Water and Your Yard

Post and giveaway sponsored by Pennington Smart Seed, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

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First up, I wanted to congratulate Danielle on winning the giveaway for the $50 American Express gift card from Pennington Smart Seed! She said they needed grass for their new house (congratulations!) so the timing of this all worked out perfectly.

It's finally starting to warm up here in Southeastern Idaho (I don't want to jinx anything but the weather says it may even get into the 80's this weekend... fingers crossed!) which means the sprinklers have come out full force. I can't wait for a thicker, healthier lawn from this new seed I tried!

 

(wish us luck... bare spots be gone!)

One of the key points in keeping a lawn healthy and green is water, right? This is why I am so excited to see how this Pennington Smart Seed does! We spend so much time and water on our lawns every year, and anything that can help minimize both of those is something I can get behind.

Pennington Smart Seed is a pure bred, drought-resistant seed that not only uses 30% less water each year when compared to ordinary seed, but will remain green for up to three weeks without water...which blows my mind. I can't wait to see that one in action!

Each seed is enhanced with Pennington's exclusive MYCO Advantage technology, which essentially introduces beneficial microorganisms to the seedlings to help them establish deeper, healthier root systems. These deeper roots make less frequent waterings possible. This appears to be a seriously smart seed, people. No joke. 

With those water saving thoughts in mind, here are some easy ways to lessen your water usage this summer:

1. Condition your plants for less water. When you water, go for longer times, less frequently to encourage deeper root systems that are more drought-tolerant.

 2. Use smart irrigation. Things like drip irrigation and harvested rainwater (in places where it's legal, check with your city!) can really improve water efficiency.

3. Buy the right plants. Grass like Pennington Smart Seed uses less water, and there are countless drought-tolerant, beautiful flower varieties available for your flower beds. Plan your yard smartly and you'll save money while conserving water!  

4. Don't overwater. Overwatering is really common, and can lead to shallow roots which feeds back into the overwatering cycle by having a less hardy lawn that needs more water. Wait for your grass's color has fallen by 50%, and then put down 1-inch of water... that's all it takes!

 5. Check your sprinklers. Don't water your driveway, guys! Did you know that up to 50% of the water we use outdoors is wasted because of inefficient methods and practices?

6. Water in the morning or evening. This lessens the water loss through evaporation during the heat of the day. Mornings are my favorite time because the lawn dries a little faster to help avoid problems that are more likely to crop up in a wet lawn.  

7. Plan for wind. If the breeze is blowing the water away, your lawn isn't benefiting!

8. Mulch. Spreading mulch over soil and new areas when reseeding helps protect them and retain moisture.  

9. Sweep, don't spray. Use a broom to clean your walkways instead of a hose.

10. Fertilize thoughtfully. Fertilizer is great for helping plants build healthy, deep root systems which helps them be more drought tolerant.

 We can't deny that for whatever reasons, we are trending hotter... last year was the hottest year on record and 36 states anticipate continued water shortages. Most of us still want that fabulous looking green lawn, and Pennington Smart Seed's more efficient use of such a precious natural resource as water is worth noting.

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 Central Garden & Pet partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about their Pennington products. As part of this program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the use of the products. Central Garden & Pet believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Central Garden & Pet’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Color + Texture - Actual Work = My Sort of Decorating

I'm finishing school this week and taking my licensing tests in about 10 days, so decorating my house is pretty low on my list of priorities these days. (so is making dinner... but what do you do?)

I needed some bright color in my dining room so I felt like I was trying, though...

Turning some of this yellow fabric into a table runner was an easy project, even for me! Then I added a recycled glass vase I picked up at World Market a month or two ago, and I was done. Voila. Just my sort of slacker decorating project.

I actually really like the vase, and I'm glad it made it into my cart as an impulse purchase. The greenish color and uneven thickness and texture make my heart race a little. I may need to see a doctor, or at the very least get out a little more often.

It just goes to show that you don't have to go to a lot of work or spend a lot of money to make a change in your home. Or, it goes to show that I am completely and totally, 150% too busy washing clothes and not folding them, making menus then forgetting to make dinner, and pondering the idea of vacuuming, to spend a lot of time on a decorating project. And hey, that's okay too!

Lawn Care 101 with Pennington Smart Seed + a Giveaway!

This post is brought to you by Pennington Smart Seed

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Great lawns are something to admire, and they can really increase a home's curb appeal by making it look well cared for. I love to play around with the interior of my home, but it's important not to forget about the outside. Enter Pennington Seed, the #1 selling seed in the industry. We had a great lawn when we lived in Utah, but our sweet little Idaho house has a shadier lawn and it's always looked a little sad.

The good news is a nice lawn can be closer than you think, and it doesn't require a complicated maintenance plan worthy of a golf course! 

First, choose a great seed. Pennington offers several different varieties and mixes so you can pick the right seed for your lawn; we picked up a mix called "Sun & Shade" for our tree-filled yard. I was also impressed to read how much work has gone into developing Pennington's Smart Seed: there are no fillers, and the seed has been formulated to germinate faster, grow deeper and denser root systems, and use up to 30% less water each year. 

So why would using a drought tolerant seed be important? In a nutshell it comes down to time, money, and the environment!

• First, less water needed means less time spent watering, and since Americans spend an average of 73 hours a year on their lawn (most of it with a sprinkler!) this translates to a nice time saver for you.
• Second, depending on where you live, homeowners use 30-70% of their total water outside; and in most places water isn't cheap!
• Third, we are getting hotter: 2012 was the hottest year on record and 2/3 of the country went through some sort of drought. Saving water has never been more important!

  
Next, prep your lawn & sow the seed. We decided to overseed our healthy grass to help eliminate thin or bare patches resulting from heavy traffic in certain areas, plus a couple kids and a large dog.

We do fertilize (which helps) but we've noticed that it doesn't fix the patchiness completely so we decided overseeding was a good idea to help thicken our lawn.

• Pennington recommends conducting a soil test to make sure your lawn is healthy and is getting all the nutrients it needs. If needed, go ahead and fertilize or add soil amendments at this point.
•  Mow your existing lawn, remove clippings & rake the area lightly to help the new seed make good contact with the soil so it will grow.
• Sprinkle the seed (we used a spreader we already had) and gently rake to cover it lightly with soil.
• Keep your lawn moist to encourage the seed to germinate and start growing. After it's established you can start watering only as needed and enjoy your thicker lawn!

 
I'm really excited to have a thicker, healthier lawn!

Giveaway Time! not only is a nice lawn just a couple steps away, Pennington has been gracious enough to offer one of you a $50 American Express gift card so you can get a jump start! The giveaway is now closed.

• Mandatory Entry: Comment on this post with your favorite lawn and garden tip! 
• Bonus Entry:  Follow Take the Side Street on Facebook and tell me you did so in a separate comment on this post. 
• Bonus Entry: Follow Pennington Seed on Facebook and tell me you did so in a separate comment on this post.

Giveaway Terms: Giveaway is limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Winner will be chosen using random.org and will be contacted via email and given 48 hours to reply to confirm win. By entering you give me permission to release your contact info to the giveaway sponsor for prize shipment purposes; Take the Side Street is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please allow up to 8 weeks for delivery. Giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook or Twitter. Void where prohibited by law. All entries will be verified.

Disclosure: This post and giveaway are sponsored by Pennington Seed, and I received compensation for my involvement. I was not told what to purchase and all opinions and experiences are mine.

Kitchen Progress: Shelves! Paint! Counters!

I've been pretending I didn't have a blog or a kitchen that needed paint over the last couple weeks.

Bad news: my kitchen didn't paint itself while I ignored it.
Good news: It's painted now!
More bad news: I spent my entire weekend painting.
Good news: I'm done painting in there!
Even more bad news: I'm lying, I'm not actually done painting.
Good news: I've got at least a week or two of denial to go through before I paint again.

 Last week the shelves finally went up...

And this weekend I decided I couldn't put it off any longer, so I gathered my supplies, including my big girl underoos. I filled nail holes, caulked, and primed. I repainted all the trim bright white and painted the walls with the new color.

I even dragged the butcher block outside and Mike and I took turns sanding it smooth and pinky promised not to use it as a cutting board anymore.

So after all the sanding and painting, plus some mineral oil (on the wood, not the walls), this is what we've got:

Doesn't it look great?? I love the paint color and I can't wait to fill the shelves up and put subway tile on the walls.

In other kitchen news, I ordered the laminate for my counters last week, too! They're by Formica and made to look like Calacatta Marble. It wouldn't make financial sense to install expensive countertops in our neighborhood, so if I'm going to go with laminate I might as well have fun with it, right?

And in non-kitchen news, I'm less than a month from finishing school and reclaiming my life. That's worth a celebration, right? The count down is on!

Chicken Partying

Cold temperatures, coupled with human laziness and a poorly patched coop, thrown together with a flock of bossy birds...

...equals a two month free reign, free range backyard chicken party.

And it's time for the party to stop. The weather is finally "nice" enough (I use that term loosely, as I do live in Idaho where summer begins in July...) for a coop patch job and some new house rules. I'm excited to have my backyard back before plants start coming up only to be eaten by my surly backyard flock.

Yeah, I'm talking about you.

That one's sort of a brat.