Grafting & Budding Plants Disadvantages

Reproducing your favourite plant may be as simple as sowing seeds it creates. However other plants may not produce seedling offspring that are identical to their parent plants. Some plants, like olive, avocado and strawberries, may bear inedible fruit, or even none in any way, if you don’t propagate them by grafting or budding. These …


World Travelers Settle Into a Serene Copenhagen Home

When Tina and Jack Fussell got married, they made a pact to save money instead of purchase a house so that they would be able to achieve their dream of living abroad. While such a daunting movement may deter some, Jack, a nonprofit consultant and freelance photographer, and Tina, a freelance writer, photographer and writer …


Why Are the Leaves Turning Brown on Holly Bushes?

Hollies (Ilex spp.) Are best known for their glossy foliage and bright red berries. Several forms of holly are evergreen, providing winter colour to the garden in hedges or topiaries, and are often used for holiday decorations. While hollies are usually extremely hardy, thriving in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, …


How to Restring an Awning

A fabric or canvas awning is a big decor plus for the entrance, terrace or the first floor windows along one side of the house. To get a fundamental shade awning, the fabric cover is only attached to the building over the window or door, and also the sloping or taut material is laced to …


Guest Groups: Neutral Essentials for a Space

Residing in a small space could be a challenge, however the approach you take may also radiate style. I love lifting things off the flooring by making the most of wall or ceiling space, using translucent or transparent elements rather than sacrificing an ounce of personal taste. This collection focuses on natural elements, neutral colours …


Guest Picks: Summer Cottage Breakfast Table

My loved ones and I gathered around the dining table for breakfast the other day, a ritual that doesn’t happen frequently due to work and busy schedules. As we ate and conversed it got me dreaming about the ideal summer breakfast — at which it would be and exactly what foods we’d share. I’d celebrate …


Damage From the Scarab Beetle Grub at a Vegetable Garden

Occasionally during garden chores, a C-shaped white grub is going to appear in the soil. These somewhat shiny, lotion- to white-colored insects have brownish heads and legs, with the end of the abdomen somewhat grayish. They’re immature forms of various scarab beetles, one of the largest families of beetles. They feed on decomposing organic matter …


Cedar Mulch as Opposed to Dead Pine Needle Mulch

Cedar mulch is your winner over pine needle mulch for a characteristic that is essential: pest insects are repelled by it. Cedar also surpasses pine needles for fire security. Wood mulch — but not wood chips — resists combustion, while rapid fire burst is fueled by needles, according to a joint study from the University …


How to Keep Mosquitoes Away From a Porch

From the words of the Dalai Lama, “If you believe you are too little to generate a difference, attempting banging a mosquito” The pesky flying insects may be bothersome — and disease-causing — if they are bothering you while you’re sleeping in a hammock or seeking to enjoy a cool drink in your own porch. …