Our Blog

One of the tasks many homeowners take on after purchasing one of the new homes for sale in Texas is gardening. Adding flowers and other plants to your yard not only makes it more inviting, but economists say good landscaping can add up to 28 percent to the overall value of your home. Here are some tips to make gardening a breeze.

1. Tired of scrubbing your nails to remove dirt after working in the garden? Cleanup will be easy if you draw your fingernails across a bar of soap before going to work outside. The soap seals the undersides of your nails so dirt can’t collect beneath them. Once you’re done gardening, use a nailbrush to remove the soap and your nails will be sparkling clean.

2. Turn a long-handled yard tool into a measuring stick for easy planting. Lay a long-handled garden tool on the ground and place a tape measure next to it. With a permanent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you want to space plants a certain distance apart, such as an inch or several feet, you’ll already have a measuring device at hand.

3. Create a natural plant fertilizer when cooking. Use the water that’s leftover from boiling or steaming vegetables to water any potted patio plants. You’ll be amazed at how the plants respond to the “vegetable soup.” Just make sure you let the water cool first!

4. Leftover tea and coffee grounds are great for acidifying the soil of acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, gardenias and even blueberries. Simply sprinkle one-quarter of an inch to the plant soil once a month to keep the pH level on the acidic side.

5. Control aphids with a strong blast of water from your garden hose or with insecticidal soap. Alternatively, you can wrap a wide strip of tape around your hand, sticky side out, and pat the underside of the plant leaves to remove the little buggers.

6. Create natural markers for your garden by writing plant names with a permanent marker on the flat faces of assorted size stones. Then, place the stones at or near the base of your plants.

7. Protect young plants from sudden, overnight frosts and freezes by covering them with little clay pots.

Are you looking for new homes for sale in Texas in popular communities like McKinney, Frisco, Little Elm or Plano? Landon Homes has a wide variety of high quality, energy efficient new homes for sale in these neighborhoods. Whether you’re raising a family or an empty nester, you’ll find our new homes have all the features and amenities you could want. Visit our website to view our floor plans and virtual new home tours. We look forward to helping you achieve your new home dreams.

This post was written by Landon Homes.