Revive

Summer is just around the corner and with it comes heat and drought that can take their toll on your plants if they are too sensitive. However, if you select the right plants and drought tolerant grass , your garden will stay brightly colored and beautifully lush all summer, even when your plants get very little or no water. Here are some of the most attractive, drought-resistant plants: Agave – this succulent plant is native to the arid regions of South America and able to withstand dry weather almost endlessly. The plant collects dewdrops and moisture from the air and stores it to use it when water is not available from other sources; Bougainvillea – this bushy, brightly colored plant also thrives very well in drought. It grows fast even during prolonged heat and the beauty of its flowers does not seem to be affected by dryness; Blanket flower – these garden staples might look fragile, but they are, in fact, extremely hardy plants. They like beds that are permanently exposed to t...

Leaf barriers, also known as gutter guards, are great and simple inventions that get installed on top of or into gutter pipes to prevent leaves, twigs, feathers and other debris from accumulating in the gutters, thus preventing the clogging of gutter pipes and of the downspouts. Besides the obvious benefit of not having to climb up to your gutters after each storm to scrape debris out of them, leaf barriers come with other advantages, too. Here are some issues that can be prevented with leaf barriers: The prevention of water damage on the roof, on the walls and in the foundation – gutters have the role of directing water away from the roof and from the walls. If they get clogged, they cannot do their job and water can cause leaks in the roof, it can soak the walls and seep into the foundation, causing extensive damage quite quickly. Gutter guards prevent debris from reaching into the pipes, thus preventing clogging, too; The prevention of gutter damage – the debris that accumulates ...

  Thatch is a loose layer between the green part of the grass and the roots, usually composed of intermingled shoots, leaves and stems that have dried out and it starts appearing when the grass produces organic matter faster than it can be decomposed. While many turf owners decide to remove thatch, other consider it useful and keep it where it appears – here is how removing or keeping the thatch from the lawn affects the life of your turf: Insulation against wide temperature variations – extreme temperature changes are very harmful for any type of lawn, but thatch can efficiently insulate the soil, maintaining the temperature around the roots stable. However, if the layer of thatch on the grass is too thick and the appearance of brown patches on lawn , it might prevent the access of the sun’s warmth to the grass, so whether or not to keep the thatch on should be decided carefully; Fertilizer efficiency – without thatch, the fertilizer that you spread on the lawn might be more e...

Aphids, also called greenflies or blackflies, even though there are individuals of other colors as well, are small insects that thrive on the sap of plants. They are hardy little creatures that can survive almost any weather, therefore they might appear in every garden. They also multiply very quickly, therefore it is essential to implement proper prevention measures or, if they are already spreading in your garden, to take steps to control and eliminate them. Here are some tips: A spray with cold water – in some cases, dislodging the critters from the surface of your plants with a cold shower might be all it takes to get rid of aphids; Dusting with flour – plain, white flour causes constipation to the aphids, driving them away or killing them; Spray or wipe the leaves of the affected plants with soap water or with soap water mixed with some cayenne pepper. Repeat the process every 2-3 days for a couple of weeks; Use insecticides – you can also use special oils and soaps intended ...

While healthy soil means a different thing for each plant, there are some features that healthy soil composition displays, wherever the land is located, whatever the purpose of usage: The ability to retain moisture – all plants need at least a little water and healthy soil is able to retain water for as long as the plant can get a new helping of its favorite nourishment, until the garden gets watered next or until it rains again; The right mineral composition – some plants need more nitrogen, others thrive better in environments that don’t get that much nitrogen, but all plants need minerals to be able to stay alive and to grow. You can call your soil healthy if it is able to supply your plants with the right nutrients; The presence of organic matter – organic matter is an essential component of healthy soil. It provides the plants with nutrients, it improves the mineral composition and the soil’s ability to retain water and it also prevents compaction; The presence of microorgani...

Brown spots are among the most common lawn problems, experienced even by owners who take very good care of their turf. Here are some of the most probable causes: Mowing with dull blades – when the grass leaf is not cut with a freshly sharpened blade, the blunt blade tears, rather than cuts the grass, which stresses the plant so much that it cannot recover and dries out, leaving behind dry, brown residues; Mowing too low – if the grass is cut too short, the plants dry too quickly, before the next watering can hydrate and nourish them properly. The best height to mow is between 1.5 and 3.7 inches; Animal urine – pets like to urinate on the grass. If they return to the same spot too frequently, the nitrogen from the urine might burn your grass, and cause brown spots in grass to appear ; Compacted soil – the soil in your garden is not of the same quality all over, in some areas it can get more compacted than in others. Grass does not thrive well in compacted soil because it cannot get...

Along with spring comes the time to start watering your garden or lawn – in other words, it is time to start your sprinkle system, it's how to make grass green at the beginning of Spring . No matter how complex your sprinkler system, ideally, all the sprinklers and the other components of the system should be checked before the first start – here are some tips for you to make the process easier: Make sure the ground is not frozen – starting the sprinklers when the deeper layers of the ground are still frozen can lead to freezing the water in the lines and might cause permanent and difficult to identify damage to your sprinkler system; Clean the control panel of the system, then start it and check the settings – if the panel is installed outdoors, it probably needs a little dusting. When it is all clean, turn it on and review the settings to make sure they are right for your garden; Clean each of your sprinklers – this is the most tedious phase of the entire preparation process....

Summer is here soon, so May is the best time to plant the colorful, cheerful flowers that will bloom in your garden throughout the summer. Here are some of the best choices for your flowerbeds: Marigold – this hardy little flower comes in shades of bright yellow and orange. They thrive best in beds that get plenty of sunshine and they require hardly any maintenance; Aster – this perennial usually comes in shades of purple, but they are also available in white and pink, too. They resist heat well and they bloom from spring through fall; Black-eyed Susan – another bright yellow garden staple, the black-eyed Susan is, fact, a wildflower. You can use them to add a cheerful spot to your garden and you can enjoy them in your fresh bouquets as well; Blanket flower – the yellow-tipped, red petals on the short thin stalks belong to very tough little flowers. They have very long blooming time and they thrive well in the company of most other common garden flowers; Hibiscus – if you want to...