Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Watering your lawn costs money, so when it rains the same day that you had your sprinklers on, it defeats the purpose and wastes a valuable resource. The weather is challenging to predict, but there is a device that might be better informed than your local meteorologist.

The Intelligent Sprinkler Controller is equipped with an internal barometer, which can detect the pressure changes. As a result, it can tell 12 hours before it’s supposed to rain. Once it detects that rain is coming your way, it will automatically postpone the scheduled watering. The LCD screen makes it easy, so you can schedule the sprinkler to run on certain days and even times. It will turn on whenever you have scheduled it as long as the weather is permitting.

This gadget requires a 9-volt batter, and its dimensions are 6 1/3”H x 6 3/4”L x 4 1/3”W. Now your landscaping is less likely to get over watered.

Setting up a composting bin with your family can be a fun and educational experience. Plus, you will be instilling important values in your children at an early age. If they know how to make and use a compost bin when they are young, they will most likely keep one when they have their own home.

So what can be put in a compost bin? Well, almost any food scraps (except meat, bones and fatty foods like cheese if you don’t want to create odors that attract pests) and waste from your yard such as grass clippings and leaves can be added. Instead of putting these items in the trash can, put them in a compost bin instead. Day after day the materials in the bin will start breaking down. Eventually the material can be used as compost, which can be applied to gardens and flowerbeds. After the harsh winter, you can replenish the soil so your landscaping flourishes.

Are you always worried about whether your trees will withstand the stormy weather? Instead of waiting for a tree branch to break a window or take out your roof, prevent the branches from destroying your home with a simple pruning tip.

Stemming the tree roots is an easy way to keep a tree’s branches away from your home and your neighbor’s home. This pruning process is called pollarding. It’s a simple procedure that stops the root balls of trees from growing. All you need to do is cut the branches back from the trunk.

You will end up with straight trees that have thin branches at the top. You can use the excess wood to build a fence or provide your home with renewable heating. A pollard tree looks well manicured, and it might save you from costly repairs in the future, especially if you’re in an area that commonly gets strong winds or large amounts of snow.

Evergreen trees are just one type of plant that you can add to your yard so it doesn’t look so lifeless and colorless in the winter. There are other “evergreen” plants that can turn your landscaping into a themed fall extravaganza featuring yellows, oranges, reds and plums.

The suggested plants below are considered evergreens, but they behave a little bit differently than evergreen trees. Although they grow all season, they will turn shades of red and purple instead of staying green.

There are several species of abelia (abelias), and these plants can go well into the winter with their red and bronze coloring. The bearberry (arctostaphylos uva-ursi) has glossy leaves and turns a deep red to purple. Heather (calluna vulgaris) as well as Heath (erica) can be red, orange or yellow, so these plants can give you some variation.

Some other plants you might want to consider include the creeping grape holly (mahonia repens), wandflower (galax urceolata) and the wintercreeper (euonymus fortunei).

Gardens as well as landscaping can look downright awful in the wintertime. Instead of letting all of the dead debris take over your yard, you can prepare your yard for the winter.

After a few light or hard frosts, your annuals will eventually blacken, which is a sign that they need removed. However, impatients and begonias should be removed before the first frost, because they become so slimy. To remove annuals, pull out the plants by the roots or clip the stems as close as you can to the ground.

In late fall or early winter, you can cut down your perennials. Make sure you wait for the weather to become consistent, because you don’t want the plants to use up their stored energy and bloom during the mild part of an early winter. Another tip is to cut them so there is at least 3 inches of stem above the ground.

One last order of business for your landscaping is to rake up most of the leaves so they don’t smother your ground covers. You can leave a few leaves, because they will eventually break down and enrich the soil.

Ponds are elegant features for your front or backyard, because you can add so many elements. Once you have lily pads, plants, tall grass, fish and rocks, you will start to see even more wildlife such as frogs and bunnies visiting your pond area. The one drawback of a pond is the liner, which can be challenging to disguise.

Vinyl liners prevent the pond water from dissipating into the soil, but it has to be installed carefully so that it won’t tear. Roots and rocks that remain after excavation need to be removed, because these can cause rips and tears, but after the liner is set in the ground, how can you hide it?

Piling stones around the edges of the pond help to form a border, and this is an attractive and easy way to hide the liner. To do this, you will need to dig out a shelf that starts just below the water line. Or you can plant ground covering plnats and tall grasses.

Fall is right around the corner (September 22, to be exact), and it’s the perfect time to divide your perennials. Dividing plants is a money saving way to increase your blooms for the next season, and it prevents certain plants from overwhelming one area of your yard. Below are some tips on how to make the division successful.

The day before you plan to divide the plants, water the ground thoroughly so it will be easier to uproot them. You can also cut the plant down if it has too much top growth. Another thing to keep in mind is that plants are pretty resilient. If you’re unable to gently loosen the clumps and roots, just cut them apart.

To increase the plant’s chances of survival, replant it as soon as possible, because you don’t want the roots to dry out. If there are any dead parts, remove them before returning the plant to the ground. Lastly, don’t forget to hydrate them.

Are you ready to replace your wood or stone wall around your home or garden? If so, you need to consider how the new wall will look in comparison to your home. The truth of the matter is that it might stick out like a sore thumb if you own an old home or have an established garden. Below are some ways to age wood or stone so your new wall will blend seamlessly into your existing style.

It can take years for wood to weather, but using the right products can significantly short this process. If you want the wood to look naturally aged, try using bleaching oils and stains for six months. However, this option is risky, because the chemicals can kill your plants so you have to be cautious. An alternative is to apply a semi-transparent stain with a gray or white pigment.

Stone and brick can immediately appear aged if it has moss or lichens growing on it, but it helps if the wall is somewhat shaded. If you have a small amount of moss already growing, apply a thin layer of yogurt or buttermilk onto the surface of the wall to encourage more growth.

The bright sunny color of sunflowers can bring a smile to your face. Their long, strong stems wave in the wind as if they’re saying hello. These cheerful flowers can make for an easy yet unconventional hedge or border around your home. Below are some tips to help you get started.

Since there are a variety of sunflowers available, choose one that isn’t too tall or short for your home. Once you have chosen the type of sunflower, start growing the seeds indoors at least six to eight weeks before the last frost in your region. This will give your border a head start and enable you to create the ideal environment for the plant to thrive.

Before planting the baby sunflowers, make sure that it’s in an area that is well-drained and facing east to southeast (these flowers require full sun). For a more diverse border, choose different types of sunflowers and plant the tallest ones in the back.

The dry conditions of a rock wall make it difficult for many plants to thrive. However, there are good candidates for these environments, and they are often plants that have small root systems and are reseeding annuals.

The pink and white color of the fleabane is a hardy option, and it has the ability to reseed in the smallest of cracks. Other plants that can be grow in a wall include the candytuft, ice plant, hens-and-chicks, lavender cotton, pinks, rock cress, snow-in-summer, thrift, wooly thyme and yellow corydalis. Thyme and sedum are also known to thrive in small spaces.

Some tips to make it easy for the plants to grow include planting as you build your wall or at least leaving enough space between the rocks to plant the root. Also, a landscape fabric can prevent your nutrient-rich soil and seeds from being washed or blown away. If you want to plant on an existing wall, use a butter knife to get the seeds into the crevices and make sure there is enough soil and water.