Best of Working For a Lovely Patio

Since time immemorial, home beautification is an inclination or preference by home owners. Who doesn't want to stay in a pretty house? But house beautification does not comprise in its interior alone. All parts of the home can be improved and all of them will contribute to a home pleasant to live. And, this includes the patio.

The home's front yards and backyards are places some may not be fond of staying. But there are actually number of ways to turn your yards into a pleasant hub where you and the kids can stay or play and where visitors can find entertainment.

Where do you start in improving your patio? In every task, a plan comes as the first and foremost step. Your plan will be the guide to your next steps. Plans may not be very specific as to amount, design, area, and so on. At the initial phase, it is enough that you know the kind of patio you are going to build. After determining your desire of a patio on your outdoor, you will follow it up with calculations if it is possible with the available space that you have. Space is an important thing to think about in this plan. If your design will take a bigger space than what you have, you can choose to either adjust your design or create additional space like some house renovation. Then you may now take note of the most estimated cost that will be incurred. What are fixtures and furnitures that must be bought and put up? How much is the cost of labor if ever you need a contractor to do the landscaping for you?

Talking of the patio deck designs, you can easily find sample designs in the internet or in the magazines. You may just want to pattern your own ground to the one you see. Or, you can also create your own unique design. This means all yours. It's your taste and your preferences that will prevail. You think of the things that you want to do in your patio. Of course, your ground will not only be a place for strolling around or reading books. There are quite a number of things that you can do to extend your patio's functionality. You can place gazebos for hot tubs or spas where you can bathe for comfort with privacy. You may also place benches and large umbrellas with a design that you like. You can extend your garden and put up a fountain somewhere in the center where it becomes the center of attraction.

Landscaping softwares are also available. Some are pre-designed that you just have to make a pick among them or you create your own through the software. Buying this software is a cost but some are simply worth your money.

A lovely patio deck adds beauty to your home. Your marvelous rest and pleasure are not confined within the walls of your house alone. Extend your home to your outdoor and you'll see, every corner is a home sweet home.

Lovely How to Turn Your Backyard into a Home Theater

Creating a home theatre in your backyard is an economical way of keeping your kids entertained during summers. But home theatres are expensive purchases. If you want the home theater only for summer, then hire the equipment from an audio and sound system rental provider and create your own home theatre. Here's the equipment you will need for the set-up.

 

1. A screen – Join two white king-size bed-sheets, stitch them together with a white thread and then neatly iron the cloth. This will serve as your screen. Alternatively, you can get a large free standing portable screen or an inflatable stand-alone screen from a video rental company. Identify a place in your backyard to place the stand-alone screens. If you're making a cloth screen, hang it by the wall but make sure that the wall is big enough to place clips and fasteners to hold the cloth.

 

3. A video projector – You will need a video projector to watch a movie on the big screen. Instead of buying a projector just for summer entertainment, get one on rent from your local video rental service.

 

4. A DVD player – A blu-ray disc or a DVD player would be necessary to play movies. A blu-ray disc is ideal for the big screen that you would set up otherwise you can choose a high end DVD player to get the best movie experience.

 

5. A stereo amplifier – The most important component for creating a home theater is the sound system. Check with the sound system rental provider and see if you can get the 5.1 channel surround sound system suitable for home theatres. If not available, you can get a two-channel stereo system as an alternative.

 

6. Speakers – Outdoor speakers give you the finest backyard movie experience. But if you want them only for the summer, rent some good ones from the sound system rental provider instead of buying them.

 

7. A mobile TV stand or rack – For convenience, use a mobile rack to place the amplifier, DVD player and other accessories. You can use the rack or a table you have at home or buy one from the local dealer.

 

8. Power cord, surge suppressor and cables – To make theequipment work, you should have a heavy-duty extension cord, a 3 or 4 outlet surge suppressor and cables to connect speakers. Plug in the surge suppressor to one end of the power cord and then plug in your DVD player, amplifier and video projector to the suppressor. Connect the speakers and turn the power once you plug everything in.

 

9. Movies and food – Get all the movies you and your kids would love to watch together. Add some home-made popcorn and barbecue to have fun in your theater.

 

Setting up the theatre might sound a little tedious, but it can be a lot of fun when the whole family takes part in the activity. Take all the necessary safety precautions when you are setting up your home theater. Keep the equipment sourced from the sound system rental company away from the swimming pool and the barbecue area. Invite friends and also neighbors once in a while to add to the fun.

Nice Organic Gardening Beginner's Guide

Typically, beginners to organic gardening are excited by the whole concept of organic, but don't know where to start. I remember when I first contracted organic fever. I was so excited and I was reading everything I could find. Some articles were very entertaining but gave little practical information. Other content seemed to focus on a particular product as being the miraculous answer to all gardening problems. On one occasion I was reading an extremely compelling article about liquid organic fertilizer.

It was very compelling and I was ready to buy it. Problem was, I hadn't even planted anything yet! What I needed was a beginners guide to organic gardening. Years later and I have never found one yet that was free, so I decided to write it myself. I always recommend to anyone who is just discovering organic gardening to start on a small scale. Container gardening, for example, is a perfect place to start. You can move your container easily to protect it from the elements, even indoors.

Let's keep it simple and think of the the 3 R's: Research, Read, Repeat Different types of plants have different growing requirements, so it is imperative to know in advance of planting, what conditions are required by your plants to thrive. This is the most basic principle but often the most overlooked. You cannot rely on store personnel to know basic facts about the plants their store sells. They are cashiers, not horticulturalists. By following the 3 R's you will avoid a lot of potential plant problems, plus, you'll save yourself time, money, and aggravation. It's much easier to learn about how to grow fat nutritious tomatoes after you have learned what soil requirements tomatoes need, than to repurchase and replant seedlings because you skipped this important step.

Follow The Rules You can't be successful if you cheat or take shortcuts. You might be tempted to think you can add a miracle grow chemical to make your plants grow faster or taller. Read that sentence again. Do you see that word "chemical"? The use of chemicals is the opposite of organic. I want to assist you in growing gorgeous plants and healthful veggies. I do not promote or support the use of synthetic chemicals. When chemicals are added to the soil to induce artificial growth or color, they destroy the very micro-organisms needed to grow! The very essence of Organics is natural. (Besides, if you think you can ingest chemicals without any adverse effects, you've been woefully misled!)

You Can't Create Life. When you get right to the heart of the matter, you can't create a tomato. All you can do is plant a tiny seed and give it what it needs to grow. In my ignorance I used to repeat that tired old cliche, "Life begins in the soil." Well, that's only half true. While the seed contains the energy to germinate after planting, it's the life in the soil that enables it to flourish. Micro-organisms such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa and nematodes convert organic fertilizer into energy for your plants to grow. This is also know as soil fertility.

Are you ready to pursue organic gardening? Then I suggest you start by doing some housecleaning to get into the proper frame of mind. Yes, I said house cleaning. .I suggest finding a good bio-degradable bag and, starting under your sink bag up all the chemicals to kill bugs, weeds and fertilize. Then progressing to your basement, garage, or utility shed, collect them all and get rid of them! Okay, so you have a bag of toxic substances in hand, and you're walking out to your garbage can... Suddenly you realize that there might possibly be a safety issue concerning the disposal of this stuff. The light bulb goes on. Now it starts to become clear. If you have to consider how to safely dispose of a product, why would you want it in your home or garden? And for God's sake why would you want to eat them?

View this entire article in it's exclusively at the link listed below.

The Best Old Shop Vacs Find New Use in Gardening

Shop vacs are a popular tool amongst home owners, hobbyists as well small shop owners. These shop vacs, especially the wet and dry ones are used for cleaning basements and garages, used to clean up after woodworking projects as well in small manufacturing facilities for debris pick up tasks. While shop vacs are generally rugged tools and do not break down often, they are a mechanical device and chances are you will go through more than one in your lifetime. But before you decide to discard your old shop vac, you may find new uses for it in your garden. We outline three specific recycling uses here.

The first use for the tank or the drum is to store small yard tools such as clippers, small digging tools, small spades, garden gloves, etc so they are all in one place in one container. You can cut off the filter cage using a sawzall and thereby have a lid for the container also. Because they come with caster wheels, your storage container can now be conveniently moved around.

A second use is to use it as a pot for your bigger plants. Just drill three or four three eighths size holes at the bottom for the drainage of water, fill it with potting soil and you have a planter now. Since these drums are generally made of plastic, they will not corrode or rust and you have found a new application for an item that you would have otherwise discarded.

A third use is in the storage of grass seeds, lime and other garden supplies. Again, the provision of caster wheels attached to these containers allow for easy transportability. And since they have a wide mouth opening, it becomes easy to scoop out the seeds or fertilizer materials for use in your garden. Thus your old shop vac can still be put to good use even after it has stopped working properly.

Amazing Patio Boxes- Perfect Additions To Outdoor Patio Accessories

There are a number of outdoor patio accessories on the market, one of the most popular being patio boxes. These come in a huge range of styles, sizes, colors, and price ranges. They can be purchased one at a time or purchased in sets depending on the shapes and sizes you want to invest in.

What are Patio Boxes Used For?

There are a variety of uses that patio boxes are used for. One of the most popular is for gardening reasons. They make perfect planters and because they come in different shapes and sizes, they can help you customize a unique garden area or create a floral feel on the patio. These kinds of boxes can also be used for storing toys, patio pillows, gardening tools and more.

These outdoor patio accessories can be purchase in the shape of a chest, and with a sitting pillow placed on top it can double as storage and seating. These patio boxes can also house pet food, swimming pool toys or blankets for winter time.

What are These Outdoor Patio Accessories Made Of?

Many patio boxes are made of rattan, teak or wicker. They can be stained to meet your color scheme needs once you purchase a light colored variety, or you can purchase your favorite boxes already in the color that will work for you. The most popular colors sold on the market are light brown, dark brown, and black.

Where to Find These Boxes

You don't have to drive to the local brick and mortar store in order to find patio boxes that will meet your needs. Instead you can save time and even money shopping online. You can find a nice range of options to choose from at affordable prices and of high quality.

It is best to compare the different options you might find on a particular website, and you will want to make sure and click on the specific products being offered in order to get a better idea of what you can expect if you do decide to purchase.

A reliable and worthwhile web company will do what they can to find the patio boxes you might be looking for if they don't happen to have it in stock, so don't be afraid to ask for assistance if you don't see what you are looking for.

Understand that if you want quality you should be prepared to invest in the outdoor patio accessories you are interested in. If you opt for cheap, that is probably what you will get. This doesn't mean that you have to spend a fortune to get what you are looking for, but finding a nice medium is a good way to go.

Best of Indoor Herb Gardening - Learn the Basics

Indoor herb gardening is one of the simplest and most rewarding gardening experiences you could ask for.

An indoor garden could be on your kitchen windowsill, a table on a patio, or even in your family room. With very minimum effort and cost you could plant an indoor herb garden.

Some good herbs for your indoor herb gardening are mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, chives and basil.

You could experiment with others, but since your herbs will be growing in a container, avoid those that grow too big.

How do you get started?

You could use a very big container for a several different herbs or choose individual pots to plant herbs separately. The easiest indoor herb gardening set could take as little as fifteen minutes to get started.

You will need the following  to get going:

Herb seeds or plants?

The easiest way is to just buy the young herb plants from your local gardening store that carries them.

You might also be able to get them from a gardener who has some extra to spare. Alternately you could always begin from scratch and sow your own seeds and let them germinate.

Containers

Containers or pots used to grow the herb in, could be anywhere from three to fifteen inches deep.

Depending on whether or not you will be planting every herb individually, your containers could be as long as you like. Four to six inches long is excellent for individual plants. Once you have finished the planting you need to leave an inch or two of the top of the container free of soil to make watering easier.

Fertilizer

It might be necessary to give your herbs a bit of nutritional help with some

fertilizer once a month or every other month because they are being grown inside.

Potting soil

To avoid infestation of your indoor plants, you should not use garden soil for planting. It is better to get potting soil from your garden supply store. They will be able to advise you which is the best type of soil for each kind of herbs.

Because they are being grown in an indoor herb gardening environment, you must ensure that the plants

get the right amount of light to grow properly. Lastly, do not overdo water, as herbs generally do not like to keep

their roots too wet. Allow the soil to dry before watering again to ensure that you do not over water.

Your indoor herb gardening provide fresh herbs all year-round and add colours to the area it occupies.

Indoor herbs in a kitchen adds scent of fresh herb and is also quite comforting and homely.

The Planning Ahead For a Speedy Backyard Pool Opening

If you have the luxury of having a pool in your backyard, it's no secret that opening it every year can be quite the hassle. Just like any other project, when you keep putting it off - it just gets worse and you end up creating more work for yourself in the long run. If you find that you're not even getting around to opening your pool for the season until summer is halfway over - it might be time to get organized for the next time around. It's never too early to start thinking ahead, especially when it comes to your home, so making a list of things you need to get done ahead of time will help you prevent your pool from opening a little too late in the season.

First things first - making sure that your pool is covered during the off season is extremely important. If you haven't invested in a cover, it's an absolute must. This will keep leaves and other debris (and even animals) from getting into the pool and causing you a lot of extra work when it comes time to open it for the season. Another great precautionary step to take is to clean your filter out whenever you close the pool at the start of fall. It will not only cut down on the amount of work you'll have to do at the start of year, but it will prevent any debris that may be in the filter from causing any damage to it while it sits in there during the off season. By taking any steps you can whenever you close the pool to get things cleaned up, you won't have to do much at the start of the season when you and your family are anxious to get the pool up and running.

Another great step you can take is to purchase all of your chemicals and supplies at the close of the year before. Many pool supply stores will have an annual end of the year sale, so even though you may not need them now - you can buy them at a discounted rate so you have them ready for the next year. Opening the pool is something that would be ideal to get done in one day, and saving yourself trips to the store is something that will definitely speed the process up. By making a list during the course of the year of all the chemicals and supplies that you need, you'll be able to stock up and not have to worry about suddenly realizing you forgot about something. The end of the year is also a great time to pick up discounted pool toys for the kids since they can often get worn out during the course of the season.

When adding chemicals to your pool, don't jump the gun and start adding chlorine and other chemicals to the water. Although you may think you're doing the job, you may be creating more work for yourself. You can end up staining your pools surface or doing serious damage to it by going overboard. Although the pool opening process may seem tedious and you're just anxious to get things done - the water chemistry is very important. Making sure that the pool water sits for about half a day before anyone goes in is also a good precautionary step to take. The average homeowner isn't typically a chemist - so if you have questions, make a list and take it to your local pool supply store. It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the water chemistry of your pool. Asking an expert is your best bet in any situation.

So if you're looking to close your pool down for the year, don't throw the cover on and stop there. By taking a little extra time to take care of things now, you'll be glad that you did once the warmer months roll around. The whole point of having a pool in your backyard is to be able to enjoy it. By making sure that you get the most out of your pool in the summertime, both you and your family will be glad that you planned ahead.