If you do the same thing then you will get the same results

We all drive down certain street and wonder why our own street doesn't look as good. Why is that? We like what we see yet we can't motivate ourselves to change the look of the street where we live. Do we need information and guides about how to alter the way our yards look? Do we need to grow a green thumb before we make changes? Do we think that the costs to change will be too high? Do we need blueprints or how-to guides that tell us step by step how to complete the make over? Have we tried in the past to make changes only to have everything we replanted die? Have we been successful in growing different plants and flowers and then decided that it looked awful? Commit to excellence. Practice excellence.
If you want it to look better you must make it look better. We live in an area where we can be outside 340 days a year. Get out there and start planting and digging and trimming. Tear out the weeds. Plant seeds that will grow into beautiful flowers in a few months. Tear out old plants and shrubs that are ugly and serve no purpose. You don't have to wait for the nurseries to sell you costly flats of flowers. Dig a hole and drop some seeds into the ground. Tend to it now. It's nice to be outside. And then let nature do the rest.The better your yard looks the more you will inspire the other neighbors to improve their properties. They will become excited about how attractive your home is and then they will commit to make their homes and yards look better. The snowball starts to roll down the hill and everyone will commit to improvement. The whole area begins to look great. Then the whole area will become more desirable to live in. If others perceive your area to be desirable they will chose to spend their home purchasing dollars in your neighborhood and not somewhere else. And buyers will pay more to live there. Whatever the effort or the cost you extend now will be returned first in the beauty you view every day and secondarily in the future higher prices for your home when you sell and move.
If you agree, let me know if you have other ideas about improving your neighborhood.
If you disagree let me know why.
I will be adding links to help and to aid in the improvement of your yard.

Tips about the "Greening" of our homes

Every day we as consumers are bombarded with the rising costs of everything around us. Gasoline prices, uility costs, food, shelter, and clothing are all going up. We can't make all these expenses go down however we can reduce many by following some guidelines and tips that require very little effort. Homeowners and renters can make living in their homes a little less costly with some of the following tips.
1. Install fluorescent light bulbs. Changing 10 bulbs of 100 watts could save more than $622 during the life of the bulb.
2. Appliances. Energy-efficient appliances can sav $80 a year for the average homeowner who spends $1800 a year on power bills.
3. Heat and Air Conditioning. Lowering the thermostat in winter by 8 degrees and raising it in summer by 4 degrees can save a consumer $150 a year.
4. Water heater. Lowering the temperature on the water heater by 20 degrees can save as much as 10% in energy costs. When you need to replace your old water heater consider installing a tankless water heater.

If you have any other energy saving hints let me know.