Taking a look at my blog

When taking a look at my blog I see some positives and some negatives to it. And just like anything in life there is room for improvement and my blog is no exception, but there are some things that are done very well. One of the positives is that there is a pretty good range of blogs that I have written for my viewers to read. By this I mean I haven’t just focused on one subject like plants, the lawn, or products. When looking at each individual blog they are a decent size for a reader to read and not to long so they won’t get bored with it or on the other hand they won’t get enough information out of reading the blog. Something else that is done well on my blog is the ads on the left hand side of the page. But going right along with that there are only ads on the left side and I should have some on the right side of the web page as well. This will give the viewers more opportunities to be able to find other links that they are interested in. Something else that I need to put on my blog page is some other pages. For example other bloggers have a list of clickable links on the top of their pages that will bring the viewer to another section of their blogs. I also took my blog another step further and wrote an about me page letting my viewers know a little bit about myself. All-in-all I feel like my blog is pretty well constructed but some improvements can be made.

A Sneeze Post On Getting Your Lawn Looking Great

There are a number of things that you should do to get your lawn looking great and keeping it that way. Here are a few of my past blogs that will help you to get your lawn look great in no time.

The first way is to dethatch your lawn. Dethatching Blog “An abundance of thatch can limit the amount of water and sunlight that your lawn is receiving which will obviously hurt it. So it is smart to dethatch your lawn every now and then.”

Another thing to do to your lawn to keep it looking great and being healthy is to aerate it. Aeration Blog “Another thing that these holes help out with is fertilization. The holes once again provide the nutrients in the fertilizer the easy access to get to the roots of the grass where they need to be.”

Something else that can be done with your lawn is to ensure that you keep harmful bugs and insects away from it. Grubs Blog  “grubs feed on the roots of your grass. So if the problem is grubs the section of grass will easily be lifted right off of your lawn.”

Watering your lawn is one of the most important things that you can do for it to help give it the luscious green look that will make you neighbors jealous of you. Watering Blog “A lot of people just rely on the rain to water their lawns because they think that will be enough and that isn’t the truth. Your lawn needs about one inch of water per week and it doesn’t rain that much.”

22 ways to enhance or keep your lawn looking wonderful

1.       Fertilize your lawn when necessary (around four to five times a year).

2.       Water your lawn weekly to keep that luscious green look.

3.       Cut the grass at an appropriate height to avoid scalping.

4.       Fill in any bare spots on the lawn so it looks full.

5.       Aerate your lawn in the spring and fall so that it can “breathe.”

6.       Dethatch your lawn when there is an excess of thatch.

7.       Power edge your sidewalks and drive ways for a “clean cut look”.

8.       Weed whack parts of the lawn not cut by your mower.

9.       Clean up debris as they come onto your lawn.

10.   Take care of weeds on your lawn but preferably before they appear.

11.   Keep the tree branches under control (no broken or low hanging branches).

12.   Add bushes around the house for more color and foliage.

13.   Do not let your bushes grow out of control.

14.   Incorporate an array of flowers for color.

15.   Add ground cover to keep weeds under control in landscaping.

16.   Water your plants regularly (brown dying plants are an eyesore).

17.   Add some landscaping decorations for an extra flare.

18.   Use mulch around trees, plants, and bushes so they don’t look so bare.

19.   Build a retaining wall for some structure.

20.   Use stones in retaining walls for a finishing touch.

21.   Add a stone pathway as an extension to the sides of your drive way.

22.   Add a bird feeder, bird house, and or a bird bath.

Spending to much time on your lawn?

Some home owners lover cutting their lawns and taking care of all of the different types of landscaping that they have put in around their house.  For these people it gives them a sense of accomplishment on how good their lawns look. On the other hand there are people out there that just despise cutting their lawns and taking care of the landscaping. For those people who hate to do those things there are a few things that they can do to cut back the time that is needed to maintain a healthy looking lawn all around. The first problem that people have is that their lawns are too large and it takes them to long just to cut the grass. There are a few simple things that you can do to try and shrink the size of your lawn. The first thing that you can do is build a patio. Building a patio in your yard will decrease the amount of grass that you will need to cut and will also give something more to your house and yard. Another trick you can use is to use mulch. With mulch you can extend any area which cuts down the amount of grass on your lawn. Something else you can think about adding to your lawn in a pond or even a “rock” garden with a bird bath and some other decretive landscaping. If you are annoyed of taking care of your landscaping think about planting perennials and also some small bushes that don’t grow at all really and need very little upholding.

Grubs

One day your lawn is looking healthy and green and then all of the sudden you start to get sections of your grass that looks like it is dead. If you own a dog these sudden spots may be caused by them, but if you don’t own a dog there are a few other things it might be. One thing it might be is just simply the lack of watering and too much sun. But the thing that it most likely would be is grubs. Grubs are the form of beetles’ larvae. There are two very simple indicators of the fact that your lawn has grubs. The first one is that sections of your lawn look brown and dead. The second one is if there are sections that have been ripped up. You may wonder why your lawn would be ripped up and simply put it is from animals that smell the bugs and dig them up for a meal. There are two tests you can do to make sure that grubs are the real problem you are having. The first test is to go to that section of dead looking grass and try to pull it up. You can do this because the grub feeds on the roots of your grass. So if the problem is grubs the section of grass will easily be lifted right off of your lawn. The second thing you can do is to cut a section of your healthy lawn and peal it back and search through the soil to see if there are grubs present. If there are grubs present you should go to your local hardware store and get some grub repellent sprays/feeds.

Sod

When trying to repair your lawn and using fertilizers and seeds aren’t working there is still another option; and that option is sod. Sod is very simple if you know what to do. There are only a few simple steps when putting sod in your lawn to replace a dead area of grass. The first thing to do is to measure the area that you want to replace. When going to buy the sod make sure to buy one quarter to one third more than needed just to be safe. Now it is time to prepare the soil that you are going to replace. First to make it easier on yourself make sure you cut the grass area in square patterns to match the sod. Also remove about another inch of good grass around the dead area so that the sod will have a better chance of molding in with it. Remove about two inches of dirt in the area and replace this with fresh topsoil and you can even mix in some types of fertilizers to enrich the soil and make it better for the sod when it is planted. Before laying down the sod make sure the dirt is well compacted and there is enough room for the sod to be placed even with the rest of the grass. Now it’s time to cut the sod and place it down. A little tip is to cut the sod from the bottom where the dirt is rather than trying to cut through the grass layer. This makes it easier and also allows you to cut straighter paths. Now lay the sod and also compact this down so it has a firm connection with the soil. Now the most important part, watering. Make sure to constantly water the area of sod that you have just replaced.

Watering Plants

When trying to keep your garden healthy so that it will yield a healthy and full harvest or trying to keep your plants and flowers looking beautiful there is one essential thing you need to do and that is constant water. Just like your lawn, your plants, flowers, and vegetables need water too. Many people think that a light dusting of water ever day or so over the leaves of your flowers, plants, and vegetables are all that they need to be healthy. Well this isn’t exactly true. First off it is better for your plants to be watered down at the root. When you water the plants at the roots it makes it easier for it so soak up the water and distribute it throughout the plant. Also when watering by the root this will keep the soil wet around the roots for longer allowing the plants to get all the water that they need. Another tip would be to water your plants in the evening or in the early morning. Watering at these two times of the day improve your chances of the plant receiving the most amount of water since less of it will have a chance to evaporate. Something else that many people don’t think of is reusing the water from inside of their house, called “grey water.” For instance when you are done doing your dishes in your sink you can take that water and use it to water your plants. The only thing that you need to watch out for is bleach and strong disinfectants but soaps and detergents won’t harm your plants.

Dethatching

Dethatching in its own ways is just like aeration. Dethatching your lawn in the spring and fall can really do wonders for it. But many people don’t even know what dethatching is. Well dethatching is basically removing the thatch from your lawn. Thatch is basically the buildup of debris on your lawn over a certain period of time. This debris can consist of grass clippings, pieces of leaves, small pieces of twigs, and anything small enough to make its way through the top layer of grass and sit on the dirt of your lawn and build up. Thatch can be both beneficial and harmful to your lawn. If there isn’t a large amount of thatch on your lawn it can help keep in some of the moister that your lawn would otherwise give off. Also thatch can be seen as a fertilizer, since when it is breaking down it helps by feeding your lawn. On the other hand if there is too much thatch it can hurt your lawn. An abundance of thatch can limit the amount of water and sunlight that your lawn is receiving which will obviously hurt it. So it is smart to dethatch your lawn every now and then. Also once you dethatch your lawn this is how it becomes like aerating your lawn. When you dethatch your lawn it puts cuts in the dirt when retrieving the thatch. With these cuts in the lawn it makes it a smarter time to fertilize your lawn. I say this because with these cuts the fertilizer will be able to better penetrate the lawn in turn feeding the grass roots much more efficiently. Also when you water your lawn after dethatching it, it will receive a lot more of that water more efficiently.

Garden

Many people put a lot of effort in the different things that they do around their houses, inside and out. One thing that many people try to do pertaining to the outside of their houses is that they try to have their own vegetable garden. People do this for a few reasons; it is cheaper for them, they know exactly what they are getting (pesticides and fertilizer), and also for that satisfaction of growing and eating your own food. But there are a few things that you should keep in mind before just jumping in and starting your vegetable garden. The first thing to be cautious of is the sunlight that your vegetables will be receiving. They should get a lot of sunlight each day. Going along with sunlight it the space needed for the plants. Some plants need more room than others so make sure you aren’t putting them to close together and they won’t be getting the needed about of sunlight. You also want to make sure that the area you are planting these vegetables in have a plentiful amount of compost and nutrients. If you aren’t having good luck with growing your vegetables in a normal garden you may want to try a raised up garden. This is exactly what it sounds like, you build up walls to a certain height and add in the desired amount of dirt, compost, nutrients, and other things that you want to put in it. This will give your vegetables a better chance at growing healthy.

Stepping Stones

Are you thinking of getting a walkway from the front of your house to the back of your house? Maybe people first think that the only option that they have is to get a cement contractor to come out and install a nice and expensive cement walkway into your backyard. Well this is not the only option that you have as a home owner. There is another option, which I even feel looks nicer, instead of the cement walk way. This options is to install a stone walk way. This alternative also leaves that natural look with your lawn since you will not be disturbing the lawn nearly as much as you would if you did the cement walkway. Installing a stone walk way by yourself is rather simple and inexpensive; all you need to pay for are the stone you decided to use and a shovel if you don’t have one. There are two ways that you can install the stones. The first way is to lay out the stones where you want them and to use your shovel to dig out the area around it, using the stones as a stencil. This way may be a little bit more difficult for the less experienced do it yourselfers. The alternative way to installing the stepping stones is to remove an area of grass that will be large enough for the stone to fit in and then fill in the open space around each stone with dirt and seed to fill the gap between the stone and your lawn.

Home owners with pools

Many people do different things to their backyards to make it unique and to fit to their style as a person or family. Some of the things that people do are have gazebos build, play grounds built, have a pool put in, or just leave it alone with a little bit of landscaping here and there. In this blog I am going to focus on those people who have put in a pool and get them a few tips to try and save some money. The first way you can save yourself some money when owning a pool is to cut back on the cleaning that you do. I am not saying do not clean your pool if it is dirty. Rather I am suggesting that you put a pool net over the top of the pool to catch things that are unwanted in your pool. The net will not catch everything from entering your pool so it is a smart idea to also put the cover on it when you are not using it. Another way you can save yourself some money instead of getting a heater is to use a solar cover. This warms up the water from the sun’s rays. Another alternative to buying a water heater would be to get a solar water heater and install this to your pool. This will be cheaper than a normal heater since you will not be using any gas but you will still need a pump to circulate the water through the system. Those are just two simple ways home owners will pools can save some money since maintaining a pool is expensive enough as it is.

Watering

Just about everyone takes pride in their lawns and landscaping. If you are trying to keep your lawn looking its greenest and best there are a few key things that you need to do to it. As mentioned before it is very smart to fertilize your lawn so that it gets the nutrients that it needs to grow healthy and obtain that luscious green look that everyone wants. But there is something else that is just as crucial as fertilization and that is watering. A lot of people just rely on the rain to water their lawns because they think that will be enough and that isn’t the truth. Your lawn needs about one inch of water per week and it doesn’t rain that much. A smart idea would be to invest in a sprinkler system for your lawn. With a sprinkler system you can easily set a timer so that it your lawn gets watered by itself. This also helps when you go out of town; you know your lawn will being taken care of and also will deter robbers since it gives the allusion that someone is home. I know sprinkler systems can be rather pricey so it is perfectly fine to just use any type of sprinkler that you can pick up at any local home improvement store. And if you are having trouble with a particular section of your lawn getting dried up and turning brown it is a smart idea to invest in a spinning sprinkler. This way you can put the spinning sprinkler in a certain location and focus on that part of the lawn. So even though you are taking care of your lawn in all the other aspects remember to always water your lawn.

Aeration

When getting ready for that first cut of the spring there are a few things that you should do to make your lawn a little healthier. Like I have mentioned in my previous blogs you should always take care of the leaves that ended up there through the few months and also make sure you remove the debris from your lawn. Something that you should also do that can be very beneficial to your lawn in the spring is to aerate it. Aeration is those little plugs on the lawn that look like geese poop. The simple break down of it is that the machine inserts hollow cylinder tubes, about three to four inches in length, into your lawn which then removes the dirt from the ground. The first benefit of aeration is that it opens up your lawn. By this I mean that your lawn will be able to get more oxygen than it would normally be getting. Also with the holes being in the lawn the water from either the rain or your sprinklers will have an easier path to penetrating your lawn giving the grass roots the water that it needs. Another thing that these holes help out with is fertilization. The holes once again provide the nutrients in the fertilizer the easy access to get to the roots of the grass where they need to be. Finally it can help your lawn with the thatch that may have built up over time without you realizing, but that is something for a different blog. If you want to know more about aeration check out my website at http://pictureperfectlandscaping.webs.com/aerating.htm.

Product Recommendation

The Algreen Cascata Rain Barrel is a wonderful product to purchase and use around your home. There are many positives to this product with only one little negative which can be justified. The first reason that I suggest that you buy this product is that it is very environmentally friendly. The whole concept of the rain barrel is to collect the rain water and store it for later use for your lawn, garden, and plants. I recommend this particular rain barrel since it has a few nice additions compared to the basic models and it isn’t an eye soar to your lawn and garden. One of the nice features is that is has a removable crown planter on the top which will allow you to plant things on top of it giving it an even more friendly look. There is also a corrosion proof screen on the top of the barrel so nothing will get in the barrel that will clog it up or make a mess and you also won’t need to replace it. Like I said there is one drawback to purchasing this specific product and that is the price of it. This model is going to cost you $150 which is a little pricey for a rain barrel. If you decide to purchase this rain barrel it will end up paying for itself over time. This is true since you will be using less of the water from your home and more water from your rain barrel; which will lower the cost of your monthly water bill. Overall this is a great product to buy and it won’t only help you out but also the planet.

Grass Height

Many home owners don’t really pay attention that much as to when they should cut their lawns or at which height they should cut it. With that being said, it is hard to find that perfect height so that you don’t cut the grass to short or go the opposite and not cut enough of the grass. There are some reasons why you don’t want to cut your lawn to short. The first reason is that it gives to a higher chance of scalping your lawn. Scalping your lawn is when the blade hits the bottom of your lawn giving your lawn a bald look. Also if you cut your lawn to short it will be more susceptible to get burned out from the sun and droughts. The first reason why you don’t want to leave the grass on your lawn to long is that it gives a better chance for your lawn to get weeds. Another reason is that if you have a tendency to keep your grass long you may begin to cut it less and less often and at some point in time your lawn just might get a little too out of control for you to keep up with. So when you are determining at which height you are going to cut your grass at remember that not only are your personal preferences a factor but that there are some legitimate reasons why you shouldn’t cut your lawn to short or not cut that much off of your lawn.