Courtesy of Northampton Nursery & Northampton Building Solutions
May 2010
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Landscaping |
 Tips from the Pros
Beautiful AnnualsMay is the time to get all the pieces in place to
create the outdoor environment you want to enjoy for the rest of the summer. A
good way to start is to add color to your landscape with annual flowers. A
small investment in seasonal annuals can have a dramatic impact on your
landscape by adding both color and variety. Hanging baskets are a great way to
achieve a rich look quickly for patios, porches and areas that need a little
visual interest. When planting annuals in the soil of your garden, it's best to
gently loosen the roots up a bit to stimulate stronger root growth. And always
water right after planting to ensure the soil will settle snugly around those
roots.
Plant of the Month
 Knock Out®Roses
Roses are beautiful, but they require a lot of work.
Fighting aphids, treating leaf spots and all that dead-heading are a turnoff to
many home gardeners. Those gardeners are going to love the Knock Out ®Family
of Roses. We discovered these two years ago, and they are an amazing addition
to the home landscape. Developed by the Conard-Pyle Company, Knock Out ®Roses
are a hybrid that are more like low-maintenance shrubs than roses. They are
easy to grow and do not require special care. They resist disease. They come in all the colors of the
rainbow and bloom from summer to the first hard frost. Best of all, they are
"self-cleaning," which means no dead-heading!
Landscaping Trend
Extend Family Space Outside
We live in a time when barriers are breaking down. And
one trend we see is the breakdown in the barrier between inside and outside
living. More and more families are creating outdoor living spaces to extend the
feel of their inside family rooms. These can be handsome decks or patios that extend
off a kitchen or living room, or more elaborate spaces arranged under hip roofs
or gazebos that can be used in all weather. Outdoor kitchens, dining areas,
bars and areas to kick back on comfortable furniture all can play a part, along
with "hearth" areas where families can re-create the experience of an
indoor fireplace around an outdoor firepit. These spaces can be used every day
of the week, not just for special occasions. And they can make
"staycations" beautiful and rewarding in place of expensive vacations
out of town!
It's Time To ...
Summer's almost here, and it's time to tend to your
garden and landscape. There's lots to do.
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Now's the time to divide overgrown perennials and
sharpen their profiles. At the same time you can replant the extra pieces in areas you
want to dress up.
- Prune spring flowering shrubs now too, but only AFTER
the flowers fade.
- Mulch all landscape beds and trees. It will boost
beauty and give you a head start keeping weeds down.
- You can plant tender plants outdoors after the danger
of a last frost is past.
- If you mow your own lawn, make sure your mower blade
is sharp.
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Masterpiece Project
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 A Kitchen Update
for the 21st Century
Inside or outside, we like to make dreams come true. When Monica M. came to us, she wanted a dream kitchen. Monica is the proud owner of a Cape Cod-style home built in the early 1950s. The home had its original floor plan, and the kitchen had never changed much, aside from appliance updates. Monica was looking for a modern kitchen with a more open and bright floor plan. Creating openness was the first challenge, because the walls of the existing kitchen split the house up. In order to provide Monica with the brightness and openness she wanted, we started by removing two walls, one separating the kitchen from the dining room and the other separating the kitchen and the living room. The wall separating the kitchen from the living room was a load-bearing wall supporting the second floor, so we had to install a new structural beam to carry the weight of the upper floor. We were able to hide the beam by creating an arched wall, which works well with the arched accents throughout the kitchen. To expand the size of the kitchen and allow more natural light into the space, we replaced a triple window in the dining room with a sliding glass door and closed off a door that led from the kitchen to the back yard. We finished off the new kitchen by installing a new granite countertop and new hardwood floors that complement the color of the cabinets. For the new flooring, we matched the color of the existing hardwood floor to make it seem like the kitchen had been there for years. The expanded space allowed us to provide a large island with a nice butcher-block top, which Monica likes both as a work space and as an eating space for her family. |
| Home Improvement | Tip of the Month
Time for Painting & Tending Decks
May is a good time to do any outdoor painting, especially wood surfaces. This way they'll be protected from the summer heat and sun. Note that most conventional paints should be applied when the temperature is above 55 degrees. Now is also a great time to inspect window and door screens for tears. You can often get a kit from your local hardware store to repair small tears. Your wood deck should also be getting attention. Wood decks should be cleaned and sealed once a year, and if you do it now, you'll be able to enjoy the deck throughout the prime summer months. Finally, here's something you might not think about: It's a great time to get your chimneys checked. The reason? Chimney sweeps are generally less frantic in the spring, and if your chimney needs repair it can be handled before the cold weather returns.
News You Can Use
Preventing Renovation AllergiesAllergies are a year-round problem for some people, not just when pollen blooms. And they can get worse with a home renovation. To head off allergy nightmares, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) has issued an allergy bulletin to keep renovation reactions to a minimum. The goal is to minimize the effects of dust, dust mites and more dangerous materials like asbestos or lead from old paints. Dust and mites account for most allergic reactions during remodeling, NARI says, because remodeling stirs them up. Here are some things to do to ease allergy effects during remodeling: - Inform your remodeling contractor during your first meeting about any allergies.
- Seal off the area to be remodeled with plastic sheets. Leave the plastic sheeting up until cleanup from the job is complete, and when sheeting is removed avoid carrying it through the home.
- Close all vents in the room being remodeled so that dust won't travel though the air ducts.
- Open windows in the room being remodeled at least a crack and set up a fan to vent air toward the outside.
- Keep family pets out of the work area. They can track dust and mites all over the house.
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Living Green & Well
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Green Ways to Kill WeedsGetting rid of weeds is a challenge that faces every gardener. But some would rather not zap their yards with chemical weed killers. What do green gardeners do as an alternative? The enviro-website www.greenlivingtips.com offers several options. White vinegar, or a solution of vinegar and water, has been effective against broad-leaf weeds, for example. It works best if applied on a sunny day first thing in the morning, say those who use this approach. Lemon juice can also be effective on a wide variety of weeds, and it breaks down quickly. If you are looking to eliminate weeds in a driveway or from cracks between pavers, you could try a solution of salt and water - but only if runoff won't take it to plants you don't want to kill. In fact, all these organic approaches may affect non-target grasses or plants, so you need to apply carefully. That said, prevention may be the best green approach of all. One of the best ways to prevent weeds from growing is to use mulch, which has the added benefit of providing nutrients to plants and saving water in your garden.
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