Atlanta Easy DIY Home Improvements

GDO Report

Upgrading the kitchen cabinets be a major improvement. While it's rare to recoup the cost of refacing or replacing kitchen cabinets, painting them can add some new life to the kitchen, a room that is known to leave a very lasting impression on prospective buyers.

While painting isn't a great longterm solution (so it's not the best option for those who aren't looking to sell), it can be a great short term solution, perfect for sellers.

The foyer is the first room any guests or buyers will see when entering your home, so it can be a great way to make a good first impression. If your foyer is currently linoleum, consider installing tile instead.

Professionals often suggest removing linoleum because it's less appealing than a tile floor. Natural stone tiles are a popular choice, but also more expensive. Porcelain is a cheaper alternative that can look very similar to natural stone tiles.

Homeowners can give the dining room a whole new look without spending any money on a new dining room set.

A new overheard fixture in the dining room can drastically change how the room is seen. In general, keep the new fixture in line with the rest of the home.

For example, while you might have dreamt about having a large chandelier in your dining room, if the rest of the home has more of a log cabin feel, this won't match and will appear out of place.

Keep the same theme in the dining room that exists in the rest of the home.

Rather than a complete bathroom renovation, you can save money by making minor adjustments. Consider replacing the shower curtain with glass doors.

A glass-door kit can be purchased at a nearby home improvement store, and it won't take much time to install.

Growing organically is the biggest gardening trend

No time is more full of promise than now. In freshly-tilled beds are the hopes and dreams yet to be realized.

Enlarge Photo Photo ContributedMore and more gardeners are looking to go the organic route. The sowing of seeds is the expression of faith that the world will unfold as it should, with the sun shining, the gentle rain falling, and the plants inevitably growing.

Regardless of what has worked or failed in the past, this time of the year we have a renewed spirit that whatever we do this month will work.

What is new for many gardeners in Metro Moncton this year is a foray into the world of gardening without harmful or dubious chemicals.

As Organic Gardening Magazine puts it: "The only two herbicides were recommend are cultivation and mulching."

In every garden centre of note, you will find whole areas set aside for organic seeds and plants, as gardeners seek out more information and skills on growing in this manner.

If you buy your seeds, onion sets and potatoes from a store featuring an organic section, you will also likely get some sound advice from them on how to proceed.

Likewise, the seed packets have lots of great information such as where and when to plant, whether you should start growth in seed trays or move straight to the garden earth and some guidance on what works best.

Local organic farmers tell us that crops grown organically in healthy, nutritious soil actually can stand to be planted closer together than crops grown in other ways. Plus, it naturally cuts down on weeds.

One might think that pests would be the biggest issue when one is growing without chemicals, but again, personal experience tells me that weeds are by far the biggest threat to your success.

If they get the better of you, you can kiss your organic plot good-bye for the summer, for you never seem to catch up.

The weeds are particularly destructive, since they sap the good nutrients out of your soil and leave you with less yields of vegetables. The weeding process is a slow and painful one, and there is really no shortcut.

You must get down on your hands and knees, and gently loosen the soil and pull them out without disturbing your crop of choice.

One natural way to cut down on weeds is to place grass from your lawn-mowing onto the soil. This will also help to retain moisture.

Water your organic garden regularly, but don't over-do it. And be mindful of each plant's individual needs. Tomatoes, for example, seem to be thirsty all the time, but potatoes can live in much drier soil.

If you see signs of disease, destroy the affected plants immediately. Look for organic remedies to deal with specific pests.

One of the savviest ideas for organic gardeners is to introduce companion plantings that tend to diminish pests. For example, if you are trying to grow a good crop of cabbage, plant sage, rosemary, thyme and peppermint right beside it. Slugs and cabbage butterflies don't like the strong smell of the herbs and will leave your cabbage alone.

If you want to grow strawberries, plant a few onions in the plot. Likewise, onions and garlic planted in close proximity to carrots help to keep away the carrot fly.

Nasturtiums attract black flies and keep them off other plants. The roots of marigolds sterilize root nematodes and prevent their reproduction in your garden.

It's all about working in partnership with nature, not against her. The joy of organic gardening is that it encourages you to be highly aware of everything that's happening in your garden, and the various interactions of plants and insect life.

And even better comes that first meal with a crop that you have grown yourself and is free from toxins and other chemicals of a dubious nature.

Vertical gardening saves space

A great way to create privacy, whether it's in your back yard or on an apartment balcony, is to use trailing vines and ivies to cover upright structures like trellises. Some ultimate uprights for testing that can grow up to 24 inches and be pruned to shape are:

· Sweet Potato Vines (Ipomoea batatas) - This plant has large, ornamental leaves available in colors that range from striking green to deep burgundy; it enjoys full sun.

· Plectranthus (Glechoma hederacea) - This vine has grey and silver, oval shaped leaves and enjoys full sun or partial shade.

· Grape Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia) - This vine has lovely large leaves which are great for coverage, trailing 3' to 10' (.9 - 3.1 m) in length, and enjoys part sun, or shade.

· Clematis - Great for part to full sun, there are so many varieties to choose from. These climbing greats will reward you with brilliant blooms, and the ability to climb on virtually any surface.

There are many more choices of trailing vines depending on your climate and light. Visit your local garden centre for more ideas.

Whimsy in the garden

Gardening trends this spring will feature a more playful, leisurely-looking garden full of color and whimsy.

"The key to a fanciful garden is you," says Jeff Howe, president of Fernlea Flowers. "You have to have fun planting different textures and colors of plants and flowers, designed in a way that gives you pleasure and a smile.

"One plant I love is the Cordyline australis, which is available in two colors, providing a great backdrop for your garden. It is better known in nurseries and retail outlets as 'Red Star' spike in burgundy and 'Sundance' spike in green with pink striping.

"And don't forget that blooming side of gardening," Jeff continues. Pansies, with their smiling faces, are available early and in almost every color of the spectrum this year. Frilly, large, and various are the options for this little gem. Show the neighbors that gardening can be a fun sport with a lighthearted approach.

Gardeners are also creating mini-gardens in containers as accents within their garden or as personal gifts made from the heart. For more gardening tips, including suggestions and pictures of plants that work well together, take a look online at http://www.fernlea.com/.

Old-fashioned timers are new-styled art in our gardens

There's a pretty new face cropping up in Metro Moncton gardens this spring: the sundial.

   A sundial adds art and practicality to your garden.

 

As gardeners seek new ways to add elements of art to their collection of flowers and vegetables, in addition to fountains and sculptures, local nurseries are reporting a booming business in the sundial.

Its popularity is not surprising, since it works on many levels, with the most obvious being that it draws guests down our garden paths, and focuses them on really looking at the garden. A sundial demands one's full attention, not just a casual glance.

Although sundials are a trend in modern gardens, there is nothing really new about them. In fact, it is said the oldest sundial in England is in Bewcastle Cross and was set up in 800 AD.

That dial is divided into four tides, covering the parts of the working day in areas settled by the Vikings, a Maritime culture which marked the passage of time with the two daily high tides and two daily low tides.

A little later, the telling of time by measuring one's shadow became popular.

By 1620, Giuseppe Biancani brought out a publication that detailed how to make a perfect sundial, with accompanying illustrations.

Today's cheerful sundials that one picks up at gardening shops and department stores carry cheerful little mottos like "I count only the sunny hours," but ancient sundials had deeper thoughts and poetry and philosophy carved into them. One that has survived from those early days is "Do not kill time, for it will surely kill thee."

While most sundials on the market in New Brunswick are similar to the traditional style shown here, if you have access to the Internet and the time to explore, you can order a variety of other unusual sundials that will surely be conversation pieces in your garden.

For example, there is actually a digital sundial in the Sundial Park of Genk in Flanders. It actually works on the same principles as all sundials, but in this case a series of screens filter the sun's rays and produce different numbers over the course of the day.

There are also numerous books on the market about the art of building your own simple or highly complicated sundials, if you are looking for a unique gardening project while you wait for the ground to dry out so it can be worked this spring.

It can be simple. For example, Isaac Newton developed an inexpensive sundial by placing a small mirror on a south-facing windowsill. The mirror acted like a nodus, shining a single spot of light on the ceiling.

With calculations of time of the year and geographical latitude, a person with a scientific bent could use the ceiling as a sundial surface and tell the time with a high degree of accuracy.

You can buy sundials in brass or stone or in some weather-durable man-made fabrics. Pick a size and a style that complements your garden, learn how to use it to tell time this natural way, and enjoy the experience this summer.