Landscape Planting Plan tips

 guest writer  No Responses »
Nov 182010
 

Guest Writer: Keith Markensen

In order to plan your landscape accurately, you should have a drawing board, ruler, tape measure, paper, and patience.

A flowering shrub costs less than an evergreen, and in my opinion can achieve equally marvelous effects.

False Cost Estimates

Once you have studied the techniques of landscaping you will be able to guard against making false cost estimates. Here is a typical example of how many people go wrong: The novice would be “professional” home landscaper says to himself, “The distance across the front of my house is 40 feet – the ten plants to plant there cost me $75. Therefore, to go all around my property would cover 300 feet and this would cost approximately $550 plus dollars.” He shakes his head and resigns himself to a half-planted garden.

You will soon learn that such a method of estimating costs is inaccurate. In the first place you must try not to enclose the entire property; secondly, plants in the back yard will be given much more space in which to develop; finally, the plants in the back yard for the most part will be or should be deciduous.

Thus, a fine planting for your entire landscape even including a generous allotment of trees need not cost $550.

Installment Planting

If your budget cannot stand a large initial expense, there is no reason why you cannot spread costs over several years by installment planting, that is, setting only as many shrubs and plants as you can afford each year.

Because you will have made an overall plan, you need not worry that this gradual approach will result in a haphazard garden. As long as as you adhere to your sketches and plans you will eventually have a beautifully landscaped house and garden.

Be Original

Study of landscaping principles makes it easy to avoid imitation. You will arrive at your own firmly grounded convictions, and will be able to judge features common in your neighborhood on their merits, not on their popularity. Some you will like and incorporate into your garden. Others will seem pointless and you will ignore them without hesitation. You may discover (a) that traditional methods are often obsolete, and (b) a different and less expensive garden will in the long run be better suited to your family’s needs.

Therefore, you should eliminate any pre-set ideas you have about how a garden should be designed. As you go through the planning process, you will find that some of your ideas were good and should be included.  Forget any erroneous ideas and strive to be original. Substitute new ideas you have gleaned from the reading, visiting other gardens – even public gardens and look at new commercial landscape projects.

In a few years your house will be a stand-out in your neighborhood. In fact, you will soon realize, as I have many times seen, that your neighbors are beginning to copy you.

More knowledge, more power, and more success will show in your garden areas when you better understand the subject of landscaping and a preparing a landscape plan.

Posted by Denise at 4:09 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Check your trees and shrubs in the fall

 landscaping  No Responses »
Aug 102010
 

Fall is the time to take a look at your trees and shrubs and see what care they need. Depending on your summer they may need pruning or tender loving care to make up for a stressful summer. In my area we had intense heat and lack of rain so I know my plants need new compost and additional fertilizer to help with the strain of the summer temperatures.

My first plan is to check the plants for any damaged branches and remove them. Then it’s time to give them a good soaking and a liquid fertilizer. I prefer my own compost tea mix. It’s chemical free and packed with nutrients.

Next after the ground is thoroughly soaked I will apply a new thick ground cover to keep the moisture in and add additional nutrients to the soil.

If my plants look weak or tired I will check them over for any disease or root problems.

So far my trees and shrubs seem fine but a few seem to be heading for an early leaf loss. I have noticed this in many trees and shrubs in this area.

If you have a plant that really looks sad contact your local Master Gardens group or an Extension Office for help.

This is also a great time to analyze your backyard landscape and add any new shrubs or trees. If you plant them now they will have time to acclimate to their new surroundings and begin to grow roots.

And one final note: If you need to prune trees or shrubs, do it in late fall or winter before the new growth of spring has started. The exception to this general rule is spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs that should be pruned immediately after flowering

Posted by Denise at 9:24 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Identifying Poisonous Plants

 Backyard Garden  No Responses »
Aug 072010
 

If you have plants in your backyard and small children or pets its helpful to know what plants may be poisonous.

Poisonous plants may cause illness if chewed on or touched. It all depends on the plant and the person.

Many flowering plants may look pretty but can have flowers or leaves that will make some people ill. Castor beans are very poisonous and many grow this beautiful plant as an accent plant. I grow it for its beauty and also because it control moles, which I have in abundance in my backyard. But because if its poisonous attributes I grow it behind fencing.

The following you tube will show you a few poisonous but popular flowering plants.

Poison Ivy or Poison Oak affects everyone differently but knowing what it looks like and removing it from you backyard will benefit all. There are certain sumac plants that will make people ill. And many wild plants and weeds will affect people with a rash if picked.

If your yard is very big or contains a wooded area there may be many toxic plants.

One tip is if a plant has a red stem it is often poisonous. One tip I follow is if I don’t know a plant, I don’t touch it.

Learning to identify plants can be both beneficial and a fun project. These videos should have helped you to better recognize plants that may grow in your backyard or community.

Posted by Denise at 9:38 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Hydroponic Strawberries – 10 Advantages

 guest writer, landscaping  No Responses »
Dec 182009
 
Guest writer: Charlie Jackson

Have you ever considered growing your own hydroponic strawberries? You really should do because they are delicious and you could sell them for money!

Below is a list of the benefits of growing hydroponic strawberries as opposed to traditional soil grown strawberries.

1. No matter where you live you can grow hydroponic strawberries. There is no need to have a garden! So even if you live in a crowded city centre apartment block then you can still grow them.

2. As you’re not using soil, no soil borne diseases can be passed onto your strawberries. This will solve a huge problem that many gardeners face.

3. There will be no need to use any expensive and controversial pesticides on your strawberries as there will be no soil loving pests! Your strawberries will remain organic as a result!

4. Once the setup costs are complete, running costs are estimated to be at least 20% lower than with traditional soil based gardening.

5. You can grow more hydroponic strawberries in a smaller area! This is due to the decreased size of the roots as they don’t have to spread out to find nutrients. So you will be able to grow more in your growing trays.

6. Once set up, maintenance time is reduced. There is no watering involved as they have access to their growing nutrients, there is no soil so no weeding. In fact all you really need to do is pick your strawberries as and when you want them.

7. The strawberry yield will be year round. You control their environment and you will have everything set to their optimum growing conditions so they will continue to produce 365 days a year.

8. You can grow hydroponic strawberries anywhere; rooftop, window ledge, cellar, corridor, greenhouse, conservatory or living room.

9. Hydroponic strawberries grow on average 40% larger than their soil born brothers. This is because you have created their ideal growing environment and they have full access to all the nutrients they need. Money in the bank!

About the Author:
Hydroponic Strawberries are lovely and there is a chance to make a lot of hard cash, especially if you happen to be selling them off season for high prices. You should set up your own Hydroponic Strawberry system, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Posted by Denise at 6:23 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Making A Family Landscape Garden

 guest writer  No Responses »
Sep 142009
 

Like the living rooms of your house, the garden or recreation area is for the comfort and enjoyment of your family. IMG_7047
Creative Commons License photo credit: Maven Dooshe

No stock set of plans answers the needs of all. You must first decide what your family needs are and then plan a garden to meet them,

Shall it be a rose garden, a rock garden, a wild garden or a play area? Do you want it formal, naturalistic, informal or conventional? And how about the style – English cottage garden, French parterre, Colonial or Japanese?

It is up to you. The garden is the outdoor area that is most valuable to the family as a whole and should be designed with that consideration uppermost.

Canadian Style

In Canada they have not yet developed their our own style. At present it follows the American trends very closely, but with less attention to garden ornaments and furnishings.

Because of longer winters, and most Canadians get to the country easily in the summer, they have not generally furnished their gardens for comfort in the past. Instead, they used them as a playground for the children and an exercise ground for horticultural hobbies. Urbanise, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Creative Commons License photo credit: sarahgardenvisit

Lately, however, they have paid more attention to garden design and also to the arrangement of garden areas for comfortable living. By growing more flowers and taking advantage of a wealth of trees and shrubs. Canadians make liberal use of conifers to provide color and form during the long winters, and of bulbs for spring bloom.

Being accustomed to space in Canada, even in a formal garden they prefer a simple, open arrangement of parts to a crowded, European style with its fine detail. They like games so open lawns are needed by using lawn mower with lawn mower insurance.

Because of shoveling snow they leave planting well back from roads and paths. In Ontario and Quebec they have large supplies of good limestone, and prefer it for walks, steps and walls to the finer finish of brick or concrete.

A simple, open style suits the climate and their tastes, so it is generally the best one to use in gardens where they wish to relax. However, gardens intended as showplaces are often very effective when developed according to the styles of other countries and periods.

Kent Higgins frequently contributes to plant-care.com. The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of lawn mower insurance.

Posted by Gary Antosh at 11:54 am  Tagged with: , , , ,
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