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Visit the Baker Creative |
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August 2006 Worry Free Vacations Start At Home By Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein
August is the most popular month for local residents to travel. While vacation may conjure up dreams of boogie boards and caramel corn for the kids, for many adults the time leading up to vacation: can be fraught with anxiety. Whether you're taking off for a long weekend, a week or even longer, being away from home raises a host of considerations ... assuming you want to return to a home that is just as you left it. "We get a lot of calls this time of year:' says Brad Baker, president of Baker Creative, the Wyncote-based landscape design firm. "People are very concerned about the safety of their homes and the maintenance of their land." Baker offers his clients vacation coverage, acting as a groundskeeper while they travel, by checking for stray tree limbs or broken gutters after storms, watering plants and grass and visiting to ensure that newspapers or overnight packages aren't leaving visual clues to criminals that the home is vacant. If your landscape designer doesn't offer vacation coverage, there are plenty of steps you can take before you leave to make sure your return home will be peaceful. "The biggest concern I hear:' says Baker, "is about watering. Watering is crucial and it's becoming more and more difficult to find a teenager or neighbor to help out with this task. On the other hand, this is August and now is when lawns tend to turn brown as they prepare for their dormant season. This is a natural occurrence, which has nothing to do with lack of water. This process allows the lawn to survive without as much water and come back green and healthy in the fall." Baker suggests that you provide all of your in-ground plants, including shrubs, flowers and lawns, with a super soaking before you leave. Because water will wash right off the surface of dry soil, it is important that you do this several days in a row, giving the plants about four times what you normally would each day, to allow it to fully soak into the soil. For your potted plants, move them out of the sun to a more shady location on the North side of your home. This will help them to retain moisture longer. Beyond this, new technology has made it much easier to maintain potted plants while you travel. If you've planted in a self-watering pot with a reservoir bottom, you can leave enough water to maintain the pot while you are away. If not, Baker suggests you purchase water-holding crystals from a garden center or home store. Insert a pencil or pen deeply into the soil in five or six places, making long, thin columns. Pour the crystals into these holes and water completely. The crystals will help the plant retain its moisture while you are away. Just prior to vacation is a good time to schedule tree pruning and other general maintenance to make sure bad weather doesn't impact your home during your absence. Make sure your contractors trim branches that are too close to power lines and to your home, particularly near your gutters and roof. Properly pruned bushes will make it more difficult for an intruder to enter your home through a window. Ensure the lock on your garage or shed is working, even if you don't usually lock up toys and equipment. You'll want to secure these items while you are away so you don't have an expensive homecoming. To protect against crime, try to make your home look as lived in as possible, which goes beyond simply canceling the newspaper and mail. "I recommend clients use three different sets of timers on their interior lights when they go away' explains Baker. "This allows them to schedule lights to follow the normal cycle of living. I also encourage them to use motion detector lighting year-round in their entryways and driveway. This can be enough to discourage a prowler. "Another smart tip from Baker is to check your window locks. He points out that many of us open windows in the summer and forget to lock them when we close them. Leaving an unlocked, first floor window can be like hanging a welcome sign to criminals. Vacation is supposed to be the time when you can leave the stresses of everyday life behind. Whatever you fancy - beach, mountains or city - follow these suggestions and you'll be able to pack up any reservations before you hit the road. Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist Brad Baker is president of Baker Creative in Wyncote. To see Baker Creative's work, visit www.bakercreative.com. For more information, call 215-884-4978. |
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