Category

Landscaping

• 09.10.08
  Quality Landscaping Can Raise Value of Home
  Landscaping (0)

  By Maureen Patzer The Tennessean Three years ago, when Lisa and Lance Strawn bought a home in Franklin, Tenn., their landscaping consisted of the standard "shrub it up" builder's package of two trees and bunches of big bushes. "But it didn't look like anyone had done any planning," Lisa Strawn says. "And most of the bushes were hollies, which hurt if you cut them because they're so prickly." The couple lived with their less-than-desirable shrubbery until July, when a desperate attempt at pruning made things worse. Armed with a shovel, a chain saw and an ax, Lance Strawn wrestled the offending foliage ...
  
  
• 08.21.08
  Rain Gardens: The Eco-Friendly Landscaping Option Is Catching On
  Green Remodeling, Landscaping (0)

  Bob Shaw Pioneer Press If Brown's Creek had arms, it would hug Elizabeth Brod. The creek is healthier now that Brod has installed two water-cleansing rain gardens in her back yard. Better yet, her homeowners association helped persuade 12 neighbors to do the same. "It was very worry-free," she said as she tended the new plantings in the fresh mulch of her Stillwater yard earlier this month. She is one reason Minnesota leads the nation in water-cleaning landscaping techniques, including lakeshore plantings. Another reason is the half-price sale on water-cleaning projects, subsidized by counties and watershed groups. If they have their way, ...
  
  
• 08.20.08
  Pet-friendly Landscaping Keeps Animals Safe, Happy
  Landscaping (2)

  The great outdoors can offer both adventure and hazard to pets. So pet care and landscaping experts suggest releasing dogs and cats into a well-maintained, pet-friendly yard that's safe and fun for them to explore. Homeowners frustrated by urine-marred sod or emergency vet visits after a pet has ingested something mysterious in the yard may scoff in disbelief. But having a nice outdoor space that's also pet-friendly is well-advised, according to certified animal behaviorist Suzanne Hetts of Animal Behavior Associates in Littleton, Colo., a practice that aims to prevent and resolve pet behavior problems. An equal dose of realism and ...
  
  
• 03.18.08
  5 Ways to Know if Landscaping Will Soothe or Create Headaches
  Landscaping (0)

  Landscaping can greatly influence your enjoyment of a property -- not to mention how much time and money you will spend taking care of it. Here are five key questions that landscape architects and real estate agents say a house shopper should ask before making an offer. 1. Where's the water? "Either you don't have enough or you have too much," said Jack Sullivan, who coordinates the University of Maryland's landscape architecture program. "You want the water moving away from the house, not toward it," said Sandy Clinton, a landscape architect. 2. What's staying? Outdoor furnishings such as benches, tables and chairs are often important parts ...
  
  

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