The Yard & Garden

3 Best Low Maintenance Lawn Ideas for Everyone to Handle

Not everyone has the ability to spend life slow and steadily enjoying every aspect of it and savoring moments. For most of us, life is hectic, and schedules keep becoming tighter, especially for folks who are crafting something innovative and millions-making inside their garages. While gardening is a healthy activity and essential for the wellbeing of home residents, it may not be the most important thing to do in most people’s to-do lists. Nobody has to live with an empty beautiful, and potential garden space and just keep dreaming of having a lush lawn and exotic plants on it when they can’t. Everyone should enjoy nature’s gifts equally and make their landscape more curb appealing and comforting. So, look for a low maintenance lawn to simplify your life.

If you think you will never have time to build a whole lawn from scratch and keep up with it regularly without it looking like a burned forest then the following tips might help:

low maintenance lawn

Choose Grasses For Low Maintenance Lawns

The first thing that a lawn must have to cover it up with lushness is evergreen grass. A well-maintained grass on a garden can be enough for giving the home a fabulous and relaxing look and feel. However, grass needs watering twice a week, food, and sun to grow. Also, mowing is necessary to keep it in shape without weeds and other things coming out of it.

For that reason, there exist several other low maintenance lawn options in the market that prepare a green lawn in minutes and never have to be touched again. The alterations are low or no-mow seeds and sod rolls. With the former, you will still have a lawn of an exotic grass needing seeding and planting. And with the later, the work will be automated and mowing, gardening and watering will be at a minimum. As this is a new method, when laying sod, you have to be careful about choosing the correct time and place. It’s best to consult a professional website or get help prior to doing it.

Choose Lawn Plants That Are Indestructible

Roses and lilies are excellent landscaping choices to turn your home into a palace-like dwelling but are too hard to keep. And instead of seeing your favorite flowers ending up dead for not keeping up, you can install diverse species of plants that don’t succumb to different environments easily. In this rhythm of things, come draught-repulsive wildflowers, creeping thyme, and various perennials. These are extra low maintenance options for lawn covers and plants that may need little care in the beginning and sitting back and watching for the rest for the life after.

Turn to Non-Living Options For Low Maintenance

The new kind of landscaping is hardscaping. People are building stunning themes and structures for their front and backyards. These consist of well-organized paths, enchanting fountains, sheds, and much more instead of lawns.

You can do the same with your yard to make it look appealing and comforting. Add in a theme inspired by the Mediterranean, Asian or indigenous style and place some plants here and there to get the green flowing. Layout rocks or pave paths, whatever suits your taste and make your lawn one of a kind.

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Attract Songbirds To Your Backyard With These 10 Tips

Karen · 1 Comment

Guide created by Bird-X a commercial pest control company

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Make Your Palace Private With Fencing

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Fencing has come such a long way. There are many materials, styles, colors, and purposes to fencing; you will need a couple of coffees to be able to make a decision on what to choose. When you own a home, fencing can serve so many purposes. One of the main purposes of a fence for a homeowner is safety. Whether you need a fence to keep your kids and dogs safe, or you need fencing to keep people and their dogs out, you have great choices. Fencing can also be decorative in the garden and serve as a visual boundary for your property. Here is a look at some of the great fencing options for homeowners.

fencing for privacy and safety — Cedar pickets and pergola.

Fencing for Safety

Having small children or grandchildren when owning a home is fun, but safety is of the utmost importance. Teaching kids about what is safe and where they need to be careful are usually not enough. Fencing in the front and back yard is a good way to keep children and pets safe. The fence gives kids a boundary by which to play inside of. This helps give parents peace of mind. Fencing can easily prevent unwanted visitors from entering your property. If someone sees an opportunity, they will go for it. Fencing can make someone think twice before soliciting at a home, stealing porch packages, or bothering the homeowner’s privacy. A troublemaker is usually lazy and will go for the house that has no fencing.

Types of Fencing

There is some really great material to choose from in fencing. Composite, high-quality wood, steel, synthetic and vinyl fencing are available today. Colors vary with different materials. Wood can always stay as is, be stained, or painted any color. The other materials can come in browns, whites, blacks, and various other natural colors. You always want to go with the type of fencing that fits well with the style of your house. Trex fencing Utah is a great place to start looking at the possibilities for fencing. Finding fencing around houses similar to yours is a good place to start for ideas.

Don’t Forget the Gate

Whenever you have a fence you have to have a gate so you can get in and out of the fenced area. Choosing a gate can be fun because you can create a look with different types of gates. You create a very high end look to your yard with a fancy looking gate. There are also hidden gates for some fences if you like to be discrete. Gates come with all types of locks so you do not need to worry about people you do not know just walking through your gate.

Proper Height For Fencing

Every neighborhood has a different policy on what is allowed for the height of a fence. The average height of a fence is about 6 feet. Most people do not tower over 6 feet, so this height is usually okay for most people. Some communities might require you to get approval for fence heights. You might live away from people and have fewer ordinances that will allow you to have a higher fence. You just have to check your local community laws and follow what is legal.

The Fence Look

The possibilities are endless to create an amazing front or backyard with fencing. Fencing can add so much to a garden. A fence that looks good can make people forget that it is a division for some reason. We always want to keep our neighbors happy. Fencing can be more of an architectural piece. When you think of a fence as part of the design of your house, you can impress yourself and others by creating something that looks great.

Fencing usually adds value to your home for security and privacy reasons. The cost of a fence is moderate. You can also control how much you spend on fencing by size. In the hectic crowded world, you can come home to your own little private palace garden with the installation of a great looking fence.

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Perennials For The Flower Bed Around The Fountain

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I was compensated for and received product from SmartPond last year. I have not received any more compensation from them, but I love talking about my pond and fountain.

I’ve been slowly getting a few flowers planted in the flower bed I made last year around the fountain. Some of the ones we planted last year came back and bloomed already this spring. I’ve had gardening fever for quite a while, but it seemed like it rained every day from the end of March until the first of June. The soil was definitely too soggy to dig. So, while we waited for the rain to stop and the ground to dry out, Fabgrandpa repotted his succulents that spent the winter on the enclosed back porch.

Fabgrandpa’s succulents were repotted and line the porch rails.

By the time we went to Home Depot to buy some flowers and some bags of soil, the annuals had already been picked over and looked scraggly. I did find one small pot of petunias and two larger pots of Impatiens which were the only annual flowers I bought. Basil, Curled Parsley, Oregano, a tomato plant and two sweet potato vines rounded out the rest of the annuals.

herb plants — A few herbs and a couple of sweet potato vines.

When I said I was s-l-o-w-l-y getting the plants in the ground, I really do mean slowly. I have managed to get one or two things planted a day. I am finally, after five years, getting in the mind set that I can not do it all in one day like I used to. Knowing that and accepting that about myself has made getting the garden in the ground this year much more pleasant for me. I have a small folding chair that I can sit on to work in the raised bed by the pond without hurting myself. So, here are some pictures of some of the things I planted last week.

black eyed susan — A beautiful Black Eyed Susan.

Impatiens to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

shasta daisy — This Shasta Daisy was planted last year and has really bloomed its heart out this spring.

coreopsis — I love Coreopsis! Once it gets established, it comes back every year and blooms all summer.

flower garden — We will add another side to the garden later this year. Eventually, the flower bed will circle the entire pond.

Eventually, the flower bed will circle the entire pond. There are two Knock Out Roses on the other side of the fountain, and two butterfly bushes in the back. I’m going to plant the Sweet Potato Vines in a large pot, and place it so that the vines will cover the support that the fish sits on, and hide the wires. I might be slow, but I do have a plan, and like the tortoise, I WILL win this race.

Here is a short video of the fountain in operation. Don’t you just love it?

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Choosing Grass For Your Lawn

Karen · 1 Comment

Climate is not the only factor that you should consider when choosing grass for your lawn. The yard space in your home might very well have its own micro-climate. You need to have a good idea of what the general climate in your area is like. If you live in an area that is constantly raining, you should consider getting cool season grasses such as ryes, Kentucky bluegrass, and fescues. Micro-climates usually differ from the overall climate due to the presence of a larger object: mostly houses, but the objects can also include bodies of water, trees, or large areas of pavement.

how to choose grass for your lawn — Photo courtesy of klahouse.com

If you take a walk around your house at different times of the day, you will understand this concept. The east side of your house is usually sunny and warm in the morning when the sun rises. In the afternoon, the west side becomes hotter and sunnier as the east gets shadier. On the north side of your house, it may be cool and shady the entire day. Conversely, the south side may stay warm and sunny all day. This proves that each side of your house has its own micro-climate, which depends on the movement of the sun.

Different types of lawn grasses adapt differently to the micro-climates of your home. Therefore, you need to look at the micro-climate of your yard before choosing grass. Alternatively, you can just choose a blend of different grass varieties when planting a lawn. Using different types of grass increases their chances of survival. For instance if you have a yard with both shady and sunny spots, you should plant a mixture of fescues and Kentucky bluegrasses. This is because Kentucky bluegrass flourishes in the sun but thins out in shady areas. The fescues, which are shade-tolerant, will fill out the thin areas.

When deciding which grass to plant in your lawn, you should look into different grass types and the conditions to which they can adapt. The following list of micro-climates will help you to choose the right grass to plant:

Choosing Grass For Shade

If your yard does not get up to 4 hours of sun a day, it can really mess up your grass. In the absence of sun, the lawn starts to thin out and is prone to disease and insects. Your house, fence, and trees are the main culprits of shade creation. You need to find different varieties of specific grasses that can tolerate shade better. Some cultural techniques allow shade-intolerant grasses to survive in the shade. You can try to water deeper but less often, mow higher, fertilize less, and stop others from walking on it. Decreasing the number of seeds planted will also reduce the competition for the sun.

Choosing Grass For Sun

Harsh sun that reflects off a nearby wall may cause your lawn grass to dry out faster. You need to compensate by applying more water; this keeps the grass from becoming weaker and vulnerable to insects.

Choosing Grass For Heat

Warmth that is stored in walkways and driveways usually radiates into nearby lawns. Those parts of the lawn dry out a lot faster, making them prone to pest invasion. Such areas need to be watered more often to counter the effects of the heat.

choosing grass or your yard — photo courtesy of homealarmadvisors.com

If you want to take care of your yard properly, you need to have a functioning sprinkler system. When your sprinkler is on the fritz, you need sprinkler system repair services. Get it repaired as soon as possible to prevent your grass from drying out. Make sure that you hire a qualified person. Choosing grass for your yard based on the micro-climates there will go a long way in creating a beautiful lawn.

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My Smart Pond® Fountain Is Finished

Karen · 21 Comments

I received product from Smart Pond to create a fountain in my yard.

I have to say that this project with Smart Pond® has been one of the most fun ones I have done since I started blogging. It was so easy to do, and the results are so cute! It adds a lot of beauty to my yard, for surprisingly little money. If you wanted to create a pond like this one in your yard, without a wooden platform, it would cost under $100. That is quite a lot of bang for the buck.

My cute fountain made using Smart Pond supplies.

Next summer, we are going to add to the flower bed, so that it goes all the way around the pond platform. We planted perennials in this bed, and will add annuals in containers next summer for instant color. In addition to adding a huge pop of color to our yard, the babbling of the water from the fountain is quite soothing when we are sitting on the porch. That same sound attracts birds, who come to visit our feeders. We are hoping to also bring butterflies to our yard with the butterfly bushes, and other colorful flowers chosen for just that purpose.

Here is a look at the fountain. You can also hear the water as it drops back into the barrel. I love this fountain. You can find the Smart Pond products at Lowes.

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Learning to Grow Your Own Food Comes with a Host of Benefits

Karen · 1 Comment

As you may already know if you have been a reader of my blog for very long, I love gardening. After my surgery in 2012 that left me disabled, I discovered that I would not be able to garden in the way that I always had. It took some time for me to find a new way to make a garden. The results of my efforts are not that great in the way of actual food produced, but the enjoyment I get out of the process is enormous. I love to see the plants growing. I love to see the first flowers blooming, and then the first little beans or tomatoes or eggplants emerging from the blossoms. I might only get one or two pots of beans, or two or three tomatoes all season long, but the little garden I made provides me with the opportunity to get my hands dirty; with a reason to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine; and a feeling of satisfaction that I was able to do it.

gardening can heal the soul. — My little garden on boards.

Learning to grow your own food comes with a host of benefits. The benefits are so good that it’s being recommended as an activity for veterans to engage in, especially if they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or combat-related stress. The more people learn about the good that can result, the more they may be staking off a plot in the yard to get planting.

“Anyone who has tried their hand at gardening has felt the difference that it can make in their life,” explains Julia Falke, co-founder of the Boulder Crest Retreat. “We believe in getting veterans into gardening and it is why we built the Wallis Annenberg Heroes Garden, the nation’s second handicapped-accessible walled garden. It provides combat veterans and their families with the chance to engage in a calming and peaceful activity, and focuses them on the subject of healthy eating and nutrition. It’s one small part of what we do, but it makes a significant difference.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that gardening can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors, among other benefits. Some of the other many benefits of growing your own food include:

Gardening is Therapeutic.

According to the American Horticulture Therapy Association (AHTA), horticulture is a time-proven practice and the benefits have been documented since ancient times. They report that during the 1940s and 1950s, it was used in rehabilitative care of hospitalized war veterans, and today it is accepted as a beneficial and effective therapeutic modality.

Gardening is Healthy.

There is a good chance that when one grows their own food they will end up consuming at least some of it. This is a good way to get healthier foods into the diet, specifically more fruits and vegetables. When I grow my own food, I know there were no harmful chemicals used on the vegetables I eat.

Gardening is Social.

Growing your own food can be a social activity, especially if you choose to get involved in a gardening group or community garden. Many people are starting community gardens around the country, where they work together for a common purpose. While the food grown may be consumed by those growing it, some is also often given away to local charities, giving those doing the gardening an added benefit.

Gardening for me gets me out of the house. I go to garden supply stores several times during the season, and talk to the people there, getting advice on the best plants, and best products to use in my garden. The garden is a topic of conversation when delivery people stop at my house. If I happen to have extra veggies, I can give them to my neighbors, which provides another social interaction.

Gardening provides Physical and Mental Benefits.

Engaging in gardening can help bring about mental clarity and reduce stress. In addition to it being a mind-clearing activity, it’s also a form of physical exercise, helping to keep people active and healthy. Gardening can lead to fitness and better shape. Read about it here. I know gardening has been good for my mental health. Being able to do something I thought I would never be able to do again has really brightened my life.

Gardening can Reduce Pain.

The AHTA reports that some of the additional benefits that people get from growing their own food include that it can help reduce physical pain, and help with rehabilitation and recovery from surgery or other medical interventions.

Boulder Crest Retreat

“The Retreat utilizes a range of everyday family activities, including gardening, cooking well-balanced meals, hiking, kayaking, as well as age-old and proven warrior practices like labyrinths and meditation,” adds Falke. “This enables combat veterans to make peace with their past, live in the present, and begin planning for a great future – full of passion, purpose and service – here at home.”

Summer is a time to get out into the garden and nature, as well as reconnect with those around us. The Wallis Annenberg Heroes Garden was built in 2014 and designed by Donna Hackman, in association with Lisa Catlett.

“For me, this special garden was love at first sight, and I am compelled to try and make every year even more beautiful than the last season,” Donna Hackman explains. “It has been my honor to design and help tend to this garden, and our combat veterans and their families deserve the very best nature has to offer.”

Boulder Crest Retreat is presently building out its horticulture and culinary activities, that will serve the many combat veterans and their families that stay at the facility. The near future result will be a complete veteran ‘farm-to-table’ program adapted for every season. Ongoing support over the past two years, from organizations such as The Burpee Foundation, The Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club and Middleburg Garden Club, and countless community volunteer hours are helping to make this vision a reality.

Boulder Crest Retreat is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that is funded entirely by private donations by individuals and organizations from around the country. For more information about the retreat, please go to www.bouldercrestretreat.org.

ABOUT BOULDER CREST RETREAT

Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness is a rural sanctuary that provides free accommodations, recreational and therapeutic activities and programs to help our nation’s military and veteran personnel and their families recover and reconnect during their long journey of healing from physical and invisible wounds of war. The 37-acre retreat is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bluemont, Virginia, just 50 miles west of Washington, D.C. The Retreat is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is entirely funded through private donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information about Boulder Crest Retreat, please visit www.bouldercrestretreat.org. To make a donation to Boulder Crest Retreat or volunteer, click here.

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My Smartpond Project: Building A Container Fountain For a Butterfly Garden

Karen · 4 Comments

This post is brought to you by Smartpond.

When we bought our house, we had this ugly pond that the previous owners built in our yard. It was too close to the house; it needed a lot of work on it to make it functional; and it had creatures living in it that were noisy. I mean, the frogs that lived there sounded like they were under my bed, croaking all night long. And, on top of that, it was a danger to our young grandchildren, who were drawn to the water hole. This is what it looked like from our porch:

The old pond was not even pretty! It needed a lot of work done to make it look good.

We drained the pond and filled it in a couple of years ago. We have been thinking about making a butterfly garden, so when Smartpond asked me to try some of their products, we said yes. Fabgrandpa and I discussed how we wanted to go about creating a beautiful Smartpond fountain and butterfly garden. This is the drawing we came up with:

smart pond fountain supplies — Our drawing for our fountain and butterfly garden

The octagon shaped thing in our drawing is a sort of deck, to place a half barrel on to hold the fountain. Because our yard is not very level, and we wanted to be able to place pots of annuals around the pond and plant perennials in the ground as well, we decided to build the small deck. It measures about 2.5 feet on all sides. We hire a local handy man to do things like this for us because we are both disabled, but it is an easy project to do on your own if you are handy with carpenter tools. The cost of the deck supplies was a total of $140.00. The handy man charged us $100 to go and pick up supplies, build the deck, and then put the fountain together for us, and to add an outdoor electric plug. It doesn’t look like much all by itself. Some of my friends stopped by to ask what the heck it was!

Next, I went shopping for flowers and a half barrel at Lowes. I found some very pretty coreopsis, shasta daisies, and cone flowers. I also looked at butterfly bushes, some lantana, and some yarrow. I think we have decided on getting some Mexican heather too. You can probably tell I like the wildflower look. Here is a pic of some of the things I got at Lowes:

Along the way, after we had made our original design, I found a cute fish ceramic ornamental statue thing that I just fell in love with. It was just about the same price as the pump handle we had talked about, and I liked it more. So, for $39, I bought the fish to use as the “spit” for the fountain. It already had a hole in the bottom, so it was a perfect choice.

The other day, my handy man came back to put together the fountain. We had a Smartpond Complete Pump Filter Kit, which is available at Lowes. It is a complete pump system, which makes building a fountain so easy even I could do it. All there was to it was to immerse the pump in water, hook up the 1/2 inch tubing, and plug it in. We had that fish spitting water in no time at all!

MFBX500Ppreview — **The Complete Pump and Filter Kit from Smartpond, Model #: MFBX500P**

smart pond tubing — **The smartpond® 1/2-in Flexible Vinyl Tubing Model #: VT1200. This was used to connect the pump to the ceramic fish.**

pond skin liner — Pond Skin Liner from Smartpond Model #: PL0710

So, when my handy man came back, he cut the liner to fit the half barrell, and stapled it to the top of the barrel. Then, he built a wooden platform for the ceramic fish to sit on, and lined the top of it with leftovers from the liner. Next, he immersed the pump and filter kit in the water, and attached the half inch tubing to it. The tubing was connected to the pump, up over the back of the barrel, and through the hole in the bottom of the ceramic fish. The tube was threaded through the fish to come out just at the mouth. When the pump was turned on, the water started spitting out of the fish’s mouth. This whimsical pond is exactly what I had envisioned when I saw that fish, and like I said, it was so easy to do I probably could have done it myself, if not for the carpentry work that needed to be done.

smart pond fountain project — The finished pond. It just needs flowers now.

The pump allows both the fountain spray, and the spit from the fish to go at the same time. — The fish is perfect for this fountain.

This is sort of what it will look like when we have planted flowers around. They will hide the working parts.

I am so excited to be planting flowers next. So many birds, such as humming birds, goldfinches, wrens, pine siskins, and more, are attracted to the sound of running water. The flowers we are choosing are ones that will also attract humming birds and butterflies. What do you think of my Smartpond Fountain project so far? To see the pond with flowers planted, and video of it running, click here.

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