Yes, you can grow blueberries in your Los Angeles garden.

I've been growing blueberries for 5 years now (OK, 6 years, but the first plants died since I didn't know what I was doing:o((

My first blueberry harvest of 2010

There is nothing more delicious than freshly picked blueberries that you grow in your own garden. I grow my blueberries in recycled half barrels available at most big box home improvement stores.

Growing blueberries in my Los Angeles garden in half barrels. The net is to keep out the mocking birds who are blueberry gluttons.

This photo is from the Los Angeles Arboretum Garden Show and shows blueberries being grown in galvenized trash cans. Clever!

Blueberries are easy to grow if you follow these steps:

1. Choose the right plants for your climate. I grow Southern Highbush variety blueberries in my Pasadena garden, which are suited for areas with warmer climates and less winter chilling hours like most of Southern California.
   
2. Plant blueberries in acidic well drained soil. If you don't live in an area that has naturally acidic soil you may have better luck planting them in large containers filled with planting soil for acidic plants like azaleas & camellias. I use an organic mix from Armstrong Nursery.
   
3. Make sure they get plenty of sun.
4. Make sure they are watered regularly.
5. Fertilize with organic fertilizer. I throw organic coffee grounds in the planters a couple times per week. That's the only fertilizer I use and it has worked great so far. Regular coffee grounds would probably work fine, too.
6. Protect the plants from birds. One hungry bird can denude a loaded blueberry plant in an hour!

I have never had a need to spray my plants and haven't had any problems with insects or other pests (other than the birds and my neighbor's kids:o)

I have 3 blueberry plants that keep my husband and I in fresh blueberries for a few weeks each year. I was hoping to have enough blueberries to share with the neighbors this year, but a late frost knocked the buds off one of the plants, so my harvest has been cut by 1/3.

After this growning season, we are going to move the plants to a sunnier spot and maybe add another plant or two. After all, you can never have too many fresh blueberries to eat or share!

I just read this blog post by Jay Schmidt, a Prudential Realtor in Gettysburg, PA, titled Cleaning for a Reason - Helping Women Undergoing Cancer Treatment.  His post briefly discussed an organization called Cleaning For A Reason.Their tag line is "We focus on your home so you can focus on your health (TM)".

Here's a blurb from the site:

"Making A Difference One Home At A TimeTM.  Fighting cancer is difficult enough, but living with it is even tougher - and that's where the Cleaning for A Reason Foundation steps in. This nonprofit offers free professional housecleaning, and maid services to improve the lives of women undergoing treatment for cancer - any type of cancer."

Cleaning For A Reason partners with local cleaning services throughout the US & Canada to provide women undergoing cancer treatment with free housecleaning services. They currently have 682 generous housecleaning partners throughout North America. All the housecleaning services are licensed and bonded, and agree to provide free house cleaning for 2 cancer patients once per month for 4 months during their treatment (4 free cleanings).

I am often asked by my Los Angeles, Pasadena and Arcadia home staging clients for names of cleaning services. I will start referring Cleaning For A Reason partner cleaning services. Any company that provides free cleaning services to women with cancer is a winner in my book.

Thanks, Jay, for making me aware of this wonderful organization!

Penelope Cruz, call me...We need to talk!

Penelope Cruz just listed her Hollywood Hills home for sale for $3,695,000 according to Realtor.com. If you click on the link, you can see photos of the home. According to reports I've read on-line, Penelope hasn't spent much time time there, as its been leased out and is available for film shoots.

OK, here's why Penelope needs to call me: take a look at the photos of the interior of her home. The home is beautiful, as are most of the furnishings, but its crying out for some accessorizing, plants and artwork, in my personal opinion. I think Penelope's house needs some Los Angeles home stager love. And the sickly looking plants have to go!

Perhaps, Penelope didn't hear that I staged a $6.9 million house in Beverly Hills last week using the home owner's furniture and my home staging accessories and artwork. Maybe she didn't hear that the homeowner received an offer after the first open house. And maybe she doesn't know I can stage almost any style of home, from traditional to contemporary to Hollywood Hills Balinese.

So, Penelope, if you want a better shot at selling your beautiful home faster and maybe for more money, give me a call. I think I can help!

This past week, Los Angeles home stagers Moving Mountains Design, took on a big, beautiful Hancock Park luxury home. I initially was hired for a home staging consultation, as the home owners wanted to tone down their personal design style and make the home appealing to a wider audience. Don't get me wrong...every thing they owned was beautiful (they are art collectors), there was just too much of it. And being artistic types, the homeowners' furnishing taste was eclectic, in a very architecturally traditional home. My goal was to showcase the home's best architectural feautures without losing the joie de vivre so evident in the home.

I gave the home owners an extensive list of the furniture and art that had to be removed (as I said, it was beautiful, but there was just too much of it) and minor condition issues that needed to be addressed. The following week the Moving Mountains team showed up and we began our work.

This beautiful Hancock Park estate is listed at $3.35M. For more information, contact the listing agent, Joanne McKenzie, Sothebys International Realty  (310)888-3742. MLS#10-440285

Click here to see more photos of this Hancock Park home staging

This past week I was hired to stage homes with not one, but 2 red dining rooms. We did one Hancock Park luxury home staging project ($3.5M) and a we did an Arcadia home staging project ($1.5M). Despite being in different parts of Los Angeles, in different price ranges and distinctly different architectural styles, both homes had one thing in common - red dining rooms!

Many home stagers run for cover (and "neutral" paint colors) when they see a room painted red, but not me! I love a well done red room. Red is energetic and a red room is memorable. No one who sees either of these houses will soon forget it, and not in a bad way.

In both instances, the rooms were painted red before I got there - for a home staging consultation in one case and for a bid in the second case. FYI, the living room of one home was painted lemon yellow (Hancock Park) and tangerine orange (Arcadia) and we kept those colors as well. I'll be posting those photos in another blog post.

For another look at these red dining rooms please read Los Angeles Home Staging Red Dining Rooms

©2010 Moving Mountains Design & Michelle Minch Los Angeles Home Staging - Staging Red Dining Rooms

On Thursday, the LA Times Food section had an article titled Want To Dine For Less? Say The Word about a website called BlackboardEats.com. BlackboardEats offers Los Angeles and New York diners discounts to some of LA's & NY's finest and trendiest Restaurants. 

Here's how it works:

• Go to the website and enter your email address to sign up
• You'll be asked for your name, your email address and your zip code
• Twice per week you'll receive an email newsletter offering an exclusive dining deal at NY or LA restaurants
• You have 24 hours to respond to the email, at which time they'll send you a special code
• You have 30 days during which the code will be valid, to go to the restaurant

The past deals looked pretty awesome, and I'm really sorry I missed them. I would have loved to get 30% off at Mozza2Go or Ammo on Highland.

The deals are "curated" by former Zagat & Gourmet Magazine editors. The service was started by former Yahoo.com Food Editor Maggie Nemser.Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maggie!

Right now subscriptions are free. I signed up and I can't wait to see what great restaurant deals they'll have on offer in their next newsletter.

UPDATE: I just received an email from Maggie, thanking me for writing about BlackboardEats. For all you San Francisco and Las Vegas foodies, hang tight. Here's what Maggie had to say:

Thank you SO much for the shout out and I am thrilled that you like BBE. We are launching in SF soon and will be in Vegas soon after. Thanks again for the support.

Chinese New Year, also know as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. Regional customs and family traditions vary widely for the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Traditionally, every family thoroughly cleans their home to sweep away any bad fortune. This makes way for good luck to come in.  Windows are opened and rooms are aired out. Brooms and cleaning rags are thrown away and trash is emptied so that no dirt of misfortune is carried into the New Year.

Starting today, Chinese all over the world engage in a wide variety of traditional customs and practices that involve food and gift giving.  Dumplings (sometimes known as Dim Sum) that are shaped like gold bars are eaten. Children receive small amounts of money in red envelopes (Hong Bao). Adults may receive a gift of tangerines, which are symbols of prosperity and happiness, or kumquats, which are another prosperity symbol. Schools and businesses in China close for at least a week.

My nephew, who is an architect in Shanghai, says they don't get much sleep during this week due to all the firecrackers going off at all hours of the night.

The Chinese Lunar Calendar is set up in 12 year cycles and each year in the cycle is associated with an animal. This coming year is the Year of the Tiger, the third year in the Chinese Zodiac. The tiger is a symbol of Courage, Strength and Prosperity. According to legend, Lord Buddha summoned the animals to him before he departed the earth. Only 12 came to bid him farewell and so he named a year after each one as a reward. It is believed that the animal ruling the birth year of a person has a profound impact on their personality.

Despite diverse customs and traditions across China, and for Chinese living in other parts of the world, the sentiment infusing Lunar New Year is one of peace, prosperity and happiness.

Happy Lunar New Year to all my Chinese friends, clients & business associates!

I got a Los Angeles home staging job today, and it was one of the easiest jobs I have ever gotten. I did not know the agent - I had never worked with her or met her before. She got my name from another Realtor in her office who receives my email newsletter. This Realtor was looking for a home stager in Los Angeles because she was listing one of her own investment properties. She knew the fastest way to get it sold was to stage it.

What did I do to get this job so easily?

• I responded to the Realtor's email promtly
• I responded with the information she had requested
• I anticipated her additional questions and included that information in my response
• My response was professional - it came from a professional sounding email address Michelle@MovingMountainsDesign.com and I have a professional looking home staging website.
  
• I confirmed my appointment
• I showed up on time

I know this is why I got the job because she told me. As she handed me the deposit check, she said she had contacted other stagers regarding this job. I was the first one to respond and she was impressed with my professionalism and the fact that I had anticipated her questions. She appreciated my straightforward attitude - my company policies were clearly defined in my email. I won her trust.

I didn't get this job because I am the best home stager in Los Angeles. I got it because I responded promptly & professionally. It was that easy.

I am constantly astounded at how many jobs I get because other stagers didn't return emails or phone calls promptly, didn't show up on time or didn't present themselves professionally.

Want to get more home staging jobs?

• Respond to emails & phone calls promptly
• Respond professionally
• Anticipate questions
• Show up on time
• Show up prepared

Its that easy!

I'll be posting photos next week after we stage it.

Here's some tips for using Feng Shui to stage your kitchen, whether you are staging your Los Angeles home to sell, or staging it to live.

Its that time again: the New Year is fast approaching and its time to give your kitchen a Feng Shui tune up. I've updated a post I did last year, and added some new information.

Stage Your Kitchen With Feng Shui

Welcome prosperity and good health into your home with sound Feng Shui practices. With the New Year 2010 approaching, now is the perfect time to invite positive change into your life.

Whether you are staging your home to sell or staging your home to live you can use the principals of home staging and Feng Shui to prepare your home for more comfortable, pleasing and prosperous living for you or your potential buyers.

There are many schools of Feng Shui.

Recommendations will vary from Feng Shui school to school and practitioner to practitioner. Here are some tips to get your kitchen in top Feng Shui shape with little or no cash outlay, just an investment of your time. Despite the fact that different schools have differing "cures", following are some basic changes you can make that apply to all kitchens. We can affect many positive changes in our lives just by applying intention - putting the energy into making a change and welcoming that change into our lives.

In Feng Shui, the condition of the kitchen can influence your level of prosperity and good health.

The goals of both home staging and Feng Shui are increasing cleanliness,functionality and organization and getting rid of clutter to make room for whatever your new prosperity will bring. Follow these steps to increase your prosperity, good health and general well being:

• Clean out your refrigerator and your pantry.Get rid of any out-of-date food or 'science projects' (all of which hold negative energy, by the way). This includes any outdated vitamins or medications you keep in your kitchen. Wipe down the shelves, clean up any old spills and crumbs. If you use shelf paper in your pantry, and it is torn damaged or worn, replace it. If you are staging your home to sell, your pantry should be half full and very neatly arranged. If the items are awkwardly shaped, put them in baskets.

• Restock your refrigerator and pantry. A fuller refrigerator and pantry equates to prosperity and generosity. It also allows us to be prepared for whatever may come up, be it unexpected guests or a change in employment status. Don't overfill the refrigerator and pantry. We don't want them cluttered, just sufficiently full to meet our nourishment needs plus a little extra. Put a small open box of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors. Opening the refrigerator should be a pleasant experience.

• Restock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy food. Take care of your body and it will take care of you. One of the fastest paths to good health is eating healthy food. If your intention is to improve your health, then walk the walk.

• Display fresh fruit on your counter. Abundant fruit is a symbol of prosperity and generosity (yours and the Universe's) in Feng Shui. Besides, you are more likely to eat it if it is readily available, which will improve your health and well-being.

• Remove everything from your cabinets. Assess everything and determine if it is really useful. With the exception of some seasonal items, if you haven't used it in the past 6 months, you should get rid of it (donate, give away to a friend, recycle or throw it away). If it is chipped, broken or otherwise damaged, either fix it or get rid of it. That broken toaster that has been sitting in the cabinet since 2004 may be burning off some of your prosperity - send it on down the road. If the item can be fixed (and you are likely to have it fixed) by all means, do so. If it can be repaired, but you are not inclined to do so, label it with the problem (so the recipient know what they are getting) and then donate it. If it can't be fixed or recycled, then throw it away. The goal is to get rid of clutter and make space for new and better items that will come into your life in the coming year. If you are staging your home to sell, keep your cabinets half full. It allows potential buyers to imagine their things in the cabinets.

To read more about creating prosperity with home staging using Feng Shui, please visit my Los Angeles Home Staging Tips blog.

Los Angeles home staging company, Moving Mountains Design, offers Holiday Home Staging as part of their home staging and redesign services.

Thinking of having your home, office or business professionally decorated for the Holidays? We offer holiday decoration and Home Staging for the Holidays in Los Angeles and Southern California for private residences, restaurants, businesses and commercial buildings. Our team of home stagers will transform your home or business with holiday decor, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or New Years. Our styles range from very traditional Norman Rockwell style, to contemporary, to eclectic/artistic/international style. Many holiday decorations are available for rental and most are available for purchase.

Here's a photo of an Encino home we decorated for Christmas last year:

Did you know home staging and redesign isn't just for preparing your home to sell? Moving Mountains Design can give your home that home staging "WOW!" look for the holidays, too. We can create the idyllic guest room for your holiday guests, freshen your living room with new a furniture arrangement, accessories and paint, or help you purchase a gorgeous new formal dining room table & chairs. We can even arrange for beautiful rental furniture and accessories.

Its not too early to think about getting your home ready for the Holidays. For more information about our Home Staging For The Holidays service read Holiday Home Staging and Decorating in Los Angeles