How to Get Rid of Aphids
Like most gardeners I detest aphids. These squishy, sap-sucking little bugs attack plants such as roses, hibiscus, peach and cherry trees and are known to spread plant diseases. They breed in enormous numbers as soon as the weather begins to warm up.
There are a number of different ways to get rid of aphids:
- Let natural predators such as ladybirds, hoverflies, lace wings and small birds, do the work for you
- Use commercial remedies such as Neem oil or Pyrethrum spray
- Make your own spray such as garlic spray or white oil
- Squash them or hose them off
(Image is courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid)
Life in a northern town
Eu quero uma casa como esta!... Uma vez mais, a apetência natural dos escandinavos para a decoração aquece o meu coração! Ver estas imagens encanta-me, faz-me sonhar com uma casa assim...
O blog Fryd+Design, da designer norueguesa Jeanette, é a materialização dos meus sonhos de decoração e lifestyle: branco, puro, etéreo, com todas as cores e imagens nos sítios certos. Uma família linda, um blog pessoal e poético que conheci através do inevitável Decor8. Deleitem-se com a sua revista electrónica e apreciem a decoração maravilhosa que as paletas de branco deixam criar...
O blog Fryd+Design, da designer norueguesa Jeanette, é a materialização dos meus sonhos de decoração e lifestyle: branco, puro, etéreo, com todas as cores e imagens nos sítios certos. Uma família linda, um blog pessoal e poético que conheci através do inevitável Decor8. Deleitem-se com a sua revista electrónica e apreciem a decoração maravilhosa que as paletas de branco deixam criar...
Credits: Fryd+Design
I want a house like this!... Once again, I think scandinavian have a natural capacity to decorate. Looking at these images makes my heart melt and I start dreaming with a home like this one...
The blog Fryd+Design, of norwegian designer Jeanette, represents my "dreams come true" for decor and lifestyle: white, pure, ethereal, with all the colours and images in the right places. A beautiful family, a personal and poetic blog that I found through the inevitable Decor8. Enjoy Jeannette's e-magazine and appreciate the wonders of white lovely decoration...
The blog Fryd+Design, of norwegian designer Jeanette, represents my "dreams come true" for decor and lifestyle: white, pure, ethereal, with all the colours and images in the right places. A beautiful family, a personal and poetic blog that I found through the inevitable Decor8. Enjoy Jeannette's e-magazine and appreciate the wonders of white lovely decoration...
5 Ways to Recycle Used Coffee Grounds
Many of us love a good cup of coffee, but what to do with the used coffee grounds? Here are some suggestions:
- Use as a mulch around acid-loving plants: Acid-loving plants include azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons, blue hydrangeas and blueberries. I have been collecting coffee grinds from our work coffee machine to use around my blueberries, as Adelaide soil tends to be alkaline.
- Compost them or use in a worm farm: fairly obvious but true
- Bug repellant: Scatter coffee grounds around near ant nests or around plants easily damaged by snails and slugs to deter the creepy-crawlies.
- Natural Dye: As most of us know, coffee stains when spilt, so use coffee grounds steeped in boiling water as a brown dye for Easter eggs and even clothing. (First soak the fabric in coffee, air dry it, then wash in cold water to set the dye.)
- Fridge deodoriser: Coffee grounds in a clean, old sock tied at the top can be used to deodorise the fridge, but make sure the grounds are dry or they'll go mouldy.
Summer garland
Olá, queridos amigos!
reade more...
Hoje as minhas sobrinhas e a filha de uma grande amiga fazem anos. Fiz esta grinalda para enfeitar as festas! Adorei fazê-la e baseei-me num trabalho da autoria da Martha Stewart! :-)
Espero que gostem!
Espero que gostem!
Credits idea: Martha Stewart
Hello dear friends!
Today is the birthday of my two nieces and also of the daughter of one of my best friends. We are all going to celebrate their birthdays later on. I did this summer garland to colour up the parties! I loved doing the garland, based on a Martha Stewart one! :-)
Hope you like it!
Today is the birthday of my two nieces and also of the daughter of one of my best friends. We are all going to celebrate their birthdays later on. I did this summer garland to colour up the parties! I loved doing the garland, based on a Martha Stewart one! :-)
Hope you like it!
Coffee After Soccer
Most winter Saturdays after a chilly morning at soccer, my husband and youngest son sneak off to a local cafe. They order a coffee for Dad and a hot chocolate for the boy (and sometimes an extra little treat).
Today my daughter and I joined them. A little relaxation before I went off to face the supermarket and Saturday chores.
Backyard Harvest: Rocket
As a backyard vegetable (herb?), rocket has much to recommend it. It grows strongly throughout the southern winter when the rest of the vegie patch is pretty bare. Its peppery leaves are delicious in salads; it can be steamed as a vegetable or mixed into a risotto; and it makes a fabulous pesto with walnuts or pecans.
Today I made one of my favourite salads using some of the rocket in the garden. Simply scatter rocket onto a flat dish, shave some parmesan over the top (I use a vegetable peeler to do this), then drizzle over a simple vinaigrette. Yum!
What have you harvested this week?
What have you harvested this week?