Courtesy of Northampton Nursery & Northampton Building Solutions
November 2011
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Keep up with what Northampton Nursery and Northampton Building Solutions are doing between issues of our monthly newsletter. Become a fan on our Facebook page, and see some of the cool projects we are taking on, such as this turf installation at Campbell's Field in Camden for the Rugby League World Cup Qualifier Tournament.
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| Landscaping |
 Tips from the Pros
For Winter Color, Consider Ornamental Cabbages & Kales As winter moves in, homeowners sometimes feel a little sad that they're losing color in their yards. In this region, ornamental cabbages and kales can provide a solution. These fancy-leaved plants are cousins of the familiarvegetables that share their names. But they are much showier, with wavy or fringed leaves and patterned color combinations of pinks, purples, greens and white. They look best planted in areas where you can peer into their centers - on slopes, doorsteps, decks and patios and in ground beds. In mild years, they can add beauty for much of the winter in this region. Ornamental grasses are another option for adding color and interest to your winter landscape. Pennsylvania ornamental grasses include switch grass, big bluestem, pampas grass and bottlebrush grass. These grasses can be found growing wild in wetland regions and can be transplanted.
Plant of the MonthJapanese Snowbell  The great thing about gardening is that it's never too early to be thinking ahead. Winter may just be starting, but it's a good time to think about plantings to spruce up spring. One to consider sounds like it should be a winter showpiece, but isn't. The Japanese Snowbell is a graceful, flowering ornamental tree that offers an elegant silhouette and fragrant, white flowers hanging from dark green foliage. That makes it a good choice as a patio, path or small-garden tree - or for any place the flowers can be viewed up close from below. Native to Japan, China and Korea, Japanese Snowbell grows well in sun or partial shade and likes well drained soil. Branches start low on the trunk and spread horizontally. At maturity, Japanese Snowbells can be 20 to 30 feet tall and just as wide. In fall, foliage turns a bright yellow or orange-red. It's Time To...
Take a Day to Put Your Lawn to Bed for Winter- If you haven't done so already, now's the time to apply a fall or winter type lawn fertilizer (20-9-9). This will encourage strong root development and help improve the color of the lawn.
- Before the month is out, give your lawn a good raking to lift away accumulations of debris. Also keep leaves raked from the lawn to keep them from matting down and killing the grass.
- When you have finished your last mowing of the year, make sure that your mower is properly stored. Run it until it is out of fuel, because gas left in the tank can damage the engine.
- Now is the time to drain your hoses and put them away so they don't freeze and burst. To effectively drain a hose, unroll it, raise it over your shoulder and walk the length, passing it over your shoulder as you go. This will drain any remaining water.
- Never store a rolled hose in a cold garage without draining. Freezing water can burst it.
- Start paper whites in late November for Christmas flowering - they make great, personal gifts.
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Masterpiece Project
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Creating a Beautiful Patio - and Saving a House in the Process
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Dan and Marge's new patio looks like the old one
but now sits on a properly constructed foundation.
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The old patio was showing its age.
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Sometimes the most creative projects involve the challenge of re-creating something a client loves. And sometimes the most challenging projects involve dealing creatively with issues that crop up when a project is under way. Dan and Marge had patio they liked, but after 25 years of use, it was showing its age. The patio was heaving up in some areas, sinking in others and breaking down at the edges where the railroad tie retainers were starting to crumble. We had done work for Dan and Marge five years ago, so when they decided they wanted to replace or repair their old patio they gave us a call. We sat down with them and investigated the situation and determined that the best solution was to demolish the existing patio, remove the concrete slab underneath and start fresh. That turned out to be an incredibly important decision, because when we excavated the old patio we discovered that the sill plate on the home had rotted out. Since this can be devastating to a house, we immediately brought it to Dan and Marge's attention. And since we also do renovation work, we were able to bring our carpenters in immediately, jack up the house and replace the rotted sill with pressure-treated lumber. This all happened seamlessly for the customer - we coordinated the whole project - and after replacing the sill we continued with the patio reconstruction. When all was said and done, Dan and Marge had a new patio in the style they liked, properly constructed and edged with a border of wall block. Even better, they had a stronger and sturdier house to go with their handsome new patio space. Best of all, we got the satisfaction of being able to serve all a customer's needs, no matter what came up.
To see how we tackled the challenges of Dan and Marge's patio, view this new "Meet the Contractor" video of our work. |
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Remodeling Trend
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Creating a Room That Changes with the Seasons
This month, the holiday season gets into full swing. And for a lot of people, that means getting into the swing of holiday decorating. If you're a person who likes to decorate for the holidays, why not craft a décor for your home that makes it easy? By planning ahead, you can make modifying your surroundings seasonally - or for holidays - both smooth and satisfying. For starters, paint your walls a light, neutral color, such as off-white, pale taupe or a subtle grey, advises Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert at the national Paint Quality Institute. "To help guide your color selection, think of your wall color as a blank canvas against which to feature your seasonal items." Then focus on other elements in the room that can be rotated in or out as the seasons dictate. Inexpensive area rugs are great in this regard, even when placed on top of wall-to-wall carpeting. A small area rug with red or gold in the pattern will warm up a room in the dead of winter; if you replace it with a light green rug when spring arrives, you'll be surprised at the difference it makes. Rotating warm- and cool-colored pillows or cushions is another way to change the mood at different times of the year, as is the use of inexpensive slipcovers that can rotate with the seasons.
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Home Improvement
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Winterize Your Home for Comfort and Economy
In November, we get our first real taste of winter. And now is the time to take the final steps to make your home warm and comfortable against cold weather. To start, look for ways to keep the warmth inside. That means inspecting outside walls for cracks, using weather stripping around doors, replacing cracked glass in windows and sealing gaps in siding or foundations with caulking. Just as important is making sure your furnace is ready to do what will be required in the months ahead. Have your furnace checked out and serviced, and replace air filters so the furnace will operate at top efficiency. If you heat with gas, experts recommend changing the filter once a month; if you use oil or electric, change once a season. If you have a fireplace, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote and inspect the damper for proper opening and closing. If you don't have a glass fireplace door, consider installing one, because that sucking sound you hear is your energy budget going up the chimney along with the heat from your furnace. Finish by making sure the top of your chimney is securely capped or screened to keep out rodents and birds.
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| Living Green & Well |
New Type of Shingle Brings Power to the People
Interest in residential solar power is growing across the nation, but one thing that stops many homeowners is the look of solar panels. Many just don't want something that looks vaguely industrial on their roofs or lawns. Now Dow Chemical and the D.R. Horton homebuilding company are piloting a program that if successful could bring solar to once-reluctant homeowners across the nation. A new roof shingle called the "Powerhouse" is being rolled out by Dow at a Horton development in Colorado and will be tried in a dozen more states in the next year. The shingle, Dow says, combines the performance and protection of a conventional asphalt roof shingle with an integrated photovoltaic system that can provide electric power for a home. It is designed for homeowners who want solar power, but don't want to install solar panels on their roof, the company said. "We learned from the consumer that they value the look of their homes because it is an expression of who they are," said Dow spokesman Jane Palmieri. Dow hasn't said how much the new shingles will cost after the pilot or how much power they can generate, but it has said the total cost of a solar roof with the system would be less than the combined cost of a conventional roof and supplies of conventional power.
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| Check Out Our Video Series |
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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