Garden Painting Ideas | Home Garden Design
“It was a pleasant Sunday morning. My neighbor, Anny, was busy with gardening. She was removing dried leaves and branches of plants. All of a sudden, she screamed loudly. Everyone rushed towards her and were dumbfound to see a black reptile… hissing and moving rapidly! It was a rat snake. Everyone knew, it was a nonvenomous species; but, its presence frightened everyone. Finally, it was removed with the help of a snake wrangler and Anny felt relief. She realized if she had removed the garbage and cleaned the garden earlier, the snake would not have entered the backyard of her home.”This might have happened even with you. You may have noticed a snake in your home or garden. Though, the very thought of its presence can by itself be a terrifying experience; don’t get scared! Not all types of snakes are poisonous. Among 3,000 species of snakes in the world, only 600 species are venomous and these include the krait, Russell’s viper, tiger snake, King Cobra, to name a few. Snakes generally like to reside in cool, shaded areas. They can be found in the bushes, sandy areas, tall grass, compost areas, under the logs, junk or trash. They prefer to stay hidden away from the sun. Snakes enter the home or the garden, in search of shelter or food. Some people attempt to kill a snake, as soon as they set sight on it. However, most snakes found near the home or backyard are nonvenomous and harmless; rather, we can say they are beneficial for humans. Snakes like garter snakes or rat snakes help remove harmful rodents like rats from your home. In spite of some advantages, it is advisable to adopt proper preventive measures, as snakebites can be hazardous, and even life-threatening. If it does enter your home or backyard, it’s quite natural that you would like to know how to get rid of snakes. Here are some helpful tips about getting rid of snakes. How to Get Rid of Snakes
Many homeowners, especially living in the rural areas, have experienced the presence of a snake on their property at some time or the other. When you notice a snake in your home or backyard, you can physically remove it on your own by holding it down with the help of a snake hook or snake tongs or take the help of a snake wrangler. However, you can start off by taking some precautions.If you want to keep the snakes out of your yard, then make sure that there are no bushes, shrubs or thick foliage around your home, as these are natural habitats of snakes. Avoid accumulation of garbage in the garden, as this is an ideal hiding place for snakes. Always keep the garden clean by removing garden debris, like dried leaves and branches of trees. Generally, snakes prefer to shelter in the tall grass. As tall grass is home to various rodents and insects including mice, grasshoppers and crickets, it is a great food resource for snakes. So, you need to keep the grass low and mow the lawn in your garden.
Facts about snakes reveal that they are always looking for cool places to hide. A heap of compost or wood in your garden is likely to attract snakes to your property. Gaps in the heap are perfect places for snakes to hide. So, you need to eliminate these safe spots from your property. Another way to prevent the snakes from entering your property, is to remove small rodents and insects from your home and garden area. Small rodents like squirrels or mice and insects like grasshoppers, crickets or other small bugs are food for snakes. So, it is essential to make sure your home and garden is free of rodents and insects. You should seal all the openings in your home such as areas around the windows and doors, pipes and electrical outlets, so that snakes do not enter your home. Also, you need to put up protective fencing around the garden. Besides this, the use of a snake repellent is another effective method of keeping the snakes away from your property. These repellents consist certain components such as sulfur, cedar oil or clove oil that emit strong odor to repel snakes. The repellents may have substances that can make snakes uncomfortable to crawl over. Most snake repellents are available in a powdered form. It can be sprinkled around your home, garden or backyard. Fortunately, these products are not harmful to your pets or kids. Snakes are more active at night, so you can also use a snake trap. The trap consists of a glue board. As soon as a snake enters the trap, it gets stuck to the glue. The captured snake can be released safely away from your home. Citrus fruits like Meyer lemons, Kaffir limes, oranges and kumquats are some of the best plants that can be grown at home in your backyard or in containers. The best thing about these citrus fruit trees is that their tangy fruits can be enjoyed by pickling, making lemonades and in salad dressings. Growing a Meyer lemon tree at home is not very difficult and once you plant it, it will begin to give you fruits in profusion within a very short time. Meyer lemon tree is about 6 to 10 feet in height and has small dark green and shiny leaves. The flowers of the plant are white and purple and are quite fragrant. The citrus fruit of the Meyer lemon tree i.e., the Meyer lemon, is round in shape with a deep yellow color and its skin is thinner than ordinary lemons. The Meyer lemon develops an orange color when it is ripe and is sweeter, almost orange like in taste, as it has less acidity. A Meyer lemon tree grows well in tropical climate and a tree which is propagated through seedling starts giving fruits in about four years. Many dwarf Meyer lemon trees are also available which are just right for growing indoors as well as for outdoor gardening.How to Grow a Meyer Lemon Tree Indoors
For those of you who live in an apartment and would like to see some greenery, growing a Meyer lemon tree in a container will be the most rewarding. Purchase the dwarf lemon tree variety of Meyer lemon as they are the most suitable for growing in containers. Select a medium sized container or terracotta pot and make some holes at the bottom of the pot or container for drainage. Place some bits of broken terracotta over the holes and fill the container with good potting soil. Mix the soil with some slow release fertilizer so that the plant can get all essential nutrients. Now make a hole in the middle of the soil in the container and plant the Meyer tree in it, making sure that you do not destroy the roots. Add more soil around the hole and add some compost to it. Now water it generously and place the pot in a place where it can receive plenty of sunshine. Water the Meyer lemon plant at least once a week. Once the plant matures, it will bear fruit in two to three years. The lemon fruit appears as light green which turns a yellow-orange as it ripens. Meyer lemon tree pruning should be restricted to cutting back branches that grow too much in height and to remove dead or damaged wood. Pruning citrus trees is really not that much required as in container gardening they do not grow to too much height. Avoid over-watering the Meyer lemon plant in your enthusiasm as too much water will simply damage the plant and make it rot. There are some important Meyer lemon tree care that you should remember if you want a good harvest of tasty Meyer lemons. Choose a superior quality Meyer lemon plant for growing in containers from a reliable nursery and also choose the biggest container that you possibly can for planting it. Small containers will hinder the growth of the tree as well as damage the root system. Use good quality potting soil that is a mixture of compost and soil and make sure that the soil is dry and alkaline. Carefully observe the plant and if you see yellowing leaves or the leaves are shedding too soon, this will indicate that the plant is suffering from poor drainage or is exposed to cold drafts and winds. To combat these problems you need to replant the plant and shift the container to a sunny place.
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