If you have not yet cleaned up all litter or garden trash, be sure it is done this fall. Do not provide a winter home for insect pests.

Chrysanthemums - October is the month of heaviest bloom for this queen of fall flowers. The most important thing to remember is to provide plenty of water for them. They are heavy feeders (which should have been taken care of in September) and heavy drinkers. Visit the fall shows and gardens of chrysanthemums and write down names of varieties you like and try them another year. The fall shows are wonderful places to see the best in the seasonal flowers. Keep a close check on the weather, and before killing frost lift clumps of chrysanthemums and put in the garage or basement for continued bloom. A few may even be potted and kept in the house. An additional month of flowers may be had in this way.

Soil Preparation - In open spaces in the garden, dig the soil deep, adding a little complete fertilizer. Or plant some type of cover crop and turn it under for a green manure. Soil preparation can go on all year in a garden. Just turning the soil will keep it in good tilth.

Miscellaneous - Take cuttings of herbaceous plants like the donkey ears plant and root them for next year’s garden. Many gardeners carry over plants of all kinds like the donkey ears plant simply as rooted cuttings taken during October. The cutting wood should be firm and seasoned, and not soft and succulent, for best results. Plant pansy seeds for transplanting next month. Pansies are the chief source of bloom in many winter gardens. Continue planting the garden lilies started last month.

Visit the countryside and gather seed pods, weeds and flowers for drying. Many interesting materials are available for winter bouquets, and October is the month for collecting and drying them. Divide and replant peonies, or plant new ones, this month.

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One of the weekly activities of most households is keeping their lawn pretty and healthy. Different styles and approaches are employed in taking care of your green outdoor carpet. There are elementary rules that every mower should follow. Here are some must do advises for mowing the correct and safe way.

Always clear the area before you start mowing. It is very important to eliminate hazards and the likelihood of mishaps. Keep children away from all lawn mowing activities at all times. Make sure that none of them are in the mowing area. Never introduce kids to rides in a riding mower as a recreational activity. Children can fall off a mower resulting to serious injuries. They can also interfere with safe unit operation.

Remember to always inspect the area prior to mowing. Take out all debris, rocks and branches from the mowing area. Injuries can befall you or anyone else by flying debris and rocks. They can also inflict damage on your lawn mower costing you a considerable amount of money.

Protect yourself at all times. Goggles to protect the eyes for safety measure is a good idea. For a mowing activity, sandals and sneakers may not be very practical. Wear shoes that have non slip soles and footwear that is sturdy. Slips while mowing can also inflict considerable damage.

Take care of your lungs. Do not start your lawn mower inside your garage or in a garden shed. Keep in mind that burning gasoline produces carbon monoxide which is highly poisonous. Rev up your lawn mower out in the open space where there is lots of fresh air. When adding gasoline, do it out doors also, with the engine turned off of course. Choose a fuel that with at least 87 minimum octane.

Mowing is best done when the grass is dry, and during daytime when vision is better. When approaching blind corners, shrubs, trees or other objects that could obstruct your view, always exercise caution. Cut just a third of the grass’s length every time to keep your grass healthy. You can adjust the cutting length by shifting the mowing deck. Turn the engine off before you do any adjustment.

Make a different pattern every time you cut your grass. You can go from east to west, or north to south, or do it in angles. BY doing this, you can keep your grass healthy and keep the soil from compacting because of your mower wheels.

If you are cutting grass on a hill, mow across it when you are using a walk behind mower, mow across. Do not mow up and down and never pull the mower backwards towards your feet. When using a riding mower on a hill, do the opposite. Command your rig up and down the hill as mowing across would cause you to tip the rig.

People employ different ways to keep their lawns in excellent condition. Always refer to these unfailing basic tips for a wonderful, safe, and accident free greenery.

Today, paving stones are becoming more and more popular in our daily life. They have many practices such as to make driveways, pool deck, a terrace or walkways in your garden. Below are the reasons why paving stones are popularly used today.

The first reason is its impressive looks. Different from other materials such as asphalt and concrete, paving stones with various colors and designs will make your home more sophisticated, elegant and fashionable.

The second one is its peerless flexibility. We can practice this paving material both in a residential positioning and trade field. In addition to constructing patios, driveways and pool decks, paving stones are as well applied to build parking places, golf cart routes and roads vigorous. They have a big role in making the graceful look of those works. What is more, peerless stability is another reason. Paving stone is not only imperishable, but extremely flexible. It is rather difficult to crack when being under the loading.

Also, paving stones are really available to mend and keep. In some situations, for example, you wish to have a new manner for your patio, the paving stone can simply raised, removed and repaired with little time and effort. What is more, upkeep is as well rather available. When the patio is dirty, you can simply sweep and rinse the surface. It will turn back to its original color and beautiful face.

In additional, this material is absolutely safe and stretchy. It is perfect for both pedestrian and vehicular pathways. Likewise, paving systems are ordinarily free in a vast kind of colors and designs. Thus, those systems may be used almost everyplace, without curbing the universal beauty of the site. Compared with other materials, paving stone is rather low-cost and available to use.

For all the pointed reasons, paving stones are becoming famous and widely applied. Do you possess a paving stone ground in your house?

Keeping It Clean

Use an aquarium vacuum that you can find at any pet store or pet area of a department store. This simple tool is mainly a long hose with a broad based suction head to cover as much area as workable while being comfortable to control. This ought to be done once a week during the summer months. You will want to restore the water you remove during cleaning.

Add a waterfall or other water airing to keep algae down. A waterfall or aerator adds oxygen to the water which is beneficial if you wish to keep fish in your pond as well as to restrict algae levels. They also help keep the water circulating and temperature lower to evade an algae bloom that will make your water green.

Light It Up

Station lights in strategic locations around the edge of your pool in the plants, rocks, or even under the surface of the water. Set the timer to start a few minutes before sunset, and set it to go off a few minutes after your ordinary bedtime. Using timers will reduce the cost of lighting your pond so that the lights are only on during the times you are most likely to see them.

Save Money on Water Use

Make use of self contained pond and filter elements so that you only have to put back water once a week when cleaning your pond. Buy the best filter you can pay for and make sure it is the appropriate size for your pond so that you have to replace filthy water less frequently

Plant Care

Plants can improve visual allure to your pond as well as help keep the water in sunny condition. Letting plants grow out of control, however, can have the contrary effect as well as letting them form mold and mildew. Keep your plants well pruned and check on them often.

Chemicals

If your water gets out of hand on you in spite of your consistent efforts you can add chemicals to contain algae or other contaminants that can trigger hazy water. If you have your pond populated with fish be sure any chemicals are nontoxic for use with living animals. Most pond supply stores only have in stock algaecides and enzyme products that are harmless to use with fish.

Conclusion

A pond is ordinarily a highlight of any landscape and requires monitoring and maintenance. It can become a hobby of sorts, because after you have one you sense a craving to keep improving it. Stay within your means and remember to enjoy it. By following the simple ideas mentioned you can control your pond and appreciate its intended real and emotional beauty.

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Similarly, if your patio is very plain looking but the surrounding garden area looks spectacular, your patio will look better than it should. If you make sure your backyard looks its best and blends in with the patio, that is the best way to show off your patio. You don’t have to spend a lot of money fixing your patio if you spend the time on the garden around it.

This summer you will be glad if you take the time now to think of ways you can make your patio area more pleasing to the eye. This does not necessarily mean that you have to spend a lot of money redoing your whole patio. Often, by carefully planning the garden area around your patio, you can make your whole patio environment much more enticing. By carefully blending your patio and the garden around it you can make it look like they are meant to fit together.

A lot of home now come with patios that are nothing more than an ugly slab of concrete. While this is enough for most people, those that have a big yard might want a little something more. If you are going to use your patio for entertaining, you will probably be interested in trying to find some ways to upgrade that patio. Anyone can have that slab of concrete at the back of their house but if you have a carefully thought out garden and patio, it will enhance your whole house and even raise it’s value.

If you use your patio a lot, you will probably want to make it as accommodating as possible and have it be a fun place to hang out. This means you might want to be creative in the furniture you pick and how you arrange the surroundings. The more work and thought you put into your patio and the surrounding area, the better your patio will look and the greater your satisfaction will be. You might look in garden and home improvement magazines for all sorts of ideas for your patio remodel.

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A yard full of delphiniums! How does that prospect strike you? I tried such a scheme 10 years on in my city lot, with only a 43-foot frontage, grew so many I literally sent a truckload of them to a trade show for decoration and still had so many left that it was almost impossible to tell any had been cut.

At first I thought my “yard full of delphiniums” idea was going to be a flop. The seedlings came along well enough and plants looked promising. But, by the first of June that year no more than a dozen had flowered. Then I went away for a week.

When I came back, I was flabbergasted. The yard had been transformed. I sat in the car and feasted my eyes on the most gorgeous sight I had even seen row upon row of magnificent bloom. Stalks were 4 to 6 feet high, some as tall as 7 feet, with 36 to 54 inches of bloom. There were blues, purples, mauves, lavenders, whites and bi-colors of every description.

I got out of my car and inspected them in detail. They were so brilliant that people passing by stopped and asked to come in to see them. Next to getting good stock, the important thing is care of it. My garden was thoroughly prepared for the seedlings as they came along. It was spaded and both compost and well rotted cow manure were put in.

Here is where you go to town on fertilizers It doesn’t matter what your soil is - loam, clay or sand - throw away the books and put in all the compost and manure your pocketbook will stand.

Mine was heavy clay soil. I trenched the bed two spades deep, put compost and manure in the trench and covered it with the next spade row of soil. Then, I raked it level and planted the delphiniums 18 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Planting

To set the begonia plants and delphinium plants out, I opened up a hole by taking out a shovelful of topsoil. I next put in a 2-1/4-inch potful of some complete fertilizer such as Vigoro plus another 2-1/4-inch potful of bone meal and mixed this with the soil. Then I put the soil back and opened up a smaller hole for the seedling. Being careful not to break the root ball, I inserted the seedling in the hole and firmed the earth around it with my fingers. Each growing tip or crown was at soil level. Each newly set row of begonia plants and delphinium plants was thoroughly watered.

From then on, it was just ordinary garden culture. I watered when necessary and always in the morning so that foliage would be dry at night. This discourages mildew. I kept weeds hoed out by shallow cultivation. Since I had been careful in properly preparing the soil and planting, little additional care was necessary from then on.

Spring and summer are the times of the year that people can make their homes look beautiful. Gardens are the way that this can be achieved. Making sure that you plan your gardens maintenance is an essential thing that needs to be done to keep them looking nice.

Making sure that your gardens get an adequate amount of water is an easy thing that can be done. There are times that the summer can appear to have almost drought like conditions and when this is the case the watering becomes even more important.

Night time has been known to be the best time to do this. The water will take a bit longer to absorb then it would if watering is done during the hotter times of the day.

Another important thing that people must do when thinking of gardens maintenance is weeding. Weeds can grow very quickly and can soon have the garden that you have worked so hard on looking messy.

Taking time out of your schedule to do some weeding on a regular basis can be the best way to keep the weeds from getting out of control. If you put this chore off it will be a very large chore for you to do when you finally decide it is time.

Having the appropriate tools can help you get this chore accomplished in no time at all. Hand held tools are great for those that find larger sized tools awkward. These can be purchased at many different stores throughout the country and are relatively inexpensive when it comes to cost. Department stores also carry these items, but they are often only found during the season for which they are intended.

The internet is the perfect spot for finding hints and ideas when it comes to gardens maintenance. Take a bit of time to look at some of the things that people have found to be useful to them. You may want to try some of them yourself.

There are a lot of reasons why so many folks enjoy gardening in a portable greenhouse. The same benefits can be had as you would enjoy from conventional gardening outside. However there are a few significant differences and advantages.

Greenhouse gardening has some important differences from planting an outdoor garden. Controlling the temperature is an important consideration in a portable greenhouse. It’s also important to properly care for your plants. There is no rain in a greenhouse. Therefore, you have to make sure your plants get the suitable amount of water for their survival.

In a portable greenhouse you can enjoy gardening whether it is cold outside or not. A greenhouse makes a great place to store your plants during the winter months . Throughout the winter, you can plant seeds and watch them grow into seedlings that can be planted in the ground come the spring. If you have a greenhouse, you will be able to have the pleasure of enjoying fresh flowers and vegetables all winter long.

It’s not just vegetables that make greenhouse gardening a great pastime. It is also perfect for ornamental plants and flowers. A portable greenhouse is just what you need to over-winter plants that will give your outdoor garden a head start the following spring. They are able to protect the plants from exposure to strong winds, rain and other elements. Seedlings should be sheltered from the outdoor elements, and a greenhouse is ideal for providing that protection.

Other reasons for a portable greenhouse include having a continuous supply of plants for every season. It’s a great chance to try out new species of plants that you might not otherwise consider. Greenhouse gardening allows you to tend your plants without any concerns about the elements that may beat down on them. The controlled atmosphere and climate in a greenhouse makes it perfect for fragile plants not accustomed to cold weather.

It’s important that you place your portable greenhouse in a suitable location. One of the keys to successful gardening in a greenhouse is having the right sun exposure. This is critical to the well being of the plants you are planning to grow. Also keep in mind any buildings and trees that are situated close to the greenhouse. Do they create a shadow over your greenhouse? Will the trees grow so tall that they will cut off the light?

Ventilation is a requirement to lessen overheating that sun exposure might generate in the greenhouse. You should place a thermometer in a shaded area within the greenhouse. Then you must constantly monitor the temperature, especially during warm days. You may need to ventilate the greenhouse when necessary to avoid wilting of your plants due to excessive heat.

Greenhouse gardening is not only productive, it is also relaxing. Gardening has been shown to help ease stress and improve health. You’ll also reap the rewards of a bountiful harvest, whether it’s beautiful plants and flowers or tasty, nutritious vegetables.

Patio pavers are available in various colors, shapes, patterns and finishes. When constructing a patio, there are 3 main paving materials that homeowners can choose from. These materials include brick pavers, concrete pavers and stone pavers. Once the installation of pavers is complete and the patio has been constructed, the next most important ongoing task is to maintain what you have achieved.

It is easy to maintain your pavers. Depending on the type of pavers you choose little maintenance is required. It stands to reason different pavers need different levels of maintenance. Some of the pavers may fade where as some pavers are easier to remove dirt and grime.

There is an randomized surface on the clay brick pavers which causes them to crack and chip. Should one of your pavers become damaged you must replace it with a new paver. By applying a hones, polished or flamed finish you can keep the texture and color for any of the pavers. This is essential to do every few years. The visual aspect lasts longer by using sealing and cleaning products.

The beauty of concrete pavers is that even if they are stained, damaged or broken, they can be easily replaced with little or no fuss by simply removing the damaged paver and replacing it with a new concrete paver. Stains are often hidden by the color of concrete pavers, however weeds in joints will need a pesticide or herbicide in order to maintain.

Stone pavers are very durable and can last for decades of time. Furthermore, stone pavers have a rough surface that will make walking a little uncomfortable. A polish from time to time will counter this problem.

Taking care of your paved patio can be as uncomplicated as routinely sweeping and hosing the patio. To get rid of the dirt and grime use a power washer. We suggest that you seal your pavers right after installation and every 2-3 from there. By doint this you will maintain the color and that new look. It is much simpler to remove stains and spills once it is sealed. Following these steps will help keep your patio gorgeous for many years.

There are two types of lawns to consider at this time of the year - the old lawn that has been established for some time, and the new lawn that is being developed. Consider the latter… many new home owners are faced with establishing a lawn after moving into a new home during the summer months. It is entirely possible to establish a lawn that will survive the winter if there are as many as six weeks of growing weather left in the late summer.

Prepare the soil well either by spading or digging with a rototiller to a depth of at least six inches. Next level the area by raking, and prepare a fine seed bed. Broadcast the grass seeds either by hand or with a mechanical seeder and increase the recommended amount by one-third. The amount will vary with the kind of seeds, but from two to five pounds per 1,000 square feet is needed to insure quick results.

A light rolling and watering will insure germination of the small grass seeds. Frequent and thorough watering is necessary for the germinating and developing seedlings. As soon as the seedlings begin to send out their runners and mat, a very light feeding may be used, provided there is still as much as four weeks left before frost is expected. It is not recommended to add any plant food to the soil during preparation of the seed bed as there is the danger of overstimulating vegetative growth and the plants might be cold tender.

Mowing should begin as soon as the grass is three to four inches tall. This procedure will normally give coverage in six weeks’ time. The period from August 15 to October 1 is recommended as one of the best times of the year to seed new lawns. There are many logical reasons for this.

For old, established lawns, the last feeding should be made during the first week of August. This feeding should be relatively light about 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet of area. Throughout most of the South, this has been a unique lawn year in that the early summer brought unusually heavy rains, rains of water-logging capabilities. This caused lush and coarse growth of many grasses. It also has caused the development of a shallow root system, so you must be on the lookout for signs of wilting and burning in the lawns. Thorough watering will check this condition and keep the lawn growing.

For lawn enthusiast who want a green lawn through the winter, lomandra breeze grass, try bent-grasses or bluegrasses as a permanent lawn grass. These require a great deal more care than Bermuda lawns, but are good in shade and are evergreen. They do suffer in periods of hot weather, though. A good way to get green lawns during the winter is to sow annual rye in the permanent lawn grass during August at the rate of about two or three pounds per 1,000 square feet. Water well, and at about the time of the first killing frost the seedlings will be of a size to transition into winter as a green carpet.

Proper mowing and watering practices must be maintained to keep the lawn well groomed. With the return of good growing conditions in the spring, the permanent grasses will crowd out the short-lived rye grass. This green lawn will add sparkle to an otherwise drab winter landscape.