Earth Day was created in 1970 to spark a revolution against environmental abuse and the organizers, including EDN Board Chairman Denis Hayes, would not take no for an answer. Neither should we. Global warming is real and we're part of the problem. Now, we need to become part of the solution. Check out how you can become part of the solution.
http://www.earthday.net/resources/2006materials/Top10.aspx
Landscape Vision is a member of Earth Day Network. From time to time we will post information from the EDN to give you the tools we all need to help save our planet! Little steps add up.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
IF I HAD A HAMMER!
Landscape Vision's good friend Andrea Ridout, of the nationally syndicated radio show, "Ask Andrea" has finished her much anticipated book, "If I Had a Hammer"! I encourage all of you do-it-yourself types to check out this book. Andrea really knows home improvement, we just love her here at Landscape Vision. Good for you Andrea, we're all proud of you.
Just click on these links below for either Barnes and Noble.com or Amazon.com
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=andrea+ridout+hammer
Editorial Reviews
Have fun, save money, and improve your home with these easy step-by-step projects
Are you looking for a way to make your bathroom a little more beautiful? Or maybe you'd like to give your tired furniture a face-lift, improve your home's air quality, or fix a toilet. No matter your DIY needs and no matter whether you're a DIY novice or expert, home improvement guru Andrea Ridout, host of the nationally syndicated radio show Ask Andrea, has ideas, expertise, and advice to share with you.
If I Had a Hammer offers easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations designed to make home improvement simpler than ever. With a little help from Andrea, you'll be able to tackle repairs, painting and decorating, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, wood care for furniture and floors, and much more with projects that often take as little as an hour. Also, you can try a few of Andrea's energy-conserving projects that can dramatically improve your utility bill—Andrea's projects are friendly on the environment and on your wallet! With If I Had a Hammer, you'll have the tools to keep your home functioning and looking as good as—or even better than—new.
Biography
Andrea Ridout is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Ask Andrea and is a frequent renovation expert on national and regional television programs. Her articles and advice have appeared in Reader's Digest, Woman's Day Home Remodeling, and Country Home, among many other publications. She lives near Dallas, Texas.
Cooperative Extension Services
Contact your local state cooperative extension Web site to get help with tricky insect problems, best varieties to plant in your area, or general maintenance of your garden.
http://www.almanac.com/garden/resource/coopext.php
Offered by our friends at The Old Farmer's Almanac
http://www.almanac.com/garden/resource/coopext.php
Offered by our friends at The Old Farmer's Almanac
Outdoor Planting Table from Old Farmer's Almanac
Check out Old Farmer's Almanac "Outdoor Planting Table" Provides you a time table for planting. Put in your zip code to see your area's planting times.
http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php
The best time to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground is during the light of the Moon; that is, from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be planted during the dark of the Moon; that is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. The Moon Favorable column below gives these days, which are based on the Moon's phases for 2008 and the safe periods for planting in areas that receive frost. See Moon phases for the exact days of the new and full Moons.
http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php
http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php
The best time to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground is during the light of the Moon; that is, from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be planted during the dark of the Moon; that is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. The Moon Favorable column below gives these days, which are based on the Moon's phases for 2008 and the safe periods for planting in areas that receive frost. See Moon phases for the exact days of the new and full Moons.
http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Gardening Jobs for April! Old Farmers Almanac
Start coleus cuttings now to plant outdoors in the garden by early June. These colorful plants are enjoying a revival as fine accents to annual and perennial borders.
Rake or remove mulches from all flower beds.
Plant rosebushes. They often do best if planted before growth starts and buds swell. And if you want to increase their fragrance, surround them with parsley.
Scatter annual poppy seeds in your flower garden and let them grow where they will. They don't like to be transplanted.
Broadcast lime, wood ashes, or a mixture of the two over alkaline-loving perennials such as delphiniums and dianthus. Bring color outdoors to patios, porches, and even the garden with pansy plants, which don't mind cold nights. To encourage constant flowering, routinely remove spent blossoms and keep them from getting bone-dry.
Sow sweet peas as soon as the soil can be worked. Nick the seeds with a nail file and plant them five inches deep, but cover them with only about three inches of soil. Hoe more soil up around them as they grow.
Plant lilies-of-the-valley, violets, and garden lilies. Divide summer- and fall-blooming perennials, including delphiniums, irises, chrysanthemums, daisies, and phlox.
Although we think of this as a rainy month, it can fool us. Keep transplanted flowers well watered during dry spells.
When danger of frost has passed, uncover strawberry beds and keep them well watered.
Plant blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and fruit trees.
Start seeds indoors for heat-loving crops such as eggplant, tomatoes, and squash.
To determine whether your garden soil is ready for seeds, grab a good handful of it. If you can form it into a ball, the soil is too wet. If it crumbles through your fingers and reminds you of chocolate cake, it's ready for planting.
If the soil is ready, give it a good stirring and let it sit for several days. Then top-dress it with compost or well-rotted manure and plant beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, radishes, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
If you got your peas in last month, be sure to give them a good fence for support, made of chicken wire, twine, or stubby branches that are at least three feet tall. Otherwise, plant them this month as soon as you can.
Scatter spinach or lettuce seeds around emerging bulb foliage to make wise use of your garden space, and have a leafy green crop at the ready to cover the bare spots left by deadheaded spring flowers.
Prune forsythias as soon as the flowers fade. Cut the oldest stems to within a foot of the ground, but be sure to let the plant keep its arching form; don't turn it into a gumdrop or cannonball.
Feed your trees. As soon as the frost goes out of the ground, give them a well-balanced slow-release fertilizer. Scatter about six good handfuls per each 10x10-foot area. Store leftover fertilizer in a small plastic trash can or a covered plastic container, and label it.
Rake your lawn to remove all leaves, dead grass, and small twigs. Sow seed for a new lawn, or fill in bare patches by first covering the area with compost or other organic matter. Roll the lawn if the ground isn't soggy.
If you receive mail-order nursery plants before your soil is dry enough for planting, make a trench and heel them into the ground in a protected area.
Don't fertilize strawberries in the spring. This is when the leaves are developing, and you'll get lush growth and meager, soft berries. Wait until blossoms appear and use a light hand.
Don't set tomato plants out in the garden too soon. They hate cold soil and cold nights (under 55 degrees F).
Don't forget to vent your cold frame. April days may feel chilly, but the temperature under the glass can get over 100 degrees F on a sunny day. Salad greens are unhappy over 65 degrees F, and most other plants will perish over 85 degrees F.
http://www.almanac.com/
Rake or remove mulches from all flower beds.
Plant rosebushes. They often do best if planted before growth starts and buds swell. And if you want to increase their fragrance, surround them with parsley.
Scatter annual poppy seeds in your flower garden and let them grow where they will. They don't like to be transplanted.
Broadcast lime, wood ashes, or a mixture of the two over alkaline-loving perennials such as delphiniums and dianthus. Bring color outdoors to patios, porches, and even the garden with pansy plants, which don't mind cold nights. To encourage constant flowering, routinely remove spent blossoms and keep them from getting bone-dry.
Sow sweet peas as soon as the soil can be worked. Nick the seeds with a nail file and plant them five inches deep, but cover them with only about three inches of soil. Hoe more soil up around them as they grow.
Plant lilies-of-the-valley, violets, and garden lilies. Divide summer- and fall-blooming perennials, including delphiniums, irises, chrysanthemums, daisies, and phlox.
Although we think of this as a rainy month, it can fool us. Keep transplanted flowers well watered during dry spells.
When danger of frost has passed, uncover strawberry beds and keep them well watered.
Plant blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and fruit trees.
Start seeds indoors for heat-loving crops such as eggplant, tomatoes, and squash.
To determine whether your garden soil is ready for seeds, grab a good handful of it. If you can form it into a ball, the soil is too wet. If it crumbles through your fingers and reminds you of chocolate cake, it's ready for planting.
If the soil is ready, give it a good stirring and let it sit for several days. Then top-dress it with compost or well-rotted manure and plant beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, radishes, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
If you got your peas in last month, be sure to give them a good fence for support, made of chicken wire, twine, or stubby branches that are at least three feet tall. Otherwise, plant them this month as soon as you can.
Scatter spinach or lettuce seeds around emerging bulb foliage to make wise use of your garden space, and have a leafy green crop at the ready to cover the bare spots left by deadheaded spring flowers.
Prune forsythias as soon as the flowers fade. Cut the oldest stems to within a foot of the ground, but be sure to let the plant keep its arching form; don't turn it into a gumdrop or cannonball.
Feed your trees. As soon as the frost goes out of the ground, give them a well-balanced slow-release fertilizer. Scatter about six good handfuls per each 10x10-foot area. Store leftover fertilizer in a small plastic trash can or a covered plastic container, and label it.
Rake your lawn to remove all leaves, dead grass, and small twigs. Sow seed for a new lawn, or fill in bare patches by first covering the area with compost or other organic matter. Roll the lawn if the ground isn't soggy.
If you receive mail-order nursery plants before your soil is dry enough for planting, make a trench and heel them into the ground in a protected area.
Don't fertilize strawberries in the spring. This is when the leaves are developing, and you'll get lush growth and meager, soft berries. Wait until blossoms appear and use a light hand.
Don't set tomato plants out in the garden too soon. They hate cold soil and cold nights (under 55 degrees F).
Don't forget to vent your cold frame. April days may feel chilly, but the temperature under the glass can get over 100 degrees F on a sunny day. Salad greens are unhappy over 65 degrees F, and most other plants will perish over 85 degrees F.
http://www.almanac.com/
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