Stable Barrow

Author: katie

  • Maintaining Your Lawn

    We have had some fairly hot day’s over the past month and also some wetter days, so there has been a balance to keep your lawn nice and fresh. Though it’s a good idea to start preparing your lawn for the hotter day’s yet to come; where we could get hot dry day’s and not much rain.

    It’s probably a good idea to get some Miracle grow; either buy some or use whatever is lying around in your shed if you have some (or have a shed). Then sprinkle some around your garden and leave to soak in the lawn and then water; if you have a series of consecutive days of heat then you should keep the lawn in check and sprinkle lightly with some water.

    By keeping your lawn in check after sprinkling Miracle Grow, you should have a vibrant green and healthy lawn within a few weeks or more; you won’t have to worry about having a horrible discoloured lawn to scare away your family and friends.

  • Improving Drainage In Your Garden

    With the climate in this country shifting slightly to cause heavier downpours at at given time of the year, we now have more rainfall and flooding in some areas where harsh farming methods, dredging, straightening rivers and removing bends, as well as dodgy EU farming policies as the direct cause. This of course has affected towns and cities that would not have flooded to the extent they have if things had been done differently; our gardens have now been effected by this.

    You won’t be able to prevent heavier flooding, but by adding a simple drainage system to your garden you can prevent large bodies of water forming in your garden with the usual downpours, and this will help keep your lawn healthy in the long run.

    If your garden has dips and uneven areas, you may want to start levelling your lawn then and add hedges, shrubs and trees around the edges of your garden to absorb excess rain water. In addition to this you should start digging a channel around the edges of your garden with, a slight angle towards where your drains are and fill that channel with small stones; this will allow the water to drain and flow towards the drains, rather than building up in the uneven areas of your lawn.

  • Benefits of Cleaning Your Awnings Regularly

    Awnings are quite easy to find. They are made up of a roof-like retractable seal of fabric cloth or other materials such as canvas or plastic. They serve as a shelter over a window, door, storefront and so on. They normally add a nice touch to your doorway and windows. In addition, you can use them to decorate the exterior of your house or shop. They can be used for both residential and commercial purposes. Awnings are mainly used to protect us from the hot sun. They actually cut UV rays both indoors and outdoors. In addition, they provide shade and also reduce heat. They normally come in different types. They are visually stunning which goes together with the architectural design of any home or commercial building. Did you know that cleaning them regularly is beneficial to you? The following are the benefits of cleaning them regularly:

    1. It portrays a positive image to your neighbours.

    As a homeowner, if you clean them regularly, you will portray a positive image to your neighbours. In addition, you will not only create a positive image to your neighbours but also to your friends and relatives. It actually shows that you take pride in the appearance of your home.

    1. It helps you to enjoy spending time in your home.

    You will realise that you are likely to enjoy spending time in your home because the exterior is not neglected. You can actually call a friend and share stories outside there. It is so enjoyable.

  • Mosaic Patio Garden Feature

    Sometimes the paving options available for your garden patio area are plain and many gardens with patios may have the same style of paving. This is fine if you just want something plain and standard that does the job you want it to, but what if you want something different, and want something that reflects you and your personality?

    If you are good at art, and want to attempt to create a mosaic mural for your patio you can start collecting fragments of old china and similar things around the home, and start piecing things together like a jigsaw puzzle; this of course will take some time to collect and sort out the pieces to make it work though.

    The best option is to get mosaic tile pieces for the garden and start arranging the tiles on a large board or plastic groundsheet in the garden until you figure out the style you want and love; you can have a spiral effect, chequered, multiple circle spirals, shapes letters, or even an attempt at a famous painting. Just remember it will be a long term feature that you have to love for many years to come, so it has to really fit you.

    When you are ready you can start levelling the patio area and start to put down a solid base to rest the mosaic tile pieces on, so they don’t warp and become uneven over time; if you can do this yourself then it’s even better, but if not you can ask for help, or hire somebody for the levelling and marking of the outline for the patio area you want to create.

    Then you can start putting together your design and adding the grout as you go, and eventually your mosaic patio will start taking shape; it’s not an overnight project and may take a few weeks, so best to do this in summer and have some kind of covering available to work under for shade or shelter. You can get some 4 post temporary awnings for this, and they can work well for the task at hand.

  • Looking After Your Lawn

    Maintaining your lawn is an ongoing job, and it does not necessarily have to stop when the winter season hits. So when there is an element of good weather in the winter give your grass a once over every so often and keep it trimmed.

    If your lawn has become discoloured and thin with bald patches dotted around your lawn, get some grass seeds handy and a long thin metallic object, no thicker than a pen. Then poke some deep holes and sprinkle the seeds into the holes and on-top of the bald patches; this ensures that new grass has a chance to grow again. During this time, it’s probably better not to trim your lawn until after new growth has emerged and became thick; you can also use miracle grow to help your lawn grow.

    There will be some lawns that are bumpy and littered with reeds, roots, and rocks; and with a variant of bald patches scattered across the lawn. For lawns like this some people dig them up and level them, then prep the ground with black plastic, gravel and sand, then pave over it.

    Another solution would be to wait until it’s warmer out and then start digging out the rocks, weeds, and uprooting stray roots (if the roots are part of a tree system, build some sort of enclosed a rockery feature on-top of that area, rather than disturbing the roots). Once you have removed the rocks, stray roots and weeds, dig about an inch of the soil from the top and then start levelling your garden using levellers.

    The next step is actually cheating, but it’s the best way to get the grass to grow back in your garden. You can do this by buying rolls of turf for your garden, and then laying them down the length of your garden; you just need to avoid walking on the grass as much as possible during its settling and water every day to help the grass along. The rolls of turf will eventually start becoming discoloured and will do for a short while; you may needs to sprinkle some grass seeds on any thinning areas and sprinkle some miracle grow. Then just give it time and you will have a level healthy lawn in next to no time.