|
The Tucson Gardener |
|||
|
In the Garden Calendar
Local Garden Links
You're visiting Tucsongardener.com |
Curb Appeal Often I've read about the importance of curb appeal when someone plans on selling their house. From the looks of some of the houses I cruise by it seems like an awful lot of people plan on living in their current home for the rest of their lives. I often wonder why people won't spend the time to maintain a pleasing front yard as well as their home which is the largest investment most of us will make in our lifetime and with potentially the highest reward when we go to sell it. Sure, I can understand if you don't have the money to spend on it. I also guess I can understand when the person says they don't have the time either. Work and family is pretty darn time consuming. Of course nowadays an awful lot of time is spent in front of the television, too. And it's debatable whether that's quality or productive time. Is it really that difficult to pull a few weeds a couple of times a year? How hard is it to push and pull a rake? If you know what you're doing, it's not that tough to do a little trimming or pruning to improve the appearance of a shrub or tree. Maybe I'm asking too much of homeowners because they really do have better things to do. But take my word for it, it sure does make a difference in the appearance of a house and makes it look more like a home.
Handy Carrying Tray I'd seen these things in a garden catalog and contemplated ordering them but never got around to it. Then one day when I needed something from the corner hardware store I walked past a pile of the exact same things I'd seen in the catalog. They were considerably cheaper than what the catalog was selling plus I wouldn't have to pay for postage and handling.
I bought four of the stackers and use them all the time. Three of them hold fittings for my vegetable garden's drip irrigation system. When I need to make repairs, I carry the trays out in a bucket and have everything to choose from right at hand. The other bucket tray holds my seeds, plastic labels and a marking pen. It's really convenient when I'm planting seeds in flats or in the soil. The tray has four compartments. Labels and marking pen in one. Seed packets in another. As the seeds are planted the packet goes in another compartment so I know which ones I've planted. A cardboard box would probably work just as well but I'm hooked on these little bucket stackers and I've got a 5-gallon bucket with a seat to put them in. Truth is I don't use the bucket much but I do use the stackers. As Martha Stewart might say, "It's a good thing." (1998) |
||
