Fall is setting in and the leaves are getting that “I am about to break into full color look.”  I now know it’s time to prepare my above ground swimming pool for winter weather.
photo credit: lepiaf.geo

Preparing the pool for winter will protect it from the elements, wandering animals and possible inquisitive children. And by preparing your pool properly, reopening it in the spring will be much easier and you will also add years to the pools life.

How to prepare the above ground pool for winter

Clean the pool first. Hopefully you have all your pool supplies close at hand. Use a net to remove bugs and leaves from the surface of the water. Remove the ladder and all toys from the pool and store them for the winter. I store all my pool accessories in the garage near the pool. Basements and a shed are also good storage places.

Next, vacuum the pool as you normally do throughout the season. Once clean, its time to add any chemicals that are needed to control bacteria. Consult your local pool company for suggestions. I use a winter pool kit that seems to have all the right products for my climate.
photo credit: JoshMcConnell

Carefully place plugs in all the inlets and a skimmer cover over the skimmer. This will protect them from getting water inside that could freeze and break parts of your pool. In my zone 5 climate this is a very important step.

Unplug your pump and make sure you get all the water out. Do the same with the filter and the filter hoses. Again, you don’t want the water to freeze and break the pump.

I buy additional air pillows, inflate them, and place them on the surface of the pool’s water. This will keep the pool cover from touching the water, which is easier on the pool cover. And later in the fall season air pillows are on sale so you will save quite a bit of money buying late in the fall.

Tip: Don’t inflate your air pillows all the way Climate change will affect the pillows, so less air is better.

Drape your pool cover over the top of the pool and over the air pillows.  Tighten the pool cover in place with buckles. Make sure the pool cover is secure for you winter storms and high winds.

I always take one more check around the backyard and make sure any pool accessories are cleaned and put away. I also store the leftover chemicals in cool dry place, my garage, so that they will be useable for the following year.

Swimming pools can be work, but the added fun and activity they add to the backyard oasis area make them worth the extra time. And by preparing the pool in the winter you will have a much easier time in the spring preparing the pool for the summer.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, backyard pools, prepare you above ground pool for winter

Swimming Pool Landscaping for either a residential or commercial application for a pool should be carefully designed and constructed in order to be visually appealing and add property value to your home or business. You and your guests should have an enjoyable experience while using the swimming pool. 
photo credit: Chrispitality

Although many successful landscape applications for swimming pools are provided by professional landscapers and other designers, a homeowner or business owner can do this with a little research, time, and effort. You can produce your own beautiful landscape.

Typically, landscape applications for swimming pool landscaping will suggest specific plant types, but it is important to focus on trees, shrubs, and grasses that will adapt well in your specific environment.

Vegetation and plants that can survive and thrive in a specific location should be selected for sustainability purposes. Successful landscape applications flourish due to the plants ability to grow and live in a specific environment.

This is typically based upon climate, rainfall amount, sunlight, and soil parameters. Since the designer cannot control many of these elements, it is important to select plant material that will successfully grow given these elements of the application.

Plant selection guides are available in hard copy, audio, and online. They can help the designer select the best material for your landscaping project.

Successful landscape applications include a variety of plants, shrubs, and grasses. They are usually native or adaptable to the location. When selecting plants, you should include material that is visually appealing, and can also be functional.

Most plant functions not only include visual purposes, but also guide pedestrian traffic and provide screening for privacy. Specific plants and trees can be purchased to perform these useful functions.

Other types of applications for swimming pool landscaping include fencing, patios, and furniture. While these elements are important and can add value to your landscape design, the focus of any application should always be on your plant material.

Usually, multiple designs are considered to provide different planning ideas. Once a final design is chosen, you can begin implementing construction and installation. This can be done either by professional landscaping contractors, or by the homeowner or commercial property owner.

Technorati Tags: backyard design, backyard ideas, backyard landscape, backyard oasis, landscaping, swimming pool landscaping

Adding a garden area to your patio serves several purposes. It adds to the comfort and inviting feel of a patio. And by adding plants to your patio and just inside the room adjacent to the patio you can create a flow from the indoors to the outdoor, giving you a feel of more room and a relaxing garden oasis retreat.
photo credit: owlhere

Also,  if you lack space or live in a city, a patio can support a flower or vegetable garden. Many of these ideas can also be used in a city setting or balcony area where use of space is critical.

Below are several you tube videos with patio gardening tips and the use of a vertical growing wall, which can be used indoors or outdoors.

Patio Gardening Tips

This you tube shows mainly the use of flowers. My patio includes an equal amount of vegetables and herbs. I find having a mini garden on my patio makes gardening easier and harvesting vegetables for a meal is a cinch. It is also easier to move plants indoors before a bad storm or in the fall to over winter them.

Growing walls are beautiful and practical. They can easily grow an indoor garden, herbs or a variety of plants. I have even seen them arranged for holidays.

The you tube will show you how to set up a vertical growing wall. There are growing walls that you can hand build. I am looking for directions for one that I can share with you.

When I lived in cities and moved every few months for my job I gave up gardening. If I had known about green growing walls I would have kept a garden. I find gardening to be relaxing and it adds to a home. I still had plants that I moved from city to city, but no garden.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, green growing wall, landscaping, patio, patio garden, Small Space Garden

There is a feeling in fall of peace. I seem to notice the sky, trees and plants more. I also enjoy the fall colors, which are very vibrant in my NW Pa location. It’s a time when I set down by the creek and watch the leaves float by or spend an afternoon on the patio.
photo credit: Don Hanover III

But many people will need to prepare their yards and patios for colder weather. And few hours of work will help you to enjoy your patio area for a few more months and leave you prepared to the winter months ahead.

Power wash the patio base and all the furniture to remove dirt and pollen that has built up over the summer months. If you do not have access to a power washer, use a hose with a nozzle attachment at the highest pressure

Small maintenance:

• Patch any cracks in the concrete patio pad with sealant from the hardware store.
• Repaint or reseal wood fences or decks after the pressure cleaning.
• Throw out summer annuals, which are starting to fade. You an also overwinter any annuals if you have the space. I always overwinter my geraniums, mums and dusty miller plants. Keep the plant pots for future projects, but clean them with soapy water and bleach if they need additional cleaning

Add accents to your patio furniture with fall-friendly fabric. Deep reds, chocolates, golds, orange and greens complement the outdoor foliage as it changes colors.

Pillows, throws, rugs and placemats are a few ways to add change to the patio area. You may even have an additional patio umbrella that will compliment fall. Tip: Spray non-outdoor fabrics with Scotch Guard so they will not mold or get dirty after rains.

New planters and flowers will change the feel of the patio area. Mums, pansies and zinnias will add color around your patio. Create new window boxes or add flowers to a fence or trellis.

Ornamental grasses, bright cabbages, shamrocks or fall vegetables, like red and orange peppers, will add a feel of fall to your patio. And the pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks tucked near the patio or in the yard will create a fall harvest theme.
photo credit: fauxto_digit

Natural centerpieces for the patio tables using stone pebbles, grapevine and thick white candles will add to your evening’s outdoors. Wicker will also fit well in the fall décor of your patio design.

I enclose my patio in late fall so that I will be able to enjoy the winter months in an indoor/outdoor setting. And by preparing my patio area now, enclosing the patio later is quite easy.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, backyard patio, fall flowers, patio

Like the living rooms of your house, the garden or recreation area is for the comfort and enjoyment of your family.
photo credit: Maven Dooshe

No stock set of plans answers the needs of all. You must first decide what your family needs are and then plan a garden to meet them,

Shall it be a rose garden, a rock garden, a wild garden or a play area? Do you want it formal, naturalistic, informal or conventional? And how about the style – English cottage garden, French parterre, Colonial or Japanese?

It is up to you. The garden is the outdoor area that is most valuable to the family as a whole and should be designed with that consideration uppermost.

Canadian Style

In Canada they have not yet developed their our own style. At present it follows the American trends very closely, but with less attention to garden ornaments and furnishings.

Because of longer winters, and most Canadians get to the country easily in the summer, they have not generally furnished their gardens for comfort in the past. Instead, they used them as a playground for the children and an exercise ground for horticultural hobbies.
photo credit: sarahgardenvisit

Lately, however, they have paid more attention to garden design and also to the arrangement of garden areas for comfortable living. By growing more flowers and taking advantage of a wealth of trees and shrubs. Canadians make liberal use of conifers to provide color and form during the long winters, and of bulbs for spring bloom.

Being accustomed to space in Canada, even in a formal garden they prefer a simple, open arrangement of parts to a crowded, European style with its fine detail. They like games so open lawns are needed by using lawn mower with lawn mower insurance.

Because of shoveling snow they leave planting well back from roads and paths. In Ontario and Quebec they have large supplies of good limestone, and prefer it for walks, steps and walls to the finer finish of brick or concrete.

A simple, open style suits the climate and their tastes, so it is generally the best one to use in gardens where they wish to relax. However, gardens intended as showplaces are often very effective when developed according to the styles of other countries and periods.

Kent Higgins frequently contributes to plant-care.com. The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of lawn mower insurance.

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, landscape, landscaping, plants