Category Archives: Home and Garden

Three Useful Tips in Maintaining a Mini Garden

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Maintaining a garden is never an easy task, and it needs a lot of patience to grow one.

Here are simple tips you might find helpful in maintaining a garden. 

My son’s aroid plants (From left: Philodendron, Monstera, Aglaonema)

1. Water only when the top 2 inches of the soil is dry. Do not overwater.

Plants don’t need daily watering. You would know it needs watering when the soil is dry. Overwatering can cause the root to rot or shiver if it gets too little.

Getting enough water is the secret to growing healthy plants. Hobbyists suggest deep watering (but less frequently) as it allows the water to seep beneath the roots. Doing so encourages the roots to grow downward. Water until water comes out of the drainage holes.

For watering tools, a kettle sprinkler and garden hose are your options. If you prefer a hose, consider the length, diameter for water flow, and strength for water pressure. You may need a water hose reel to protect the life of your hoses from sun exposure and other outdoor elements.

Choose high quality hose reels worth the price. A water reel help prevents you from tripping or mowing over it. You can choose those that mount to a wall or a portable one.

2. Never put plants in full direct sunlight.

Not all plants thrive when exposed to sunlight the whole day. Some plants grow best when they receive direct sunlight on covered areas of the garden. Aroid plants, such as philodendron, monstera, and aglaonema, thrive indoors or in shaded areas. My son grows similar plants in a makeshift plant shade.

Aroid plants and ferns have not evolved to handle the harsh rays of direct sunlight, so they prefer medium light conditions.

Plant shade

Nonetheless, too much exposure to sunlight cause the plant to wither. They get a sunburn, too. Leaves get blotchy, wrinkled, scaly, or crispy.

3. Make sure the pot has drainage.

Before repotting or propagating your plants, make sure the pots have enough drainage holes in them.

Drainage holes allow excess water to seep out of pots after watering, ensuring that water does not pool at the base. The holes help to protect sensitive roots from rotting and acquiring fungus and bacteria.

There are plenty of things to learn in setting up your first garden.
As you grow your first set of plants, help it reach its full potential by keeping up with the garden routine.

 

Save Space and Curb Appeal with a Free-Standing Hose Holder

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When we mention a garden hose holder, no doubt you might be drawn to immediately imagine the classic plastic and metal wall-mount found in countless home improvement stores around the U.S. Many of these are mass-produced and manufactured quickly by the thousands across the country.

While those may certainly be convenient, many of them are the kind that either must be stationary or must be attached to the outside of your home. Let’s be honest, after all the hard work you do to maintain your lawn, gardens, the yard, and the exterior décor, planting a hose reel or holder outside probably doesn’t sound like a great idea.

Especially for those who rent or who are concerned with the curb appeal of their home, having a free-standing hose holder is a perfect solution for many of the issues that crop up with more questionably made hose holders.

What is curb appeal and why is it important?

Curb appeal is what gives homebuyers or renters their very first impression of a property before they even step inside. The aesthetics of a home’s exterior can often tell a person what they might expect to see on the inside even from the front door. At the very least, the exterior of your home can often determine whether buyers may even want to take a look inside.

And curb appeal isn’t simply for those wishing to sell or rent a home. Curb appeal can be a boon to an entire community of homeowners. Having a beautiful and well-maintained community is one of the best ways to attract new people to an HOA. Even if not part of a community or HOA, many homeowners take pride in their property, managing it well and beautifying it with gorgeous lawns, flowers, and trees.

Curb appeal is important because as the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Curb appeal even has a direct effect on renters as well as residents’ morale, giving them the pride of ownership and increased property values.

What Curb Appeal and a Free-Standing Hose Holder Have in Common

All your yard, as well as siding, stucco, pathways, window treatments, anything on the exterior or visible on the exterior, contribute to a home’s curb appeal. This includes the lawn itself, any topiary, plants or potted plants, ornamental grasses, gardens, flowers, and more. Plants will need to be weeded and cared for by being watered.

Second, the asphalt on a homes or unit’s driveway, any cement paths should be clean and clear as well—which most likely means pressure washing.

For all aspects of curb appeal, you should highly consider a free-standing hose holder.

The Benefits of a Free-Standing Hose Holder

A free-standing hose holder provides a durable, reliable alternative to light-duty holders and plastic box-type holders. Additionally, a free-standing hose holder is smaller than a larger, more expensive wheeled model and much easier to carry or move, making it far more portable to and from storage or moving to get to another part of a lawn.

When it comes to your home’s exterior, whether it is an apartment, a home you are renting, a home you own, or one you are considering selling one day, you can completely avoid having to struggle with drilling potentially damaging holes into siding, brick, or stucco to attach a hose reel. There’s no need for such an attachment with a free-standing hose holder.

With a free-standing hose holder, there would be no unsightly exterior hose mounted, breaking the pleasant vista of the exterior. Not to mention, a portable garden hose reel means that a homeowner can neatly store the coils of his or her hoses, pick them up and completely store them hidden away in a garage or appropriate place. Thus, leaving the exterior décor and view of the home clear of clutter and any detracting visuals such as a loose coil of hoses or a garden hose reel should they desire.

There’s also the fact that, with the right free-standing hose holder, some of them are so thoughtfully designed as to be completely unobtrusive, meaning a homeowner or property owner could hide them easily within the natural ornamentation of a lawn, such as a bush or long decorative grasses.

Last, but never least, a free-standing garden hose reel saves space with its compact, well-engineered design as well. When you consider all the benefits and facts, you’ll no doubt see why a free-standing hose holder can save space and curb appeal and become a worthy investment for any home and property owner.