Physical improvements you can do to make your home less attractive to burglars.

Burglars, thieves, and muggers are opportunists. They prowl about looking for things such as high bushes around doors, windows, or garages to hide behind; open doors or windows for easy access; an inviting open garage door; an accumulation of flyers & newspapers; little or no lighting around entryways and garages; empty big-ticket-item boxes on the curb; a darkened house indicating nobody home.

Have an inventory of your property along with photos or videotape. Store the pictures/video in a secure place away from the house such as a safety deposit box. Include a description of each item, purchase receipts, and any serial numbers (helpful for insurance/recovery identification). Contact your local police department. Many offer a free home security inspection. Mark your property with a code in an inconspicuous spot using indelible ink or an etcher (Some police departments loan etchers for personal use).

Don’t keep all your jewelry in one easy-to-find place.

Burglars and muggers hate light. Have all entrances to your home and garage well lit with fixtures out of reach from ground level. Install lights with motion sensors but be aware they may give false alarms. Use photocell controlled lighting. The lights come on at dusk and stay on until dawn and cost pennies per month. If you have an electrical or fuse box mounted outside, secure it with a strong lock.

Muggers and burglars don’t like to work in the open. If you have bushes or shrubs near any windows or doors, trim them down to clear the view from windows and trim them up 1-2 feet from the ground to eliminate potential hiding places. Trim shrubs around the garage doors.

Keep doors and windows locked at all times, even if you’re in the back yard.

Install a peep hole/wide angle viewer at a height convenient for everyone in the house.

Don’t rely on door handle locks. Experienced thieves can easily open these. Don’t rely on chain locks. They can be easily cut or pulled out. Install deadbolt locks in all outside doors. Make sure the lock has at least a 1” bolt or throw. If you already have a deadbolt, check the length of the kick plate screws. These screws should be at least 3” long to go into the frame. If there is a window next to or in the door, you should have a double cylinder deadbolt (requires a key from each side). That way, a burglar can’t break the window to gain access to the deadbolt lock. Keep the key nearby but accessible only to your family for emergency use. Patio sliding doors are particularly susceptible to break-ins. Use anti-slide bolts or a track bar to reduce track clearance.

For double hung windows, you can purchase locks & clamps that attach to the windows to restrict movement. An alternative is pinning. Drill a down-angled hole through both windows and insert an eyebolt or pin having a head. This is for emergency removal. Drill a second hole no more than 4 inches lower and the window may be opened for air circulation yet not allow access. Louvered windows allow easy access since the panes are easily removed. Replace them with a more secure window type. The most secure basement windows are made of glass block. Before changing basement windows, check fire codes and be aware of emergency exits. An exterior air conditioner should be securely mounted on the inside of the window frame. If possible, remove the air conditioner in cold weather.

There are many fine wireless or wired-in alarms and alarm systems on the market in a variety of price ranges. You could purchase a D-I-Y system or have a professional install one for you. Wireless systems run on batteries and will work during a power outage. Some wired in systems connect you to a central monitoring center through your phone line and have a monthly monitoring fee. Remember, an alarm system will only help you if you turn it on! If you are unable to invest in an alarm system, put alarm warning stickers on doors and windows.

Stay safe

James Hopkins
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-security-articles/uninviting-burglars-make-your-home-less-attractive-to-burglars-pt-1-125474.html

Annuals can be used to great advantage mixed with perennials and shrubs. One big advantage that annuals have over perennials is that they tend to flower over long periods, often throughout the whole summer. So, in a mixed border, annuals can provide a permanent thread of color.

Their temporary nature can also be put to good use. Often it will take several years before shrubs or perennials reach their final spread, and during this time there will be areas of bare earth around these plants. Annuals can readily be used here as attractive temporary fillers until the other plants eventually use up all of the spaces.

Annuals can also add a touch of lightness and almost frivolity to an otherwise staid border. For example, a border predominantly full of shrubs, perhaps planted for their interesting leaves, can be enlivened by massed plantings of bold summer annuals in front of and in between the shrubs. Each type of plant will complement the other.Annuals make wonderful container plants, whether in tubs, window boxed or hanging baskets.

They usually last the whole season, providing constant attractive color through regular watering is a must for continuous flowering. Once the season is over, you can completely change your scheme for the following year simply by changing the plants. You might perhaps try hot oranges and reds for one year, followed by softer, cooler blues and whites the next.Since most annuals grow and flower within the year, hardiness may not see, to be an important factor to take into consideration, but it can be if you plan to grow your own annuals from seed.

Hardly annuals can be sown outside and will withstand late frosts, but half hardly or tender annuals must be raised under glass and not planted out until after the risk of frost has passed. Alternatively, half hardly or tender annuals can be sown directly where there are to flower, but again only after the threat of frost is over.

Sarah Nabila

Developing a great lawn for your garden requires effort and time which one has to endow with some knowledge of lawn care. A well maintained lawn can actually change the look of the house and can add value to the property. Creating a beautiful lawn for your garden shall require complete guidance from professional lawn experts and the same shall help create a wonderful exterior.

Lawn Quality attracts people

Great Lawn can also add value to the garden as the same shall reflect most of the nature which attracts humans and builds an exotic surrounding for the family. The best lawn can also give a feel of the quality house which the homeowner would be maintaining. The exterior depicts the real class of the family staying in that house and it can be maintained easily after some guidance and knowledge.

Lawn care is an important part of home development and the same reflects the quality of living. Most good lawns attract visitors and people like to spend the maximum time in the garden where they can admire the surroundings. The plants and shrubs can add grace to the environment.

Adding equipments

Best quality lawn can improve the look of the garden by aesthetic or traditional designs. Several designs are available to choose from which may also include some fancy designs installing several equipments in the lawn. Some great equipment like birdbaths and fountains are the best part to install in your garden for a quality look.

Some great things that shall help develop your lawn and garden are:

1.Address Plaques: Placing an attractive Plaque on the rocks can develop a country feel to the visitors.

2.Composters: This is the best thing to get rid of all the fallen leaves and weeds.

3.Decorative Sculptures: Some great sculptures shall add value to the garden.

4.Fountains: This can be the best way of regular watering in the lawn.

5.Garden Carts: These should be used for removal of unwanted weeds, leaves and fallen waste.

6.Greenhouses: To separate some small shrubs, this can be the best place.

7.Lighting: Some cool lighting can develop an excellent appearance to the garden.

8.Pest Control: Some equipment should be installed to splash fertilizers in the garden.

9.Potting: This should be done to separate the plants which need extra care.

10.Rain Gauges: These can be used to gauge the water level and covering the garden when more water is not required.

11.Sheds: Extreme heat shall force most lawn care professionals to put plants in this.

12.Watering: Proper watering is necessary to give nutrition to the lawn.

Extreme care and professional guidance is required to maintain a quality lawn.

Lawn Care Professionals

Most Lawn care companies offer professional services which can be availed by contacting them and they can relieve you from the effort of maintaining your garden.

The lawn care by professionals includes:

1.Lawn Mowing

2.Watering

3.Removal of Weeds

4.Aeration

Through these functions, the professionals develop a quality lawn for your home and the same shall add much value to your garden.

Online Assistance

Most professionals can be contacted by searching for their websites online and contacting them, for some real quick tips and guide. The websites feature sample gardens and lawn styles which can be chosen by selecting the style and the same can be made in your home by contacting them.

Joshua Safee

Annuals can be used to great advantage mixed with perennials and shrubs. One big advantage that annuals have over perennials is that they tend to flower over long periods, often throughout the whole summer. So, in a mixed border, annuals can provide a permanent thread of color.

Their temporary nature can also be put to good use. Often it will take several years before shrubs or perennials reach their final spread, and during this time there will be areas of bare earth around these plants. Annuals can readily be used here as attractive temporary fillers until the other plants eventually use up all of the spaces.

Annuals can also add a touch of lightness and almost frivolity to an otherwise staid border. For example, a border predominantly full of shrubs, perhaps planted for their interesting leaves, can be enlivened by massed plantings of bold summer annuals in front of and in between the shrubs. Each type of plant will complement the other.Annuals make wonderful container plants, whether in tubs, window boxed or hanging baskets.

They usually last the whole season, providing constant attractive color through regular watering is a must for continuous flowering. Once the season is over, you can completely change your scheme for the following year simply by changing the plants. You might perhaps try hot oranges and reds for one year, followed by softer, cooler blues and whites the next.Since most annuals grow and flower within the year, hardiness may not see, to be an important factor to take into consideration, but it can be if you plan to grow your own annuals from seed.

Hardly annuals can be sown outside and will withstand late frosts, but half hardly or tender annuals must be raised under glass and not planted out until after the risk of frost has passed. Alternatively, half hardly or tender annuals can be sown directly where there are to flower, but again only after the threat of frost is over.

Sarah Nabila

Gardening is the best exercise or hobby that one can follow. To practice or work out for gardening there is no age bar as person of any age who is interested can do gardening at his/her home. After all, by performing this activity you are surely going to earn rewards but not in monetary terms in fact in terms of satisfaction and pleasure. If you are helping out at your home by doing some work then it’s not a matter of shame or should not feel dejected. It even helps you to relax and heal up your body ache. It’s always beneficial to work in open & fresh air which helps to relieve stress and keep your mind free from tension and worries. It all depends on you, to do some fruitful work by home gardening; you will also reap the harvest of any fruit trees and enjoy that too. With some few garden tips or under some gardener’s guideline you can beautify your home garden. Your hard work can turns into elegant and verdant gardens, a matter of appreciation for all.

Here are some few home garden tips that can help you to decor your garden. Always remember never plant a tree or shrubs too close to your house. Danger or risk lays when you are buying new trees or shrubs and planting them very near to your house. Of course, at first stage when you’re purchasing it’s very small and then after some couple of years it keeps on growing and so slowly and steadily it will start making some problems. This is the root cause of the problem. When it is planted near the house so it will grow and so it’s root which will keep troubling by way of causing damage to underground water pipes or breaking the drainage system of your home. At last, you have to remove the tree along with its root. You are the care taker of your home so you should be the first person to initiate this work of home garden. Before buying a particular tree or plant think each and every aspects of it till its growth. Points to be taken care of are as follows

1. Plant any tree or shrub just keeping a long distance from your house. It may trouble you afterwards by obstructing sun light or be a detriment to your landscaping scheme.

2. Just have a rough idea of what would be the size or width of that shrub or tree at the time of its maturity.

If guidelines not followed then it may cause very expensive enough to get things back to normal condition on the cost of your home and garden.

For the proper maintenance of your home garden try to tie or clip your shrubs so that air can move freely and keep watering them copiously. As all knows, air, water and sunlight are the main essentials that work in the growth of a tree or plant. Moreover, it is required in the process of photosynthesis carried out by plant or tree. So the seeds should be sprouted in such a way that they can easily catch all these essentials and later should reach till the roots of a tree. Proper irrigation facility for supplying water should be taken care of while planting. Go through some plantation schedule under some proficient gardener to gain some rewards in form of enjoyment and happiness.

Same exercise should be continued throughout the whole year. Proper shelter should be build for trees and shrubs in times of rainy season, and more in summer season.

This are some simple ways to decor your home garden to feel the magic of tranquility in your eyes. Enjoy it in return of your hard work.

Bella Mclaine