How to Cultivate an Eye Catching Landscape
Before you head to your local nursery to start shopping for flowers, trees and shrubs, here are seven things you need to know first:
1. Take the time to determine and measure the area in your yard you'd like to landscape. Using a chalk line measuring tool comes in handy once you've decided where you want to lay your flower beds, etc. Forming a visible/clearly defined chalk line may require assistance from another individual to snap a sharp line.
2. Think of colors that are not only appealing to you but that will enhance the color of your home and any existing plant materials that you have already decided to incorporate into the scene scape.
3. Next, you should think about spacing requirements. If you already have certain perennials and shrubs in mind for planting, do you have any idea how wide or high they may grow? Is it possible that the shrub will become overgrown in a few years and overshadow other vegetation growing next to it? Remember to consider adequate spacing between each plant. It is recommended that you lay comparable templates in the spots you'd like to place your plantings prior to purchase. Keep height and length in mind too. Don't assume that because you bought a short plant that isn't going to grow tall. Before you do begin to lay them in the ground, try to insure that shorter growing flowers like pansies, petunnias, dianthus are placed in the front of you beds. Note: Annuals can be a great choice for low-lying flowers since they provide vibrant colors and can give you a better handle on any height and spacing issues since they are normally planted every year.
4. Will you be planting in a shady or sunny area or the combination of both? If mainly using perennials, when is their blooming season and on average how long will it last? The most lush and beautiful gardens stagger different flowers that bloom throughout the season or year (i.e., daffodils and tulips pop-up in the Spring, but lillies don't show their colors until early Summer). It can be tricky to keep your flower beds alive because while one plant species is dying back another type is ready to shine with life.
5. Once you are ready to begin purchasing your selections, be sure to inquire about pruning tips from your nursery or gardening professional. Although some shrubs will drop their leaves in the Fall and grow back on the branches the following year, not all perennial blooms are reincarnated the same way. Some varietals need to be cut-back to allow for new birth in due season.
6. One of the most important aspects in providing a good/sound foundation for your landscape is using good rich soil. Enjoying eye-appealing and lip-smacking gardens and landscapes throughout the growing seasons can yield tremendous self gratification. One of the best ways to produce nutrient strong soil is to create it yourself. By throwing weeds, grass clippings, leaves and any other unwanted vegetation into a pre-defined pile with unusable/dug-up brown-sandy dirt, can get the job done for you. In time, this will create a wonderful compost of rejuvenated soil that not only the worms get to enjoy but so will you, your family, friends and your neighbors may tend to covet. Fortunately, this compost doesn't need to be stirred or consistently monitored. Nature will automatically do its job when combining compressed dirt, living organisms, rain water and recycled plant compounds.
7. Although unpleasant, time consuming and tedious, weeding your landscapes is vital to the health of your plants. I prefer to incorporate plenty of ground covers like sedums into beddings to help keep the pesky stems under control and concealed until there is time to dig the persistent ones up primarily after a steady rain shower. Moist soil makes it much easier to pull the roots rather than use pesticides that can control them but can also compromise your floral blooms. (www.7Hope.net - Helping Optimistic People Excel - in 7 areas of life)
1. Take the time to determine and measure the area in your yard you'd like to landscape. Using a chalk line measuring tool comes in handy once you've decided where you want to lay your flower beds, etc. Forming a visible/clearly defined chalk line may require assistance from another individual to snap a sharp line.
2. Think of colors that are not only appealing to you but that will enhance the color of your home and any existing plant materials that you have already decided to incorporate into the scene scape.
3. Next, you should think about spacing requirements. If you already have certain perennials and shrubs in mind for planting, do you have any idea how wide or high they may grow? Is it possible that the shrub will become overgrown in a few years and overshadow other vegetation growing next to it? Remember to consider adequate spacing between each plant. It is recommended that you lay comparable templates in the spots you'd like to place your plantings prior to purchase. Keep height and length in mind too. Don't assume that because you bought a short plant that isn't going to grow tall. Before you do begin to lay them in the ground, try to insure that shorter growing flowers like pansies, petunnias, dianthus are placed in the front of you beds. Note: Annuals can be a great choice for low-lying flowers since they provide vibrant colors and can give you a better handle on any height and spacing issues since they are normally planted every year.
4. Will you be planting in a shady or sunny area or the combination of both? If mainly using perennials, when is their blooming season and on average how long will it last? The most lush and beautiful gardens stagger different flowers that bloom throughout the season or year (i.e., daffodils and tulips pop-up in the Spring, but lillies don't show their colors until early Summer). It can be tricky to keep your flower beds alive because while one plant species is dying back another type is ready to shine with life.
5. Once you are ready to begin purchasing your selections, be sure to inquire about pruning tips from your nursery or gardening professional. Although some shrubs will drop their leaves in the Fall and grow back on the branches the following year, not all perennial blooms are reincarnated the same way. Some varietals need to be cut-back to allow for new birth in due season.
6. One of the most important aspects in providing a good/sound foundation for your landscape is using good rich soil. Enjoying eye-appealing and lip-smacking gardens and landscapes throughout the growing seasons can yield tremendous self gratification. One of the best ways to produce nutrient strong soil is to create it yourself. By throwing weeds, grass clippings, leaves and any other unwanted vegetation into a pre-defined pile with unusable/dug-up brown-sandy dirt, can get the job done for you. In time, this will create a wonderful compost of rejuvenated soil that not only the worms get to enjoy but so will you, your family, friends and your neighbors may tend to covet. Fortunately, this compost doesn't need to be stirred or consistently monitored. Nature will automatically do its job when combining compressed dirt, living organisms, rain water and recycled plant compounds.
7. Although unpleasant, time consuming and tedious, weeding your landscapes is vital to the health of your plants. I prefer to incorporate plenty of ground covers like sedums into beddings to help keep the pesky stems under control and concealed until there is time to dig the persistent ones up primarily after a steady rain shower. Moist soil makes it much easier to pull the roots rather than use pesticides that can control them but can also compromise your floral blooms. (www.7Hope.net - Helping Optimistic People Excel - in 7 areas of life)