Courtesy of Northampton Nursery & Northampton Building Solutions
October 2010
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Landscaping |
 Tips from the Pros
Fall Is for Fertilizing We made it! The Summer of Heat is over and it's time to stop thinking about the struggles and frustrations it brought in your yard. It's time to think positive and start taking steps to make next summer the best ever. And that starts with fertilizing. Fertilizer does its best work in the fall. Plants focus their energy on expanding their root systems in the fall, and applying fertilizer now helps plants build up the nutrient reserves that will carry them through the winter. The more roots are able to store, the more growth you can expect in the spring. When you give your plants nutrients now, you give them the raw material needed for extensive new root growth. And by doing this, you give them the foundation from which they will grow strong and beautiful next year. Plant of the Month
 Mountain Laurel
Mountain Laurel is the state flower of Pennsylvania, but it was bringing beauty to our hills and mountains long before William Penn showed up. Today, Mountain Laurel continues to brighten the state's mountains and hillsides in late spring. But it also has become a handsome, and easy to grow, shrub to brighten your back yard. Mountain Laurel is an evergreen flowering shrub. It grows upright and has beautiful glossy foliage. But the flowers are the main attraction. Mountain Laurel plants produce exotic, cup-shaped, speckled flowers that range in color from white to pink and almost look like candy. To get the most flowers, plant in light shade where they'll get a bit of sun. And don't try to transplant wild Mountain Laurels to save a few bucks. Digging up wild plants usually causes root damage, and you'll have better results with professionally balled specimens from a nursery. Mountain Laurel will grow five to eight feet tall, and generally do not need to be pruned. But if they grow too big for your landscape, you can cut them back severely and they'll rebound. Landscaping Trend
Landscaping with Native PlantsThinking about Mountain Laurel got us thinking about a landscaping trend we've wanted to talk about. That's the idea of using native plants in your home landscape. This trend, called "naturescaping," creates interesting and eye-appealing landscapes from plants that might be growing naturally in your yard if you and all your neighbors had never come around. Natural landscapes are more varied than traditionally landscaped yards, change with the seasons and often require less maintenance. They also can be unpredictable, with native species not having the expected uniformity of height and shape as traditional nursery plants. Supporters of "naturescaping" say it requires a willingness by homeowners to "unlearn" some of their experiences and expectations for a yard. So it's not for everyone. But if you have a sense of adventure, and a willingness to expect the unexpected, it can provide year round beauty and pleasure. A good resource for people interested in "naturescaping" is the Plant Native website www.PlantNative.org. This includes a state-by-state listing of native plants and key concepts such as (a.) selecting the plants that go with the place not changing the place for the plants; and (b.) realizing that native plants take care of themselves because they WILL evolve to grow in the place you plant them. "Native landscapes are dynamic," the website declares. "They change with the season, and in natural cycles." They also attract wildlife, provide endless variety and in the best sense are always a work in progress. It's Time To ...Get Those Spring Bulbs in the Ground- If you love the flowers of spring, now is the time to plant your bulbs. Spring bulbs need time to establish their roots, so the sooner you plant, the better.
- Most spring flowering bulbs should be in the ground by the early part of this month, with the exception of tulips which may be planted up until early November.
- On the other end of the growing cycle, gladiolas, dahlias and other summer bulbs should be dug before the ground freezes, and stored in a cool, dark area.
- To keep your lawn healthy, mow as long as it grows. And if you mow your lawn shorter for the final cut of the season, it will retain better color through the winter.
- Apply mulch to your landscape beds to keep soil temperatures steady and retain moisture. It gives them a fresh look, too!
- And here's a great tip from The Garden Helper website. Clean and oil your garden tools for winter storage by placing some sand and some oil in a large bucket. Slide your garden tools in and out of the sand. This will do an excellent job of cleaning them, as well as applying a light coat of oil to prevent rusting.
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Masterpiece Project
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Joe and Colleen's New Kitchen Added Style and Spaciousness to Their Home
 | A 'Life Changing' Kitchen RenovationSometimes you don't know how much you need a change
until you make it. Take the case of Joe and Colleen and their kitchen. Or more
specifically, their kitchen, their dining room and an odd little sitting room
that also was home to the washer and dryer. The three rooms were all in a row
in Joe and Colleen's home, but none of them worked very well as living space.
The kitchen was very small, did not have enough space to comfortably cook for
the family and lacked modern appliances and a dishwasher. The dining room was
an OK space to eat as a family, but it was completely closed off from the
kitchen. The small sitting room on the other side of the kitchen had room to
sit but little else because its space was eaten up by the washer-dryer and the
kids' toys. This was not an easy problem to solve, and we spent a lot of time
with Joe and Colleen plotting out the best solution. We went through four
rounds of design before settling on a plan to remove the walls that separated
the three rooms and open up the first floor. With the dining room wall removed,
we were able to install a peninsula in the new kitchen to give the children a
casual place to eat their breakfast in the morning. With the sitting room wall
gone, we were able to make maximum use of the space, reconfigure the washer and
dryer and efficiently place the state-of-the-art appliances. We moved an existing door that had entered
from the driveway and placed it at the far end of the kitchen. We added a door
to their patio, which had been cut off from the rest of the house, providing
easy access to outdoor living space for family and friends. The results were
dramatic, both physically and emotionally. "You were life changers,"
Colleen enthused. And that's change of the best kind.Would you like a project like this for your home? Ask the team at Northampton Nursery & Northampton Building Solutions how we can help turn your dreams into reality. |
| Home Improvement | Tip of the Month
Protect Your Pipes Before the Temperature Falls
October is one of our most beautiful months, a season of pumpkins, foliage and "bright-blue weather." It's also a time to get ready for when the weather won't be "bright blue" and sunny, but cold and nasty. So now's the time to protect your pipes from freezing in the winter months. If you think this can't happen to you, consider this: An average of a quarter-million families have their homes ruined and their lives disrupted each winter, because water pipes freeze and burst, according to the State Farm Insurance website. Start by insulating pipes in your home's crawl spaces and attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing. The more insulation you use, the better protected your pipes will be. Seal air leaks that allow cold air to seep in near the location of pipes. Look for air leaks around electrical wiring, dryer vents and pipes, and use caulk or insulation to plug them. With severe cold, even a tiny opening can let in enough cold air to cause a pipe to freeze. If you have sinks that are prone to freezing, leave a trickle of water on overnight to keep them free on cold nights. And open cabinet doors to get warmth to uninsulated pipes. If you freeze up, or have a pipe burst, turn on your faucets and call a plumber. Never try to thaw a frozen pipe with a torch or open flame.
News You Can Use
Learn About Public Insurance Adjusters
What do you do if your home is damaged by burst pipes, a flood or a windstorm? You'll talk to your insurance company, of course, to assess the damage, cost out repairs and determine how much will be covered under your policy. More and more homeowners, however, are turning to public insurance adjusters to get an independent assessment of damage and value. And the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) group is pushing homeowners to learn all they can about the service before they have to negotiate with an insurance company. "A public adjuster works for the property owner, not the insurance company," NAPIA says on its website. "Most policyholders do not know that the burden of proof is theirs" on a claim. A public adjuster inspects the loss site, analyzes the damages, assembles claim support data, reviews the insured's coverage and determines replacement costs independently. "Unlike the adjuster assigned by your insurance company, our adjuster is there to negotiate for you," the Alliance Adjustment Group notes on its website. "Note the term 'adjuster.' The insurance company adjuster is there to adjust the amount of your claim, not accept it unquestionably ... 'Adjuster' is another word for 'negotiator.'" |
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Living Green & Well |
From the EPA, a Website That Can Spotlight Your NeighborhoodEveryone wants to know what's going on with the environment in their local community. And now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a website feature that allows you to get news, updates, history and statistics simply by entering your Zip code. The "Search Your Community" link lets you find local or regional information on pollution, hazardous wastes, air emissions and community cleanups, to name just a few features. It reports local facilities that are regulated by the EPA and lists sites that have had compliance issues. It also provides up-to-the-minute statistics on such things as ozone levels, weather, water quality, watersheds and even fish alerts. If one-stop shopping is your thing, this is a resource you'll want to bookmark for the environment.
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Check Out Our Video Series
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On our website we're now featuring our new Northampton Nursery Video
Series, in which we show how we work and share our ideas for creating
home masterpieces. Click on this link to view. |
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