5 easy ways to create a beautiful garden

5 easy ways to create a beautiful garden

Your garden is the entryway to your home. Not only can they give you fresh fruits, flowers, and vegetables for your home, but they also beautify the space. A clutter-free, colorful garden can help relieve stress and become a quiet place for reflection. No matter the size of the yard, it’s only natural to want to beautify the space and get the most out of it. Here are 5 tips to decorate your garden:

Add flowering plants
Flowering plants can add a lot of color to your garden. They break up the green patches and give the garden focal points. They also attract pollinators like butterflies and bees to naturally pollinate your yard. Consider planting flowering plants in your garden and assorting them by color to give your yard a well-organized look. Add yellows and oranges with plants like orange marigolds, yellow capsicums, calendula, cosmos, and nasturtiums, purple with beetroot, lavender, violet, purple basil, rainbow chard, and petunia, and blue, white, and gray with sage, alyssum, cabbages, cauliflowers, leeks, and other plants.

Make your yard look larger
To make a small yard appear bigger, use horizontal layers of different heights to add the illusion of depth. For example, planting low shrubs before a slightly higher fence and taller shrubs near the house can add dimension to your garden and make it look much bigger.

Tidy your garden
Remove the weeds regularly and control the growth of plants that may compete with your planted varieties for nutrition. These weeds can be used to make compost to keep your garden healthy. Another way to add to the beauty of the garden and prevent the growth of unwanted plants is by adding some decorative mulch.

Add a feature piece
Your garden can seem more fascinating and appealing by adding a focal point, such as a tree, that draws attention. Outdoor art, such as unique pots, furniture, wall-mounted frames, or other things, or edible art, such as a food garden with herbs that serve several uses in your garden, also adds essence to the garden. Adding furniture like a table and some chairs will serve the dual function of making the space more welcoming and giving you added space to host visitors in your home.

De-clutter the space
Overcrowding your garden can make it hard to enjoy it. Try to balance your garden between the hard surfaces and your selected plants. One way to do this is by using one or two materials that make for a more planned garden area. You can also consider growing some plants inside the house or around your porch (depending on the sunlight they need) to balance the inside of your home with your garden.

You will notice many of these hacks in practice in gardens around you. Take a minute to slow down and check what appeals to you the most, to design a truly built garden to captivate your senses.

Having a well-planted garden may increase the debris around your gutters. To keep your gutters clean, install a leaf gutter guard. A leaf guard for your gutter helps keep it clear from larger debris like sticks, leaves, and branches, so your gutter drains do not get clogged. You can shop for leaf gutter guards online, or visit a professional service close to understand which guards will work best for your home. 

LeafFilter is a big name when it comes to cleaning and protecting gutters. Their gutter protection systems and devices aim to keep gutters free of wood, debris, leaves, and other things that can clog up the pipes. LeafFilter gutter brushes can be easily fitted in place, and it prevents anything from entering the pipes, ensuring the smooth flow of rainwater. 

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Mistakes to avoid while using a vacuum cleaner

Many people use vacuum cleaners but still can't figure out how to use the appliance properly. If you don't use a vacuum cleaner the right way, you'll never get the desired results, plus you'll end up damaging the machine. Regardless of the type of vacuum cleaner you own, there are certain mistakes you must avoid while using it to improve its efficiency and longevity. Read on to know what these mistakes are. Emptying the dust bag only when overfilled Although inconvenient, it's necessary to empty the dust bag well before it's full or after each use. If you operate a vacuum cleaner while its dust bag or container is full, performance drops drastically. It doesn't pick up dust and dirt as effectively as it can. Moreover, a full dust bag can restrict airflow within the appliance, increasing the risk of overheating and damage. Don't want to empty the dust bag frequently? Consider buying a vacuum cleaner with a bigger dust bag. Assuming it's broken If your vacuum cleaner stops working suddenly, that doesn't necessarily mean it's broken. Vacuum cleaners often lose suction when the dust bag is full, or the hose is clogged. Also, many models today come with a feature that makes the appliance shut off automatically when the motor becomes too hot. This is to prevent further appliance damage and hazardous incidents. Empty the dust bag and clean the filter, hose, and brush roll to restart successfully. Vacuuming everything It can be hard to resist the urge to vacuum just about anything and everything when in a hurry. This is one of the costliest mistakes vacuum owners make! Most vacuum cleaners are designed to pick up everyday dust and dirt. Running them over small, hard objects, such as a penny or screw, can seriously damage or even break the appliance. You must also avoid trying to suck up water or other liquids, as it ruins the motor and can cause an electric shock. Using baking soda to pre-clean or deodorize Many homeowners use baking soda to remove resilient stains and get rid of odors from carpets and upholstery. While that may be effective, it's not advisable to run vacuum cleaners over surfaces rubbed with this chemical compound. The tiny baking soda particles can clog the filter over time, making the machine work harder and decreasing its longevity. Operating with the wrong attachments Not getting the desired vacuuming results? Maybe you're using the wrong attachment or not using one when required. Most vacuum cleaners come with dusting brushes, crevice tools, and sundry attachments to clean hard-to-reach areas, such as ceilings or under the furniture. These attachments also eliminate dust and allergens from spots homeowners overlook, such as light fixtures, baseboards, lampshades, and furniture upholstery.

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Avoid these 4 common home renovation mistakes

Renovations are an essential part of maintaining your home. You may want to revamp your home to get a new look, or maybe you want to repair broken flooring or bad plumbing. In either case, undertaking a renovation is a challenging task. It involves tons of planning, budgeting, and even investing a significant amount of time. If you plan to redo your home, here are some common home renovation mistakes that are best avoided. Opting for cheap materials When building or renovating your home, you want to ensure you buy the best materials. It can be tempting to save cash and cut corners when purchasing materials. But cheap materials are not necessarily durable. This means you could end up spending more on redoing something a few years later. Instead, it is best to opt for sturdy, high-quality materials that add elegance to your home and last long. Trying to DIY everything Renovating a home is an expensive affair, which is why it may be tempting to pick up the tools and go to work yourself. But this is a common home renovation mistake that you must avoid. While DIY projects are great in some cases, like painting your walls or moving your furniture, when it comes to things like plumbing, electrical works, and even roofing, you may must opt for the services of a professional. These works, if not done correctly, can lead to costly troubles. It is advisable to spend the money now and get a good job done rather than having to redo it in the future. Not maintaining a proper budget Not setting a proper budget is one of the most common home renovation mistakes that can lead to issues with your plan. Before you start your project, you should map out a budget. It should also account for extra costs and overheads. Always add 20 percent extra to the total cost of the renovation. If you do not have that much extra cash, then cut down on the job or wait and save up for it. There are always bound to be additional costs involved, and it is best to plan for them in advance. Expecting everything to happen as planned When working on revamping your home, there could always be something unexpected. If you are redoing your home, remember that there could always be something behind the wall or underneath the floor that requires more work. This is especially true if the renovation is being undertaken on older structures. Newer structures tend to have lesser issues. It is best to be prepared for extra work, costs, and even time to complete the renovation properly. Besides avoiding these errors, homeowners must undertake foundation repairs when renovating the living space. Most foundation issues result from extreme weather, poor drainage, or soil conditions. However, they remain hidden for months, proving expensive in the long haul. Therefore, when renovating a home, one should ensure the foundation is thoroughly checked for damages and repaired accordingly.

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