Saving Money on Firepits

Do you like firepits? I do… I mean I don’t like being outside but if I’m already out there I might as well be
comfortable and sitting at a firepit. One thing about firepits though, they can be a great big time and
money hole. Seriously while you’re working on the firepit you might as well set your money on fire
while you’re at it. So, how can you get that beautiful firepit without it turning into a money pit?

First, if you’re trying to save money you should probably DIY the entire project. This isn’t the type of
project where at the end you’ll look at your bank account and find out you spent more money than
the quote you got to get it built out for you. Getting a firepit built will almost definitely cost more than
doing it yourself. You can even get firepit kits for around 200 dollars. Go ahead and build out a patio
while you're at it, it’s just an outside floor. I believe in you, watch a YouTube video, you can figure
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Second tip, make a wood burning pit and not a gas burning pit. You’ll a thousand percent have to
hire several people to make a gas burning pit work safely (please, don’t burn down your
neighborhood). Also, a gas pit will add on to your utility bills… and why would you want that? If you
must have a gas burning pit make it close to your house. This will cut down on the plumbing bill
of running a gas line to your designated location. The further you get from the house, the more it
will cost.

Finally, keep the customizations down to a minimum. Built in seating will cost you and they cost a lot.
If you don’t mind using chairs then you’re solid. Besides, a lot of built-in seating is
uncomfortable. Also, unless you’re an artist and are making all of your own tiles (which is still
expensive) try to keep the unnecessary customizations down to a minimum. Getting super fancy
with a firepit could very quickly cost you upwards of thousands of dollars.

You’ve been sufficiently warned. Go build a firepit. Go outside (if you must). Have fun.

Simple Gardening: Native Plants

Have you always dreamed of having a beautiful garden? Did you always think that once you got your new house you would go out into your brand-new yard and create some floral masterpiece; the likes no one has seen since Victorian era floral gardens? Did you then look up from Pinterest and realize you neither had the time or the inclination to not only set that up but also that you neither have the skill or the theoretical know how to pull it off? Did I mention upkeep? Do you know how to maintain a garden like that? No? Cool, we’re all on the same page.

That brings me to the point native plants. No, I’m not telling you to go plant dandelions. I’m talking plants indigenous to America. I’m talking about gorgeous orange Butterfly Weed, Dainty looking Arkansas Bluestar that you can get in the palest blues and vibrant yellows and oranges. I’m talking about beautiful, (this is a weird thing to say about flowers) natural looking flowers. Flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds… a little bit of wildlife. On top of all that, they’re easy to take care of.

Since native plants are NATIVE they’re good for the ecosystem, there’s nothing invasive about them. You won’t have to do much in the way of soil adaptation if they’re from the same landscape. You won’t need to water them as much because they’re used to the climate and the amount of water, they would usually get from just the groundwater and the rain. It would eliminate seasonal maintenance because they’re natural cycle would be synched up to the seasons and would die or hibernate and come back by itself without much interference.

The care of these plants would be minimal. The brunt of the work would be arranging location and putting the plants into the ground. You need to think about how sun loving the plants may or may not be. If they’re meant to be in the shade, full sun or half and half you need to plan to plant them under a tree or on the side of your house that gets sun half of the day and is in shade the other half.  Young plants or freshly moved plants tend to need more water. You need to either remember to water young plants regularly for a year or set up a system especially for the hotter, drier summer months. Then put down mulch, mulch will cut down weeds which will mean cutting down on weeding.

So,  there it is! I always suggest you go to a local nursery. The people there will be able to answer your questions and help you figure out what you want. They should know the difference between native and exotic plants. Also, the plants from a nursery should come with all the plants general information. Good luck!

Winter is Coming: Garden Maintenance PART 1

Winter is coming… which means that it’s time to protect your landscape from the cold before it’s to late. Here are the steps you need to take to see your garden survive through the winter.

First line of defense: bring potted plants indoors, covering outdoor plants that won’t be able
 to stand the cold, and mulch anything you care about.

The type of mulch you choose is basically an aesthetic choice. Mulch is basically anything that holds in moisture that isn’t a rock, so the type doesn’t really matter.  If you’re interested and knowledgeable about the chemistry of soil components, anything you put down as mulch will eventually break down and become a component in your soil, so if that interests you it’s something to think about. Otherwis,e it’s not what you put down, it’s how you do it. 

MULCH SHOULD NOT TOUCH YOUR PLANT! This can encourage disease and is counterintuitive to the entire point of mulching. Make a two inch ring around your plant 

clear of mulch.

MULCH SHOULD BE LAYED IN A THICK LAYER! About two inches thick. I mean it when I give you that measurement. Get a ruler, and measure out two inches of mulch, I’m not joking.

Mulching isn’t a hard thing to do. It may end up being a little tedious but it’s mostly just specific.

If you have bulbs that will survive in the ground through the winter months mulch over the
entirety of the area. This will keep your bulbs protected from the cold and help them survive until the summer.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

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