Coming soon... (Good idea or bad idea?)
Jane
5 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (9)
Related Discussions
Good Idea or Bad Idea?
Comments (1)Well you hit on a key item. The plants in the pot with potting soil do better than being directly in your current soil. So you just need to amend the soil. Generally, that will be just adding compost to your yard soil, but you can do more different things also, such as measuring your soil PH conditions, etc For adding the compost part, it is sometimes recommended that you can just add it on top, but in your case, since you don't have other plant growth there that you want to keep and you are interested to do some digging anyway, you can till it into the top 3-4" of your soil (a little deeper also if you want to plant plants with deeper roots) However, I'd suggest to do that this year and go with some casual plants that you don't mind if they die. If this works and your soil can sustain them, then next year, you can try other more permanent plants or perennials. The other part is to ask if this area is really right up against your house, is it getting any bad water from gutters or lack of sunshine from the house blocking the area? Rock gardens or xeriscaping is also becoming more popular, especially with the water restrictions that many homeowners are facing. If you're willing to redo the landscape for that, it's a viable possibility also....See MoreBad ideas and good ideas in growing roses
Comments (19)I understand, Seil. More than 25 years ago, I would leave an overhead, oscillating sprinkler going over large areas of my Newhall garden, requesting the community gardening staff to turn them off when they left for the day, on triple digit days. The horse manure mulch disappeared quickly. The foliage was huge, plants even more so, and they flowered amazingly. Water was cheap and plentiful, so not an issue there and then. There were no disease or insect issues. The plants were fully clothed in very dense, durable foliage and there was no such thing as sun scald nor Flat Headed Apple Borers which became great issues once that type of watering had to be discontinued due to availability and cost. Black spot and mites were frequent issues with the own root plants we propagated as volunteers at The Huntington. I learned early when bringing home any new plant such as those to pull off all of the foliage before bringing it into the garden. I had an area in filtered sun under a tree where I kept a pile of horse manure. I'd clump the newly arrived own roots in their pots together, surround and fill between them with the manure, often inside them as mulch, then overhead water until new foliage began developing. No mites, no diseases and the plants exploded into growth quickly. A bit of hardening them off in larger cans and higher levels of heat and light and they were ready for planting once they'd filled the five gallon cans. Growing them up in larger cans also permitted me to move them around to see what position was best to their liking. It often made quite a difference. At the beach, I had a number of customers who regularly used my "proprietary blend" of Ultra Fine and Miracle Grow sprayed every two weeks except between the middle of July through the middle of October. In the Perma Fog, it prevented disease, eliminated the constant aphids and saw flies and kept really terrible things there, like one lady's beloved and hated Paul Neyron, viable. He caught her heart in books and she was determined to grow him. He languished until I suggested the Ultra Fine and MG foliar application. She had severe bronchitis, but made sure she brought me a bouquet of beautiful Paul Neyron from her bush! Used during the heat, that mixture did burn, but when there weren't heat and light intensities to contend with, it worked wonders. NO way I could have ever used it in any garden at home! I tried it once, learned my lesson the hard way right there and then! Anything presented as being even slightly phytotoxic WILL burn here. I am in total agreement with your walking the roses daily. I can't imagine having them unless I wanted to walk them every chance I got. Each has its own personality, likes, dislikes, needs and will quickly let you know if you don't provide them. It's the best way not only to head off problems early, but also to detect sports. They can happen so quickly right in front of you and seemingly behind your back. A big part of the serendipity for me! Kim...See MoreGood Idea or bad idea.
Comments (9)I wonder if the foil reflector you used is more effective than the stock reflector on your fixture. Many fixtures have very poor excuses for reflectors on them, and maybe what you suggest could be an improvement. So, instead of talking out of my hat, I moved my butt, and took a precut piece of mylar, 46"x10", and JUST DRAPED IT over the two lamps in my 1241cw shoplight fixture, and then I took my Hydrofarm Digital Footcandle Meter, and actually measured to see what happens: Results: guess what, the mylar drape works better than the mylar lined reflector, close to the lamps there is a nice uniform 4000 - 5000 footcandle intensity! compared to 3000 to 4000 footcandles for the mylar lined reflector. I would like to take back what I said in the previous post. Cut the mylar so that you can slip it over the top of the two tubes and let it hang over the edges of the tubes to catch the sideways light and let it shine downwards. Wow, with this intensity, you could grow some serious crops!!! Note: the above measurements were taken in the overdriven configuration. Even with normal drive though, the typical intensity was 3000 foot candles, which is what I was achieving previously just with overdrive. This is a definite improvement. Hats off to the stoner potheads! Paul Mozarowski....See MoreModifying an online plan from vendor? Good idea? Bad idea?
Comments (10)Okay, it sounds as if you just want a house with a front elevation that looks very similar to the Southern Living plan but which would have the interior rearranged so significantly that it would be an entirely new plan. If so, your local architect would only be using the image of the Southern Living plan as "inspiration" for the front elevation and would probably not be infringing copyright - unless he made the front of the house look identical to the SL plan. So maybe you don't really need to purchase a license to the SL plan after all. But it sounds as if your local architect doesn't "get it" even after seeing your inspiration picture. Perhaps you need a different architect. Or is is possible that the room arrangement you want simply won't fit into a farmhouse with a tall narrow front elevation (which is a good part of the charm of the SL plan). If you want a house that is tooooooo big, or you want too many rooms facing either the front or the back views, then your architect probably keeps winding up with something that is broader than it is tall... and therefore cannot possibly be made to look like the elevation you picture. I had a friend who once insisted that she wanted a nice compact basically rectangular one-story "cottage." But then she started describing all the rooms that just had to have a view of the lake on one side of her property and it quickly became obvious to me that there was no possible way to meet her desires. Her vision of the interior was just incompatible with her vision of the exterior. Ultimately she wound up building a long thin boom-a-rang shaped home that was mostly one room deep. It looked nothing at all like the "little cottage" she originally THOUGHT she wanted but every major room in the house has a view of that lake and it is a gorgeous home. If your interior floor plan vision isn't totally incompatible with your exterior inspiration picture, there is probably already a farmhouse design out there somewhere that comes close to meeting your needs and, when finished would look similar to the SL plan. Why don't you post your "program" (how many bedrooms? baths? garage bays? master upstairs or down? laundry upstairs or down? open plan kitchen/great room or not? office? media room? playroom?) here on GW? Maybe someone here will know of a perfect or near perfect plan that could be modified more easily than the SL plan. I know that finding the perfect plan is very difficult and when you hire an architect and he doesn't seem to be able to "get it", it can be extremely frustrating. BTDT, so you have my sincere sympathy....See More
Jane
5 years ago
Related Stories
DECORATING GUIDES28 Design Ideas Coming to Homes Near You in 2017
Set to go big: Satin brass, voice assistants, vanity conversions, spring green and more
Full Story
HEALTHY HOME16 Ideas for a Healthy, Feel-Good Home
Making these small tweaks and bigger shifts at home can help you thrive everywhere you go
Full Story
KITCHEN DESIGN9 Ideas Coming to a Kitchen Near You
2012 kitchen updates: Tall, solid-surface backsplashes, smarter storage, handy task stations and sheen instead of shine
Full Story
LIGHTINGGood Idea: Put Sconces Over the Sofa
Keep end tables free of clutter and always have an effective reading light with a pair of wall-mounted light fixtures
Full Story
LIFEPaint a Wall! And 6 More Ideas for the Coming Long Weekend
Use Presidents Day weekend to take on a big project, see a movie and practice kindness with others (including a pet)
Full Story
LANDSCAPE DESIGNGood Read: ‘Landscaping Ideas That Work’
Get a landscape architect’s strategies — along with gorgeous, inspiring photos — for a yard you’ll really enjoy
Full Story
DECORATING GUIDES8 Decorating Ideas for a Good Night's Sleep
Could your bedroom be keeping you awake? Here's how to design a space for rest and recharging
Full Story
KIDS’ SPACES5 Ideas for a Great Home Learning Zone
Get your child off to a good start this school year with homework areas and strategies that reduce the frenzy
Full Story
OUTDOOR ACCESSORIES8 Stylish Ideas for Shady Outdoor Retreats
These good-looking screens, sails, trellises and shade structures will keep you cool and bump up your garden style
Full Story
LIFERefresh Your Kitchen Color: 8 Ideas for This Weekend
It’s a good time to pick a new color for your kitchen, plan a neighborhood party and display some summer treasures
Full Story
littlebug zone 5 Missouri