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    Garden Thyme, Home Improvement and DIY

    New Fall Landscaping

    New Fall Landscaping With Plants and shrubs from Lowe's

     

    Happy Saturday friends! Fall is the perfect time to get the lawn and garden cleaned up and ready for winter. It is also a great time to plant new  trees, evergreen shrubs and perennials.  This past week my husband did some much needed work on our landscaping which included digging up some old established and crowded bushes and finding new spots for them. He also planted some new trees and shrubs and prepared to make a new path on the side of our house. Today I am sharing how things are coming along so far.

    Ever since we moved here five years ago we have been planning to add some privacy trees and shrubs to the left side of our house which closely borders our neighbor’s property. Time has passed so quickly and it just seemed we never had the time to do it. Last weekend we were at Lowe’s looking for mums when we came across an amazing sell on trees, shrubs and plants for 50% off.

     

    We chose a variety of arborvitae shrubs and trees, as well as a few junipers and an azalea. Since the weather was perfect for planting with a chance of rain for the next several days afterward, we decided the timing was right to proceed with the project! Finally!!! When we got home from Lowe’s I started making some dinner, and before I knew it my husband had already started digging up old bushes and setting out the new plants, so I didn’t really get any good “before” pictures. The photos I am sharing today are still of the work in progress however, so there will still be some nice “after” pictures for comparison once we finish up.

     

     

    The landscaping in front of our house ended at the edge of our porch in the mid- right corner of this photo where the garden light is. We wanted to continue the landscaping in an l-shape to form a natural privacy border at the left side our house. The arborvitae will grow much larger and wider. They are planted so that they will touch each other when fully grown which will provide privacy. Since our neighborhood is in the middle of a small natural forest, the use of evergreens is a perfect choice.  The decision to move a hosta to this new area was not a good one however! The deer from the forest across the street have already discovered it and not much is left!

     

    The spindly holly in the top left corner is a group of shoots that came apart when my husband dug up an old holly and moved it to another spot in our landscape. We are not sure if it will make it, but if it does it will be nice in this spot since there are two other hollies beside it. There was an Annabelle hydrangea here, but each year after it’s initial bloom in late May it never looked healthy. It also was encroaching on an adjacent holly so we decided to transplant it to the back yard to see if it might do better. By the way, I have no idea what is up with our grass! Normally it is so pretty, lush and green, but over the last month it has gotten sparse with lots of brown patches. I am wondering if it has been all the unseasonably hot weather interspersed with days and days of rain. We may have to look into lawn care services for help.

     

    We have decided to add a gravel path with pretty stepping stones leading from the front yard to the side of the house. We never really go over on this side since it is so close to the neighbor’s property. Without a path it is has been hard to access due to what was probably originally a shared driveway which now belongs to the neighbor. Having a little path from our front yard will lead us right around the side of our house without having to walk in the neighbor’s driveway. In the picture below you will see where the path will connect from where it starts and will continue on around the side of the house.

     

    My husband removed all of the old plants, ivy, weeds, etc that were growing here and put down heavy duty landscape weed barrier. The large rocks are original to the property and kind of cool so we decided to keep them. As you can see this are definitely needs some TLC. It has been way down on the bottom of the to-do list since we never really needed to use this side of our house. We have a large and attractive yard on a corner lot on the other side of our house where our patio and deck are, and a good sized back yard, but it will still be nice to get this area cleaned up  too. We also plan to paint the foundation of the house although I am still undecided on a color, and replace the windows. I will probably add a few little garden accessories or maybe a pretty bird feeder to give the path some character too,

     

    We planted a couple of different varieties of junipers in front of the arborvitae. All of the landscape fabric will be covered with river rock from Lowe’s after all the planting is finished. We also have added some nice solar landscape lights along the border (also from Lowe’s). Looks like we forgot to remove a sticker!

     

     

    My husband divided several of our existing liriope plants and used some of the divisions in the newly landscaped area. The border of liriope connects from this new landscaping all the way around the house.

     

    Here you can see the liriope border in front of the hollies. He also decided to move them forward a bit since they were half way hidden under the hollies. This left some exposed dirt and mud messes,  so we will have to add some new landscape fabric and fresh gravel to this bed as well. We also have some pretty English ivy in this bed which grows up the brick on the porch which I love. There was a third holly bush here in the middle of these two which we took out and moved to the other side of the porch because it was entirely too crowded.  The holly bushes all need to be trimmed up too. Although you can prune many bushes and large shrubs such as Buddleia in the fall, hollies must be pruned in December once the plants go dormant.

     

     

    This gorgeous mixed fall planter from Lowe’s contains an evergreen Elwood’s False Cypress. I am not sure how long it will survive in a container, but I am hoping it will do well until spring at least, then I can find another spot for it in the landscape or transplant it to a deep urn.

     

     

    It’s mid-October and my ferns in urns are still going strong! I also purchased the ferns at Lowe’s back in the May.

     

    We dug up the struggling hosta and replaced it with an azalea just behind the burgundy coral bells.  Another juniper was planted on the right side of the porch to add continuity with the new landscaping and to provide some evergreen interest.

     

     

    I purchased a second mixed container with the Elwood’s False Cypress for this perfectly chippy old urn. My hopes are to keep the cypress in the urn for a few years at least.  Our window boxes have been empty for a while, so when I saw the Dwarf Alberta Spruces for only $4 a piece I decided to use them in the boxes at least through winter. Tomorrow I plan to dress up the boxes for fall by adding some burlap, pansies, and a few small gourds to give the boxes a fall feel. After Thanksgiving I will some Christmas touches such as red berries and pine cones.

     

     

    At 50% off we got such an amazing deal on all of these beautiful trees and shrubs that we decided to pick up a few more for the landscaping next to the patio on the side of our house. Here you can see a bit of how the herb bed was looking just last week. When we first moved in I deliberately planted mint in this area because I wanted it to sprawl and take over (which it certainly did!) but every summer by July it starts looking a little too wild and of course the flower bed is just empty and plain all winter and spring.

     

     

    We are absolutely loving this landscape refresh on the side yard by the patio and how it ties in with the front yard landscaping. It will be so nice all year round with very little maintenance! We still need to add some more solar lights and refresh the gravel but overall it is a hug improvement. Scarecrow Joe is watching over the new plants to scare away any hungry or curious critters!

     

    Well friends, this wasn’t the most “pinworthy” post, but I am excited to document our little landscape refresh here on the blog. Even though these aren’t completely “before” pictures, there is still quite a bit of work to-do with putting down new gravel, stepping stones and hopefully getting the lawn back in shape. Our goal is to have all of the new gravel down, the stepping stones added to the path, and all of the lights in place before Thanksgiving. I plan to share an update as soon as all that is finished. We also purchased tulips and daffodils bulbs to plant this week, so it will be exciting to see how all of this looks in the spring too.

    If you are looking to do some landscaping, head to Lowe’s as quickly as possible. Deals on evergreens won’t last long! Are you planning to do any fall landscape work? I love hearing from you dear readers!

    Thanks for visiting today!

    Amber

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    Cleaning, Organizing, and Life Hacks, Home Improvement and DIY

    Home Ownership 101: Pest Control Tips and When To Call A Professional

    Pest prevention and pest control tips. When you should call a professional exterminator

    Hello everyone and welcome back to my Home Ownership 101 series. Today I am discussing one of the less glamorous aspects of home ownership, but an important one nonetheless…how to deal with bugs and pests. A pest problem can get out of hand fast and ruin your dream home (or at the least cause anxiety and financial strain) so it’s important to stay on top of things to prevent any issues. Today I am sharing some pest prevention and pest control tips, as well as how to know when it’s time to call a professional exterminator. *This post may contain affiliate links.

    Pest Control: When Do You Need a Professional to Eliminate Your Pest Problems?

    Discovering you have pests in your home can be a nerve-racking experience. But you’re not alone.  IN fact it is estimated that 84% of Americans have used a pest control service in the last year. This is even more likely if you live in one of the top ten towns for pest infestations.

    Image result for worst pests by region map

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    The good news is that pests can be dealt with successfully. You simply need to decide if you are going to try to DIY or if you need to hand over to the professionals.

     

    Top Tip: Many pest problems can be tackled by the homeowner first but you should never waste time when dealing with termites. A professional will be able to locate all the colonies; which may have as many as 60,000 termites in; and get rid of them before they do too much damage to your home.

    You can find out more about their service here.

     

    Termite Facts

    Source

    Prevention First

    You should be able to take preventive measures to protect your home. In many cases this will ensure that you never have a pest issue.

    Prevention includes:

    • Keeping food in containers and your home free of crumbs.

    5 Tips and Ideas for a Happier, More Organized, More Efficient Pantry. Organization can seem daunting, but with these small, doable diy tricks, your pantry will look better in no time.

    Source

    • Removing standing water and fixing leaks

     

    Tired of leaking pipes? Check out these quick fixes to help you deal with these nasty leaks while waiting for your trusted plumber! Read, download and share our short article via Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/180478436/Quick-Temporary-Fixes-For-Leaky-Pipes

    Source

    • Get rid of clutter to avoid giving pests a breeding spot.

    Decluttering Living Life To The Maximum With The Minimum

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    • Close off any gaps and potential entrance points into your home.

    The experts at DIYNetwork.com explain how to weatherproof and seal your windows for the long term.

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    • Familiarize yourself with the pests that are common in your area. Contact your state or county cooperative extension office for more information.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Jefferson County Cooperative Extension | Cooperative Extension - Jefferson County

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    Dealing With The Pest Issue

    Once you discover you have a pest issue you can start treating it yourself.

    The most common starting point is to visit your local store and get pesticides and traps. Pesticides need to be kept away from children and pets. You should only spray them at specific locations. *Opt for organic and eco-friendly pest control whenever possible.

     

    Pest control. For ants i advocate using cinnamon or food grade diatomaceous earth.

    Source

     

    How to Use Diatomaceous Earth to Get Rid of Pests Naturally - Holistic Squid

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    Traps can be placed near where you think the source of the infestation is. You can opt for humane traps that catch rodents or simply put bait boxes down with poison in them. The pests will carry the poison back to their nest, potentially killing the entire colony.

    When To Call The Experts

    It is important to know when you’re beat. If the pest control problem is not going away then there is a good chance you’re simply killing worker pests and not the queen or colony.  A professional will be able to locate the colony and deal directly with it, as they will also have the proper equipment to eliminate the pests. 

    Some colonies have one queen; other colonies have several. The queens are fed and otherwise tended by the workers. The males' only function is to mate with the queens.The workers carry out such tasks as enlarging and protecting the nest, tending queens and young, and foraging. There may be only one kind of worker, or there may be several kinds, with body structures specialized for different types of work. The activity of workers is coordinated mostly through pheromones and body contact.

     

     

    You should also use a professional if you have allergies. You won’t want to make the allergies worse by approaching these pests, and the faster they are out of your home the better! 

    It is also important to get professional help if you don’t know what pest you are dealing with or realize that you have not identified the pest correctly.  The experts will be able to identify which pests you have and will know exactly how to handle them. They should also be more effective at removing pests entirely, and they have the experience and knowledge to get the job done fast.

     

    Well dear readers I hope that the information shared here today will help you prevent or eliminate any potential pest problems. Best of luck for keeping your home pest free!

    Amber

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    Fabulous Fall Decorating, Home Improvement and DIY

    Painted Doors and Pumpkins Fall Porch Inspiration

    Painted Doors and Pumpkins Painted Door With Color pumpkins fall porch ideas

    Welcome back to my Fabulous Fall Decorating series! Today it’s officially the first day of fall, so that means it’s time to go all out on the pumpkin decor! On October 2nd I will be sharing my fall porch as part of the Fall Porch Blog Hop, so once again I have been searching Pinterest for ideas.  As I was browsing I kept coming upon so many pretty painted doors with creative pumpkin displays and it put me in the mood to finally paint our back door, just in time for the arrival of pumpkins! Read more

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