1. Shovel

The basic tool for any garden is certainly shovel. You will use it to dig pits for planting, for placing mulch, gravel or sand.

When choosing the right shovel make sure that it has a long handle and that it’s not too heavy, because you’ll have to work with it for hours. Smart choice would be to get a round point shovel for digging and planting.

2. Wheelbarrow

You will need something to move the soil, fertilizers and other similar garden stuff, so make sure that you get adequate wheelbarrow. It has to be big enough, stable and lightweight.

3. Pruners

You will need it for pruning shrubs, bushes and trees. For easier handling and better cut, pruners should always be well sharpened, and properly cleaned after using them. You can even find electric pruners in the specialized stores today.

4. Rake

Rake would help you with spreading the soil, leveling the ground, planting, tiding your lawn etc. It is a multi-purpose tool, so make sure that you get quality and strong one.

5. Gloves

If you want to avoid getting blisters every time you do something with your garden tools, you will definitely need gloves. They can be made from different materials, but the best ones for gardening are those made from rubber or leather.

6. Lawn mower

You cannot have a beautiful garden without right weeding tools and lawn mower is an essential weeding tool.

There is a large selection of lawn mowers on the market: mechanical, electrical, gasoline-powered and even lawn mowing bots. The size of your lawn is very important when choosing the right lawn mower. The proximity of the power source, is there a grass collector on the mower or not, are also something that you need to think about when choosing your new lawn mower. For large lawns we recommend small ride-on mowers, because you wouldn’t want to push electrical mower whole day and at the same time deal with the long power cord.

7. Garden hose

In order to have a well groomed garden, especially during the summer, regular watering is crucial. We all know that plants need water to live; the best way to give them that is to buy garden hose and water them regularly. Hose and connectors need to withstand the water pressure, and to be resistant to high temperatures.

8. Bucket

Maybe it sounds funny, but buckets make excellent garden tools. You can use them for watering plants, carrying soil, or fertilizers, gathering garbage or weed and even storing small tools. It doesn’t matter if it is plastic or metal, you will definitely need one.

If you have a yard and you want to turn it into a beautiful garden you will see that the garden tools today are very accessible and affordable, but when choosing tools keep to the essentials. Suggested tools are more than enough if you are beginner in gardening world and you want your little paradise to look nice and inviting.

The post 8 Basic Gardening Tools Everyone Needs appeared first on Homeib.

In most cases, the wildlife that occupies your yard is there because something in your yard “invited” them in. Certain plants, landscapes, and features attract various animals. While you’re already working in your yard, you can focus your efforts on making it so the features of your backyard invite them in.

In order to create a wildlife invitation, you need to think in terms of the most basic fundamentals. All living creatures have to same basic needs: food, water, and shelter. It is natural instinct to occupy areas that contain the resources to meet our needs. We as humans wouldn’t live somewhere that wouldn’t allow us access to food and water. The same goes for wildlife. If you take care to make sure that there are food, water, and shelter elements in your backyard, wildlife will inevitably begin to occupy it on a regular basis.

Provide Food

Food is probably the easiest of the three needs to incorporate into your backyard, mostly because there are so many options.Birds respond well to feeders as do squirrels. In order to prevent them from competing for the same food resource, use a squirrel proof bird feeder and then create another food source for the squirrels.

Trees with edible flowers or nuts are great sources of food for squirrels. Some animals will even munch on some of the insects that are attracted to your garden because of various plants. If you become impatient and don’t want to wait for wildlife to find the natural food resources, you can always sprinkle some corn around the base of the tree or even hang corn cobs from branches. Using corn or other food products from your kitchen should only be done sparingly so you don’t condition the animals to rely solely on handouts from your kitchen.

Create Water Sources

Incorporating water into your backyard can either be really tricky, or amazingly simple. Intricate water structures are perhaps the most time consuming but they offer the most when it comes to overall ambiance and possibilities of wildlife. Pond like water structures give you the option of bringing fish and other aquatic animals into your backyard while providing a water source for land dwelling creatures. If a pond or other intricate water structure is the way you want to go, realize that they can be on the expensive side not only put inn but to maintain. Aside from funds, they can also be fairly labor intensive.

If expense and intensive labor don’t sound like your cup of tea, then bird baths or other smaller water sources may be the way for you to go. Regardless of the water source you chose to use, make sure the water in it is always clean and fresh. You don’t want to create an area to harbor bacteria and mosquito larva.

Give Shelter Options

Food and water sources won’t do you much good in terms of inviting in wildlife if there is no form of shelter for them. Provided areas where animals will feel like they are protect against the elements and other forms of wildlife will make them feel more comfortable venturing into your backyard or even taking up residency there. Shrubs, grasses, and trees of varying heights provide lots of places for birds, squirrels, and other animals to hide and even nest. Evergreens are optimal because they provide protection from the elements year round. Evergreens make it possible to keep wildlife in your yard even during the cold winter months.

Bird houses are also an option, but keep in mind that many birds are extremely particular when it comes to where they nest, so don’t take offense when they don’t take up residency in your new piece of real estate or when squirrels decide to take it over. Regardless of whether or not it gets used, bird houses still enhance the appearance of your yard.

Leaving an area of your yard “untouched” with some wild grasses and fallen logs also provides great shelter for wildlife. That fact that the area isn’t constantly being disturbed makes it all the more appealing to animals because they feel less threatened and don’t have to constantly move their nesting places. The area doesn’t have to be a large chunk of your yard. It can be as big or as small as you would like. A strip along your fence or even a corner section of your yard would be just fine as long as you are not constantly moving through it to get to other areas of your yard.

The post How to Invite Wildlife into Your Backyard appeared first on Homeib.