South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

Author: greenfairy

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 5:21 am (GMT 0)

once again, i am back. i just returned from an unexpected holiday. went on a visit to dubai to be with my grandson. and i enjoyed my stay there, for 3 weeks. we visited a few places in the limited time my son could manage with his job. and easter came in between, so that was an experience too.

it is amazing the amount of work they put in to make the desert lush with green lawns, colourful petunia beds, and date farms in and around the city. there are a lot of nurseries selling all sorts of plants. my son picked up a bonsai from one of them in the outskirts. let me post some of the pics.

greens & colours in the desert! ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

in front of hotel atlantis in palm jumeira ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

hotel atlantis – palm jumeira ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

fronds of the palm – jumeira ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

inside the aquarium – swimming with the sharks! ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

as tall as the tallest building! burj khalifa ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

desert safari. ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

a roundabout – huge circle around wich the traffic flows ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

the bonsai ficus ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

anthurium inside a mall ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

outskirts – on the way to fujeira rocky hills all around ( photo / image / picture from greenfairy’s Garden )

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When going outside to work on the garden or house, I often don’t pay attention to what I’m wearing. I usually just throw on a t-shirt, shorts and either an old pair of slippers or worn out running shoes. For the first few hours, everything is fine and I’m getting all the work done without problems. However, as the day progresses and the hours spent outside start to pile up, I often notice blisters and small cuts on my feet. My feet also sometimes begin to cramp up from the many hours of being hunched or curled up. By the next morning, my feet are completely sore and any movement would result in pain. I decided that it was time for a change.

It was time to buy a pair of shoes that were designed for outdoor activity, especially for gardening. After researching online for the right pair of shoes, I came across Endless.com. Specializing in shoes, they certainly had the answer to my problem. They sell all types of shoes, but the ones that caught my attention were the outdoor shoes they had specifically for any outdoor work and gardening. There are a variety of boots to choose from that include scrub boots, steel toe boots and more. For light gardening projects, I was able to choose lighter shoes such as clogs and bogs. What’s even better is that they have a special offer that was hard to pass up.

After making online purchases, Endless is offering free overnight shipping on new styles and free return shipping. This is an ongoing offer that has no expiration date. To see this offer, take a look at our Endless coupons page.

I no longer have to worry about blisters and sore feet in the morning. These shoes are light, warm, cushioned, waterproof, and easy to slip on. Visit Endless.com and grab your pair today!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/23307472@N08/2537189251

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Today’s Seed Sowing Saturday post for me is more about the results than starting new seed. My daughter and I did plant some onion sets (probably about 70 some weren’t worth planting) and some potatoes (about 16 red potatoes). We still need to plant the Yukon golds which are my favorite potato.

So lets take a look at what we have growing!

The lettuce seedlings in the garden have a good start.  The cotyledons are leafed out to gather more sun to make the new lettuce leaves.

The spinach is at the same stage as the lettuce.  

The tomatoes are all sprouting along! Brandywine, Woodle Orange, and Cherokee purple have all germinated. I have them under grow lights indoors. We have about 6 weeks before it’s safe to plant them outside here in Middle Tennessee (Spring Hill).

I have several other varieties of tomatoes and peppers that need started ASAP. I like to have good sized plants right after the frost date to give them as much time to grow as possible. When I plant the tomatoes I strip the side leaves then bury the whole plant up to the top leaves. Tomatoes root along the stem so the more stem that is beneath the soil the more roots form – and more roots is always a good thing for tomatoes! I choose to plant my plants deep rather that in a trench but both methods work great!

To join in on Seed Sowing Saturday just link back to this post and tell us about your seed sowing experiences over the past week. Be sure to leave a link below so we can come over and visit your post! Don’t forget a Tweet or a Facebook mention/like is always a good thing! Happy Seed Sowing!

Here are the Seed Sowers for this Saturday!

• Lynda at Cortina Creek

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Now that winter is coming to an end, it is the perfect time to work on the house. Winter is usually the perfect season to make up the best excuses to put off painting your walls, remodeling the kitchen, or making major remodeling to your home. Whether it’s “raining too much” or “it’s too cold outside,” there is always a good reason to get you out of laboring during those cold winter days. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and if you don’t maintain the quality of your home, then major problems can arise and become very costly.

Before you get started, you will need tools and other appliances. Home Depot is one of the best spots to find all that your home improvement project needs. To make things easier for you, shop online at HomeDepot.com. Use this Home Depot coupon and get up to 10% off all appliances that cost $398 or more. Additionally, Home Depot will also throw in free delivery and haul away. But this offer is only good for online orders and expires today, Feb. 24, 2011. So hurry to get your deals before it’s too late!

Just in case you run out of time with that offer, here are a few more online deals for you. For those who want to repaint your walls, coupon code BEHR75 gets you 75% off Behr paint brushes and rollers. This is an ongoing offer with no expiration date. If you’re looking for other store merchandise, then you can also get $5 off orders of $50 or more. Just use coupon code FEB5 when you check out. This offer is good through Feb. 27, 2011. Lastly, you can save 50% to 70% on lighting and electrical necessities. Use coupon code PRES70 on hundreds of items and save big! Offer expires Mar. 9, 2011.

Avoid paying full prices in the future. Shop now and avoid missing out on these excellent deals!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/athomeinscottsdale/3983410809

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If you are thinking of buying furniture anytime soon, then take a look at Target.com before looking anywhere else. Target has a large variety of quality furniture for affordable prices. To make things even better, there is a sale going on right now where you get get deals on select living room and dining room furniture.

Here’s the best part. Use this Target coupon and Target will take $5 off your $50 purchase and give you free shipping. Save yourself some time and money. Shop online for chairs and coffee tables for your living room, dining tables for your kitchen or nightstands and closets for your bedroom.

Just make sure to use coupon code CM5OFF50HOME before you check out. This offer will be around for a while, but it won’t last forever. Expiration date is Aug. 8, 2011.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/jreed/379881272

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I never let a good container go to waste (much to my wife’s dismay – admittedly, I do save way too many)! These foam containers are perfect for sowing seeds just like the store bought flats. Just poke a few holes for drainage in the bottom add soil, seeds, and water and you have an instant garden. Well, maybe not instant, it does have to grow a bit.

Into these three makeshift flats I planted dianthus, Asiatic lilies, and clematis seeds that I collected back in the fall. In case you’re wondering these containers previously held mushrooms – I know that was a hard one to figure out.

Those newly planted seeds are now sitting under a grow light along with the shallot seedlings I planted a couple weeks ago. So far they look pretty good. They are germinating at different times but overall the germination rate has been great.

Our last frost date here in Middle Tennessee is in mid April which means we have a little over 8 weeks until it’s safe to plant tender plants outdoors. Pretty soon it will be time to start one of my favorite vegetables — Tomatoes! But until then the cool season crops are just about ready to start. I can’t wait to taste some sugar snap peas from the garden!  How about you?

To join in on Seed Sowing Saturday just link back to this post and tell us about your seed sowing experiences over the past week. Be sure to leave a link below so we can come over and visit your post! Oh, and a Tweet or a Facebook mention/like is always a good thing!

This Saturday’s Seed Sowers!

• Sarah at Green Love Grass
• Shannon at The Garden State
• Lynda at Cortina Creek Farms
• Tervy at Garden g’Imp

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It’s easy for me to sit here day after day and tell you about how to put in sump pumps or replace a furnace, but the fact is that all of this stuff takes money. The tools and parts and even time means money in this day and age, and if you have a major improvement such as roof shingles, then you need to know how to pay for it.

Home repairs and improvements can cost anywhere from under $100 to over $10,000, depending on the size of the project. There are pros and cons to each way, and you need to choose the one best for you.

1. Saving over time: This is always the best way to do it, because it doesn’t require you to pay money back, and there isn’t any interest. If you have a low cost repair or one that doesn’t need to be done for several months, then you can create a budget and save the money for the repair.

2. Credit cards: Ugh, if there were a way I could eliminate credit cards from this Earth, then I would. They have outrageous interest rates, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Credit cards should only be used as a last resort. If you have an emergency repair, then you may need to use the credit card, but pay it back as soon as possible. The last thing you want is to get mired in credit card debt and interest payments.

3. Loans: The banks will generally have lower interest rates than credit card companies and a stricter payment schedule. There are three main loan types that can be used for home repair: personal, home equity and home equity line of credit. A personal loan is simply a loan provided by the bank. They take into account your credit score and any collateral you may provide. These loans tend to be smaller, since the bank’s risk is higher. These are ideal if you rent your home or if do not have much equity built up in your home.

Home equity loans are a lot like personal loans, except they use the equity in your home. If you take how much your house is worth and subtract the amount left on your loan, then that’s the equity. Depending on how much equity you have in your home, the loan can be as much as 80 percent of the total equity, so $60,000 or more depending on the value of the home. In many ways, this is similar to a second mortgage. There is a single lump sum payment and then a set payment plan with a start and end date.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) is like a large-scale credit card with a little better interest rate. The equity is used to decide how much of a revolving line of credit will be available to you. It’s basically like a credit card, where you are only charged for the amount of money you take out, and once that it paid back, with interest, the money is available again. This is good if you plan on spreading repairs out over several months or years. You don’t need a lump sum; instead, you have access to smaller sums over a long period of time.

There are pitfalls with loans involving home equity. If you default on the loan, the bank has the option of foreclosing on the property. You could be completely up to date with your mortgage payment, but still find your home being foreclosed on because of the secondary loans. This is usually a last resort for banks because the primary loan, i.e. the mortgage, must be paid first, and any money left over will go to the secondary loans.

4. Grants: You should check with your local state representatives or even home improvement stores and ask if there are any local, state or federal grants available. You can also check the website for Federal Housing and Urban Development. Grants are good, because they don’t have to be paid back. HUD also has access to low-interest loans for improvement, as well.

Paying for home improvements is never easy, and you always wish the money could go for something else. The hard fact is that no matter how much you love your home and take care of it, there will be a time when something goes wrong.

Image Source:flickr.com/photos/djlicious/2497052527/

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