Posts Tagged ‘winter’

Storm Center: Let’s Turn Up The Heat

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Here we are in another snow storm without electricity for an extended period. Pepco, in particular, ranks at the bottom for response. It has gone from inconvenient to dangerous. Downed wires are not being taken care of. WHW would like to suggest the following so the States & District should show their support and take more responsibility for their residents:

Rebates for generators. Power generators should be affordable for all residents, especially those with younger children, the disabled, and senior citizens over 60.

No politicians should have any affiliations with utility companies.

Rebates should be provided to electric customers who are without service for more than 1 day. This will put the pressure on electric companies to prepare for storms. Pepco did not ask for out-of-state crew help until after the storm started. They need to feel something besides “bad”.

Underground power lines should be a priority. We live with nature and trees grow. Very expensive, but regions that are hardest hit in storms should get them first – and now.

Tired of excuses? Forward this to your friends, to your legislators, to your utility companies to send the message that we need to modernize our power utility companies in our lifetimes to keep the Washington Metro Area strong and safe.

Emergency Power Numbers in our area you may need:
Montgomery County Services dial: 311
Pepco: 1-877-737-2662
Dominion Power: 1-866-366-4357
BGE: 1-877-778-2222
Allegheny: 1-800-255-3443
NOVEC: 1-888-335-0500
SMECO: 1-877-747-6326

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The Big Pile-Up: Help for Homeowners With Snow-Worries

Monday, January 10th, 2011

House-Saving Snow Tips

Snow, it was beautiful but troublesome last year in the Washington DC Metro Area, wasn’t it?  If you were one of the unlucky warriors battling the blustery blizzard’s effects inside and outside your domain, you were definitely not alone. The snow was so significant that the weight caused caveins of flatroofs and the melting from ice dams forced rivers of ice water down our windows and walls.

Unless you want to find yourself shoveling snow buildup off your roof again this year, here’s some prevention tips & advice:

  • Gutters. Keep your gutters free and clear to keep water flowing away from your home.
  • Heat Tape. Find it at your local hardware store. Install along your rooflines (most houses will cost $500-$1000). Install where the roof meets the gutters and your unprotected water pipes and shut off valves. Very important to read directions about installation – could be damaging to plastic pipes.
  • Roofing Underlay. If your roof got damaged last year and you need to replace the roof, don’t shortcut and install ice and water shield, a roofing underlay material that blocks moisture from getting through. It only costs $500-$750 for an entire roof.
  • Insulation. Make sure you your attic is properly insulated. If your heat is escaping out your roof which can cause gutter damming. Check with an insulation specialist to see if you have enough to keep the heat down in your home, not up warming up your roof.
  • Snowblowers save backs. There are electric models but if your electricity goes out frequently in storms (and you have no generator), then it’s of no use. Infrequent use and expensive? Share with a responsible neighbor.
  • Generator. Power outages are here to stay. Besides the lost food, the room at the motel, no television or computer what else did loss of electricity shut down at your house last year? A generator’s size determines what necessities are powered in your home. Read more here about generators. Ice and snow melt at 35°F. Liquid water freezes at 32°F. Minor temperature differentials can lead to major freezing/melting problems so keep your temperature inside stable.
  • Pantyhose. If all else fails Steve Cockerham of Betty’s Azalea Ranch says, “Throw pantyhose up on your roof”. Well, there’s a little more:  Fill the leg of  an old pair of panty hose with a calcium chloride ice melter. Put the filled up pantyhose leg on the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter.  Use a long-handled garden tool to position it.The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof breaking up the dam. Remove in the Spring to avoid strange looks from the neighbors.
  • Wrap Bushes, Brace Trees. Fast-growing trees & multi-leader bushes can be weighed down by heavy ice and snow. You should wrap trees like birch (that have more than one trunk) and bushes like arborvitae, that have lots of branches. Again, pantyhose come to the rescue or any soft cloth or loosely bound with Bungee Cords available at hardware stores. Remove in Spring. If you’re worrying about a tree, take care of it now. Call a professional arborist like Wood Acres Tree Specialists to analyze the structure of the tree and cable the branches if needed.

Ice Dam Trouble

If you’re feeling temporarily safe because the weather forecasters keep  downgrading the winter weather report  - Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You’ll be patting yourself on your (not so aching & frozen) back later.

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Decorating your Home with Holiday Greenery

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

Decorations from Your Landscape

Feeling creative this season? Evergreen decorations have been a part of winter festivals since ancient times. They have been used for centuries to represent everlasting life and hope for the return of spring. Take a walk around your own yard to see if there are some good candidates for decorative holiday greenery: Southern Magnolia, Holly, Junipers, Cedars, Firs, Spruce, Mountain Laurel, Pine, Cryptomeria, Yew, Boxwood, Pyracantha, Leyland Cypress, Arborvitae and Nandina (many more!) may all be pruned to provide Christmas greenery. There are a few points to remember when collecting these decorative materials:

1. Remember that you are pruning and in the wrong season. Remove the branch or stem at its base where it intersects another branch or stem. Prune with an eye toward thinning the entire plant towards your goal shape for better air and light circulation in the growing season.

2. When you bring your collection inside, re-cut the ends of each stem or branch and then split them either with a knife or by smashing with a hammer just before plunging them into warm water. The greenery needs to remain in warm water for 8-24 hours. Allow to dry and then spray all foliage with “Wilt-Pruf.” Do not use antitranspirants on juniper berries, cedar or blue spruce. The product can damage the wax coating that gives these plants. Keep completed wreaths, garlands and arrangements in a cool location until use. Display fresh greenery and fruits out of the sun and away from heat.

3. Poisonous berries are found on holly plants, yews, mistletoe, ivy plants, Jerusalem cherry, bittersweet and crown of thorns. The pearly white berries of mistletoe are particularly toxic. Keep all these plants out of the reach of children and curious pets.

Plan to replace greenery and fruits throughout the holiday season if they become less than fresh. Never keep dried out greens near a lit fireplace.

Decorating with Greens

Many different types of decorations can be made with fresh greenery. Some traditional types are garlands, swags, tabletops, kissing balls, and wreaths. A number of different types of forms can be stuffed with sprigs or branches to create topiaries. Kissing balls are a safer alternative to the usual mistletoe sprig (beware of mistletoe berries).

Projects:

How to Make a Holiday Kissing Ball

Holiday kissing balls are often made of short sprigs of boxwood or other greenery and hung as an alternative to the traditional mistletoe sprig.

The easiest way to construct a kissing ball is to use a round potato for the base. The moisture in the potato will help keep the cut greenery fresh. Soak greenery to be used in water overnight. Insert evenly sized sprigs of the selected green into the potato until it is completely covered. If you have difficulty inserting the sprigs, make a starter hole for each with a metal skewer. Make the evergreen sprays form an even, well-rounded ball. After the ball is completed, decorate it with ribbons, berries, mistletoe or whatever else you wish. You can find a huge selection of mini-decorations at craft stores and garden centers’ Holiday Shops. Fasten a long piece of wire to the ball so it can be hung from a chandelier, doorway, or window.

How to Make Mini Christmas Trees or Topiaries


These are so beautiful you’ll want to make several at once – kids love to decorate them with child-size ornaments. Save 2 for your own display and give the rest away as spectacular hostess gifts.

Foam forms are available at craft stores. Prepare boxwood as described above and take sprigs of it or smaller leaf evergreens and push into the form until covered. Once it looks like a miniature christmas tree or the form you choose is fully covered decorate with ribbons, bows, mini-bulbs and ornaments, even strings of mini-lights you can get at local craft and garden centers. Keep in a shallow dish or festive pot (bonsai pots from garden centers are a good choice) and water once a day to keep the form moist.

…or take the busy Washingtonian route: just go to your local Garden Center for huge selections of already prepared greenery. Regardless of where it comes from, greenery crowns your house with nature’s simple reminder that you are uniquely blessed and there is always hope and renewal in the new year. Have a great holiday season – from WHW.

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Ornamental Cabbage: Cool Weather Color in the Your Landscape

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

the ornamental vegetable

Very few flowers cheer up the landscape during the cold winter months – so try a vegetable. Once the vibrant colors of Fall foliage have fallen there are very few plants to fill this winter time void at your local nursery. In the Washington DC area, look for Brassica oleracea…. more commonly known as cabbage.

By cross pollination, botanists were able to hybridize the many colors and textures of Flowering (Ornamental) Cabbages (wavy edges) and Kale (crinkled edges) that we grow today.

These plants are very showy in color and form, and come in a variety of colors, ranging from white to pinks, purples or reds.The bloom, of course, is not a flower but foliage — a rosette of central leaves that lose their chlorophyll as the mercury drops, changing from green to white, pink, purple, and near-red. The ornamental cabbages and kales look much the same as their edible cousins, but the ruffled foliage is much fancier and more colorful.

Ornamental cabbages and kales do not tolerate summer heat, but are extremely cold-tolerant. They can survive winter temperatures as low as 20 F or even lower in protected areas if they are gradually acclimatized. While a sudden cold snap can finish this biennial that you’ll most likely treat as an annual, light and moderate frosts will intensify the brilliant coloring of these plants.

When purchasing ornamental cabbage or kale, look for a plant with a short rosette-type stem. Generally, if these plants were allowed to become root-bound in their pots, they will not get much larger after they are planted, so buy  the largest you can find.

Kale and Ornamental cabbage plants prefer cool weather. Although Kale plants may be set out in the spring and allowed to grow through the summer, the best time to plant them is in the early fall. We have seen ornamental cabbage in all its glory way into a mild winter in this area before.

Planting Kale in August or early September will allow the plant to become established, but if the temperature isn’t cool enough, this will result in a leggy, relatively colorless plant. Planting before the first frost also means that you will have to contend with cabbage loopers, which bore unsightly holes through the plant.

The intensely colorful pigmentations that Kale plants are known for do not appear until after prolonged cool weather and a few frosts so it’s perfect for November/December.

Ornamental Cabbage and kale is best planted in a sunny location in a moderately moist, rich soil – in the landscape or in pots. You’ll enjoy the rich colors (with good weather luck!) throughout the season’s holiday time. – and yes, they are as edible but we doubt you’ll want to end the show early.

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