At Home In The Poconos
’Tis the season for pollen and pesticides, not to mention pet dander and disease-carrying creepy-crawlies. The editors at ThisOldHouse.com checked in with health and environment experts across the country for easy, inexpensive tips to help keep your home healthy.
Here are 10 tips to keep in mind:
Add mats on both sides of the door. Up to 80 percent of the dirt that gets tracked inside—along with countless allergens, bacteria and lawn chemicals—can be caught before it makes itself at home with w...
Warm weather is around the corner, and buyers are ready to find the home of their dreams. Make sure your home matches the tone of the season with these simple spring staging tips that will have you just as ready to sell as buyers are ready to buy!
Hire a landscaper
How do you get potential buyers to look inside your home? You have to catch their attention with the outside! Curb appeal is an important first step in attaining the interest of home buyers. While you can spruce up the outside of yo...
“Give the flowers a nice, long drink,” my grandmother used to say as she handed me the hose. Her front yard would burst with a rainbow of flowers every spring and summer. I loved to cut flowers from her garden and arrange them in small jam jars my grandfather had rinsed out and hoarded … ahem, saved. It’s best not to pick wildflowers growing out in nature, as this can be quite bad for the environment and even illegal in some instances. But if you don’t have a green thumb to grow your own, make f...
Spring is arriving. So are the migratory birds who have spent the winter in warmer climes. Over millennia, birds have evolved to arrive when the insects emerge. 96% of bird species need insects to feed their nestlings. Even seed-eating birds will feed insects to their babies.
There is a problem looming: insect populations are declining due to climate change, pesticide use, human development, and habitat loss—including invasive species intrusion. Non-native plants are not good supporters of our...
Outdoor Ramblings —By Bill Deaton
It’s amazing how quickly a decade can fly by. The last time I visited Ricketts Glen, unquestionably one of the crown jewels in the Commonwealth’s network of 121 State Parks, was about ten years ago. At one time it was a proposed National Park but the Great Depression and World War II ended those efforts. Nonetheless, it is a National Natural Landmark known for old growth stands of forest and twenty-four named waterfalls within the 13,193 acres of its boundaries...
Having a beautifully landscaped property makes your home instantly more welcoming and can also increase your home value by boosting your curb appeal. However, unless you are willing to get down-and-dirty, or want to budget for a consistent landscaping team, a beautiful yard can seem like a daunting undertaking. Thankfully, there are some excellent options for low-maintenance landscaping for any home that you will love.
Go For Mulch
Whether you opt for an expansive lawn with easy to care for fol...
Spring gardening across the United States varies from region to region. However, gardening in the Northeast has numerous advantages—beautiful, contrasting four seasons and bursts of summertime flowers even on the warmest of days.
Use these tips to ensure that the required spring preparation is completed and that your garden is in tip-top shape this season.
Turn over winter cover crops in your garden beds, and add compost to establish the perfect foundation to sprout new life.
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