A Homemaker’s Diary

I was browsing through some pictures of pavers patios a few days ago and thought wouldn’t it be nice to have one at home.

Well, not that we have the space anyway, living in a terraced housing area with limited yard like now.

Anyway, since some websites say that paver patio is not that hard to installed on your own (if you have all the necessary tools), I read further to research.

For those who have the space and yard, having a paver patio is a great home improvement idea since it could handle heavy traffic and requires low maintenance. Furthermore if you manage to hire a reliable landscaping contractor, you can get your pavers patio ready in a weekend.

You can also choose different types of pavers either made of natural stone, brick or concrete.

Pavers made from natural stones are more expensive than bricks and concrete but they are not ideal for high-traffic areas as they can break under pressure. Bricks pavers are very strong, stain resistant and you can use sealants to prevent fading.

Concrete pavers are the best choice if you need something that are durable. Plus they are available in a variety of colors and styles with interlocking patterns.

I also found some tips and tricks useful for homeowner who is planning to install pavers patio. One of them is to keep a few extra stones or bricks on hand to make repairs easier (you never know when your particular paver may be discontinued). Broken pavers can be removed by prying them out with a couple of screwdrivers or a thin pry bar.

Another useful tips is that you need to make sure it does slope away from your home’s foundation and toward an area that can either handle additional moisture or is an existing drainage area.

So which contractor you wish to contact today for your new pavers patio? I hope you’ll enjoy the view of blooming sunflowers from your patio soon. Call me if you need additional friend to flip the burgers on the BBQ, heh!

I’ve been fortunate this Ramadhan month because my roses have been blooming continuously. This one that I’m sharing the picture is Rouge Royale.

At the moment I counted there are 10 buds coming out soon, which hopefully have not been attacked by thrips. If the buds get attacked by thrips, there are big chances that it will not bloom nicely.

Despite the time constraint, I managed to fertilize the rose plants according to the schedule. I also take some time every 1-2 days to prune the dead blossoms and get rid of all the leaves that have black spot.

Hopefully this time my rose plants will last longer.

I always love having blooming roses in my small garden. Nothing beats the beauty of it on a bright sunny day. I’ve tried planting vegetables and green plants but the joy of having roses are nothing to be compared to.

For now I am starting on 3 new rose plants – Black Baccara, Rouge Royale and Double Delight. I already have Clair Martin and Magenta which have been blooming every now and then.

Hopefully they will survive all those usual diseases that roses have problem with especially during this rainy season.

Check out Columbus Paver Patios. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to hang out, to smell the roses, to work outside on the laptop while your children run around in the lawn? Who wouldn’t want such a serene and relaxed environment in their own yard, right?

For now I can only imagine having the privilege to lounge like that since we live in an intermediate terrace house with limited front yard.

Our current front yard comes in poured concrete courtesy of the housing developer. The neighbors have put outdoor tiles and gravel on theirs before they moved in many years ago.

It has been almost 6 years since we moved in yet we are still thinking when and how to renovate our front yard. Finding a reliable contractor that can make the mini patio fast is another issue. Most of the local contractors drag their work week after week which I find really ridiculous.

There’s also different type of floor materials to be considered. Like I said, some people prefer gravel and outdoor tiles while others go for timber decking, stones or concrete pavers.

For a person who likes to do gardening like me, I think using tiles or stone will be slippery when wet especially since I like to water my plants at least 2 times a day. For tropical weather, we also have to consider the heat absorption rate. Wood would be the most cooling but could it last during rainy season?

And then the matter of design and style of the patio pavers. Should it be rustic or formal? And the design on how the pavers should be laid – basket weave pattern or running bond? Herringbone or jack-on-jack?

Of course if you have found a good contractor to start with, all these planning issues will be solved quickly.

Oh, I am also thinking to have additional feature like pergola so that my plants of flowering vines can climb.

Check out this amazing Rangoon creeper. It took me almost 2 years to wait for it to start blooming. Rangoon creeper is the type of plants with flowering vines that twine and climb when provided with support from a trellis or arbor.

For the time being I just let it climbs over the wall that has our post box and garbage bin.

For those who have been following my story in this blog might notice that somehow in 2012 I got involved with rose gardening..heh!

I collected more than 30 different roses and now in 2015, only one is still alive.

I am still contemplating whether to revive the hobby or not. It is such a joy whenever the roses bloom.

For now, I have moved on to easier flowers like sunflowers and zinnias.