Posts Tagged ‘garden’

Chainsaw Maintenance Tips For Beginners

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Despite the fact that chainsaws have a deserved reputation for being extremely destructive tools, they are actually precision instruments.  As such, they must be kept in tiptop condition in order to be productive and to ensure the safety of the operator.

It is imperative that a chainsaw chain is kept in tiptop condition.  The chain only really has two states – useless or perfect.  A chain which is in perfect condition should cut through timber like a knife through butter.  Normally it will require barely any downward pressure to cut through wood, but once it is in need of maintenance it will either require extra pressure or simply try and burn through the wood.You must keep the chain on your chainsaw in absolutely perfect condition.  The condition of a chainsaw chain has no middle ground it is either absolutely perfect for the job at hand, or completely useless.  Once the chain starts requiring more than a tiny amount of downward pressure to get through the wood it obviously needs sharpening.  In perfect condition, the chainsaw should cut through timber just like a knife cuts through butter.

In ideal condition chainsaw chain should produce reasonably large chips of wood when cutting.  As the chain gets to the point where it needs maintenance it will start producing sawdust instead.  Also, if the chainsaw has a tendency to veer off to the left or to the right when cutting vertically downwards it is another giveaway sign that the chain needs filing.

The cutting tips of the chainsaw chain have a thin coating of chrome on the cutting edge.  This chrome plate is the bit that does the actual work.  As the chain gets worn down, it’s the chrome which is being worn away which is why the chain becomes less effective over time.  To get the chain back to its best condition it needs to be filed.  One of the most important factors of this operation is to ensure that the right sized file is used to match the chain being filed. Chainsaws are expensive pieces of equipment and will give long and productive service if maintained diligently.

To file a chain ideally you should use a tool called a roller guide.  It is possible to file a chain by hand, but in most cases the results will not be as good unless the person doing the filing is particularly experienced.  If the chain has been ground down by poor usage – for example – when the chain has hit some solid material or the ground, it needs to be filed back in order to give a new chrome edge.  They can be filed down quite low but one must ensure that there is still about 1 mm left on the heel of the cutter.

Although it can take some time and be quite a difficult job to sharpen a chainsaw chain, it is still a wise move to do so as once the chain is filed back to ideal condition it is as good as new.  A chain sharpening kit shouldn’t cost any more than $30 and the only other item required is a pair of protective gloves.  The contents of a chain sharpening kit are a file gauge, a flat file, and the round chain file which must be the correct size for the chain.  It is a good idea to have a small stiff brush as well.  For example, an old toothbrush is ideal.

The rounded file is used to file down and sharpen the chainsaw chain.  The flat file is used to file the depth gauge on each tooth of the chain.  The file gauge is used for adjusting the top plate cutting angles of each tooth on the chain. The brush is used to brush away any pieces of debris on the chain before sharpening commences.

One problem which means that you need to replace a chain (even if it still has some life left in it in terms of depth) is if you end up stretching your chain. When replacing a chain that has come to the end of its useful life, you should make a note of the make and model of your chainsaw.  It’s also a good idea to take the old chainsaw chain with you as well as the actual chainsaw if this is possible in order to make sure that you don’t waste time making multiple trips back to the store in order to get the right chain. By using these basic tips you should be sure to get the most value for money from the lifetime of your chain.

Chainsaws are very useful, but are also extremely dangerous. Please take advice from a qualified professional before using a chainsaw yourself.

Should Patio Heaters Be Banned?

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Over the years there has been a huge amount of speculation as to whether the popular patio heater damages the environment. Many people have argued that a patio heater is as bad a 4×4, but is that really true?

Due to increased pressure from campaigners and the government, some big names such as B&Q and Wyvale Garden Centre have stopped stocking the patio heaters. This had led to a large amount of bad press for patio heaters.

This has led t people believing that patio heaters are one of the worst emitters of CO2 out there. However, in January 2008 when there was an attempt to get the EU to band these heaters, Dr Eric Johnson, an expert for the United Nations released some figures to say otherwise.

Dr Johnson argued that figures released by the Government has stated that patio heaters contribute 22,200 tons of CO2 each year. This overall figure is only 0.002% of the total CO2 released.

In comparision, he said that over 4.6 million tons of CO2 is released from the use of televisions and it would take 5 patio heaters to match the same CO2 released by one TV.

Despite those figures, a large number of people still hate the use of these heaters, however, these are a large group that consider these machines vital. Many pub owners will argue that since the smoking ban, a patio heater has become vital for keeping business.

The reason why the public consider these heaters bad is because they are used as a luxury. However, during the summer months, many people use a portable air conditioner or dehumidifiers, but these machine don’t get bad press. Plus, people don’t consider that if patio heaters weren’t being used, many business owners would resort to using air conditioning units to keep their customers warm.

I guess people will always complain about the machines that we use, no doubt they wouldn’t complain about their benefits.

 

Using Perennials, Such As The Undemanding Yarrow, in Landscaping

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

A incredible number of people now fully appreciate that a gorgeous well manicured garden can add a large amount of extra monetary worth to their home. Not only that, a wisely designed backyard can greatly increase the amount of useable space for your family and you. For these reasons, and a few more besides, garden landscaping has, over the years, increased to become an incredibly popular pastime. Top of the list for most landscapers is a wonderful yearly display of colorful and varied flowers.

While a large number of garden designers choose to create color by using annuals, the remainder decide that using  perennial garden plants is the best method.  Annual flowers are those plants which {grow, flower and die|germinate, develop, bloom and die} in only the one year whereas perennial flowers will continue to flower year after year. Obviously there are plus points and disadvantages for both annual flowers and perennials and gardening is all about choosing the the most suitable mix of the two.

A large number of folk experience emotional remembrances of long gone days spent in a grandfather’s garden enjoying the gorgeous aromas of many old fashioned favorite perennial flowers. Sadly it can be rather problematic for even the most avid gardener (including some seasoned professionals) to emulate gardens of the past because a large number of the specific types/cultivars are no longer available. You will be happy to hear that many of the old fashioned varieties have been superseded by strains which are much more able to withstand disease, so you can often find suitable replacements which show little or no (other) differences to the old fashioned plant.

Traditional Garden Perennials

One of the most popular perennial flowers used in garden landscaping today is the Achillea millefolium which first appeared in American gardens in colonial times when it was introduced from Europe. Achillea is a very old fashioned plant used since the days of the Greek hero Achilles (from whom the plant gets it’s name) who used it to help heal his soldiers. Achillea can stop bleeding and works incredibly well at healing wounds.

Achillea ptarmica

Achillea ptarmica has beautiful flattish clusters of small blooms that look rather like daisies. Achillea  are available with flower heads in a selection of colors ranging from different shades of pinks, yellows and whites. Achillea ptarmica are thought by most landscape gardeners to be considerably easy garden perennials to cultivate. They are so easy to propagate because they are rather invasive plants which can be seen growing on the poorest of ground. If you wish to see success with Achillea the only thing is to avoid cultivating in extremely wet or poorly drained soil. The plants are well able tolerating drought conditions. Achillea ptarmica and Achillea millefolium are two of the most often chosen varieties but there are many others available.

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Wooden Landscape Bridges

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Wooden Garden Bridges

You may not have the hanging gardens of Babylon in your abode, however there’s no trouble in manufacturing the best of the green patch you have for you to do with as you want. Recall, a well manicured garden has a similar effect on the abode as fine clothing have on you.

It is necessary to look after of your lawns and do it up in a way that pleases to the eye while keeping the natural habitat in order. A body of water, Even small it is, is great to have close to your home, not only because of of charm, but as it assists construct your nearby setting completely natural. A wood garden bridge is the best accessory for a little pond. Even if there isn’t a lake in the garden, you can always install a garden bridge over a garden path. Bridges, even when its purpose is mainly decorative, adds any house a distinctive appearance. And what’s more, children love it. Read through this to know more about garden furniture, and you can quickly learn how to choose the right one for your house.

Use and beauty

As mentioned a little while back, if there’s a pond or stream or pathway that needs to be bridged, a garden bridge is the classic operational solution. However another type of bridge consists of only wooden slats and is not for walking across- just decoration – although a dog may be able to walk across it.

Garden bridges are often curved, though sometimes, there are design alterations like the plateau. It is conventional to measure the length of a bridge from end to end, or by its “span”. For a small garden, bridges spanning 3 to 5 feet would be OK, for medium sized gardens, you should look at bridges with 5 to 7 feet span, and for really spacious gardens, go as far beyond 8 feet as your garden size will allow. Cedar and redwood are by far the most popular woods for constructing garden bridges, although in this time, you could easily come across sturdy plastic ones in stores too.

 

The Landscaping Tip of All Time

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

There is many a landscaping desgin tip out there to satisfy even the most desperate of landscapers or would be landscapers and you can find hundreds of them online. But in all of my years as a landscape artist I have come to the conclusion that while there are many different landscaping tips only a few are universal and there is a good chance that only one landscaping tip will do you any good. The landscaping tip that you need the most will be different than the one I needed because each project is different, so take your time and learn about as many landscaping tips as you can before you start your project.

The landscaping tip that everyone can learn from is to always make your yard one that will look great at any time of the year. This can be tricky because in the middle of winter many things do not look so hot. This is why it is so important to learn about the kinds of plants and trees that will still bring beauty to your home in the depth or winter and in the summer heat.

To find the plants that will make this landscaper tip work will require you to do a little more work. You will have to find out what plants will thrive in your climate all year round. Of course some will do better during certain months but you need to always have something going on that is attractive in your yard. The best place for you to find out the best plants for this landscaping tip is your local garden center. They are the experts and they should be able to answer all of your questions about what your choices in plants and trees should be. If this does not work for you then take a trip to the library and check out some books on local flowers and trees. These can be gold when you are trying to choose just the right things for your yard.

Another good landscaping tip is to layer all of your planting beds. This will bring a sense of unity and balance to your entire yard. To get this particular landscaping tip working at its best you should also use repetition in this design. Have these layers repeated throughout the yard and it will look that much better to those walking by.

Why Use Landscaping Stones?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

There are many reasons why  you should incorporate landscaping stones into your landscaping design. The main one however is for beauty, pure esthetic beauty. For a landscaping design to look perfect it needs to have layer and this can be a hard thing to achieve without the use of landscaping stones.

landscaping stones are not the only way to give your yard depth but they are the easiest way. You could try to change the slop of your yard. You could dig lower sports and build up higher ones but this could take forever and you would have to know a lot about landscaping to try to tackle a job like that. Just think of the trouble you could get into with the drainage issues if you were to make a mistake! No, it is far easier to simply use landscaping stones to bring some depth to your yard.

You can use landscaping stones to accent certain portions of your yard, you can even plant some plants in these landscaping stones. They look great round the patio and the fence and you can even get colored landscaping stones to bring more color into your yard. This kind of color is especially nice to have in winter when everything is so bare and cold looking. The fact of the matter is that you can transform the whole look of your yard with the simple use of landscaping stones. They are like jewelry only for the yard.

There are many different kinds of landscaping stones and they come in all shapes and sized. The landscaping stones that are right for you will depend on the effect that you are trying to create with your yard. And different parts of the yard might require different sized landscaping stones. You can get a wide variety of colors for your landscaping stones and in some cases you may want to mix a couple of colors together to create a whole new and interesting look.

If you are planning to overhaul your yard this year then you need to start looking into using landscaping stones in your design. These will bring the whole yard together and if they are used right will add balance and harmony to your entire garden.

You can get landscaping stones at your local gardening center and even some home building stores will carry them. Shop around and find the landscaping stones that suit your home and your needs best before you make a purchase.

Do you know how to choose the right landscaping supply store?

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Choosing the right landscaping supply store means thinking outside the box. You have to stop thinking like a regular consumer and start thinking like a person about to take on a he job and who wants to save some cash. There are many landscaping supply stores out there but only a few of them are worth visiting and these are not the ones that you see the ads for on TV.

The landscape design supply stores that you want to buy your materials from are the ones that cater primarily to those in the industry. If you can get your landscaping materials from a landscaping supply store that does not usually sell to the general public, or at least is not well known by the general public then you are in business. This can take some work though.

Try talking to a professional landscaper to see if you can get the info out of him about the closest landscaping supply store. See what he or she says. What landscaping supply store does this company use? You can tell them that you need to know this in order to make sure that they are getting and using only the best materials. This should work in getting you a name. Then you can go down there yourself and get all of the materials and tools that you need to complete the job on your own. Sound sneaky? Well, it is but it works and it will save you hundreds of dollars on your landscaping supply store supplies.

If you just cannot bring yourself to be so treacherous you can try looking in the phone book. You may find something like this under landscape contractors, it depends on where you live. Do whatever you have to do to find out where the pros get their stuff and you are well on your way to saving some serious money this year. All of the pros get their landscaping supply store items from somewhere so all you have to do is find out where. Most of these places will sell to regular people like you but they do not bother with a lot of advertising because they do well with the companies. These landscaping supply stores do not need to business form the little guys like you. But if you can find these landscaping supply stores you are set.

Looking for just the best landscape plant?

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Finding the perfect landscaping plant is not such an easy job. There are so many different plants for you to choose from and each will have its own special ways that make is a great find for your yard. You can choose any kind of landscaping plant that will compliment your particular yard, just make sure that the landscaping plant that you choose can live in your climate. Not all landscaping plants can thrive in all areas so talk to your local plant specialist. The place where you usually get your plants may be able to help you with your selection of landscaping plant.

There are many different kinds of landscape design plants for you to choose from and some of the best ones are the ones that you would normally never think of. For example if you want to have a gorgeous border you can use sage plants. This is the perfect landscaping plant for any home especially yours. You can do so much with this great landscaping plant. Not only can you make wonderful borders with it you can also add them to pretty herb gardens.

What makes herb gardens to fun is that they are not only pretty to look at they are also practical. You can use all of the herbs that you grow as a landscape plant in your cooking. Cooking with herbs is such a wonderful bonus to having a gorgeous landscaping plant.

When you are looking for a landscaping plant you will also need to take into consideration what time of year it happens to be. You cannot usually go into a gardening store looking for a landscaping plant in the middle of winter and find a summer bloom. Your shopping will have to be at least a little seasonal. Your landscaping plant, some of them anyway, will have to be purchased at certain times of the year.

You can find a landscaping plant that is annual or one that is perennial. An annual landscaping plant will need to be bought and purchased anew each year where as a perennial landscaping plant will grow back each year on its own. Some perennial plants like tulips for instance will double in number each year if left alone. When there gets to be too many in one spot of this kind of landscaping plant you can simply dig down and split some of them up and plant them elsewhere.

Garden Shed Plans – DIY Garden Sheds

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Nowadays a lot of people don’t have money, but what they have is time; this is why building garden sheds on your own is growing in popularity. There are so many benefits building a garden shed yourself instead of buying a pre-built garden shed somewhere.

To begin with, when you build your own with garden shed plans you’ll save a huge amount of money. If you’re building a simple garden shed you can expect to easily spend only 20-30% of what a store would charge for a pre-built model. The savings could be anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. Building your own shed skips the overhead a store would charge and instead puts to use your own sweat equity.

If you would love to have control over the process, then building a garden shed yourself is a great idea. A great thing about building a garden shed yourself is that you won’t have to wait for a contractor to get to work on his own schedule; you are free to start building your garden shed whenever you want to; may be now.

Building a garden shed can be a fun experience for the whole family. If you’re always looking for an excuse to use your power tools and saws, here it is. If you are looking for a great summer project to work on building a garden shed is the right decision; you can put all of the tools you have acrued over the past years in use.

One of the biggest benefits to building a garden shed by yourself is choosing the design. Instead of picking from a few store models, choose a plan you like or alter one to create a shed you want. Some nice things you can add are plant boxes or gables and decorative trim. The options are limitless. I am sure the personality you will be able to add to your shed will make you real glad and this is one reaosn why I am sure you will be happy you decided to do it yourself.

Of course you will be really proud once you have finished your first garden shed and may be you can build garden sheds and earn some cash. You can proudly tell anyone who visits your home that you actually built the garden shed yourself.

Well, as you can see there are many benefits building a garden shed yourself; if you agree, it is time to begin looking for garden shed plans. A great website with options you’ll love is My Shed Plans. You can find various kinds of plans for different projects there that will keep you busy for months. Expect that your neigbors will ask you where you got this great looking garden shed from and you can tell them that you built it yourself.”

Not All Landscaping Software Is Created Equal

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

There are some fantastic landscaping desgin software programs that will help you to design the backyard of your dreams but there are also some landscaping software programs that are a complete waste of money. The trick is to find out which landscaping software programs are good before you purchase them.

Many of the landscaping software programs that are on the market for the regular consumer are not really very good. Some of them are just plain awful and to buy them is to throw your money down the drain. They will have terrible cartoonish drawings that are not clear and that will not do you any good at all. On the other hand there are some of the more expensive commercial grade landscaper software programs that will blow you away with their capabilities.

What you need to remember when you are using a landscaping software program is that it is not going to do anything for you, it is only a tool for you to use to make your ideas a reality. So if you are wanting to buy some landscaping software so that you can have your yard designed for you then do not even bother. If on the other hand you have some great ideas and you want to get them laid out so that you can see if they are really as good as they seem then a good landscaping software program might be for you after all.

Before you commit to buying any landscaping software try to get a demo. This will let you try out the program to see if it can even help you in what you want to achieve. You should try to choose a landscaping software program that has good graphics. The better the graphics are on your landscaping software the easier it will be fore you to visualize the end result of all your hard work. Remember that this is the goal of any landscaping software program. If the landscaping services software is crap then you might be better off using the drawing programs that are already on your computer.

By getting a demo you will also be able to directly compare the different programs in terms of price. Lets face it, if there are two landscaping software programs and they look the same and they both have the tools that you need but one is cheaper, which one are you going to chose? The cheaper one of course. So check out the prices.