The Map Magazine

The forecast for foreseeable future is a bit gloomy if you’re a house owner - falling house prices are causing a great worry for many individuals. Some home owners will actually experience negative equity shortly, if not already. Even so, there are means to avoid this issue. The Answer : to add value to your house. How to do that? By giving your house a makeover. Do It Yourself / home improvements can contribute far greater value to your house than the effective cost of those improvements.

So where to begin? A good place to begin is to think about the rooms in your house that you use the least. Perhaps it is an adjoining garage, or spare bedroom. Knocking down a wall can turn such a rarely used room into a kitchen or living room extension which can bring a great deal of value to your property. Also take into account plumbing and electrics. A dimmer switch can change a bright, garish room into a warm, inviting living space - simply light transforming the room! Perhaps your house doesn’t have a downstairs toilet? Then get one put in where your adjoining garage is - again this can add a great deal of value to your home.

Possibly your 4 bedroomed house could be reformed to 3 bedroom by taking a wall down, and making a much larger room. This may sound slightly strange, but in reality larger rooms will hand you a better sale value, and quite often individuals use a 4th bedroom purely as a spare room (meaning it’s not really used or important) .

Next up is the garden. Is there a shed there? If not, consider installing one in your garden. Why? Well, here is one place where you can keep all your gear that’s overloading up your garage / utility room / spare bedroom. Having a shed helps also with the gardening, and keen gardeners (read: your future house buyer) like a shed in their garden. And perhaps, well - you could into gardening yourself! If your garden’s been untended, then cut the grass, plant some flowers, trim the lawn edges. Install some decking if you have some room. Just offering a drink to a potential buyer out in your pleasant garden can really make the place sell itself - they feel comfortable in such surroundings - so it turns out that your garden can help sell your home, and add value to your property!

So where to look for some assistance? Take a look online. A home and garden directory like homeandgardenlistings.co.uk has all kinds of home and garden websites listed there : including a directory of bathroom fitters, directory of builders, directory of painters and decorators, directory of general furniture suppliers, directory of bedroom furniture and beds suppliers etc.

These are just a handful introductory tips on raising the value of your property in these tricky times, but and we hope you find these useful.

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Perhaps you have decided you want a wildflower garden. You have decided that if these wildflowers can grow in the wild without any one taking care of them, just maybe they will be the perfect plants for your to grow. After all you don’t have a lot of time to take care of a garden but would really love to have some lovely flowers and other plants to look at and to dress up your landscaping. So how does one go about starting a wildflower garden?

You should approach starting a wildflower garden much like you approach any other kind of flower garden. Begin with looking at your yard and around your home to see what you have. Is your lot full of mature trees that cast a lot of shade? Are you on a fairly new lot and maybe don’t even have a lawn in yet?

Do you have areas that stay wet? Is your soil deep and loamy or thin and rocky? Are trees in your yard causing your soil to be very acidic or is it very alkaline?

Now you must factor in your climate. Do you get lots of rain or is it very humid as in the Southeastern United States? Are you dry as in the Southwestern United States? Do you live in the city with barely any room at all and have to put up with bouts of smog?

Now that you’ve taken stock of what you have and where you are, you need to decide just what it is you want to accomplish by starting your wildflower garden. Is it as stated in the opening paragraph that you simply want some lovely flowers and plantings that are easy to maintain? Or perhaps you want to attract some local wildlife and provide a home for predatory insects so they will help you protect your vegetable garden? Are you conservation minded wanting to save resources or save the wildflowers? Perhaps you just want to show your neighbors how lovely native wildflowers can be.

Once you know the above, you can decide how you are going to go about starting your wildflower garden. Basically you have two choices. One, you pick wildflowers that will grow and thrive in the conditions you have. Two, you change the conditions you have so you can grow the wildflowers you want. This could include bringing in loamy soil, draining an area so it’s drier, cutting down trees, creating a shaded area or what have you. The choice is yours.

Finally you can begin with the fun part of starting a wildflower garden and that is picking the plants and wildflowers. Once you know what you have and what you want, you can begin to design a wildflower garden that takes advantage of your landscaping and then choosing the wildflowers and plants that fit with your design, climate, location, soil type and so on.

Copyright 2006, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson

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For most of us, gardening means two things: a) farm and b) soil.
Hardly anybody knows that a nature-filled activity doesn’t have
to be that far and tedious, and can actually take place at the
heart of the dirty metro, right in the comforts of your
condominium.

There are people who resort to other types of gardening
especially when their vicinity calls for it. Most people who
live in a condominium, hotel, or any place that is not suitable
for the usual way of gardening go for some container gardening.

Container gardening is suitable for some indoor gardening.
Through this, people can grow flowers and vegetables in their
doorstep, deck, terrace, or lanai. Container gardening is
applicable to just about any place that can be a great spot for
a practical and pleasing presentation.

However, container gardening still requires the element of light
coming from the sun so as to grow a healthy plant. That’s why
it’s a must for a person who wants to try container gardening to
consider light as the primary factor in gardening.

Container gardening, as the name suggests, uses containers
instead of the usual seedbed or area typically used for backyard
gardening. Barrels, hanging baskets, bowls, crocks, boxes for
plants, flowerpots, sacks, bowls or peat moss containers are
some of the containers that can be used in container gardening.

In choosing containers for container gardening, there are
certain factors that need to be considered. Any containers can
be used as long as it can provide good drainage. Containers with
tight opening should be avoided.

When considering the material used in the make-up of the
container, it’s best not to use terracotta pots and bargained
plastic pots. Terracotta pots can dry out fast and becomes
brittle; while plastic pots may weaken when exposed to sunlight.

The plant selected establishes sizes of containers that are to
be used in container gardening. These containers should provide
enough space for the plants to develop and grow roots.

The next thing to consider in container gardening is the mixture
of soil. The soil mixture should be well ventilated and fluffy.
It should be easy to drain excess water at the same time
maintain abundant moisture. The soil mixture should be rich in
nutrients.

Good soil mixtures can also impede root rot trouble. Root rot
problem can be avoided if the same soil mixture is used all
throughout the container.

According to some container gardening experts, soil mixtures or
“soil less” mixtures bring about the best results. These soil
mixtures can be obtained from commercial garden centers. Some of
the soil mixtures that are used in container gardening are Metro
Mix, Pro-Mix, Redi-Earth, Jiffy Mix, and Super Soil.

However, for budget conscious people who still want to try
container gardening, you can opt for a more affordable soil
mixtures. That is, you’ll make your very own soil mixtures.

Homemade soil mixtures are composed of one part of sharp sand or
vermiculite, one part potting soil, and one part compost. If
you’re thinking of a hanging basket for your container
gardening, the soil mixture is more of lightweight materials.
The mixture is composed of equal parts of vermiculite, peat
moss, and perlite.

Generally, since container gardening uses containers that have
holes for water drainage, water retention is not that high.
That’s why container gardening involves a lot of watering
especially during the hot season.

Fertilizers are also important in container gardening. Though,
this must be applied in considerable proportions since overuse
of fertilizers can do more harm than good. Too many fertilizers
may smolder and destroy your plants.

The last thing to consider is the type of plant you will use in
your container gardening. Basically, container gardening doesn’t
need a special type of plant. In fact, plants that grow in a
typical backyard garden can also be used in container gardening.

If you would like to grow vegetables, you may opt for green
onions, beans, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, parsley,
radishes, and peppers. These are the vegetables perfectly
fitting for container gardening.

If you want some flowers, you can go for Dusty Miller, Geranium,
Begonia, Candytuft, Chrysanthemum, or Shasta Daisy. Any type of
flower is suitable for container gardening.

You can also grow herbs in containers like basil, anise, dill,
coriander, and chervil. You may also want to try growing chives,
mint, tarragon, thyme, fennel, and caraway. Using herbs in
container gardening will not only offer you with a beautiful
display but can also provide you with useful herbs you can
instantly use in your cooking. What’s good about that is that
you get it fresh and absolutely free.

That’s why most people who go for container gardening do not
only see this as a hobby or a recreational activity. Most of
them realize that this can also be profitable and practical.
Vegetables and herbs that grow in containers can be instant
sources of ingredients in your recipes.

So, for people who still don’t know the benefits container
gardening brings, now is the time for you to find it out.

Container gardening is definitely a feasible activity that
brings about a thousand benefits right in the heart of the busy
metropolis.

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The latter part of last summer was hot and droughty in Westminster. I went to look at a garden, locally, on top of a windy hill that is quite exposed to the worst of winter’s harshness. Included was a small rose garden. Due to the weather and some neglect, all of the roses looked poor, except one. This was a yellow hybrid tea, fully foliated and loaded with buds about to unfurl, still bearing the remnants of what was obviously a heavy spring and early summer bloom. It had about eight husky canes and stood every bit of 5 feet tall. As a class, yellow hybrid teas tend to be the most difficult of all. In general they don’t have a strong constitution. They seem particularly prone to winter kill. For years I have been searching for a good yellow hybrid tea and to stumble across one so serendipitously is truly amazing. The homeowner said the rose was about three or four years old and that this was her best rose; so easy to grow and so reliable. With some investigating the rose turned out to be Aperitif, not budded but growing on its own root. Aperitif is a recent introduction from New Zealand. We checked further and found that in just a few years, Aperitif has developed quite a worldwide reputation for vigor and reliability.

Aperitif has glowing, well-formed, yellow blooms on long, strong stems. The four and a half inch blooms are exquisite, with up to 30 petals and a light fragrance. The long stems, which will reach 18 to 22 inches, make Aperitif an exceptional addition to floral arrangements. The bush is very vigorous and will grow easily in the garden, reaching a height of 60 inches. The glossy, medium dark foliage is quite disease resistant.

Planting and Care

• For best results, plant in early spring.
• Plant 4 feet apart in well-drained soil enriched with compost.
• Prefers full sun.
• Fertilize with Rose-Tone monthly from March 15th through August 15th.
• Prune in the spring.
• Hardy in zones 5 (with protection)-9.

Click here to view Aperitif Hybrid Tea Rose on the Carroll Gardens website.

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Ornamental grasses have become extremely popular in the past ten years or so, and if you buy them at a garden center they are kind of pricey. Learning how to grow them yourself is actually quite easy. They can be grown from seed, but I won’t pretend to be an expert at that for several reasons. One, I don’t know anything about growing them from seed, and two, I have no desire to propagate them from seed because seedlings require too much care.

The easiest and most effective way to propagate them is through simple division. Of course you will need at least one parent plant of each variety that you would like to grow. If you shop around you might be able to find some 4″ inch pots at a fair price.

One of each variety is good for a start. I find that the best time of the year to divide them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy the stock plants in the early spring, you might be able to divide them right away. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or other suitable location, knowing that you are going to dig them up in a few months, or a year or so.

When spring arrives you can divide them at any time as long as they are not well into putting on new growth. The earlier the better. To divide them simply dig up the root mass and start dividing it into pieces. The divisions do not have to be to be very large. It’s difficult to describe, but as long as you have some roots, the new plant is likely to grow.

If you have small young plants you can probably just tear the root mass apart with your hands, but if the root mass is very big then you are going to need some tools. You might need some heavy duty tools!

Last spring I divided several grass plants that had been in my landscape for a few years. When I dug out the root mass it was much larger and more dense than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and some real elbow power I was able to chop the root mass into quarters, and I replanted the quarters back into my landscape. That still left many clumps that I wanted to divide into very small plants that I could pot up in 2 quart containers. The root mass was too dense to tear apart with my hands, so I literally got a hammer and a 4″ wide mason’s chisel and chiseled off pieces. It worked and I now have a couple of hundred beautiful little grass plants in 2 quart containers.

Since then I have talked with a friend of mine who works for a large wholesale grower, and he told me that you never want to let an ornamental grass plant get that big if you intend to divide it. He said they plant small divisions in the field in the spring, and dig them up the following spring and divide them again. He assured me that if you get them just 12 months later, they can be easily torn apart by hand.

That sounds like a lot more fun than what I went through!

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by gardening-articles.com

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