent designer might cost you hundreds of dollars when you may be able to access free plans on the internet or at a nursery. But if you have an awkward block such as very steep ground, a pro might give you the expertise to save costly mistakes.

3. The style of your home must be taken into account. If you have a rural cottage, formal gardens surrounding it will look out of place. Think also about your lifestyle. Do you want to spend hours caring for many beds of annuals or pruning beds of roses? If so, go ahead and plant them, but if you’d rather spend your free time at the beach, then go for an easy-care garden and landscape.

Here are the various landscape styles you can choose for your own garden:

a. Formal. This style uses lots of straight lines and perfect geometrical shapes. Orderly arrangement of plants instead of random positioning is employed. Close arrangement and pruning is seen on many landscaped gardens with this style.

b. Informal. This kind of landscaping workds well with cosy cottages. Beds with curved edges instead of straight lines and random placement of plants suit this landscape style.

c. English Garden. This style emphasizes the harmony between the house’s architecture and the garden.

d. Formal/Informal Garden. This style often comes with a brick walkway that exudes formality. This walkway leads to the rear with a circle of plants. The arrangement of plants resembles the English garden style but it has no formal borders.

e. Oriental. It is often the kind of garden found in small backyards. It uses rocks, evergreens and water. A wide variety of plants create several interesting angles with this style.

f. Woodland. This landscaping suits a house that has a wooded backyard and sloping ground.

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