DIY Life

Your front yard doesn't have to be perfectly manicured or professionally landscaped to look good. It is, however, your public face -- of sorts. Plus, your neighbors are forced to look at whatever you put out there!

Be a good neighbor: banish the following items from your front yard.

1. Plastic foliage. I'm talking anything you got from a craft store. Like this, for example. Plastic ivy. Faux dried sunflowers. Silk chrysanthemums. Plastic wreaths. Fake autumn leaves strung into streamers. Shudder.

Plastic flowers are tacky in the garden. They're unnecessary. After all, you have Mother Nature at your disposal! Why choose fake flowers? Finally, they evoke the cemetery. Enough said.

This has been a summer about fountains in our home. Earlier this summer I created a water feature mostly for birds, then I created another one for my three year-old son to enjoy. I did this mostly so that the birds could bathe and drink in peace without being subjected to my son's daily mawing of them. After a few setbacks with his fountain, I finally had a creation that was safe and enjoyable for him. However, I have learned a thing or two about the best placement for a fountain.

The following points might come in handy if you are currently planning a fountain for next summer or if you have one that is not quite working and needs some revising.