Organizing your home can be a daunting endeavor. Aside from the obvious of getting rid of excess stuff, there are a few things you can do daily that will make your house look and feel less cluttered and more organized. READ MORE>>>
No one likes a cluttered house, and a cluttered house is hard to keep clean.
Organizing your home can be a daunting endeavor. Aside from the obvious of getting rid of excess stuff, there are a few things you can do daily that will make your house look and feel less cluttered and more organized. READ MORE>>> As most of the country has begun to see the leaves turn, in Southern California we are still having hot days. Do not worry, fall is looming on the horizon, you can tell because our sycamore trees are starting to drop leaves. Fire danger becomes very real during the windy Santa Ana winds. You may have had some regrowth of vegetation in your fire protection zone. It is a good idea to do one last cleanup. While you are at it, look for plants that have grown wildly over summer and are now under eves, touching roofs, or otherwise create fire ladders. Prune as necessary. The winds also wreak havoc on young trees with thick canopies, so prepare by thinning any overly heavy tree, and checking the integrity of tree stakes on young or newly planted trees. It is best to have a licensed tree care professional certified by the International Society of Aboriculture trimming your mature trees; Call them now to get on the schedule. September is a great time to check your yard drains and clear them out before the coming fall and winter rains. Just remember that after a good wind event you will have a buildup of leaves again, so check your drains often until spring. We should fertilize our lawn after Labor Day. Use a fertilizer labeled for fall, numbers 16-6-8 or similar. It will have less nitrogen and more potassium and phosphorus to help strengthen the root system and food storage capacity of your lawn. This will help your turf thrive over winter. Generally we can resume planting now, but hold off if we have an errant heat wave. Now through November we can plant shrubs and trees so they have time to get established before the freeze of winter. We can also plant our fall annual plants like snap dragons and pansies. If crabgrass had taken over areas of your lawn, dig it out and loosen the soil in any thin spots as well and seed or sod. To rejuvenate a typical tall fescue lawn (Marathon type), it is best to over seed with a mix of 70% tall fescue and 30% perennial rye grass seed. If you have a Bermuda or other winter dormant lawn, you should over seed with 100% perennial rye grass, but it can be a mix of types. Never use the cheaper “annual” rye grass. It becomes a weed in our warm climate. You will need to keep the seeds moist by watering 2-3 minutes, 3-4 times a day, for two or three weeks. If you are not over seeding, reduce your irrigation as the weather cools down to 4 days a week, and still 5-9 minutes each day. Bonus Tip: You will see fall planted spring bulbs like tulips, hyacinths, crocus, and daffodils appear in home centers now. In our climate it is way too early to plant and they will benefit from an artificial chill anyhow. Buy your bulbs now and place in a paper bag away from fruits in your refrigerator for several (up to sixteen) weeks. Plant them in December for a stunning spring display. If you love a good storage invention (or clever solution) that makes your life easier, you will love these useful tips and tricks… READ MORE>>>
August can be the hottest and driest month of the year. Even though it is hot, the days are now actually growing shorter, and your trees and shrubs will be giving one final push of rapid growth before they prepare for winter dormancy. Keep this in control by pruning as necessary, but try not to reduce trees or shrubs by more than 20% at this time. Over pruning will signal the plant to push out an excessive amount of tender new growth. This will stress it out at a time where it should be building reserves for the winter. Also, new growth will be susceptible to early frost if we get some. We will have time to hard prune during dormancy so just prune to shape and control leggy perennials and wayward branches. Keeping plants irrigated is a gardener's most important task this month. Vulnerable container plants may still need a daily soaking. Shallow-rooted trees like avocado and citrus need to be watered more frequently as well. Established shrubs, perennials, and shade trees will benefit from a slow, deep soak. In addition, mist plants with a hose occasionally to keep foliage clean and wash away pests like spider mites. Just make sure to do this in the early morning or early evening, and not in the heat of the day. August is the time to cut back spent hydrangeas, but not too hard; leave at least three buds per stem for next year's blooms. Vegetable gardeners can start germinating broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard, kale, mustard greens, and other Brassica seeds now. Just keep them protected from the summer heat, and well watered. Bonus Tip: Most trees benefit from structural pruning every 2-4 years. Quality tree trimming professionals get very bust in the fall. Now is a great time to get an estimate on trimming and get on their schedule for October, just after the summer growth slows and just before Santa Ana winds begin. No matter how big or small your home is, it is up to you to make sure you take care of, and improve your biggest investment. Even if you aren’t planning to put it on the market any time soon, maintaining it’s value is important for the future. Luckily we have 9 easy DIY projects that will boost your home’s value, curb appeal and livability! Feature photo below, from ‘HGTV‘ by ‘HDR Homes’.
READ MORE>>> Making new friends in a neighborhood can be intimidating. Others have established their social structure without you, and you're the outsider. With time, patience, and a little care you'll meet people and fit in.
READ MORE>> The area is booming with fireworks, parades and festivals all over Riverside. Here is a guide to Independence Day celebrations.
http://patch.com/california/palmdesert/riverside-county-july-4th-fireworks-guide-2016-where-see-shows Many are familiar with the striking blue (sometimes white) flowers of Agapanthus plants. Their clusters of trumpet shaped blooms are a showy staple of many gardens. Generally these blooms start in spring and have faded around Independence Day. Before you have company over for that fireworks bbq, we need to clip the flower stalks off at the base of the plant. If you have been on a regular turf fertilization program, and have been using high quality turf fertilizer products, you may want to skip July. We have so many hot days it is hard to find a good time to put it down. However, you did not use a controlled release fertilizer back in May and your lush green color has started to fade, or if you have not fertilized at all this year, you will surely notice your lawn just isn’t as green as it should be. With the heat make sure you if you do fertilize now, it gets watered it in well immediately after application. In fact it might not be a bad idea to apply it at 1/2 of the rate on the label of the bag two times a week or so apart instead of all at once. Early evening on a cooler day is preferable, and I cannot stress it enough, water it in well, immediately. If the spring annual flowers you planted in April have faded, it’s likely time for removal. They can be replaced with Celosia, Cosmos, Marigold, Verbena, Zinnia, or Mexican Sunflower. Just be aware that the new planting will need a lot of water to get established. Missing just one day of water might mean certain death in the 100 degree plus days of July. You may need to hand water every day or so for a few weeks. You are better off waiting until fall, but sometimes we just want to see summer flowers, I know... Continue to bait for ants if they are invading your living spaces. Because of the high heat it would be a good idea to give shade trees a slow, deep soak once or twice a month in July, August, and September. This will ensure good health. Water established shrubs and perennials less frequently but deeply as well. Container plants may need daily soakings now. Bonus tip: By now you should be getting a bountiful crop of tomatoes from your vegetable garden. Birds usually peck at tomatoes and fruit because they're thirsty, not because they are hungry. Provide a birdbath or other water source, and you'll see less damage on nearby fruit. We all wish to do our part to help conserve water during drought months. If you are wondering what guidelines are in place for water usage, read on… • Three Days a week during warmer months (April- October) • Not more than 15 minutes per irrigation zone • Watering between 6PM and 10 AM • Watering to the point of run off or watering streets prohibited • Irrigation and plumbing leaks fixed within 72 hours • Restaurants to provide water only by request • Hotels shall provide options of not having towels/linens washed daily • Construction operations receiving water shall not use water unnecessarily For more information read the full restrictions guideline at http://www.riversidedrought.com/restrictions.html Watch this short video for tips on how to save water. |
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