If you have always wanted to know about the world of different Types of Dragonfly in the Garden, then this post is a must-read!
14.07.2023 - 10:17 / hometalk.com
We recycled old bricks to create a mud-free entrance between our garden and our garden shed.
This is the 'before' picture of the small area between our raised garden beds and our shed, which wasn't good for much but growing grass, or becoming mud when it rained. We envisioned a rustic brick patio to keep the area clean and free from weeds.
We had a pile of used brick we purchased from the Habitat for Humanity Restore in our area, and we decided to recycle them for this project.
The bricks were coated with old mortar that needed to be removed so the bricks would fit nicely together in our pattern. Probably the most time consuming part of the project, but not terribly difficult. We were glad we finally found a use for these beauties!
A chisel, hammer, and a firm surface to work on was all that was needed to remove the old mortar; it pretty much crumbled off leaving the nice clean brick. We may have lost only a few bricks to crumbling from this procedure.
This is the mortar after we were finished with the brick we needed for our project. I think we disposed of this portion, but I suppose someone could have come up with an idea to recycle it as well.
We loaded up our cleaned brick for the trip over to our project area!
Another important step is to prepare the area for the brick. We rototilled the area a few times, and then raked it out well to level it. We could have spent a little more time to get this level, but we weren't too concerned about having it perfect. We wanted it to look like it had been there for a while.
We layered newspaper and sand over the raked area to begin our pattern. Several layers of newspaper will serve as a weed block, and is biodegradable too. I used a fairly simple pattern for the bricks as we
If you have always wanted to know about the world of different Types of Dragonfly in the Garden, then this post is a must-read!
Now part of this garden is down to crazy paving the Qualcast grass box is needed less and can be put to a different use. It looks like a ‘unibarrow’ has got in on the act to make a feature planter for these pansies.
Ants can be an unsightly nuisance and inspire concern. However they do not directly damage plants but are more a sign that you have another pest problem.
Fountain in Oxford Botanic gardens.
White is the second most useful colour in the garden after green. I am progressively increasing the number and variety of white and grey plants that I grow.
Grasses give a rich combination of autumnal colours
Some animals can be a real pest in the garden. Their crimes include eating the wrong thing, digging in the wrong area, turning grass brown with urine and leaving a dirty mess. Some chose your favourite plants to damage as I know from some aggressive over fed pigeons in my own garden. In my experience the worst offenders are rabbits, cats, mice, deer, pigeons and dogs including foxes. Rats cause concern but have not caused direct damage in my garden.
Where has all the rain gone? In winter there were floods aplenty so I was predicting water rationing by summer. Now it is mid May and the ground is parched and rock hard.
I was picking the Czar plums to make more jam when a wasp was disturbed from eating it’s lunch. Wasps go for my plums just as they are at their sweetest best. My problem was I couldn’t see which plums had a wasp in the fruit if they were above head height or facing away from my hand. The resulting sting set me on the trail of other stingers in the garden.
Colorful ferns can be an excellent addition to any garden or indoor plant collection. These plants are characterized by their beautiful, vibrant fronds ranging from shades of pink, red, yellow, and even purple.
Want to add a tropical flair to your garden this spring? Elephant ears will add a bold statement to a filtered sun or high shade spot. These striking “drama queens” of the garden may be either in genera Colocasia or Alocasia. The easiest way to tell these beauties apart is that colocasias (Colocasia esculenta) will have leaves that point downward, and alocasia (Alocasia species) leaves will point upward. Depending on the species or cultivar of each genus, the size can range from 3 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 10 feet in width. Both types of elephant ears are native to the tropical regions of Southeastern Asia.
In a year when many of our favorite sporting events have been postponed or even canceled, the garden marches on! As gardeners, we have our own backyard competitions each year, keeping mental notes on which varieties we will plant again or replace due to their performance on our ‘home court’. But choosing which varieties will be in our starting lineup each year can become a daunting task.