How Do You Winterize Elephant Ear Plants? Winterize elephant ear plants by chopping away the dead foliage, pruning the stems, including mulch and installing a layer of rooster wire to maintain the mulch in place. You want pruning shears, gloves, mulch and rooster wire. 1. Placed on the glovesBefore winterizing your elephant ear plants, put on the gloves. This protects you from the sap. Avoid getting the sap in your pores and skin or eyes. 2. Remove the lifeless foliageAfter the first frost, take away any lifeless or broken foliage. Prune away these limbs at the bottom stage. 3. Prune the stemsCut again the stems of the plant. You want solely the lower 6 inches of the plant to stay after pruning. 4. Add mulchAdd a 6-inch layer of mulch round and over the plant. Straw and leaves works best. Add more mulch as necessary to maintain the layer at 6 inches deep. 5. Add rooster wireTo keep the mulch in place throughout the winter, lay hen wire over the mulch. Avoid staking the chicken wire too closely to the plant, as this will injure the roots. Instead, stake the chicken wire sixteen inches from the center of the plant.

Patios are commonly used an an outdoor extension of a house's indoor living room -- complete with lounge furniture, a dining table and chairs and mood lighting. Depending in your fashion, your patio may be decorated to operate as a place for cookouts and fancy soirees or a tranquil space to chill out. Whatever your preference may be, we have compiled a list of decorating ideas that may inspire you to live al fresco all year long. Over the following few pages, you'll discover concepts for adding practical touches, pure comfort, culinary aptitude, privacy and panache to your patio. First up, let's discover patio furniture. Scale the Furnishings to the Space: One enormous sofa in an space designed for a desk and chairs will in all probability find yourself being a traffic hazard. Ensure that the furnishings you select in your patio keep the house open and straightforward to move round in. Avoid Being an Eyesore: Regardless that you've lots of latitude when designing your patio, if you may see it from the front of the home, make an effort to maintain the model in line with the prevailing structure.

Keep It all-weather: Keep your patio looking good for longer than a season or two by choosing furnishings that is built to final outdoors. The fiber fillers in outdoor furniture cushions repel moisture and resist mildew, and the fabrics are UV-protected. In the following section, we'll check out one among the latest designs in outside living: the open-air kitchen. Bunnell's chairs initially bought for about $4, and today they're value round $1,200. Anyone who's eaten barbecue contemporary off the grill knows the allure of out of doors cooking. Everything appears to taste higher that means, too. Add the benefit of retaining all of the heat, grease and humidity that comes with cooking outside your house, and the prospect of an open air kitchen seems downright mouthwatering. Elaborate outdoor kitchens and leisure areas will be huge-ticket objects, though. A comprehensive package including luxuries like a refrigerator, stereo, cooking island and ritzy grilling tools can carry a worth tag of more than $35,000, however you do not have to be rich to have all of the tools to cook outdoors.

A grill with a big prep counter setup can cost as little as $3,000, hedge trimming shears and you can decide up an all-weather stainless steel refrigerator for around $500. Embedded lights, like those in stepping stones and even stairways, provide help to watch your step -- literally. Landscape lights can illuminate walkways or mount to posts, fences or walls. Regardless if you're looking to maintain your electricity-related costs to a minimum otherwise you'd wish to do your half to help the planet, solar lighting is a superb option.These fixtures come in various types that'll work in different areas of your landscape. There aren't any wires to worry about, and photo voltaic lights will work almost anywhere the sun shines. A totally charged solar fixture can present as much as 15 hours of illumination. They're inexpensive and out there in quite a few brightness ranges, plus they're vitality-efficient. Adding a few movement sensors round entrances is a good idea, too, because the sudden, surprising illumination will doubtless trigger any would-be intruder to flee earlier than coming into your private home.

While it is vital to provide illumination to areas like stairs and the spaces around swimming pools, ponds and hot tubs, you additionally want to verify to adjust lighting so it does not shine straight into your neighbors' windows. In case your patio is seen from the street or may be considered easily by the neighbors, you may feel as if you're on stage each time you stroll outdoors. But in case you suppose it is rude to construct a tall fence to guard your privateness, why not let nature do the work by planting a hedge trimming shears or a couple of shrubs? Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), juniper (Juniperus) and arborvitaes will all assist create a tasteful display screen. Should you want something taller, strive planting hedges in raised beds or planting just a few strategic trees, like a dwarf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). Of course, if you can't afford to look forward to hedges and trees to develop, consider adding a trellis or prefabricated vinyl divider to your patio. These screens can be found ready-made or wood shears Wood Ranger Power Shears warranty Power Shears coupon in do-it-your self kits that go together simply.