There are times when you are home to yourself and you long for company.
White distressed cabinets enhance the appearance of a century home or even shabby chic cottage. Making the cabinets seem desperate, however, instead of cheap and worn, requires some patience and preparation. Splurge on a quality oil-based paint, quality brush and new cabinet pulls. New cabinets, made to seem desperate, will distress your pocketbook. Spend a…
Asphalt and concrete driveways do not last forever and frequently require minor fixes. The methods for filling cracks is similar with both driveway kinds, but it’s important to get products that are especially created for your own driveway. A tacky black hydrocarbon retains aggregates in asphalt together, whereas cement retains aggregates in concrete together. Because…
It may not generate good fortune, but also a lucky bamboo plant (Dracaena sanderiana) will brighten your home. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11, the plant — that is not bamboo in any way, but a part of the Dracaena family — favors consistently warm temperatures, that explains why…
Designing using evergreens means enjoying a house garden filled with year round color. Evergreen plants are available with many leaf colors, not just green. Variegated plants bring light to gardens, and other plant colors, such as gold, purple and blue, contrast with one another to create beautiful effects. Choosing perennials and shrubs well-suited to growing…
Clematis flowers are famous for their beauty and decorative value. Clematis plants (Clematis spp.) Are fast, woody vines that grow as herbaceous perennials in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 or 4 through 8 or 9, depending on the particular variety. Over 200 wild clematis species and 400 named cultivars exist. Their heights…
A backflow valve typically resides between your home’s main water supply link and your sprinkler system to prevent any water flow. This insulating material ensures that your potable or drinking water supply isn’t contaminated with debris or substances in the gardening area. However, backflow valves fail over time from daily wear and tear pressure —…
You typically find a vacuum cap to a freezeproof faucet, which is an exterior faucet with a valve chamber long enough to store water within the house to keep it from freezing. The cap covers just a one time valve which allows air to the chamber once the faucet is off to ensure water will…
Pecan trees thrive in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9, where they grow as tall as 100 feet with up to a 55-foot spread. Young pecan trees require frequent pruning to set up a central leader with four to six lateral scaffold branches. Once trees reach nut-bearing maturity, pruning requirements…
Unlike many hollies, winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous shrub that produces plenty of red berries through winter, although its foliage is gone. Grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness 3 through 9, winterberry reacts well to a good trimming annually in late winter or early spring. At pruning time, you should remove approximately…