Talk About Home Improvement
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Nursing to Herb Garden Brings Lifelong Pleasure
Aug 23rd
It was 25 years ago, and I was getting into it. No longer did I exclaim, “What do you mean you can grow lettuce here in January?” I was growing it and a host of other edibles with a large emphasis on herbs. There were hits and misses.
It was then that Jim Wilson, “Garden Geezer” as he called himself, came into my life. Wilson was a TV celebrity, co-host of the popular PBS program “The Victory Garden,” and was visiting Hilton Head Island to speak to gardeners and farmers on growing vegetables and herbs all year long. He arrived at More >
Monterey Bay Aquarium Gets Ready To Close
Aug 19th
One of the most popular exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium will soon be off-limits to visitors. The outer bay exhibit — home to the aquarium’s sharks — will be closed for nearly a year when repairs start Aug. 30.
“Part of this repair to the exhibit is to make it more habitable and also expand opportunities to add different animals in the future,” said Jon Hoech of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
While a new set of fiberglass tiles are installed in the tank, sea creatures such as sharks, tuna and sardines will be relocated to temporary homes.
Many of the animals will More >
Gardening Without a Sprinkler
Aug 18th
The perfect lawn has met its match. Homeowners, in the ever-expanding quest to save money—and water—are trading in clipped hedges and putting-green turf for landscaping that is much closer to what might have grown there in the first place.
Denise McConnell got tired of the lawn that surrounded her Las Vegas home. The grass needed watering almost every day, mowing every week and a seasonal schedule of fertilizer and weed-control applications. To top it all off, it looked dull. “It was pretty nondescript,” the 62-year-old accountant says. “And my water bill was averaging about $100 a month.”
Inspired by the gardens she More >
Green Your Home Improvement and Save Money
Aug 17th
Summer is a great time to do some home remodeling. Whether you are sprucing up the exterior of your house, or adding a splash of color to a room by painting, there are ways to go green and save money on your home renovations.
Here are some ways to do so:
- Use recycled materials. Some great places to purchase second-hand materials are Habitat for Humanity Restores and thrift stores. Habitat for Humanity has stores in metropolitan areas that sell used home goods. If you’re looking for a new bathroom vanity, or even a new front door, search Habitat for Humanity first. Chances More >
Gap Among Awareness and Implementation of Energy-Efficient Improvements
Aug 16th
Michael Holmes, spokesman for the National Home Improvement Show, has said that people are becoming more and more aware of the importance and benefits of the energy-efficient properties, but added that there is a gap between understanding and implementation.
Mr. Holmes said that people could start moving towards a higher take-up of eco-home solutions if they could be convinced that making a home more energy efficient wouldn’t be cost prohibitive and returns could be made rather quickly.
A recent report from ServiceMagic showed that 62 per cent of service professions reported that less than 10 per cent of the US homeowners improving More >