Summer Lawn Care Tips
July 31, 2009
Summer is just around the corner, and your lawn could probably use a little maintenance before the summer season of backyard BBQs and swimming in the pool. So what are you doing now to get your lawn ready? Lawn care is often feared as a difficult and time intensive process, but with a few guidelines and tips, you can easily have a healthy green lawn in time for the first backyard party of the season.
First of all, if you can spare a minute of your time, don’t hire a lawn care "specialist" or professional landscaper. Buying your own lawn care products is cheap and easy, with hundreds of vendors offering products online and in Do-It-Yourself stores. A wide variety of products such as weed controllers to fertilizers can be found online, and usually can be found at reasonable prices, especially when you do a little online coupon searching.
Starting off on the right foot is important to reviving your lawn after winter. Fertilizer is the key to ensuring strong healthy growth of the grass in your yard. Fertilizing the grass does more than just make it green. Of course it will make it grow too, but lot’s of things happen when you fertilize. Fertilizer makes the seed germinate faster, and get started out of the ground. After the grass has a good start fertilizer will make the grass get thicker and send off beneficial chemicals like Rhizomes, Stolons, and Tillers all making the grass thicker and healthier.
Differing Ways Of Use Of Aluminum Railings
July 30, 2009
Differing Ways Of Use Of Aluminum Railings
by: Adam Peters
Aluminum is being used since a long time as a lightweight material for all construction and building works. Aluminum alloys are being used in every industry from Aviation industry to zip making. The strength to weight ratio is higher in case of aluminum to steel. The long life comes from the higher corrosion resistance of aluminum.
Differing Ways Of Use Of Aluminum Rails
Aluminum rails can be used in different ways. These ways that increase the life of aluminum are,
1. Anodizing of aluminum: The corrosion resistance of aluminum is further increased by a thin coating on aluminum. The anodized surface of aluminum prevents further oxidation of the corrosion of the aluminum.
2. Strengthen with wooden inserts: Wooden blocks inserted in the cavity of aluminum forms give added strength to aluminum and thus lighter sections can be used for the same work, further reducing the weight of structure.
3. Powder coating of aluminum: New painting techniques such as the powder coating add to the visual appeal of the railings. The overall effect of created by riot of color combination that are available is just amazing.
Furniture to Dress Up Your Office
July 29, 2009
Furniture to Dress Up Your Office
by: Bob Benson
Sitting in an office all day long can get monotonous. Break through the daily rut by dressing up your office with some cool office furniture. Unless you operate your own office, you may not have total control over your office furniture. Most employers, however, won’t mind if you bring in a piece or two of your own furniture to make the space more comfortable and personable.
If you are bored with your current office look, bring in a new piece of furniture.
Maybe your office could benefit with a piece of furniture as simple as a new bookcase. If it’s a simple bookcase, dress it up with some fun accessories. Or bring in a small dresser that can help hold files, personal belongings or simply serve as a top to display your favorite photos from home.
You don’t have to buy a new bookcase or dresser for your office. Take an old piece of furniture from your home or hit the yard sales over the weekend and update it to fit your office space.
Mulch Your Spring Bulbs In The Fall For A Beautiful Spring Display
July 28, 2009
Flower bulbs need a good, long, winters sleep. Like some people we know, if they wake up before they are fully rested, they get kind of cranky, and then they don’t bloom well at all.
Actually what happens is during a mild winter, the soil stays too warm, and the bulbs begin to come out of dormancy early. They start to grow, and once the tips emerge above the soil line, they are subject to freezing if the temperatures dip back down below freezing. And that’s usually what happens. After the bulbs have emerged, they freeze and then don’t bloom at all, or if they do it’s a very sad display.
Another reason this happens is because the bulbs are not planted deep enough. They may have been deep enough when you planted them, but as the soil goes through the freezing and thawing process, the bulbs can actually work their way up in the ground.
One way to keep your flower bulbs sleeping longer, which will protect them from freezing, is to mulch the bed. In the fall just apply a 3-4" layer of well composted mulch. This layer of mulch will do a couple of things. It will maintain a higher moisture content in the soil, which is good, as long as the soil isn’t too soggy. Well composted mulch also adds valuable organic matter to the planting bed. Organic matter makes a great natural fertilizer.
Feng Shui Your Workspace with Natural Rattan Furniture
July 28, 2009
Feng Shui Your Workspace with Natural Rattan Furniture
by: Lee Rubenstein
Did you know that rattan furniture for your office can help you increase your fortune and build up positive energy? Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese belief that your environment has a direct effect on your inner self. By harmoninizing the areas that you spend the most time in you can become more focused, more effective, and more successful. Rattan furniture is a powerful way to apply the principles of Feng Shui to your workplace, one of the places where you surely spend a lot of time. Tropical office furniture exemplifies the principles of beauty and simplicity and represents one of the five elements used in Feng Shui - wood.
Feng Shui maintains that an area has the most positive energy when all five of the elements are present: wood, fire, wind, water, and metal. Rattan furniture is a natural way to include the wood element in your workspace. Wood is a particularly important element for your workplace in the art of Feng Shui, because it is the element of creativity, innovation, strength, and flexibility, which are all vital characteristics for business. If island rattan computer armoires or woven wicker office chairs can infuse your workspace with these values, think of how much more you will be able to accomplish!
Building a Deck - Selecting The Right Nails, Screws Or Fixtures
July 27, 2009
Building a Deck - Selecting The Right Nails, Screws Or Fixtures
by: Malcolm D Kay
To ensure that your deck has a long, trouble free life, it’s important to use the right fixings used to fix the planks to the bearers. This choice can be influenced not only by the prevailing climatic conditions, the proximity to marine environments, but also the actual wood used. As your deck will around for a long time, it’s best not to compromise too much on the fixings as the higher cost of better quality products will be repaid many times over with a longer service life and better looking deck.
Normally, standard iron nails should not be used on external decking as they can rapidly corrode in certain climatic conditions or close to marine environments and not only leave black stains around the nail holes, but can eventually corrode so extensively that they will simply snap. Remember that all wood will twist and warp to some extent so its important that wood planks are firmly fixed to the bearers at regular spaced intervals to keep the timber from moving. If you wish to use nails, then you should use a good quality galvanized nail, recommended for exterior decking. Note that some species of lumber - in particular, Western Red Cedar, Merbau and Redwood - contain tannins that can cause corrosion to occur more rapidly than with other species of lumber.
Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check The Wood Species Before Purchasing
July 26, 2009
Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check The Wood Species Before Purchasing
by: Malcolm D Kay
Not too long ago, the vast majority of outdoor furniture was all made of teak. Teak has proved to be an ideal lumber species for outdoor furniture, due to its high durability, ease of working with machine tools, its low coefficient of radial and tangential expansion (which reduces potential problems in twisting, or swelling when wet), it’s attractive colour and good working properties. But such widespread use of teak, including for marine decking, has come at a considerable environmental cost. The once great forests of South East Asia have been decimated to the extent that legally logged teak is now only available in very limited quantities, which is reflected in its high price. But unfortunately, illegal logging is still rampant and in many areas of South East Asia, ensuring its continuing supply to the furniture trade.
Plantations of teak have now been established in a number of countries including Costa Rica for example (presumably planted in most cases where the great forests once existed). But this plantation teak is harvested at a much younger age that has traditionally been the case, so caution should be taken in assuming that the properties of such younger lumber (including durability) will be the same as old growth teak.
y, Fun Garden Plants
July 25, 2009
I have a love for funky, fun and unique garden plants. Here’s one to try. It’s called Sea Holly, and it’s actually in the thistle family.
Sea Holly is a perennial garden plant, which means you plant it once and it comes up year after year, somewhat depending on your climate.
This plant never did fail to bring attention and comments from people seeing my garden. It grows about 3-4 feet high, very branchy and the branches are a brilliant electric blue color. It’s stunning!
The only drawback to this lovely plant, in the fall you must cut it to the ground and burn or compost the plant. Do not let it go longer than that, casting it seeds or you’ll soon discover it’s family trait of being in the thistle family, if you know what I mean. The following spring, it’ll come back again to it’s beauty.
It is an easy plant to grow and does best with full sun, or as much sun as is available to you. I live in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. so we get a lot of rain and fairly mild summers and yet it seems to be enough for this plant.
Buying Furniture for the Elderly with Special Needs
July 24, 2009
Buying Furniture for the Elderly with Special Needs
by: Bob Benson
If you are challenged with buying furniture for an elderly person, there are a few things you should keep in mind as you start your search.
First, how is that person’s health and physical condition? Can he or she easily rise from and sit down into a chair? If not, furniture with special options are available. The seats of chairs and recliners rise to a higher level with the push of a button. The elderly person can simply back against it, then lower himself down to a seated position by pushing another button. Furniture technology is great!
Another thing to consider when picking out furniture for an elderly person is the fabric or upholstery on the item. If the elderly person tends to slide out of seating easily, a couch with a slick leather upholstery might not be as good a choice as one with a textured fabric. The texture of the fabric can help prevent slipping out of the seating.
Make sure the furniture you pick out for an elderly person is easy to clean. If they have other health issues that might mean occasional soiling of the furniture, they will need to be able to clean it quickly and thoroughly.
Choose Antler Lamps & Chandeliers With Rawhide Lamp Shades For Southwest Lighting And Western Decor
July 23, 2009
Choose Antler Lamps & Chandeliers With Rawhide Lamp Shades For Southwest Lighting And Western Decor
by: Craig Chambers
Antler Lamps have no equal. Animal lovers and outdoorsmen alike love natural antlers. Antler lamps and chandeliers are prized possessions for southwest lighting and western décor. Antler sheds as they are know are the antlers that the animal “sheds” naturally each spring. Each year in places like Jackson Hole, WY antler sheds are gathered to be used for what has come to be called antler art, lamps, furniture etc.
Some of the most common antler lamps are made with white tail deer sheds. Another very popular and beautiful antler lamp is made with mule deer sheds which are slightly larger and darker in tone. The forks and tines or points of the antlers are used to give each lamp its own unique look. As each antler is slightly different, so the lamp made from the antlers is a one-of-a-kind treasure. The best quality antler lamps are made using techniques of drilling and patching that show no visible hardware or wiring.
