Patio Inspiration From Design Sponge and Kevin O’Shea!
June 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Design Sponge interviewed designer Kevin O’Shea for some tips on designing your own patio garden room, and his tips come complete with several must-see mood boards on different themes like an English Garden, and an Urban Balcony!
He’s created a great starting place, from furniture, to container styles and lighting, to give you inspiration for creating your own escapist patio retreat. Hop over to Design Sponge’s article on Creating Outdoor Rooms, and get some ideas for making your patio a place you’re going to want to show off.
Happy Gardening!
Can I Pollard a Fruit Tree?
June 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Can I pollard prune fruit trees to keep them smaller and more maintainable for my patio?
Coming This Weekend, The Maryland Home and Garden Show!
October 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Attention DC and Maryland! The fall Home and Garden show is taking place this weekend at the Timonium Fairgrounds, and it’s going to be the place to be! This show is going to be 150,000 square feet of space jam-packed with home design experts, landscaping companies, and local crafters, selling everything you could need to update your home from the outside in. There’s even a family friendly balloon garden, where everything from the flowers, shrubs, and plants, to the brightly colored aerial displays are designed entirely from balloons!
Why Does My London Planetree Drop It’s Leaves In The Summer?
October 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Photo Courtesy of: Hubert J. Steed
London Planetrees are the descendents of both European Sycamores and American Planetrees. They look much like Sycamores, with similar leaves, and showy peeling bark in brown, silver, and green hues. London Planetrees are commonly planted as street trees currently due to their hearty disposition and disease resistance to anthracnose and some pests. Ideally they should be planted in areas with plenty of moisture, but in many cases the roadside and “construction grade soil” that they are planted in can cause the tree problems initially, and lead to defoliation in the warm months.
Stink Bugs Q and A
September 30, 2010 By 5 Comments
Photo Courtesy of: BuggSlayer
Asian Stink Bugs have invaded the East Coast of the US, and are causing home owners trouble as they infiltrate homes, cars, and workplaces. They’ve made it all the way to the local news, the CBS Nightly News, and the blogosphere so far, but the practical answers on where they came from, how to manage them, and what to do about that smell, had yet to be answered – until now!
Indoor Outdoor Lead Paint Safety
September 28, 2010 By 1 Comment
Photo Courtesy of: jasteende
Fall weather’s got us all outdoors painting, and re-furbishing our indoor and outdoor spaces before the holiday season catches up with us, and I want to help you brighten up your home and garden and make it safer for all those Sunday suppers, and football parties you want to get around to hosting!
There’s a certain green appeal to recycling and re-furbishing an older home, and weather it’s indoors or out on the wrap around porch lead paint is not your friend. If you’ve got an older home you need to repaint make sure to read professional engineer Todd’s home improvement updates on the new legislation regarding lead paint before you begin painting or scraping that old railing.
Safety First!
What To Read While You’re Stuck In Fourth Of July Traffic
July 5, 2010 By 2 Comments
Photo Courtesey of: Just chaos
Well, the long weekend is almost over for those of us in the USA. If you are like me you may find yourself in some serious bumper to bumper traffic as you leave the beach, and having a little garden reading can really lighten the travel stress. Here’s what I’m going to be reading today on my way home!
Amy Leigh over at “Growing Plants Indoors” is talking carnivorous plants, and has a list of 10 Indoor Plants That Can Eat Bugs, and break you out of your indoor plant rut.
Fine Gardening has a great article on how to plant 10 Different Plants For Year Round Container garden appeal!
Fern over at Life on the Balcony has tips for the summer gardener, and how to start a late Summer Edible Container Garden.
Virginia over at Planet Green is giving us the dirt on city gardening with The City Girl’s Guide to Country Gardening Lesson #12: Sussing Out Your Soil.
And TipNut has 50 Soothing Home Remedies you can make yourself to treat and relieve your summer sunburn. Talk about timely information!
I’m off to hit the roads, so I wish the rest of you the best of luck in your travels as well! I hope you had a restful Fourth of July Weekend.
How To Choose a Lawn Service
July 4, 2010 By 10 Comments
Photo Courtesy of: PC – My Shots@Photography
Being in the “green business,” I get a lot of questions from friends and family about the pros and cons of lawn services over a Do-It-Yourself program. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained in building your lawn up yourself, and for many people (myself included), puttering around in the yard is both an enjoyable hobby and a stress reliever. For those of you considering a lawn service for the next chapter in your life I would like to share with you my “insiders perspective” about what the strengths and weaknesses of the lawn care industry are, and give you some pointers on things to look for when choosing one for yourself. I will preface this post by saying that I am not employed by any lawn care service, and have no interest in recommending any one service by name. If you are considering a lawn service I want to give you the right questions to ask to help you find a company that will save you time, money, and environmental impact, all while building a beautiful and healthy lawn.
