I'm using these hooks to design the projects that will appear in my next book! Check out more at :
Feng Who?
I've decided to feng shui my yard because why not? I got the book Feng Shui Your Garden for Dummies
and after reading through it decided that if nothing else, it's a guideline to organize the outside of my house. And lawdy knows I need all the help I can get. That and a gardener. But this isn't LA so the house didn't come with one. Hi my name is Drew, on weekends and early in the morning I garden.
Anywho...the backyard is a small patch of grass right now and it happens to be what my studio looks out on. According the feng shui book that is my future....and right now all I can see out there is grass. How boring! I don't want a boring future!! So, I've come to the decision to put three large raised beds out there, two for veggies (cavemen ate veggies! and none of them were coated with wax and pesticides!) and one for a cutting garden. I want to see beauty, abundance, and growth out there. Isn't that the future we'd all like to see?
Here is a little trick if all your neighbors' cats have decided that your organic garden is simply a giant kitty pan. I can't bring myself to shoo a cat away; they always look so terrified! That being said, do you know the one thing cats H.A.T.E.? Citrus. Tryi it, peel an orange sometime and put it near your kitty so that she can get a good sniff. I did that with Cleo yesterday and she practically fell over backwards trying to get away from the fragrance.
Back to the trick: After you've peeled the orange (or in this case, the grapefruit) cut up the peelings into small strips and then into cubes. (Did you know that studies show that if you wear a grapefruit fragrance that others will perceive you as six years younger?)
Spread the peelings evenly around the garden where the poopage occurs. Then sit back and watch the local kitties maybe even go back to their own yards to poop (a dude can dream, right?)
*doesn't the garden look six years younger?
and after reading through it decided that if nothing else, it's a guideline to organize the outside of my house. And lawdy knows I need all the help I can get. That and a gardener. But this isn't LA so the house didn't come with one. Hi my name is Drew, on weekends and early in the morning I garden.Anywho...the backyard is a small patch of grass right now and it happens to be what my studio looks out on. According the feng shui book that is my future....and right now all I can see out there is grass. How boring! I don't want a boring future!! So, I've come to the decision to put three large raised beds out there, two for veggies (cavemen ate veggies! and none of them were coated with wax and pesticides!) and one for a cutting garden. I want to see beauty, abundance, and growth out there. Isn't that the future we'd all like to see?
Poopage Denied
Here is a little trick if all your neighbors' cats have decided that your organic garden is simply a giant kitty pan. I can't bring myself to shoo a cat away; they always look so terrified! That being said, do you know the one thing cats H.A.T.E.? Citrus. Tryi it, peel an orange sometime and put it near your kitty so that she can get a good sniff. I did that with Cleo yesterday and she practically fell over backwards trying to get away from the fragrance.
Back to the trick: After you've peeled the orange (or in this case, the grapefruit) cut up the peelings into small strips and then into cubes. (Did you know that studies show that if you wear a grapefruit fragrance that others will perceive you as six years younger?)
Spread the peelings evenly around the garden where the poopage occurs. Then sit back and watch the local kitties maybe even go back to their own yards to poop (a dude can dream, right?)
*doesn't the garden look six years younger?
Oh yes, that is not a fav of cats at all!! My cat, 'Miss Puddy' has had my boys stick a piece of fruit under her nose (they were real meany's when they were little, lol) and they sure did find out just how much cats hate the stuff! That is a great garden tip, thanks Drew.
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mil will be so happy to hear that,about the orange or grapefruit peelings as there is a neighbors cat that leaves "presents"
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Now wouldn't be nice if your neighbors were as nice as you and just kept their cats indoors? Then you wouldn't have a problem with nasty surprises. One thing I have found that my cat absolutely loves is mayonaise. She will lick my fingers clean if I put some mayonaise on them for her. Now if I am eating a cheese and mayo sandwich she will actually eat the sandwich right out of my hand.
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One of my dogs, Napoleon, hates anything citrus. As soon as he catches a whiff, he freaks out and bolts!
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hmmm... I'll have to remember this tip when June finally rolls around and our ground thaws.
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Hello, forgives me, my English is very bad. I have one blog of croche and invite you to know.
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Six years younger, you say? Where, pray tell, can I find a grapefruit fragrance, short of rubbing actual grapefruit on my body??? Heehee
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Jo Malone makes a grapefruit fragrance. I don't know everywhere that it's sold but I do know Neiman Marcus carries it for about $90 a bottle. Can't put a price on youth, though, can you? Well, I guess Neiman Marcus can.
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That's a great idea with the citrus peels. I will use that one. Thank you for a great tip.
Your plans for the raised beds sound wonderful. Reminds me to get busy too.
Keep up the good work!
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The ol' citrus trick works every time. I used to recomend that when I did interior design for folks who had cats clawing dining chairs and other furniture. And it smelled nice, too. (Onions worked too, but it always smelled like a deli.)
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drew, i still get carded at almost 41. do you really want me to be seen as a 15 year old? (good god, that would make me a contemporary of my son. AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)
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Was this grapefruit-scent-looking-younger thing from a reliable source? Cuz six years is a LOT.
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Hi Staci! Here is a link to an article online that talks about it: http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/106/108196.htm
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wow, what a timely tip! i was just trying to figure out how to nip that in the bud once it was time to get our yard back in gardening order after all this horrible horrible pool construction.
and that's so weird about the grapefruit thing...too bad grapefruit kinda grosses me out...but my looming 3-0 may convince me to re-evaluate how i feel about it.
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O my god, I ADORE YOU. My cat's favorite place to poop is not his litterbox, O no, it is the flowerbed under the PG&E meter, and I have been mortified that the poor meter reader has to stand over the fumes to do his work. THANK YOU, O great master. (Really? Six years younger?)
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Six years? How can I wait till Monday? (Shops in Finland are no open today.) Oh, my adult children will be *surprised*!
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I didn't know this. Did it work? Have you noticed?? But then I haven't had my cats, Princess Buttercup and Farm Boy, very long at all. Think it will work with just this one huge plant I have in my house that Princess B just can't keep her paws out of?? Worth a try.
Now I'm off to find a citrus fragrance to baptize myself with...
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Maybe that's why I always loved citrus scented shampoos and conditioners. I should have known!
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Thanks for the anti-poop trick. Our neighbor's cat, Kitty-a-boo, has a fondness for our front entryway landscaping. I know cats hate the smell of mint too but don't know if mint plants will shoo them away or make them take a bite. Good luck with your garden! Show us pics!
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"I want to see beauty, abundance, and growth out there. Isn't that the future we'd all like to see?"
I definitely agree!!!
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