Update — Originally Published June, 2015 Maintaining a beautiful lawn is an ongoing effort. There are the rules of watering, seeding, fertilizing, lime application as well as both pest and fungus control. So many facets to consider, and if you’re reading this – you’re probably quite well-aware. But there’s one more challenge that I recently […]
Maintenance
Refreshing a Pool Landscape: Dead Hinoki Cypress & Solar Tiki Torches
Our pool landscape, now at 11 years old, needed some tuning. We’ve maintained it continuously, but the two Hinoki Cypress right up front (circled in the original landscape photo below) – died together. This particular area of our backyard, under the heaviest of rains, would sometimes pond a bit. And the last 2 years, we […]
Tree Planting 101
2021 Update… Spring is upon us in New Jersey, the ‘Garden state,’ and signs of life are exploding outside. I’ve done quite a lot of tree planting over the years, and while everyone has their own techniques, I find there are a few basic rules & principles that always seem to apply. Best Season for […]
Replacing a Bathroom Toilet: Mostly Easy. Not Too Gross.
When you own a home, toilet replacement (and toilet maintenance and toilet repair) – all come with the territory. You can always hire a plumber to help, of course, but even if you do – it’s still best to know what it takes to get something done yourself. What follows is a little chronicle of […]
My Battle with Surface Water Runoff
2020 Update – Originally Published March, 2016 Surface water runoff from rain, downspouts, roofs and gutters can make your life miserable if your landscape grading hasn’t been properly designed. The equation isn’t terribly complicated: water needs to flow away from things it can damage. But this can sometimes be overlooked or frankly creep up on […]
Quick & Easy LED Light Fixture Installation
It took me about 25 minutes to install a new LED light fixture in my bedroom walk-in closet. I’ve been converting each of the fixtures in my house to LED lighting over the past few months. Lower electricity bills. Less maintenance. And crisp, clean light. This closet, though? This closet had the original fixture from […]
Repairing a Backyard Trampoline
2020 Update — Originally Published 2016 Some of the best money I’ve ever spent has been on our backyard trampoline – the kids love it, they get exercise, fresh air and sunshine, and we’ve all had a lot of laughs with it. I won’t even pretend I don’t jump on it myself, though I do try […]
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