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THE HILLS Wednesday Hay Page A wellmanicured lawn enhances the appearance of the home This article ts provided by local Realtors and the Ontario Real Estate Association for the benefit of consumers In the real estate market wellmanicured lawn enhances the beauty of your home as well as your neighborhood Over the winter months your lawn has been beaten down and bruised by rain snow and ice and now needs some tender loving care Most professional landscapers agree that you should begin preparing your lawn for the hot summer months well in advance As soon as you begin these preparations your lawn should start to respond with signs of a healthy and happy existence In fact with the right ap proach you can have a lawn that will flourish throughout the Raking Experts recommend that the first step you take is to rake your lawn to clear it of any debris When raking dont use the regular fanleaf rake which is commonly used to clear lawn clippings and leaves it wont achieve what you are trying to do The heavier garden rake is recommended for this task What you need to do is pull hard on the rake pulling up dead roots and debris Dont worry about the grass plants that are being sub jected to this treatment because the deeprooted plants will grow Compacted Ground If your foundation is clay soil your lawn may end up suffering from compaction particularly if it is used a lot either as your childs personal sports field or a regular pathway Compaction will result in lacklustre grass and eventually a dead lawn If this has happened to your lawn then you should aerate it To aerate holes must be punched into the soil so that water can go deep into the root zone Contact a local landscaper or garden centre to find out more about this pro cedure The next step is to decide whether your lawn needs to be fertilized Again contact your local landscaper or garden centre to see what is best for your lawn If fertilizer is required use a slowrelease granular type Also use fertilizers labelled which stands for sulphur coated urea Urea Is a nutrient which contains nitrogen and will furnish your lawn with the required nourishment All fertilizers have three numbers on the package They represent the macronutrients in the fertilizer nitrogen phosphorus and potassium the three most common but most needed nutrients missing from the sod Many lawn experts sug gest that you use a fertilizer with a high first number which stands for nitrogen for the best results on your lawn Weeds Pulling weeds has always been a tedious task but one that has to be done if you dont want your grass roots to be choked by these invaders Weeds also make lawn unattractive To control weed growth lawn experts advise that your lawn should be well nourished If it is it should fight off weeds on its own This will also mean that you dont have to use as much her bicide on your lawn There are several natural alternatives to chemical herbicides Contact an environmental group to find out more Cutting Your Lawn Many and lawn ex perts agree that you should cut your lawn regularly at least once a week Some also suggest that you leave your clippings on Survey Completed May 2391 MORTGAGE RATES ANNUAL INTEREST SIX MONTH ONE YEAR TWO YEAR THREE YEAR FOUR YEAR FIVE YEAR TRUST COMPANIES Canada Trust NA 10 1075 1100 1125 1125 Municipal Trust 1025 50 1100 11125 11125 Trust 10 25 10 10 1100 1125 1125 CHARTERED BANKS Bank of Commerce NA 1100 1125 1125 Bank of Montreal 10 1100 1125 1125 Bank of Nova Scotia 1000 10 1100 1125 1125 Royal Bank 1000 1000 10 1100 1125 1125 Toonto Dominion 10 10 1075 1100 1125 1125 This survey is prepare to help the Herald readers track weekly Bank and Trust Company mortgage rotes the grass because it feeds the grass roots If you let your grass grow too long however youll have to rake up the clippings You should also have your lawn mower blade checked at the beginning of the season A dull blade will tear the grass tips and give your lawn a brown ap pearance You should also have the engine checked and the oil changed The Summer Months Once the summer arrives the hot weather will make your lawn go dormant Dont worry there are two things you can do to save it The first step is to water it particularly if there has been a lack of rain in your area once a week slowly and deeply Use a sprinkler instead of a hose It is better to water your lawn less fre quently giving it a good thorough soaking than to give it frequent light soakmgs The next step is to leave your grass a little longer than you nor mally would when cutting Plants get most of their nourishment from the suns rays while the roots supply the water and raw nutrients By keeping your lawn longer youll allow your grass to receive the required nutrients that will help it survive the heat By following these tips you should end up with a healthy thriving lawn If problems occur dont hesitate to call your local landscaper or garden centre to ask for advice As far as Im concerned there isnt anything thats much better than sitting in the sun eating a hot dog and watching ihe Toronto Blue Jays play baseball Unless of course youre doing it in SkyDome I had scooped some tickets from Garnet our niece Maxines husband well maybe scoop ed isnt the right word I found out thai I had paid halfprice for tickets that pennypinching Garnet free from work Anyway off we went my wife Em and I Neither of us has been to SkyDome since it opened and we only got out the door after promising our kids Kyle and Belinda that wed get more tickets later in the summer so the whole family could go We were disappointed that the roof was closed ihat day but the hot dogs tasted ihe same and the scats were fantastic Imagine our surprise though when the roof began to open shortly after the game began a treat Within minutes we were bathed in beautiful hot sunshine It was amazing really the dif ference the sun made through the open roof and warming everything up so quickly I could see why our next door neighbour Terry and his wife had decided to use a solar energy system to heal their new pool Terry said that once the instal lation costs are recovered the system will operate free of charge He figures they can recover those costs through fuel savings in the first few years Using conventional electric heat ing he says they would have spent about to heat the pool compared to the toial cost of S3 000 foi a solar system Anyway the Jays won and to top things off Em found a most interesting item under her chair She leaned over to put her drink down and staring her right in the race was a 100 bill So now I think Ill call old Garnet up and thank him again for those halfprice tickets Poor Gam I bet tie wont sleep a wink tonight thinking about that SI bill newspaper in conjunc tion with Ontario Hydro is bringing you Phils Basement to help bring home ideas on how to save energy To receive the brochures an For En ergy Efficiency call Ontario Hydro at 18002639000 and tell them Phil sent you 2 MILL STREET acton rXsrcr HEATHER WHITING SCOTLAND Associate Broker 8532086 ITS A WRECK BUT WHAT THE HECK Try 10 down and use your cash to rejuvenate this 3 bedroom bungalow set on acre lust minutes from town Call Heather Whiting Scotland Associate Broker at is -LOTS- PRIVATE AND PRETTY Pretty treed lot pretty close to town pretty good price pretty good deal Call pretty quick rmacmi HIGH ON THE ESCARPMENT 169900- This private treed 10 acre lot on a paved road close to town offers generous vendor financing Call Heather Whiting Scotland Associate Broker at 8532086 LETSGOBACKTO YESTERDAY 179900 Experience the charm of original wood work and plate railing a cozy fireplace French doors etched glass windows and enclosed porches This conveniently located solid older home features 3 bedrooms with closets plus a developable attic updated wiring and plum bing waiting for your decorating touches Call Heather Whiting Scotland Associate Broker at 8532086 RENTALS bedroom farm house plus acres plus utilities 3 bedroom country home with 2 bedroom inlaw suite SI 500month plus utilities 1 bedroom apartments and month and all plus hydro No smoking no pets Call Heather Whiting Scotland Associate Broker at 8532086