Thursday, April 22, 2010

solar screens and more growth . . . life is good in agave!

We thought for sure our soft leaf yucca was done for after the harsh winter (and being run over by a car earlier in life), but it's alive and well! Also moved some plants in our front planting area and added a few feather grasses.



We're also trying to control heat gain on the west side of our house in as cost effective a manner possible, so we're replacing all the screens on our porch with solar screen (only the middle and bottom screens on the 3 left hand panels have been replaced in the pic below).

We're using Suntex 80 on the bottom portion but will probably go with Suntex 90 on the top panels (the number indicates the % of UV blockage) . . . that is once I rent a ladder tall enough to get to those darn things! The 80% screens already make a nice difference, but when we hit June, July and August, having the 90's up top will be worth the slight loss of view. You can see a big difference between the original screens - still in place up top - and the Suntex 80s on all the middle and bottom portions in the pics below:

Sunday, April 18, 2010

some new watch guards and there's growth in the garden . . .

Fondly named, Curly, Moe and Larry . . . KSS always wanted Pink Flamingos!


Things are growing in our garden . . . but some bugs are threatening!


KSS suspects subterranean termites . . .