May 10, 2008
If you've got pest birds attacking your lawn or garden, there are plenty of ways to keep them away without resorting to potentially toxic chemical pest control methods. Just make them believe one of their natural predators is hanging out in your yard. An owl, for example.
Fortunately, there's no need to go out and capture yourself a real owl for your yard. Just get a scarecrow version.
This electronic garden defense owl comes with three AAA batteries that power the rotating head and prompt hoots for good measure. It should fool those pest birds into staying away from your yard or garden.
$44 at Amazon:
Electronic Owl
May 8, 2008
Do you love your dog? Are you fanatical about a certain breed? Do you have enough gardening skills to grow a bush?
If all that sounds like you, these dog breed topiary frames from the Gardeners' Supply Store might be a fun project. You're supposed to fill them with sphagnum moss and cover the frame with ivy or other vining plants.
Of course, they've only got a few breeds in there now (my vizsla was quite affronted that they didn't have him), but let's hope they'll get some more in the future. Then (for good or ill) you'll see bushy dogs cropping up on lawns all across America...
Starting at $60:
Dog Breed Topiary Frames
April 22, 2008
If you're looking for some eco-friendly landscaping ideas, you may like the idea of using tumbled glass around planters, in walkways, to highlight water features, or just to create your own artistic mosaics. Many manufacturers who offer tumbled glass use recycled materials, so this can be an environmentally friendly way to update your yard.
The walkway shown here was done using a "Sea Mix" from Bedrock Industries, a company that uses 100% recycled glass for their creations.
The tumbling process smooths the edges of the glass so it's safe to walk on, and the myriad colors available give you countless decorative options. Example colors include frost white, aqua, cobalt, dark green, red, and purple.
Prices range from $1.65 to $6.99 a pound, depending on how much you order and whether you want tumbled glass or mosaic glass.
Bedrock Industries
April 20, 2008
Okay, "fun" may not be the word that comes to mind when you think of downspout extensions, but this frog rain drain is at least a cute way to divert rainwater away from the foundation of your home. Rather than some strictly utilitarian downspout extender, you may try this guy:
"Two friendly frogs perch atop our Rain Drain. Set it under any downspout for an attractive way to move water away from foundations and footings. Cast resin with a verdigris finish looks like stone, yet it's lightweight and maintenance-free."
The size is 15-3/8" x 7-1/2" x 4"H, and the extenders are available from Plow & Hearth for $25.
April 9, 2008
This spring, I'm thinking of having my parents try a trap to get rid of apple maggots. My parents aren't much for gardening, but they do have two great apple trees in their backyard. The problem is that every summer, by the time the apples are ready to eat, it seems they've already been half eaten by the, er, wildlife.
Here's a trap I found at Amazon (is there anything you can't find at Amazon?):
"The Spring Star Apple Maggot trap... has been proven effective at reducing apple maggot damage. Flies are attracted by the lures and come to a sticky demise on the juicy-looking apple sphere."
Sticky demise, heh heh.
The trap comes with a "one-season, controlled-release lure system." You're supposed to place the traps in the trees 1-2 weeks before buds break in the early spring, and then leave the traps out until harvest time.
For $20, you get a trap kit with three traps and three lures. No reviews on the site yet, so I'm not sure if that's enough to keep apple maggots away from one tree or multiple trees or what. I guess we'll see.
Traps for Apple Maggots
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