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The Real Gardeners Book

July 17th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Hi everyone!

I was looking for various online sources of gardening tips and found the Real Gardeners Handbook. I took a look at it and the author looks like a real stand-up guy with an obvious green thumb.

The downloadable book (also provided on an Mp3 book with the download) goes about describing in good detail how a beautiful garden can be gained easily, with little expense and a great deal of satisfaction. All the steps seemed really simple, clear, and easily followed. If you want to see more, get The Real Gardeners Book here

False Heather (Mexican Heather)

November 28th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

We’ll be discussing various plants and shrubs that may fit into your landscaping.

To begin, let’s discuss False Heather, or Mexican Heather, to border your driveway. This plant is great any place else you may need a border.

In Latin, this Heather is from the Lythraceae (ly-THRAY-see-ee) family; Cuphea (KYOO-fee-uh) genus; and the species is hyssopifolia (hiss-sop-ih-FOH-lee-uh).

This plant is considered an annual or a tropical. The little shrubs grow from 12-18 inches (30-45 cm).

When planting, space the shrubs 9-12 inches (22-30 cm) apart. These will grow and spread, in time, so that the spaces between will fill in. You must also take care to remove any that end up spreading in areas you do not wish.

Hardiness of this plant is as follows (this information is from a landscaper friend):

USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)
USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F)
USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 °C (40 °F)

Healthy False Heather is an evergreen, blooms all year, loves full sun to partial shade. It puts out purple flowers. These flowers will attract bees and we need more stimuli to keep our bees healthy and reproducing. If you are allergic to bee stings, check with your local nursery. A hybrid of False Heather exists that does not attract bees. The flowering plant is difficult to determine from the real stuff.

Oh yes, water this Heather regularly, but do not over water. I find the soil can be only slightly damp before water is needed again.

The soil for these plants can be mildly alkaline or neutral. Check with your local nursery if your plants struggle in your soil. They may only need a bit of fertilizer.

False Heather can be started from seeds and cuttings, but it is also readily available at your local nursery, well-started and hearty.

Along my own driveway, I planted Heather and Mondo Grass side-by-side the length of the driveway on both sides. While I love the look of the two together, Mondo Grass has a tendency to crowd out other plants. It has done that to my Heather, which, of the two, I had wanted to keep. In a few months I will remove the Mondo Grass and add more Heather. For a driveway border, I decided I would like more color. Once the Mondo Grass is removed, I will plant flower bearing annuals around the mailbox and in other areas where a clump of blooms will look nice.

That is not to say we don’t like Mondo Grass. It has its place. Watch for an article about Mondo Grass coming soon.

For now, I love the False Heather in my landscaping and it will stay.

Mary Deal

Ideas for Landscaping Your Home and Property

July 20th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Landscaping can be a bit bemusing for someone trying his or her ideas for landscaping the first time around. Some people have a natural eye for ideas for landscaping, but if like me you are not like that, you can still get good ideas from looking at others and then let that spark your landscape design ideas. Once you have an idea for what you may want to do, you can either work them out on landscaping software or you can hire a landscape architect or engineer.

Walls

As ideas for landscaping, walls are an attractive, even decorative item in any garden. Walls, within the ideas of landscaping, are not seen as ways to block or conceal a space. Rather they are used to enhance and highlight an area. Sometimes they are used to divide or logically suggest the beginning and end to one segment of the garden and another. Walls form great backyard landscaping ideas, especially if you can afford the space for a creative design.

Decks And Patios

Decks and patios are an absolutely necessary item in any landscape design ideas. They present locations for gathering, isolated islands in the midst of the garden for viewing special selections in a garden, and they are an oasis of relaxation. It’s a glorious experience sitting on a patio surrounded by floral aromas and simply watching the stars at night.  Decks and patios are generally made from wood but steel and concrete are also used. What medium you choose should be based on the character of your garden and the effect you are trying to create.

Stones For Landscaping

Many landscape design ideas use rocks and stones to create a more natural look. There are a multitude of styles, colors, textures in use today. You can use natural stone purchased from dealers or the same company will probably be able to sell you man-made stone as well.  Man-made stone is purpose made for homes and is often designed to fit specific areas or functions. A landscape engineer will be able to bring your ideas for landscaping your home into reality.

Water Fixtures

Most people enjoy what is commonly called a “water feature.” A water feature is a landscape design idea meant to evoke the softness and calmness of running or flowing water. This can be designed around something as simple as a bird pond and fountain or as magnificent as a roaring waterfall. Your ideas for landscaping are only limited by your needs and by your imagination.

Summing it Up

Many (if not most) ideas for landscaping come directly from the homeowner. No one can tell you what you want. If you can get that idea out in the open, even just a rough drawn image on paper, chances are a landscaping architect can team with you to make your dreams a reality.

Small Area Landscape Design

July 17th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

The idea that landscaping is for large areas and that gardening is for more modest surroundings just isn’t true. Good landscaping ideas can be placed in small areas; even ten square yards can become a beautiful canvas for landscaping ideas.  Whether you get your landscaping ideas from books and magazines or from your own creativity, your small yard can become a harbor of floral beauty with just a few good ideas for landscaping.

Small Area Planting

In smaller gardens, there are an endless choice and variety of plants; however, consideration should be given to the size or area to be planted. Things such as growth or spread, growth rate and maintenance should be factors to keep in mind. Small areas can be easily overgrown which will then require large amounts of labor in trimming and pruning to not only maintain but to provide adequate control for all plants. A good landscaping idea is to think about incorporating varieties that are not fast growers.

Some possibilities for bushes are Carissa and Privat. These choices generally grow more slowly but the maintain the attractive shape and appearance for many seasons. They would work well in smaller areas. More good landscaping ideas for slow growing varities are Pittosporum, Myrtle, Pistacia, and Nandina. These give abundant opportunity to “design” them during their slow growth.

Fountains And Ponds Landscaping Ideas

Having fountains and ponds is not necessarily restricted to large areas. Many landscaping ideas for small areas have fountains, waterfalls and small ponds included in them. You need to decide where you will put your fountain or pond. In many cases, waterfalls are usually in a corner or in the wall itself with a rock formation for the water to tumble don from. These landscaping ideas involving water fixtures are highly popular and actually not as difficult as you may think. For pocket gardens, a fountain or a small waterfall can still be incorporated into it. There are many landscaping ideas that use ready made fountains and waterfalls which are placed on a small ceramic basin or bowl and then placed in a spot in the pocket garden.

Another misunderstanding is that ponds are for the more elaborate landscaping design. Nothing could be more untrue. Countless landscaping ideas incorporate fountains, ponds, and even waterfalls in their plans.  The two basic facts to remember about a “water feature” are placement and scale.  Water features can easily dominate an otherwise good landscaping idea.  If they are not to be the central feature then they must be moved off to a peripheral position and down scaled in size.
Landscaping ideas involving water features have been and continue to be very popular. They run the gamut of landscaping ideas and possibilities. They can be small babbling brooks, manmade stone waterfalls, or simple ceramic birdbaths. The size of your landscaping project does not have to be a major issue, there are good landscaping ideas for all.

Things to Remember

These landscaping ideas are great for small or, as they are often called, “pocket gardens.” If you remember these key points, you’ll have a beautiful garden:

1) Understand available space
2) Draw out a plan
3) Consider growth rates and labor in upkeep
4) Make all garden features to scale
5) Water features are appropriate in any size garden

Useful Landscape Software and What You Can Do With It?

July 16th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Landscape software is generally overlooked by many when it comes time to design their landscaping plans. Usually, a simple plan or pattern is drawn on graph paper and the process then evolves from there. However, if anyone else is going to be involved in your vision, and especially if you are going to have others doing the actual work, the added dimension of home and landscape design software brings all aspects of idea, design, and construction to fruition. Lets others (and yourself) see the entire vision in three dimensions! Garden landscape software can open new vistas of design possibilities.

Enjoyable and Wont Break the Bank

You can find landscape software at any computer store. It may also be found at your local home and garden store and sometimes at your Home Depot. There are all different kinds and levels of home and landscape design software. A useful program can be bought for as little as 30 to 50 dollars. They do come cheaper but their utility and functions become limited as the price drops. Also, graphics quality may suffer as the software producer tries to balance features with development and production costs. Be sure to know the basic operating requirements of the program and its compatibility with your computer.

Once you have chosen your garden landscape software, you will find that it opens a whole new realm of “what ifs” for you. You can design, redesign, and start over again at the press of a button. This is one of the greatest uses of landscape software: it allows your imagination run riot without running through countless pencils and reams of graph paper. Seeing your ideas rendered in landscape software, in three dimensions, will allow you to view your plans from every angle. Its truly superior to just jotting ideas on paper.

Feature Set

The feature set of any particular piece of landscape software will differ according to purpose and price; however, most of the available programs allow you input and receive data in numerous useful ways. For example, most programs will let you see your over all idea in plan (looking down) and profile (ground level). They will allow you to include data such as direction of sunlight and various local climate factors to flesh-out your typical growing period and best plants, shrubs, and grasses for your area. This information, as you can understand, is very useful for you on a long-term basis, not just for the initial build.

Many of the more capable programs have an extended or long-term value that can only increase their usefulness over time. Some of these landscape software suites can tell you about your growing season, provide water alerts, and notify you about planting and growing season. Some of these home and landscape design software products even have an encyclopedia like database that can inform you about various planets, shrubs, grasses and trees. It also can have data concerning insects and other pests and a host of other useful information types.

For Today and Tomorrow

Designing your landscaping plan is not simply a matter of designing a plan for today and then packing your landscaping software away never to be seen again. It can also help you to envision the stages of your landscaping plan over the intermediate and long-term stage. It is truly able to give you an idea of the big picture over time. If you should decide to “retro-fit” a planting idea or two, you can see what it may look line if you alter the present design scheme. Alternatively, you can also remove things already planed and planted to see the effects of sunlight and growth on other areas.

In a sense, this software is a kind of crystal ball that allows you to see a plan before it is constructed, make alternative plans during a phase of planting and seeing how it works out, and also a long term planner for future endeavors. You can’t go far wrong if you incorporate this software in your over-all landscaping plans!

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Credits: Work From Home | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund