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There is nothing like being assured that your fire pit will last for many years. There are lots of products available on the market today to assist you will the longevity of your fire pit. The fire pit cover if used to cover your fire pit protecting it from extreme winter conditions, rain, hail, or direct sunlight. It is made of heavy duty vinyl with a drawstring that you tighten to give your fire pit extra security so that the wind will not blow it away. These are available online you can search for it by accessing the search engine. The results will give you a variety of websites that sell fire pit covers.

There are many fire pit products out there on the market that can assist you with enjoying your fire pit. If you would like to transport your fire pit to different events, picnic areas, or the beach just to name a few. There are fire pits that are just for travel available online. The fire pit comes with a stand that the legs fold up and will fit into a carrying case so that you can take it anywhere you would want to. This is so very convenient for you and your family; you will never have to worry about getting a gas fire pit at the park. You can also transport it with you if you go to any sports events that allow tailgating parties.

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Teak furniture is tropical hardwood that has a rich, golden honey color when new. However, as teak begins to age and is exposed to the elements, the natural, beautiful color changes to a silvery gray patina. In fact, this is how you can distinguish finely aged outdoor teak furniture! The key with teak is that if you were to leave this silvery gray color on the teak furniture without being treated, you would never be able to get the lustrous honey, caramel back.

Although the color change does not affect the strength and durability of the piece, it does give your teak furniture a whole new look. Therefore, if you are going to own outdoor (or indoor) teak furniture you first want to decide if you want to maintain the original golden brown color or let your teak furniture acquire a silver gray patina as it weathers.

To extend the beautification of the lustrous honey color, a leading teak manufacturer, Kingsley-Bate, recommends using a teak protector. Their teak protector is a “cosmetic application” and helps the furniture maintain its color for a season. Reapply as needed.

Kingsley-Bate does not recommend using a teak oil on outdoor furniture because of the high maintenance involved in this process. Every three months, teak oil will need to be reapplied to maintain the brown finish. Kingsley-Bate also states “oiling outdoor furniture may cause mildew or irregular coloring.”

When left outdoors without a teak protector or teak oil, your furniture will turn silvery-gray. This process takes approximately 9 months and depends on the exposure to certain elements such as rain and sun. If this is look you wish to maintain, the only care needed for your teak furniture is a periodic cleaning.

The recommended cleaning solution is a 75/25 mixture of a mild laundry detergent with bleach in water. Only a soft bristle brush should be used. When your teak furniture is clean, rinse the entire piece well enough to remove any dirt or cleaning solution residue. This process is adequate for general cleaning of your furniture regardless if it is golden brown or has weathered.

Kingsley-Bate offers a product for those who allowed their teak furniture to weather to a silver gray and now want to return it to the original color. Regardless of how long your furniture is outside, Kingsley-Bate’s teak cleaner will restore your furniture to the honey brown color. The process is simple and does not require heavy scrubbing.

Some people want to stain or paint their teak furniture. Manufacturers frown upon this as the natural oil occurring in the teak prevents the paint or stain to adhere to the wood. If you absolutely must have your teak furniture painted or stained, you should go to your local marina store and confirm what they recommend to use.

While some people will allow their teak furniture to remain outdoors all year long, there are those that recommend it be brought indoors. However, if you do keep it out, then make sure it does not sit on wet ground and that puddles of water are not allowed to pool on the furniture. But the great thing about teak is that since it is a dense hardwood, it naturally resists warping, shrinkage, swelling, and rot. In addition, it contains a high oil content the continually preserves the wood, which is why you can leave it outdoors without much problem. The smooth finish does not splinter and looks absolutely beautiful.

Teak furniture is luxury outdoor furniture. You want to make certain you take care of your investment properly as this is intended to last for years.

Jennifer Akre, owner of numerous furniture websites, makes it easy to find quality teak furniture by leading manufacturers such as Kingsley-Bate. Learn how to buy and care for your teak furniture by clicking the following link: http://www.MoreThanTeak.com.

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Normally a good time to do this would be in early Spring, once the pond thaws out and things are starting to warm up a bit - and before your lilies have started growing back too much.

Some people would recommend dividing your water lilies every year, but I don’t think that’s practical or necessary for most people (unless you’re a pond nut like me), but after awhile you WILL have to divide your lily rhizome as it outgrows its current pot or planting container.

A good way to determine if your water lily needs dividing is if it’s not blooming or producing nearly as many pads as normal. What can happen is the root (or rhizome) has become so overgrown that it has essentially run out of room in the pot, and can’t effectively absorb nutrients to grow.

Fortunately, it’s easy to remedy this problem - and you’ll most likely wind up with several new lilies to plant, or give away to friends.

The first thing to do is to remove the pot, and dig up the rhizome from the pot. Notice how the root has become twisted and overgrown.

All you need to do in order to refresh and invigorate the plant is to either cut or break off and remove several sections of the root/rhizome to create a better root to soil ratio, letting the root more effectively absorb waterborne nutrients.

You’ll be left with several new sections or baby lilies that you can then re-plant and grow into new plants of their own.

Now we’ll take a look at how to fertilize your lilies (new and old) to make sure they’re ready for Spring and Summer, and to make sure they’ll keep blooming and growing all season long.

Here’s a trick I use to fertilize my lilies quickly and easily…

Have a fairly wide tipped flathead screwdriver nearby, and then use it to punch a clear path into the soil and through the existing roots. Then give it a good twisting to hollow out your hole.

You’d be surprised how hard it can be to push a fertilizer tab down into a dense root pack - so try this next time and tell me if it isn’t 100% easier.

Now that you have your ‘holes’ dug - take 3-4 water lily fertilizer tabs out (we like the Tetra Pond fertilizer tabs), and push them down into the holes with your index finger.

That’s it — you’re done!

Once fertilized, you’re ready to replant and put back in the pond.

It’s a good idea to add some more ‘fresh’ soil (never potting soil), which I usually just dig up from the yard. Adding fresh soil will usually re-energize the plant, and give it some more room for its new roots to develop. I recommend a good 2″-3″ of new dirt right on top.

Similarly, with your new Rhizome cuttings - plant them in a new container with some fresh soil on the bottom, and then covered by some more fresh dirt (around 1″ for new cuttings). Use a shallow planter for the new cuttings, just to get them started. Once they start to grow again, move them to a deeper pot with more dirt.

Add some gravel on top, to keep you fish from burrowing in the dirt (as koi are known to do), but only a thin layer of pea gravel — anything too deep will make it difficult for the new lily pads to ‘push’ through.

On existing lilies - I prefer to use the mesh bags for my lilies. They seem to allow a better absorption on nutrients from the pond water and I like the fact that I can cut holes in the corners and cable tie them over the dirt - to also keep the koi from ‘burrowing’ in the dirt. You can find these at most nurseries and water garden centers.

Here’s another trick I use - Don’t just drop the pot back into the pond, as trapped air bubbles can sometimes uproot the lily or some soil.

This is especially true for new pottings, as the soil has not been properly ’set’. Here’s what I do:

Lower the pot into the water, just enough to fill it with water, then raise back up out of the water until you see all the air bubbles disappear.

Do this a few more times, until you think you’ve removed all the air bubbles from the pot. Then slowly lower it down into the pond.

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a newly potted lily (or any plant) suddenly lift up out of the pot, dumping dirt all over the pond, and having to be repotted. It’s happened to me more than once…

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several other pond-related websites including www.MacArthurWatergardens.com and www.Pond-Filters-Online.com He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE ‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today.

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Gardening is a very popular hobby, and one that can be enjoyed by young or old, whole families, someone employed outside the home, and those who are self-employed or stay-at-home parents.



Getting outside into the fresh air, and exercising your creativity on floral, herb and vegetable gardens is not only healthy, but will bring pleasure to your family and visitors. Whether you devote hours every day to your efforts, or concentrate all your talents on weekend binges of planting and weeding, it’s possible to create just the look you want, from old English country gardens, to the carefully organized “wild” look.



The first thing you’ll need to consider before starting on a grand plan for revamping your yard, is the type of soil. If you don’t know what you have, for example the level of acidity, check with your local garden center for test kits before investing in plants and bushes that won’t thrive in what you can offer them. Once you know what you’re working with, you can go ahead and decide what to plant, and how you want your gardens laid out.



No matter what the topography of your yard, e.g. completely flat, dotted with trees, undulating, or sloped, you can find just the right plants to brighten up a dark corner, or fill in a bare space.



Areas which get a lot of shade are often dark, but that doesn’t mean they have to be dull. This can be a great place to install an in-the-ground lined pond for goldfish. Or how about a rock garden, and let the kids help you collect the rocks that will elevate the level of the plants, and give it that “natural” look. For a touch of the whimsical, place something like a bear figurine with a gazing ball, right in the center, where it will be the focus of attention.



Wide open spaces, such as along the edge of a lawn or yard, are the perfect place to plant a large, “graduated” garden in the shape that fits the surrounding area, including wedges, ovals, and long rectangles. Depending on the shape, and the amount of space, you’ll have lots of scope to create a multi-level riot of color. If the garden faces the house, you’ll want to plant your longer flowers to the rear, and then “step down” in size to border plants. With ovals and circles that can be appreciated from all sides, the taller plants should go in the center, and work your way to the shortest ones from the center, outwards.



These larger, display gardens are the perfect place to put focal decorations such as birdbaths, or sundials. In a smaller garden, one bird bath would be sufficient, but in a long strip garden, one near each end, with perhaps a sun dial in the center, will make an outstanding display.



Gardens that are closer to the house, and which are seen from the windows, are usually where people choose to add those extra special touches. An herb garden that gives off delightful scents in summer, is made more charming with flat garden stones placed at intervals. These come with pictures, mottos, quotations and even Bible verses.



Another highly popular item to tuck in amongst the blossoms, are decorative figurines. The durable construction in long-lasting vinyl or alabastrite, offers years of enjoyment from squirrels, rabbits, fairies, and the always amusing, gnomes.



You can also extend your outside décor from the house to the garden, by matching garden flags to the design of flags you have mounted in brackets on your home. These come in seasonal and holiday designs, and can be part of an overall theme that would include things like a lady bug house flag, garden flags, garden stones, and key hider!



Imagination is the only key you’ll need to designing a garden that will enhance your property and be a pleasure to work in. When you’re done, make time to sit back and enjoy what you’ve created.

About the Author

Johann Erickson is the owner of Online Discount Mart and TV Products 4 Less. He is also a contributing writer for sites such as Helpful Home Ideas. Please include an active link to our site if you’d like to reprint this article.

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Lounge chairs are the most popular piece of garden furniture. People just loving being able to sit in a comfortable chair and enjoying Mother Nature. Lounge chairs are a must for anyone who enjoys sunbathing too. A well made lounge chair will be very durable, designed for stability, and some have wheels on the rear to make them more easily portable. I can see myself right now lying out in a lounge chair taking a nap. Prices vary depending on a number of factors but the cheapest lounge chairs can be bought at twenty dollars and the most expensive can be as high as four hundred dollars. Obviously, the more expensive the lounge chair the most sturdy it will be and the more decorative it will be.

Cedar benches are the second most popular type of garden furniture. With prices ranging from fifty dollars to eight hundred dollars there is something affordable for everyone. The higher the price the more durable and more lavish the cedar bench will be. Cedar benches while being a functional piece of garden furniture a cedar bench also adds an aesthetic feel and look to any garden. Many cedar benches come with storage arms produced with weather and insect resistant western red cedar. The outdoor cedar bench unit even has lift off lids for storing toys and garden tools. The more expensive cedar benches have padded arms with rot resistant polyester.

More garden furniture advice here

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Identity theft has been a hot topic in the news during the last few years. Just a month or so ago, forty million credit card numbers were compromised due to a computer attack on a credit card processor. Consumers are rightly concerned, as it can take years to unravel the problems created when someone’s identity is stolen. New legislation in Texas and California, also proposed elsewhere, is designed to protect consumers by letting them put a “freeze” on their credit reports. Those in the real estate industry are worried, however, that doing so may make it difficult for some people to buy homes.

The concept of freezing credit reports is a simple one. Every time someone applies for credit, the lender contacts on of the three main credit bureaus and requests a copy of his or her credit report, which contains the applicant’s FICO score. The score, a number ranging from 300 to 850, indicates how worthy the applicant is to qualify for the loan or credit. The new laws allow consumers to “freeze” their credit reports, effectively blocking any attempts by anyone to view his or her credit score. If the score can’t be viewed, then credit can’t be issued, thus protecting the consumer from fraudulent activity.

The process is a simple one, and can be initiated or canceled with a simple transaction on the Internet. The problem, according to those in the real estate industry, is that this simple security precaution may make it difficult for a consumer who has blocked their credit to buy a home. In many markets, homes put up for sale sell in a few hours or days, and the process of unfreezing a credit report can take longer than that. If a home seller or lender cannot assess a potential buyer’s credit rating, then the home sale may be lost to another buyer. True, it is a simple process to unfreeze a credit report, but some consumers may forget that they froze their reports in the first place, or they may forget or misplace their username or password for the Website that allows them to unfreeze their report.

On the surface, the new laws to protect consumers seem to be a good idea, and those in the real estate industry who are concerned may find that their worries are unjustified. This is a case where all parties would benefit from taking the time to see if the laws are effective, and whether or not they actually hurt the real estate industry. In the meantime, anyone considering purchasing a home should be made aware of the ramifications of freezing their credit, as doing so may make it more difficult to purchase the house of his or her dreams.

About the Author: ©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including http://www.End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation information and http://www.HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on home equity loans.

Source: www.isnare.com

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If you have had trouble planting a tree the River Birch is a
choice that is easy to transplant. They are adaptable and grow
fast. These trees do not seem to be bothered by the Bronzed
Birch Borer which has killed off many White Birches used in
urban landscape near Doylestown Pa.

When I was in the 8th grade I would go fishing along the
Delaware River at night. I would camp along the river bank and
fish into the wee hours of the night. I am always drifting back
to those childhood memories when I pass a river birch tree that
is highlighted by lights at night. The nightime interest that
this tree expresses can help capture moments for you. The main
feature of this medium sized spreading tree is its colorful
peeling bark. This builds up on the stem and main branches in
soft curling layers of orange, pink, grey and brown. Another
great advantage of this species is its tolerance of wet soil and
seasonal flooding making it an ideal pond or riverbank tree.
Specimens often develop multiple stems which increases the
attractiveness its shaggy bark. As an ornamental tree it also
has bright green, toothed leaves and long yellow clusters of
catkins in early spring. It will have a spreading root system
that will check erosion. It is hardy and will seldom blow down.
The plant is native to the eastern states from Massachusetts to
Florida. The range continues along the Gulf of Mexico and into
Texas.

At most nurseries you could expect the following prices on
birches (Not all sizes and types shown) Betula Nigra Dura Heat
River Birch 6-8′ clump $125.00 8-10′ clump $150.00 Betula Nigra
Heritage River Birch Clump 6-8′ clump $150.00 8-10′ clump
$175.00 12-18″ seedlings @ $2.00 ea. and 1250 18-24″ seedlings @
$3.00 ea. If you need more help on selecting plants go to the
following web Sites: http://www.zone5trees.com
http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.highlandhillfarm.com

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