Small Space Barbeque Theme Garden

 Backyard Garden  No Responses »
May 162009
 

There are many theme gardens that people use in their backyard garden planning. A theme garden is popular because it usually takes less space than an ordinary garden and acts as a focal point in backyard design. Chives
Creative Commons License photo credit: fotologic

With the trend in outdoor kitchens and the popularity of barbeque pits a barbecue garden is a must for many garden areas.

Since most outdoor kitchens use creative landscaping design ideas and Barbeque centers are kept on the deck or patio. It makes sense to grow this theme garden in containers and close to the cooking area.

The Barbeque garden is set up to take limited space and it uses only three potting containers. Two containers should be 24 inches in diameter and one, at least 15 inches in diameter. You will also need potting soil, compost or organic fertilizer.

Plants for your Barbeque Garden

1 tomato plant
1 Red pepper plant
1 Habanera plant
1 flat leaf parsley plant
1 upright rosemary plant
1 trailing rosemary plant
1 Chive plant
1 Dill plant
1 Mint plant
1 Oregano plant
Thyme plant – French is a good culinary variety
3 Basil plants Red savina habanero
Creative Commons License photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

When placing your garden remember it will perform better if it’s located in an area that receives at least 6 hours of direct sun.

Start designing your Barbeque garden by checking the bottoms of the garden pots or containers you selected to make sure they have good drainage holes. I would also suggest pots or containers with color since your garden is all about growing herbs for the kitchen. Make your containers spicy and creative like your garden herb selection.

Fill all three pots with potting soil and lightly pat the soil down. Its best to leave three or four inches of space between the top of the soil and the top rim of the pot. This acts to catch water, plus I like to add mulch to the top of the container to help keep the soil moist and conserve on the soils moisture.

Add organic fertilizer or compost to the potting containers. Mix lightly into the soil with a fork and pat the soil back down.

In the first 24-inch pot plant the tomato towards one side of the pot. This will become the backside of the planting design. Next, plant two of the basil’s in front of the tomato toward the center of the pot and the thyme at the very front edge.

Add the dill plant to one side of the basil/thyme and the parsley on the other side. For the final step place a tomato cage or trellis around the tomato. If you are using a trellis place it behind the plant. I like the look of a trellis in this garden design.

For the second 24-inch pot, plant the pepper plants, side-by-side at the “back” of the pot. Space these plants one foot apart.

On one side of the container plant the trailing rosemary. And on the other side plant a basil and mint plant. Add the tomato cage or trellis where both peppers can use it.

To create a nice design I place the third medium sized planter in between and in front of the larger planting containers. This will create a triangle shaped mini garden.

In the medium 15-inch pot, plant the rosemary towards the “back” of the pot. Next place the chive and oregano in front and space accordingly.

Water all of the pots thoroughly and add compost or mulch to the top or each planter. This will shade the soil and help retain moisture.

You can add a few small growing flowers, edible flowers or trailing flowers to the plants in front for color. There are also several different varieties of the herbs I suggested that have more color such as Golden thyme or purple ruffles basil.

You might consider adding two small pots in the front of the planters off to the side of the medium planters for flowers.

One edible flower that I consider a must for the barbeque theme garden is the nasturtium.  They are easy to grow, colorful and have a peppery taste which will compliment any barbeque meal.

This mini theme garden is practical and colorful. It will make a great addition to your backyard oasis paradise and kitchen garden area.

Posted by Denise at 1:32 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Create a Garden Room or Garden Office

 backyard design  No Responses »
Apr 292009
 

Garden studios are becoming popular in backyards, particularly small backyard design areas. By designing a garden studio you can create a small getaway that is available anytime. untitled HDR.
Creative Commons License photo credit: aJ Dy

It could be a more relaxed working area or and area that helps with creativity.

The idea of a garden office or garden studio is perfect for people who enjoy the outdoors or gardening. It is also convenient for people who are self-employed and work at home. Your work area becomes a very relaxing haven.

If you have a small backyard or no backyard you will need to plan carefully to make the best use out of every available inch of space. You may even want to consider hiring a professional designer to help out.

The first and most important step is analyzing your available space. Will your area be indoors or out? Natural lighting and a flow with the outdoors are necessary. You will also need to check on any building permits and security issues for your new design.

The Outdoor Garden Studio or Garden Office

Heating, cooling and security for a separate building are main concerns with an outdoor garden studio or office. Also selecting the building location and size in relation to backyard space and landscape design are keys to success.

If your building needs to be small to fit into available space you can actually add to the feel of the room by adding a mini patio, flagstone or creating a garden around the building.  This extends the indoor space outside in a flowing feel. Add a small tabletop fountain for relaxation and you have created a feeling out an outdoor room or secret garden.

You can create the building yourself, hire a builder or buy a small building at most garden centers.

Indoor Garden Studio or Garden Office

Porches, sunrooms, balconies and a room with many windows will make a wonderful garden office. You may also decide to add a small extension onto your home. Some of the most inviting garden rooms I have seen are balconies that have been enclosed but the design from the balcony moves into the attached room creating a larger feeling to the entire space.

Sunrooms and porches are also very successful when re-created into garden studios. By adding plants, container gardens, mini ponds or fountains you bring the feel of the outdoors indoors. The use of vertical garden design and garden trellises will make better use of limited space and create a lush garden feeling. Aus Home Beautiful June 08.jpg
Creative Commons License photo credit: Tammy Manet

And depending on your climate you may need to add insulation to create a more climate friendly atmosphere during the hot summer months or cooler winter season.

By creating a Garden studio or Garden office you can make an environment to work in that offers the comfort and relaxation of being outdoors.

Posted by Denise at 7:01 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Create a Mini Water Pond

 backyard design  2 Responses »
Apr 212009
 

Water features are a wonderful addition to any backyard, garden or indoor living space.  The sound and flow of water adds instant relaxation to any area, particularly a small space design area. Mini gardens or apartment dwellers that have a small porch deck or balcony can easily create a backyard oasis feeling with the addition of a small water pond created in a garden pot. Unknown water lily
Creative Commons License photo credit: SuperFantastic

First select a glazed ceramic pot without a hole in the bottom. You can purchase one at a store or add to the fun and challenge by picking one up at an auction or garage sale. Select a style that will fit with your home design or go for a natural garden look.

Wash the pot well with a natural soap without perfume or chemicals and fill the pit with water. Select a few varieties of aquatic plants and perhaps a dwarf water lily. Your selection of water plants will be based on the size of the pot and whether you plan to add dirt to the pot. Your local pet store or garden center will be able to help you with your selection.

A quick guide for water plant selection is that some plants do well planted in a plastic plant basket filled with compost and topped with gravel. Others float freely on the surface of the water and are known as floaters. If you choose a water lily, which needs soil, place the basket on the bottom of the pot and the leaves will naturally float to the surface. Water lilies are one of the more popular water plants because of their beauty.

If your planter is large enough you might want to add a few small fish, but due to the size of the mini water pond you are creating the fish must be small and only purchase a few. The plants will keep the water clear in your mini water garden and give the fish oxygen and shade.

If you add fish, remember to feed them according to directions on the food container, check the water regularly and don’t purchase Koi fish for a small mini pond. They can grow quite large and will outgrow their home very quickly.

If you live in a cold area you will need to protect your mini water garden from freezing during the winter, especially if you have fish in the container. If you have room in your home you may want to bring the mini water pond indoors. It will definitely add to the atmosphere. If you leave the pond outdoors, cover it and in cold areas find an indoor home for the fish.

Each spring you will need to clean the pot thoroughly and prune the plants to a manageable size. During the seasons keep the plants groomed by removing any sad looking leaves and dead blooms. This will keep your mini water pond healthier and your plants blooming all season long.

One final note, place your water pond in an area that gets about 8 hours of sun and remove any leaves that blow into the pond.

This small mini water pond will add to any patio, balcony garden or even the indoor living area. With proper care and cleaning it will be productive for many years.

Posted by Denise at 9:36 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Raised Bed Garden Project

 backyard projects  No Responses »
Apr 152009
 

Raised bed gardening is easy to maintain and easy on your back. Another useful purpose for the raised bed gardens is that it can make use of poor soil locations and out of the way place in the backyard that receive enough sunlight for a garden but may have poor soil or be so uneven that it creates problems. Small Yellow
Creative Commons License photo credit: faungg

This you tube has a very easy to assemble raised bed plan. It cans easily be adapted in width and length to fit into your backyard, which can be helpful if you are working with small space design for that small yard. Notice the nice raised beds that are located on the deck. It adds beauty to the deck and makes use of valuable space.

One other reason I really enjoy raised beds is that they are easy to attach framed to for growing crops in cold weather. You can also attach trellises or posts to the side to let plants grow vertical which will also save space in the garden areas.

Posted by Denise at 11:04 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Terrace a Backyard Hillside

 backyard design  4 Responses »
Apr 122009
 

Living in the rolling hills of the Appalachia foothills has proven to give me many challenges. One of the biggest it that most of my yard is either a gentle slope or an out and out bank that is close to impossible to maintain. I also have runoff problems after a rain so the solution to this problem was to terrace several of my hillsides. I have now made my hillsides beautiful, productive, safer and easy to maintain. Streissguth Gardens - Seattle
Creative Commons License photo credit: brewbooks

The idea of terracing a hillside is to make the hill into giant flat steps that will allow for the areas to be safely worked and to keep soil from washing away. You may decide to ground cover most of your hillside or add a lot of rock with just a few plants. You may also choose to add low sprawling bushes that choke out weeds and need little care. One other option is to turn the hillside into several different gardens.

Terraced hills are more appealing to the eye if they are laid out in interesting shapes. They could be several mini gardens surround by rock or they could curve around a seating area. If the area has enough sunlight you may choose to put your vegetable or flower garden there. And a larger hillside garden doesn’t seem complete without a stairway wandering up the hill. It’s beautiful and functional for watering or working with plants.

To terrace a hillside, start at the base. You will need some sort of retaining wall material. This could be wood, railroad ties, stone, brick or cement block. The decision of material will be based on cost and your landscaping theme you have.

When planning your terrace design,  cut very wide step-like areas out. Usually this is done starting at the base. Flatten out the top of a raised area and move the dirt towards your newly positioned retaining wall. Even out the soil. You may want to add another row or more height to you wall and add additional compost or rich soil for growing plants.

You will want your terraced area to be wide enough to work and plant. Three to four  foot areas are a good size. A terrace area under two foot isn’t as easy to work with. When your first terraced area is even and you are happy with it, add another terrace. Continue this procedure up to the top.

Make sure that your retaining wall is firm and will not tumble forward. Soil will add pressure to the wall so the wall needs to be secure. Installing drainage at the time you put the wall in too will help with any added pressure on the wall area. This is more important in rainy climates or area that freeze in the winter

I added a drainage pipe and gravel to my higher slopes I terraced and a buffer zone of 10 inches of gravel behind the back of each retaining wall in my smaller terraces. This will keep water from backing up against the retaining wall and pushing the wall out causing damage.

Terracing a slope can be a practical landscaping solution to keep hillside erosion free. It adds beauty to a backyard or can turn a usable section of the yard into a garden area for relaxation or other uses. A terraced area will also help for small space design idea where every foot of yard is invaluable.

Posted by Denise at 11:23 pm  Tagged with: , , ,
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