Say the word desert and what comes to mind is an area of little rainfall, extreme temperatures and sparse vegetation. Sounds a lot like Las Vegas, doesn’t it? Well, it should as the city is in the middle of the 22,000-square-mile Mojave Desert. Yet this desert is home to more than 1,800 species of plants.
Q: I recently moved into a new house and would like to get the locks changed, as I don’t know how many people have keys to my home. Rather than pay a locksmith, I saw a do-it-yourself kit that I would like to try. Are these kits any good?
Q: The leaves on my fig tree appear burned after this rain. I foliar sprayed it with neem oil and soap and fish protein isolate. These trees were planted last fall and mulched with 1 foot of woodchips and looked amazing until now. They are watered three times each week in the summer.
Years ago, about the only time you saw ceiling fans whirling away were in romantic movie flicks such as “Casablanca” or in exotic island hotel lobbies where guests would be seen lounging about on overstuffed couches reading newspapers and sipping espresso. Today, these little mechanical wonders are as common in homes as dishwashers and garbage disposals.
Q: We’ve noticed leaf damage this year on our rose bushes and apple and pear trees. More than previous years. But, peach, apricot and pomegranate seem unaffected. Some of our roses were decimated. Any idea what pest causes this and how to control it?
Home decor designers are embracing macrame in bulk. The humble fiber creations are making a sleek and modern comeback from their 1970s roots with artists creating contemporary pieces in unexpected scales, shapes and colors for home decor use.
Early Saturday morning, I spotted two green beetles on a young apple tree. These are close relatives of what we called in the Midwest “June beetles.”
Q: I’m going to replace my countertop with ceramic tile and so I have removed my old laminate one leaving nothing but the cabinets below. I have done some small floor tiling projects but never a countertop. I’m going to reuse my drop-in sink and faucet, but how do I go about building the base that the tiles will sit on?
No, they’re not Christmas lights, as some might first assume. String lights have become one of the hottest outdoor lighting trends for the home in the past two years.
Q: I have some large dead areas in my lawn. I don’t think it’s an insect problem. Watering is at 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. This was my first lawn problem in 16 years.
