The yard — Home and Garden Diva

Why Should You Install A Deck In Your Backyard?

A big backyard can be like a blank canvas. Unfortunately, though, you may not feel creative enough to fill that canvas! If you’re looking for a great way to turn your backyard into a fun, stylish place to be, you need outdoor decking.

A deck can be the perfect centrepiece for your yard. Once it’s installed, you can surround it with landscaping or even a garden, so that you can inject all of the various colours and textures that you want. The area will look great, and it will be practical, too! After all, everyone loves hanging out in the backyard for a barbecue, and outdoor decking gives you the perfect space to host all of your friends and family. From it, you’ll be able to enjoy warm afternoons and great sunsets!

Best of all, outdoor decking is so versatile that you can fit it into any decor. No matter what type of home you have, what type of yard you’ve got, or what type of budget you have to work with, a deck can match it. Even if you’ve got a ton of hills or uneven patches in your yard, you can make outdoor decking work!

Think you can’t enjoy a deck because your yard isn’t big enough? Think again! Sure, you may not have a sprawling area to host giant parties, but you can definitely create a spot that injects a little bit of life into your plain ol’ backyard. In fact, it could be just the thing you need to add some dimension and some much-needed extra space to your smaller home!

OK, so you want outdoor decking… But does that mean you have to spend a ton of money on a professional builder?

No way!

Outdoor decking is so versatile that you can build it yourself if you want. If you’ve got some woodworking experience, building your own deck can be a great way to spend your free time. All you need is a pencil and some paper to draw out some designs. Once you measure your yard, you’ll be able to figure out how much wood you need to build the deck of your dreams.

What if you’re not that handy?

There are tons of timber decking specialists out there, who can give you the expertise you need, without charging you an arm and a leg. They can help you figure out which type of wood is right for your deck — soft or hard — along with the perfect level of treatment you need to create a deck for the long haul.

Whether you decide to do the work yourself or call in an expert, you’ll be happy to know that the outdoor decking possibilities are endless. As long as you plan ahead carefully, you can wind up with the perfect finished product. In fact, an addition like this can add some serious value to your home — not to mention all of the “style points” you’ll get from it.

Bottom line — a deck can make your house feel like home again!

Sam Nathan is a freelance writer. His interests include sports, travel and health.

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Beginner’s Guide To Organic Gardening: 4 Natural Pest Control Techniques

by Trish

Organic gardening can be an excellent way to save money and eat fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables; however, it also comes with a fair share of problems and frustrations. One of the main problems that one might encounter is pest control. There are a lot of things you need to take into consideration, especially if you want to use safe and organic techniques.

Organic pest control may seem like a contradiction, but it is not. This involves combining preventive methods as well as supporting the natural eco-system. If you are interested in organic gardening, it is also important to learn how to control the pests in your yard and garden without using chemical insecticides or pesticides. It is crucial to understand that complete annihilation is not the answer in controlling these unwanted creatures.

Why Should You Use Organic Pest Control Techniques?

As a gardener, you need to understand that a healthy garden also needs to have insects. They are an important part of the ecosystem and must not be completely eradicated. Insects and bugs serve as food for lizards, birds, and wildlife as well as assist in the pollination process. They also help break down the nutrients found in the soil, compost, and become nutrients themselves once they die. With that said, completely eradicating them from your organic garden won’t be such as good idea. It is best to simply control them to avoid a full-blown infestation.

When controlling these insects and bugs, you need to avoid using chemical pesticides since these products can eliminate the nutrients produced by plants and vegetables. Chemical pesticides also eliminate beneficial soil microbes which will result to an unhealthy environment. Lastly, long exposure to these toxic chemicals may lead to health problems, such as cancer, alzeimer’s, and fertility issues. If you want to properly control the insects, bugs, and other pests in your organic garden, you can try a more natural approach.

Natural Pest Control Techniques

Companion Planting: This is a crucial technique in organic gardening. This method involves using plants that have natural properties which help others grow as well as deter pests. The plants’ natural properties will also help increase the production in the garden. Here are a few of the most common companion plants:

Basil: This plant can be planted alongside tomatoes to improve its production as well as its flavor. Basil is also a good companion plant for peppers. It is also said to successfully repel mosquitoes due to its scent.
Chamomile: This is a wonderful companion for cucumbers, onions and cabbages. It also attracts beneficial insects that can help get rid of harmful pests, insects, and bugs.
Catnip: This is an herb which is great for squash and cucumbers. It also helps repel bugs and aphids. You can also use its dried leaves to create your own pest control spray in your organic garden.
Dill: This plant can improve the flavor of cucumber lettuce and cabbages. It also repels pests found in the garden.
Marigolds: You can plant marigolds throughout your garden to repel mosquitoes, flies, and other stinging insects.
Sunflowers: These are another excellent companion plants and can add aesthetic appeal to your organic garden while keeping aphids and other bugs at bay.

Powdered Kelp Solution: Aside from companion planting, you can also create a natural pest control spray, such as creating a solution from powdered Kelp. This solution can repel Japanese beetles and aphids while nourishing the plants in your garden. You can spray the solution once a week or before infestation times.

Lemon Balm Tea: This natural solution can keep squash bugs and aphids away from your garden. You only need to spray your plants with lemon balm tea at least two or three times a week when necessary.

Hot Pepper And Garlic Spray: All you need are 2-3 cloves of garlic, 4 hot cayenne peppers, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, a tablespoon of liquid soap, and 2-3 cups of hot water. You must then blend all the ingredients together for several minutes then let it sit overnight. Doing so will help intensify its effects. The next day, you can then strain the solution with a strainer or towel and store the solution in a glass container or spray bottle. Spray the solution directly onto the plants at least once a week. This solution can successfully repel garden bugs, insects, and wildlife pests.

Citations:

U.S. Department of Agriculture.”20110505-RD-LSC-0512″. May 5, 2011. Online Image. Flickr. July 16, 2013

Featured images:

License: Creative Commons image source

Kris Lim is an avid gardener who shares her tips and techniques to her readers. In this article, she aims to help her readers learn more about the natural pest control techniques they can apply to their own organic garden.

Love Organic Gardening? So Do These A-List Celebrities!

by Trish

If you have a passion for growing your own organic produce at home, you may be interested to know you are in good company. A number of big name celebrities from around the world are also big fans of organic gardening and keep their own fruit and vegetable gardens. From Hollywood royalty to actual royalty, here are some of gardening’s most famous fans:

Julia Roberts’ Educational Organic Garden in Malibu

Oscar winner Julia Roberts started her organic garden not only as a way to help her family eat healthily, but also to teach her children about science and the origins of their food. She grows an assortment of vegetables, including organic kale and tomatoes in her organic garden at her Malibu home, however as this is one of only three of the star’s residences; we imagine she has some help to take care of her plants when she’s away or on location working on one of her movies!

Lucy Lawless’ Organic Paradise Down Under

Most famous for her role as Xena: Warrior Princess, actress and all round action woman Lucy Lawless is also becoming increasingly well known for her passion for the environment. She is an ambassador for Greenpeace, and insists on green rules, like the banning of Styrofoam cups and disposable plates on set when she is shooting. At her expansive 17,000 square foot residence in her native New Zealand, Lucy farms a variety of organic produce and has implemented plenty of green technology, like solar panels, so she can enjoy the celebrity lifestyle without harming the environment.

Nicole Kidman’s Hobby Garden

While she recently told Vogue magazine it was “just a hobby” and not the start of a new venture, Oscar winning A-list actress Nicole Kidman has recently joined her mother and sister in becoming an organic gardener. She started a food garden at her huge ranch in Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and two kids. Her whole family muck in with gardening tasks like planting and harvesting vegetables, deck cleaning and weeding, and enjoy the fresh organic produce that results from their hard work.

Prince Charles’ Lifelong Love of Gardening

Prince Charles was famous for his love of plants (and his rumoured habit of talking to them) long before it was cool to be into organic farming, and has been featured in books on organic gardening as one of the hobby’s biggest ambassadors. He has organic vegetable patches and fruit orchards at his royal properties, and even has his own brand of organic jams and other products. He uses completely organic methods for everything he grows to ensure his plants are completely natural, nourishing his plants with natural compost (perhaps produced by his horses) and even gathering rain water to use to water his plants instead of using tap water.

While you may not have the space and the money these famous names do to create the organic garden of your dreams, it is interesting to know that even the stars think it is important to know where your food comes from and eat well!

Attached Images:

License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source

Today’s feature writer, Daniel Morgan, is a home improvement expert at As Good As New. Daniel is a frequent blogger. Through his blogs, he likes to share tips on economical ways of home renovation with his readers.

Rhino Deck: Making Your Outdoor Space Come Alive

by The Diva

The right landscaping can add a beautiful look and a lush, tranquil feel to your deck space. It can also provide valuable functions like shade and privacy. What’s more, outdoor gardens can provide herbs, fruits and vegetables.

Figuring out what landscaping will work best for your deck space can be a challenge. Rhino Deck offers the following ideas and advice for turning a bare bones outdoor structure into a garden oasis.

First, consider the function your landscaping will serve. Do you want to provide shade? Privacy? Are you looking to cover up gaps or spaces? Or do you just want to accent your space with colorful foliage and flowers?

If you’re looking to provide shade, building or remodeling your deck space around or near an existing tree with a large canopy is one option. Adding tall trees around an existing deck is another. You can also consider installing lattice panels in the sunniest spots, and training vines to climb to create a living wall. Rhino Deck offers durable, beautiful composite lattice panels ideal for just such a purpose.

Vine-covered lattice structures are also excellent for providing privacy. You can also create privacy by artfully placing potted plants in the deck’s interior to cover spaces between rails. For some extra fun and function, choose fruiting vines like tomatoes or peppers, or bushy herbs like lavender or rosemary to create your own vegetable or herb garden. For lower or platform decks, tall shrubs or a combination of trees and shrubs of varying heights can be planted around the perimeter to act as a natural screen.

If you’re simply looking to enhance your deck view with a beautiful garden space, the options are really only limited by your budget, your space and your imagination. Linear gardens work really well around decks, but a free-form garden with sprawling native plants or lush and dense tropical warm-weather plants can look just as lovely, and give you the feeling of being in a secluded natural setting.

Once you’ve decided what function you want your landscaping to serve, you must figure out what types of plants you’ll need to accomplish your goals. To do so, first study the sunlight and rainwater patterns of your deck space. Plants that need drier roots will need to be planted away from deck edges where water collects. Plants that require partial shade will thrive in your deck’s shadier spots, but wilt in full sun.

After you’ve determined what types of plants will be most successful in your space, you can begin choosing specific plants that meet your color, size and style preferences. Then you can map out where each plant will be placed. All that follows is to prep the area, plant your garden and watch your yard come to life.

If you need help designing or implementing a deck landscaping plan, contact a landscape architect or a local nursery for a consultation. For help building or remodeling a deck that perfectly complements and integrates with your landscaping, visit the Rhino Deck website. Rhino Deck offers the best composite decking materials. The company also provides a list of qualified builders and installers in your area.

4 Spring Lawn Care Tips

by Trish

Spring is here, which means the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air! Chances are you have questions about taking care of your yard, lawn and garden. From picking the right seed to watering, I’ve got the answers. It’s time to break out that fertilizer, lawnmower and other equipment to create the ultimate lawn.

Repairing your lawn

If only it were as easy as lightly raking your lawn when spring arrived, sigh. Unfortunately, one of the most common problems facing our lawns today is uneven ground. And low spots can cause poor drainage, which can result in bad growing conditions for grass and other plants. What you need to do is grab a shovel and cut away any areas that are raised. Another issue that can plague our beautiful lawns is soil compaction. This occurs when soil is densely packed, making it diffiult for grass to take root and easy for weeds to take over. Test your soil by sticking a garden fork into the ground. If the fork cannot penetrate two inches, your soil is most likely compacted. You must loosen the soil with an aerator designed to remove small plugs of soil.

Planting grass

Once you’ve figured out all the problem areas of your lawn, you may need to reseed parts that are brown or bare. Planting new grass can dramatically change the appearance of your lawn. Before buying seed, figure out which varieties will work best in your particular region and climate. Also, consider the amount of sunlight your backyard receives. If you’re seeding a large area, it’s best to use a broadcast spreader. However, smaller areas can be seeded by hand. Once the seed is planted, it’s important to water it regularly and fertilize. Wait until grass is three to four inches high to mow.

Continue fertilizing grass

Now that you have rejuvenated your lawn, it’s best to encourage growth and discourage weeds from growing. You can do this by applying a combination of fertilizers and herbicides. When applying these products, take into consideration where you live and your weed problem. Fertilizer can help grow lush, thick grass. However, when used improperly it can actually damage the grass. Herbicides must also be used with care. It’s best to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before the seeds germinate in the spring. Keep in mind that if you use this treatment you cannot plant new grass.

Properly mow lawn

It may surprise you that there is actually a proper technique to mowing your lawn. Cutting your grass too short can be harmful to your lawn. And mowing with a low blade can remove important nutrients that are stored in leaf blades. Therefore, it’s always better to cut your grass at the tallest height recommended for your grass type. See below:

Common bermudagrass: 1-2 inches
Fescue: 2-3.5 inches
Kentucky bluegrass: 2-3.5 inches
St. Augustine: 2-4 inches
Zoysia: 0.5-1.5 inches

A little bit of lawn maintenance now will ensure that your yard looks healthy all summer long. It’s critical to properly clean, fertilize and mow your lawn early in the season. Follow these spring lawn care tips for the best results possible.

Attached Images:

License: Creative Commons image source

Ann Michaels is a freelance writer and lawn advocate. Her favorite hobby is making her yard look as beautiful as possible, which is why she buys religious garden statues from Saint Francis Garden to improve the overall look.

Why Should You Install A Deck In Your Backyard?

Beginner’s Guide To Organic Gardening: 4 Natural Pest Control Techniques

Why Should You Use Organic Pest Control Techniques?