One of the most frustrating things about gardening is no matter how much a gardener wants to make the garden perfect there will always be those pesky weeds that like to crash the party and make gardening difficult. Weeds can be intrusive and can prevent other plants from growing normally.
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Guest Post by: Dan Whiteside
Thank you for your contribution Dan
According to research by HSBC, the average gardener in the UK spends £297 maintaining their outside space. They spend £73 on plants, £71 on landscaping, £70 on general maintenance and £82 on new garden furniture – but gardening doesn’t need to be this expensive.
Here are five money-saving tips:
If you spend a fortune on flowers and plants, why not sow your own seeds? Simply choose what you want to grow and buy a packet of seeds from you nearest gardening centre. You’ll get more for your money and will be able to watch your flower bed or vegetable patch flourish and grow. If you have been gardening for a while, you could even keep back several seeds from a previous crop and plant these instead. Read the rest of this entry »
A well-planned sprinkler system is a key element to a beautiful lawn, and with Sprinkler Buddies in place, a low maintenance solution. Once you’ve taken care of beautifying your lawn with weed control and water management, you may turn your attention to your borders: flower beds, trees, and shrubbery. Enhancing these areas with a ground covering of mulch or decorative stone goes a long way for the curb-appeal of your property.
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Nobody likes garden pests. Even if you’re trying to have an all natural yard and garden, the wrong pests can run your beautiful plants to the ground. Here are a few steps for prevention of pests and disease.
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This is a guest post from Hester Mazzola, Texas tough and proudly American. Thanks for contributing Hester!
SMART controllers are loosely defined as any controller that can make changes to its programming based on information from outside sources, such as weather stations or paid weather services. This does not include simple rain or freeze sensors.
The idea behind SMART controllers is simple. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a guest post from Nancy here to give us some tips on lawn watering. Thanks for contributing Nancy!
Everyone wants to own a lovely garden, but very few know how difficult it is to maintain it. One of the most important things to maintain the green garden is correct watering. Though it may seem to be the simplest task, very few actually know the correct method and amount of water required by your garden. Lack of water can result in drying of grass while excess can cause rotting of roots. In fact excess water will waste the very precious water and will damage the lawn.
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Most homeowners plan their landscapes with beauty in mind, leaving lawn care and maintenance as an afterthought – until it’s time to start weeding and watering. As family schedules become increasingly hectic, it’s getting harder to find the time to cultivate a lush, green lawn. The solution: Develop your landscape with the goal of making lawn care as easy on yourself as possible.
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This is a guest post by Amber Strauff who is here to teach us how to make a rainwater collector. If you have had any experience with collecting rainwater for your own yard or garden, please share in the comments. Thank you.
Professional landscaping is crucial when you become a homeowner. In fact, the American Society of Landscape Architects suggests that proprietors invest 10% of their home’s values in landscaping. However, there are many different landscaping options that can save you money without sacrificing the quality of your landscaping efforts. A great amount of information is available for everyone on ways to save money and energy and water resources that could be easily adapted to the maintenance of your home’s yard. Solar lights, efficient timed sprinklers for watering your plants and reel lawn mowers are all great examples on how homeowners are beginning to change their landscaping maintenance methods to make the world a greener place.
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Whilst most view the creation of a garden as a slow process, taking years of careful nurture, sometimes it can be satisfying to see some immediate results! There are many things a gardener can do to improve their garden over the course of a week long DIY holiday – these “staycations” are becoming increasingly popular with families keen to save money. Indeed, there are lots of exciting projects won’t even take that long. Here are some ideas for what you could get up to:
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There are safe and effective ways to weed your lawn and garden. You don’t even have to buy that nasty toxic chemical weed killer.
There are approximately three different ways to get rid of a plant. You can pluck it out or dig it out using your hands or a shovel, you could use poisons to kill the plant, or you can take a more preemptive approach and use a pre-emergent.
Each different approach to weeding has its own pros and cons, so it is hard to say which is best and most effective. Many times it is going to depend specifically on the type of plant you are trying to get rid of.
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