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Our top 50 recipes selected from the Recipes For The Good Life competition.

Download Recipe eBook here

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With summer on its way, now’s the time to get your garden ready so that you can make the most of your backyard come the end of spring.

To help get your summer gardening preparations started, Guide To The Good Life spoke with gardening aficionado Felicia Hargreaves who shared her favourite gardening tips for the 2011/12 summer season.

“To keep your garden looking good and under-control this summer preparation is the key. Prune back bushes, weed garden beds and plant summer blooming flowers now,” says Felicia.

By being prepared you will have more time in the hotter months to spend enjoying your beautiful summer garden.

Felicia also believes that it’s a good idea to have a water wise plan in place for the hotter months.

“While many places around the country have had water restrictions lifted recently, it still pays to be water wise. By focusing on those parts of the garden that dry out first – pot-plants and newly planted trees – you’ll be directing your efforts to where they’re needed and saving money and more importantly water,” Felicia says.

With the risk of fire increasing during the sometimes harsh Australian summer, it also pays to be fire aware. Removing leaves, cleaning gutters and ensuring flammable chemicals are safely stored are some simple things you can do to minimise the risk of fire.

“Bushfires are an unfortunate and devastating part of the Australian summer. You can however exercise some control over how the fire moves by thinking about what types of plant species you include in your garden and how close you plant them to your house. Some popular plants, like Conifers, contain a highly flammable resin so steer away from these and stick to Acacias and plants that don’t carry fire very well,” says Felicia.

And while it’s a good idea for humans to stay out of the sun during summer, spare a thought for your garden which may face tough conditions for days on end with no reprieve. Because of this, it’s important to take particular notice of plants and trees that may become stressed in summer.

Just like people, plants can suffer from nutritional deficiencies that need taking care of. Boron, magnesium and potassium deficiencies are common in plants during the hotter months and can be easily rectified by taking a trip to the local nursery which should have a range of products to combat these issues.

It’s by following these simple tips that you’ll be well placed to sit back this summer, relax and enjoy the shade of your own Coolabah tree.

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With many Boomers tired of waiting for the real estate market to improve in order to downside from their family home, now might not be such a bad time to bite the bullet after all.

Despite being told that the housing market in Australia is currently depressed or “flat lining” for better use of the term, it seems there’s a silver lining to this cloud.  Although you might not be getting the price for your family home you would have a few years ago, the other side of the coin brings with it a myriad of great properties that are now on the market for less.

With summer now in sight and spring having already brought with it a new mind-set, Guide To The Good Life is highlighting ten ways Baby Boomers can downsize as if it were as simple as clicking their fingers.

Having a plan:

Buying a house is much like writing an essay; you would never sit down and start writing without having first written a plan.  Approach downsizing in the same way by planning what sort of lifestyle this move is hoping to achieve, taking the following into consideration: Do you want an urban setting or do you need a garden to feel truly satisfied? Do you want to live in a quiet, remote location or is a sense of community something you can’t live without?

Having answered these questions, you’re then ready to start searching for the ideal property – one that combines all your necessities and leaves you feeling that you really can have it all.

Consider moving within you real estate comfort zone:

Selling the family home doesn’t have to mean moving to the other end of the earth.  It can be a big enough emotional hurdle to give up the family home so why feel that you have to give up your postcode as well?

If you have strong ties to your community, love the familiarity that the area brings and already have your favourite coffee man around the corner, why give it up?  By simply talking a more targeted stroll around the neighbourhood, you’ll be amazed at how many properties there are for sale – you’ve probably just never looked before.

Two for one:

The exciting prospect about downsizing the family home can lead to two things: extra money to play with or the ability to buy tow houses for the price of one.

If you are now considering how you can generate some sort of income in your retired days, why not look to invest in an additional property with the money you’ve saved from downsizing from a family home to an apartment?  Although not for everyone, this is always an option and one that financially can be quite a smart move.

Look for a universal design:

A house should be accessible for people of any age and physical ability.  If this downsized dwelling is something you see yourself living in for years to come, factor in features such as wide doorways and flat thresholds.

This may not seem important to vigorous Baby Boomers, but could be an issue in years ahead.  Things such as slip resistant floors, lever door handles and reinforced bathroom walls that can support bars (if needed), are very good things to keep in mind when looking for that ideal property.  Also something that has good ventilation – a necessity for everyone, but most particularly for people as they age.

Downsize thoughtfully:

You’ll most likely spend a fair amount of time de-cluttering your home if you’re preparing to sell, so when you’re doing this, do it thoughtfully.

Downsizing usually infers that you’ll have less room in the new abode to house all of your wares so instead of going crazy with the garbage bags, think about where you can put the things you can’t go without.  Obviously there will be a host of items that you just must take with you, things such as family photos, certain pieces of furniture or artwork, and a lot of those things that truly make home, home.  But, be resourceful with who you know and what you know such as: would you friends be happy to house some of your extra artwork on their walls for a few years? Would your children be happy to repossess some of their childhood mementos and put them in storage for their own children?

By taking a few of the above tips into consideration, the thought of downsizing needn’t be a daunting move.  By approaching this next phase in a well-planned way, it will allow you to approach downsizing in a way that is not only achievable but extremely exciting.

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