Add a Splash of Class with a Water Garden

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There are hundreds of little projects that can add a focal point to your yard, but one of the most dynamic is a water garden. Having one will most likely put you in rare company on your block. That’s because people think that installing and maintaining water features are much harder than they actually are. In fact, a fully functioning water garden can be installed in a single day!

Choosing a Liner

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The first major choice you have to make when putting in a water garden is how large you want to go. There are several plastic forms that run from 10 gallons to over 200. If you are not a fan of the forms, you can buy a pond liner and design your own. Liners are more work and require significantly more knowhow than the performed plastic. For most applications, unless you are planning on putting in a Koi pond, a preformed pond is versatile enough for your needs.

Preparing the Site

The location of your water garden will have a great deal of influence on the maintenance required to keep it clear. Try to avoid areas near large deciduous trees that will drop leaves into the area during the fall. Keeping the pond away from trees in general is a good idea. Root systems can grow into the pond liner and rip it.

The entire pond area needs to be cleared out and made ready for a dig. This means that any grass needs to be mowed down, raked and cleared. While it may not seem important, removing the debris prior to digging will keep rocks, sticks and other items from falling into the pit.

Installation

With a prefabricated pond you need to dig out an area that is one to two inches larger than the liner you have purchased. It should be an approximate match to the liner, including any ridges that exist. The area must be kept level. This is the most labor intensive parts of the job, and depending on the size of your prefabricated pond, could take anywhere from an hour to a full day.

Once the pit is cleared out, add an inch or two of pool sand to the bottom of the pit. This will create a cushion between the hard base ground and the pool liner and allow it to be adjusted and leveled as it is being put in. Wet this sand down and then slid the pool liner into place.

After moving the liner into place, fill the pond with a garden hose. You can install edging around the exterior or plant water loving plants around them – some possible choices are Iris and papyrus. Also consider installing a fountain or pond pump to keep the water circulating and reduce algae build up. These pieces of equipment are easy to install and don’t interfere with the growth of surface water plants like water lilies and water poppies.

Choosing a water feature as part of your backyard makeover can add both visual interest and a sound element that might currently be missing. And you can do it all by yourself, or with the help of a few close friends, in just a weekend.

Backyard Ideas

Giving your backyard a makeover doesn’t have to be rocket science. As long as you take the right steps and implement the right backyard ideas, you can definitely spruce up your backyard and give the face-lift it needs…

1. Start with the Cleaning

Although this seems like an obvious tip, a lot of people tend to ignore it. Cleaning up your backyard is an important step towards making it prettier. So go ahead and grab your rake, get the lawn mower - along with the hedge trimmers to tidy up your backyard. Right from raking the leaves to trimming the bushes – everything should be on your ‘tidy backyard’ to-do list.

2. Begin Planting

Want to add more color and dimension to the area? Then planting trees/shrubs along with adding a flower garden to your backyard is what you should be doing. For example, simply sowing in wildflower seeds will give rise to colorful wildflowers that will beautify your backyard.

See to it that you first scope out the spots that receive a lot of sunlight and the ones that get the shade. Once you’re done with that, you can then choose plants that survive in such conditions. Try and understand their characteristics and growth habits. Also, if you want you can go beyond flowers and add trees to your backyard landscape for added privacy.

3. Add Walkways/Stone Paths

Enhancing the overall flow and improving the landscape doesn’t have to be complicated. You can do it by having a path to the garden and a ‘walkway’ from the deck. Whether you choose to go for brick, stone, gravel or other available edging options, pathways are not only attractive but also beneficial for guiding the “foot traffic” in the appropriate direction.

4. Cover Garden Beds with Mulch

During the summertime, plants need to retain their moisture in the sweltering heat. When you cover your garden beds in mulch, you help the plants in retaining this very moisture. Besides that, mulch happens to give the backyard a clean and an organized look/feel.

After this step, consider doing some budge edging so that the garden beds are better defined. If you look around, you’ll find that there are many styles for you to choose from. If you’ve got a shovel and a level, you can be done building an edge only in a few hours.

All in all, redoing your backyard and designing it to make it look prettier can be a fun and exciting experience as long as you put your creativity into it and don’t treat it as just another tedious task.

4 Furniture Cleaning Tips

4 Furniture Cleaning Tips

Did you know that a dirty kitchen and a grimy bathroom are the biggest turns-offs for prospective buyers? Rightmove has revealed that grubby kitchen units, mucky dishes in the sink, and filthy bathrooms are the most offensive factors that put people off from buying a property.

Even if you aren’t selling your home in the near too distant future, a dirty home is just wrong. It is important to keep on top of the housework to ensure you remain healthy and happy. We’re not delusional; we understand that certain pieces of furniture can gather dust overtime, such as the television and mirror.

However, by regularly undertaking a cleaning regime, you can ensure your house is spotless. Here are 4 cleaning tips to keep your home spic and span:

Sofas

The couch can often get dirty with food crumbs and loose change. Be careful when cleaning as not to tarnish the upholstery.

Use a small dusting brush to remove any visible dirt and vacuum the sofa, removing any loose cushions.

If you can, take the cushion covers off and wash them on a low cycle, at least twice a year.

Chairs

How you clean the chair will really depend on whether or not it is wood, or fabric. Fabric chairs can be vacuumed, and you can buy cleaning products that specialise in fabric stain protection.

With regards to a wooden chair, use a soft bristle brush to remove any loose dust and a damp cloth to clean the wood. Don’t forget to turn the chair upside down to clean underneath it. If it is really blemished, it may need staining/varnishing to make it look brand new.

Beds

You can clean the bed by stripping the duvet and pillow covers, and washing the bed linen. Whilst the bedding is being washed, you can dust the bed frame and vacuum the mattress.

Metal bed frames don’t need much maintenance and can simply be wiped with a damp cloth. It is important to clean the bed to keep those bed bugs away!

Mirrors

Keep your glass gleaming by using a window cleaning product and some dry, crumbled up newspaper to ensure it is streak-free. Alternatively, you can simply use one cup of vinegar with warm water- or baking soda.

If the mirror gets fogged up quickly, use a hairdryer to clean the glass. The dry heat will get rid of condensation rapidly, with zero streaks.

Follow these top tips to keep all your furniture pristine; so shiny that it is fit for the Queen’s royal standards!

This article was provided by AHF Furniture, a leading furniture and carpet chain in the UK that provides high quality furniture. The specialists have an unrivaled reputation for trust, integrity and excellent customer service.

Tips for Shopping and Saving

If you’ve been a long time DIY Inspired reader, you know that I’m all about being crafty on the cheap!  So I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks that I use to save money that help feed my DIY and craft passions.  Recently, I’ve written a few posts on craft projects I have done without buying anything, which leads me to my first tip.  It’s my cardinal rule of thumb for crafting, party planning, and entertaining. Here are my four tips for shopping and saving.

Tip #1: Always shop in your Craft Closet first.

The best way to save money is to stay organized.  I keep my craft closet as organized as possible so that I know what inventory I have readily available.  Most recently, I was able to make these three projects for practically nothing because I shopped in my craft closet first: 1) Stenciled Butterfly Wall Art, 2) Repurposed Plant Hanger, and 3) DIY Butterfly Wall Art.

The best part of all three of these projects is that they fit the theme for my daughter’s birthday party coming up this month, AND they look great in her bedroom.  That’s right, two for the price of NONE!

Tip #2: Shop at home second.

Fundamental budget crafting tip number two is to shop in your kitchen, office, pantry, bedroom, junk drawer, you name it.  My motto, “repurpose, reinvent”, says it best.  There are so many fun craft projects you can make from items you can recycle like bottle caps, jars, vases, boxes, cans, tins, etc.

Tip #3: Be smart when shopping online.

Always, ALWAYS look for promo codes like Promo Code 2012. Before entering that credit card information, make sure you do a search for the product coupon.  For example, Sears is a great place to shop.  You can purchase anything there from scrapbook paper to jig saws. Type in “Sears Promo Code” to make sure you are getting the best deals and saving the most money.

Tip#4: Always print or cut coupons before you leave the house.

I swear every time I go into a Michael’s Craft Store or Joann’s Fabric Store they know me by name!  Until I crawled out of my cave and purchased an iPhone, I printed my Weekly Ad coupons. Now that I have an iPhone, I can pull up the coupon and they’ll scan my phone right at the register when I check out.  How convenient is that?

I hope these tips helped because this is exactly how I feed my passion!

A special thank you goes out to PromoCodes2012.org for sponsoring this post.