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Supplying Quality Building Materials

for Over 50 Years

*Pleasantville*
Sales & Corporate Ofces
1001 Doughty Rd
609-646-0950

*Millwork Division*
701 W Leeds Ave
609-383-0002
*Indicates UEZ
Designation

Cape May Court House


Drywall, Roong & Siding
Stites & the Railroad
609-465-7839

Lumber, Trim &


Decking
8 Magnolia Ave
609-465-5021

HOME AND GARDEN / Spring 2015

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Trends
in garden dcor
In addition to providing beautiful owers
and foliage, yielding fresh fruits and vegetables, and providing a great weekend hobby,
studies suggest that gardening can also be
good for the mind and body.
By improving mood and reducing stress,
plant life and gardening may help people
have a more hopeful outlook on life. The
chance to elevate your mood and cope
with depression or illness offers yet another
motivation to start developing your green
thumb.
Home-design trends seem to be following
suit, offering more opportunities for people
to surround themselves with potentially
therapeutic plants. Explore these emerging
and established garden dcor trends to try
in and around your home.

A living wall planter can add greenery to


any dcor without taking up oor or table
space. Ideal for outdoor structures, these
planters can also be used indoors if you
safeguard against leaks and dripping. A
living wall planter is a framed device that
can be vertically mounted to a wall surface.
Whether you buy a commercially available
models, or create your own design, use a
HOME AND GARDEN

Combining fish
with gardening
Enjoy the best of two relaxing worlds by
installing a water feature in your yard. Garden retailers offer kits that can make fast
work of establishing a pond or other water
feature in the backyard. Professional installers can also suggest a design. Fish suitable
for outdoor life to your pond may include koi
and certain goldsh varieties. If an outdoor
pond is more maintenance than you desire,
consider an indoor aquarium with a combination of sh and live aquarium plants.

Improved outdoor lighting


People who like to spend time in their gardens and yards may not want to be limited by
sunrise and sunset. By incorporating different lighting sources, including ambient and
decorative lighting, you can create a retreat
that is welcoming at any hour.

Functional fire pits


A blazing re creates a cozy spot to gather
on chilly evenings, but re pits and replaces also can be used as impromptu cooking
spots for smores or frankfurters on a stick.
You can purchase a stand-alone re pit or
build your own with patio pavers and re
bricks. Outdoor replaces require more work,
and you want to hire a mason to ensure proper installation.

Creative furniture designs

Living wall planters

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soil-free potting substrate to avoid the mess


that regular soil may create.

/ Spring 2015

Maybe youre a person who appreciates


the unique and whimsical? Tables, benches and chairs can be built with planting
channels that enable you to have greenery
and garden dcor in one piece. Envision a
picnic table with a cutout down the center
for a thin row of plants or decorative grasses. This is a project the entire family can
get behind, as the more creative ideas the
better.

Enjoyable yard additions


While plants and seating may take center
stage, some people still want to have fun in
their yards. Theres an increased demand
for yard designs and dcor that can put the
fun in backyard living. Bocce courts, ring- or
horseshoe-toss setups, as well as bean bagtoss boards can be incorporated into landscape designs, giving you yet another reason
to spend a few hours in the great outdoors.

Gardening

tips

for beginners
Gardening is a hobby many people
choose for the peaceful escape it provides
from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
But it is often not as easy as it might initially seem, and it can be daunting for beginners who have little or no experience.
Here are some tips for starting a garden
off on the right foot, whether planting flowers or vegetables.

Determine what
you should plant
Where you live will go a long way toward determining what you should plant.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has
determined specific plant hardiness zones
that indicate which plants are most likely
to thrive in given locations. Maps of the
zones can be found at www.usda.gov.
Adhering to the maps can significantly increase the chance of having a successful garden. When in doubt, consult a local gardening center or seek advice from
a professional landscaper about what to
plant.

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HOME AND GARDEN

/ Spring 2015

Plan the location well


Beginners with large yards have the luxury of choosing the right location on their
properties to start planting. When choosing a spot, consider how much sunlight
it gets on a daily basis and its proximity
to water supply. If planting flowers, try to
avoid planting in areas with heavy foot traffic so they are less likely to be stomped. If
planting flowers to accent walkways, then
consider erecting a barrier around the bed
to safeguard the flowers.

Prep the soil


Preparing the soil a few weeks before
you start planting can help plants thrive.
Add some organic material such as compost or fertilizer to the soil roughly three
weeks before planting to help the soil retain water and nutrients.

Timing is everything
When to plant is sometimes as important as what to plant. Some climates allow
for year-round planting, but many do not.

Seed packages sometimes suggest what


time of year to plant. Adhere to these
guidelines, or flowering plants might not
grow much and food plants may not have
time to yield. Keep in mind that many
seedlings need significant light throughout
the day to grow, so choose a time of year
with ample daylight.

Dont forget to mulch


Mulch is an inexpensive way to add
visual appeal to a garden. It is not only
aesthetically appealing, but essential for
retaining soil, holding moisture in beds,
helping roots to grow stronger, deterring
bugs and preventing weed growth.

Clean gardening tools


Beginning gardeners, especially, often
fail to recognize the importance of cleaning gardening tools before putting them
away. At the end of each gardening session, clean your tools thoroughly, as soil
left on garden tools can play host to potentially harmful microbes that can kill plants.

The potentially harmful effects of mold in your home


The presence of mold in a home is not
only unsightly, its potentially unhealthy.
While certain cleaners may prove effective at removing mold, homeowners who
want to remove existing mold growths and
prevent future growths may benet from
gaining a greater understanding of mold and
why it grows inside homes.

What is mold?
Mold is a blanket term used to describe
fungi that can be found indoors and outdoors. Many species of mold exist, with
some estimates putting the number at more
than 300,000, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Common
indoor molds include cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, and aspergillus.

What conditions
promote mold growth?
Homeowners may notice that mold
tends to grow in specific areas of their
homes, but not in others, and thats because molds grow best in certain conditions. Warm, damp and humid conditions,
such as those found in poorly ventilated

bathrooms and basements, make ideal


breeding grounds for mold.

What are the effects


of mold exposure?
Molds are a natural and resilient part of
the environment, but mold growth indoors
should be addressed and avoided. Mold
spores are tiny and invisible to the naked
eye, and when these spores attach to wet
surfaces, they begin to grow, affecting people in various ways.
A report by the Institute of Medicine found
a link between exposure to indoor mold and
respiratory tract issues, such as coughing
and wheezing in people who were otherwise
healthy. The same report found that mold
may trigger asthma symptoms among people with asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an allergic condition in which the
lungs are inamed when a person breathes
in certain dusts.
People who do not have a preexisting
condition can still be sensitive to mold.
When exposed to mold, such people may
experience nasal stufness, eye irritation,
wheezing or skin irritation.

How can exposure to mold


be decreased at home?
Adequate ventilation is arguably homeowners best friend with regard to reducing
mold exposure at home. Control humidity
levels in areas of the home that tend to be
warm and humid, such as the kitchen and
bathroom. Install an exhaust fan in the kitchen and bathroom and a window in the bathroom if yours does not already have one.
The CDC recommends that humidity levels be no higher than 50 percent
throughout the day, and an air conditioner and dehumidifier can help you keep indoor humidity levels in check, especially
during the summer when humidity levels
tend to be their highest.
When renovating your home, remove
any existing carpeting from bathrooms and
basements and toss out soaked carpets or
upholstery as well. If painting will be part of
your home renovation projects, add mold inhibitors to paints prior to application.
Mold that grows inside a home is unsightly and potentially unhealthy. Homeowners can, however, take steps to reduce existing mold and prevent it from
returning in the future.

Youve seen the gardens. Meet the designers.

Wed like to meet you.

Original | Dependable | Knowledgeable


www.capeshoregardens.com (609 465-5161
1028 Rt. 9 CMCH 08210
HOME AND GARDEN / Spring 2015

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