Archive for the 'Gardening' Category
This Old House Magazine
The magazine version of This Old House arrived in the mail yesterday. It was a very good day.
There are only 2 magazines that I immediately sit down and read cover-to-cover, and this is one of them (the other is Wired). It is a perfect mix of interesting stories, tasteful design ideas, and moderate skill project suggestions. Each issue is full of useful tips and addresses issues that relate to me, since we actually live in an old house.
This month I learned that…
1. We can grow purple shamrocks (four-leaf clovers) in our yard since they require indirect light. We’ve struggled to grow something other than hostas in the part of our yard shaded by the ginormous maple trees, so this might be a way to add some color and interest to the area.
2. After looking at pictures of kitchens both in the ads and in the articles, I’m more comfortable that darker knobs will look good on our white cabinets. Although Amy found some interesting crystal knobs yesterday afternoon, so it may be a moot point.
3. The article about “the best place to buy an old house” really shows how interesting and diverse residential architecture was throughout the country 100 years ago. One of our clients actually commented on this yesterday after we showed him a very unique brick tudor within walking distance of West Hartford Center. We were sitting in the car debriefing and he pointed out that all the houses would have looked nearly identical if the street had been developed since 1960.
4. Spring comes early in the This Old House world. There were two articles about tidying up outside which will need to wait at least two more months for those of us in the Hartford area. Even our friends in the warmer climates are getting slammed with winter this year, so I’m not sure if there is anywhere entering spring at the moment. Washington DC is a mess, and apparently it’s snowing in Atlanta today.
I picked up all of these tidbits in the first half of the magazine. But wait, there’s more! Secrets to Curb Appeal … Reader Remodel of an American Foursquare… Garden Junk … All About Wood Windows. This Old House is terrific for homeowners interested in learning about little things they can do around their place, inside and out. And there are ideas on just about every page for those who aren’t likely to pick up a hammer themselves.
Now, about those wood windows…
What To Do With That Koi Pond
You bought a house. As part of the landscaping, it has a Koi pond in the back yard. It’s nice and all, but you’re really not that interested in taking care of the Koi and you’ve got small kids that are going to use it alternatively as a swimming pool. Not good.
So, what are you going to do with these fish? And then what are you going to do with the resulting hole that’s left over once you’re done with the water feature?
I know this might seem odd, but I’ve had a handful of people ask me about this exact issue. We get close to the closing and they say “Can we ask the owner to take their fish with them?” This is a delicate subject because the home owner is typically very proud of their Koi pond and see it as a selling feature for the house. What the buyers typically see it as is a headache. And unfortunately the seller’s next accommodations usually aren’t equipped for the fish. The little finned friends stay, much to the dismay of the buyers.
My recommendation for getting rid of the fish, and really anything house-related that you don’t want, is to post it for free on Craigslist. Or Freecycle. Time and again, someone will reply and come get whatever it is that you don’t want. Swing sets. Used furniture. Old windows. Extra scrap wood. Even fish. You know the saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” It certainly holds true.
And what about the hole that’s left after the Koi pond is gone? Turn it into a sandbox. Or go to Craigslist or Freecycle and look for someone looking to get rid of fill. Continue the reuse cycle!
And please, don’t flush the fish down the toilet or leave them outside without the heater on so they freeze. That’s just cruel and unnecessary. There are plenty of people out there that will take your stuff.
Small Victory in the Tomato Experiment
Maybe you’ve been following our tomato experiment. A couple of weeks ago we were rejoicing about beating the neighborhood critters. Well, now our plants have succumbed to the blight. Eh.
Our five remaining tomato plants still have tons of tomatoes on them, it’s just that we lose about 15 tomatoes for every 1 we harvest. These are some ugly tomatoes…
This past week we did declare a small victory, as we were able to save one nicely-sized, non-blighted tomato. We promptly put it to good use. There’s another one that should be ready for picking tomorrow. Not the bumper crop we expected about a month ago, but enough of a victory to plant again next year.
