Every homeowner dreams of a nicely landscaped yard. The reality is that landscaping takes time, energy, and money, making it something that gets put off due to limited resources. Instead of putting off a pretty yard now, utilize some completely free and cheap ways to start beautifying your landscape.
1. Do the work yourself. This seems self-explanatory, but hiring professional landscapers and individuals to do work in your yard is probably one of the single highest expenses related to landscaping. If you currently have someone doing it all, assess what you could learn, and do yourself without a lot of
Plants Safe For Pets: Part 2
by Anna P. August 30th, 2011 Container Gardening
If you're a pet owner who loves to garden, you already know that choosing safe plants is very important. In a previous article I named two plants that are ideal for dog and cat owners: African Violets and Bamboo Palms. This article names three more pet-friendly plants that you can grow in your container garden.
Snapdragons
The snapdragon is a beautiful annual plant that has flowers that look reminiscent to a dragon face. They come in many different colors, but most commonly red or yellow. They're hearty, pretty easy to cultivate, but don't fare so well in a lot of
Snapdragons
The snapdragon is a beautiful annual plant that has flowers that look reminiscent to a dragon face. They come in many different colors, but most commonly red or yellow. They're hearty, pretty easy to cultivate, but don't fare so well in a lot of
Low-Cost Ideas for Gardening Containers
by Heather Duchan August 26th, 2011 Container Gardening
Container gardening is the perfect choice for new gardeners or those with little ground to work with. Although your local home improvement/gardening store has plenty of containers to choose from for growing plants, spending lots of money is not necessary in order to get started with container gardening. Use these ideas and your own resourcefulness to take advantage of mostly free gardening container options.
1. DIY Raised Garden Beds. Obtain pieces of untreated lumber to assemble into square or triangle raised beds, secured together with screws. Redwood and cedar are good choices, as both are rot resistant. Look on Craigslist or research
1. DIY Raised Garden Beds. Obtain pieces of untreated lumber to assemble into square or triangle raised beds, secured together with screws. Redwood and cedar are good choices, as both are rot resistant. Look on Craigslist or research
Flowers for Non-Toxic Pest Control
by Heather Duchan August 24th, 2011 Flowers
Pest control is an unfortunate necessity for all gardeners. Although insecticides can be a quick fix, they create negative effects on the environment. Pollination is also at risk, as insecticides can kill bees. A safer option is companion planting.
Companion planting is a method of growing plants that will benefit each other. One approach is choosing ornamental flowers that will attract beneficial insects that eat common pests.
To decide what flowers to grow for pest control, the first step is identifying your main pests. Once this is done, search for flowers that naturally repel the pests or attract the pest's natural
Companion planting is a method of growing plants that will benefit each other. One approach is choosing ornamental flowers that will attract beneficial insects that eat common pests.
To decide what flowers to grow for pest control, the first step is identifying your main pests. Once this is done, search for flowers that naturally repel the pests or attract the pest's natural
Keeping a “Greener” Yard
by Dennis Mayer August 23rd, 2011 Landscaping
Some of the most environmentally taxing things homeowners do take place in the piece of the environment they actually own. Many households use more water in their backyards than they use in their homes, and when you add the chemicals used to fertilize a lawn, as well as the gas to mow it, typical landscaping can be really bad for the environment.
Here are a few ways to keep your yard a bit more environmentally friendly. I've rated each of them from 1-5, based on how easy they are to implement:
Here are a few ways to keep your yard a bit more environmentally friendly. I've rated each of them from 1-5, based on how easy they are to implement:
- Switching to a manual push mower: These mowers were