garden design

Seasonal Gardening: Here Come Summer

There is no doubt that it requires a lot of time and effort to plan for the perfect summer time garden. People change their garden through the seasons for various reasons, many simply like to have a summer garden to charm their guests. After all it’s much more likely that you get visitors in Summer to enjoy your garden than other weeks in the years. Some people choose to undertake it because they delight in having one. No matter what your reason might be, you should never skip the planning process or you can expect failure. If you thoroughly plan every detail, you can count on great success with your summer garden.

The master plan for your summer garden should include what plants to have plus anything else surrounding them. You have to think about the boundaries, landscaping and bordering of your backyard garden. The garden will have to enhance the positives of your area while blunting the less attractive parts. If you use conventional rows for a vegetable garden or elevated landscaping boxes, you still want to arrange your garden in a way that is attractive. It is essential that whatever you decide, your summer garden shouldn’t take away from your current landscape. Even when your garden is only intended to be a vegetable garden that is merely functional, you should make sure that it looks nice.

In order to supply additional focal points, you can use imaginative landscaping tricks, along with water features, birdhouses, or lawn furniture. It is usually best if you have many points of interest so that your visitors have something different to look at each time they come. You should not wish to have something that is too flashy so take care. You need to choose the best balance between having too many focal points to not having enough. If you are planning to have events in your summer garden in the evening, you should have lighting set up. Sometimes it is achieved by using solar powered illumination along walkways. If you plan to have tables and chairs for your guests in your summer season garden, you may even want to have overhead lighting.

If you wish to make your garden look and feel very eye-catching, you can have a pathway with stones and pavers. The soil that gets compacted because of your feet or your visitors need not slow the growth of your garden. Your garden won’t look overgrown in the areas that cannot be mowed that easily. In order to make your garden outstanding, you should think about a waterfall or a goldfish pond. This sort of thing can present you with more areas to put lighting or have a social area. It will give birds the space to flutter about your garden to everyone’s delight.

A garden is a great place for you to have families come together and socialize. You can really make your garden get noticed with only a few small changes. If you prepare it properly, you will have many compliments about your garden and your gardening abilities.

Choosing the Right Fence for your Garden

Or how to make buying a fence, a better experience. You can do more expensive improvements on your home other than a fence installation, to be sure. In addition to that, somebody has to install it, so you then have to go about finding an installer that knows what he’s doing. Since a lot of people are not so motivated to begin with, you may find your self having to get your self going with this. There are so many possible problems that can be caused by not being prepared. The current article will cover 3 recommendations for you to give you direction about how best to prepare for your fence installation.

So many factors come into play when you are trying to sell your home, and that makes the fence decision have even more weight. There is curb attraction, first impressions, and even more which may include the effect your fence will have on future buyers, so you have to be sure you make the right choices. When you are selling, you have to market your home and this will be a lot easier when everything appears to be an asset rather than the opposite. Some people buy a fence outright and other finance it because some fences are just more expensive than others. Avoid despair if you cannot buy the beautiful fence you have your heart set on, there are creative options as well as other ways to find a fence that is priced affordable.

A lot of things you really need to get some answers for are related to the installer who should be the fencing contractor. Talk to them before hiring them and ask all the questions such as what can go wrong during the installation and how will it be addressed. You will be a bit lucky if your property is completely flat, although that is not a deal killer if it is not. You really do want to be sure you have thought about everything as much as you can, and this is preventive medicine. You should know that you never hand over any down payments until the air is cleared and you have all the documents you need.

You can save a fair amount of money buy actually ordering your own fence and then just arrange to have it installed.

But if you want to hire someone for this, then you may want to avoid having a retail chain because they do not have real fence installers. After an initial consultation with any contractor, just hold off on hiring them until you perform some background checks on them. Lastly, don’t be afraid to go with your intuition about anything because many times it is accurate and can be trusted.

Be careful when you are researching fence installation related searches on the net because some content is not exactly trustworthy. So do keep in mind that a lot of what happens can be under your control, but like anything else you have to earn it a little bit. And you want to think about this pretty hard so you are happy with what you get.

The Gardening Tools the Experts Use

As you learn more and more about gardening you are also going to be learning more and more about all of the gardening tools out there that are designed to help you create a better garden as well as save you lots of time. Of course, you don’t need to purchase every tool that is on the market. Don’t buy too much too soon, start small and with tools you know that you will actually use-you can buy the rest later. Your body contains more than enough strength to carry out all of your gardening tasks. You can use your own two hands to move dirt and plants and earth around. Of course, at the same time, you can use tools to help save time and to protect your body from too much wear and tear. Here are a few gardening tools that you might find useful.

Every gardener needs a good and sturdy pair of gardening gloves. Gardening gloves help keep your hands healthy as you work with the various parts of your garden. You might enjoy the feeling of digging in the dirt with non-gloved hands but gloves will help keep your hands safe and clean while you work. A good example of this is the way your gloves prevent you from being scratched or stuck by thorns when you work with rosebushes.

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Gloves also provide protection for your hands when you work with substances that will leave residue behind like fertilizer and compost. There are a lot of bugs and other creatures that are going to take up residence in your garden; your gloves keep you from having to touch them directly. If your garden is large or if you plan on moving a lot of different things at once, you might want to invest in a garden cart. Garden carts can be used to help transport tools to your garden and plants from your garden. You can also use them to help you transport compost from your compost heap to your garden. Garden carts can also be used to move large quantities of dirt away from your garden. Most often, a garden cart is used to transport things in a quick and easy fashion. In a pinch a wheelbarrow can do this as well.

You need to have a hand trowel. Many inexperienced gardeners move dirt around with their hands. Getting used to using a hand trowel will happen over time, usually as you get used to the act of gardening. A hand trowel keeps your actual hands protected. Most gardeners use their trowels to speed up the weeding they have to do as well as to shift the earth that surrounds their plants without disturbing the plants themselves. You can use hand trowels on just about every plant in a garden because trowels come in many different sizes.

Learning which gardening tools are essential takes a little bit of time. When you are a beginner you will be tempted to buy everything available. Instead of dropping a few paychecks on gardening supplies you might not need start with a few basics and then add to your collection as you need to. This will save you money, time and storage space in your gardening shed. Before you realize what has happened you’ll be able to look at your gardening tools and instinctively know which tools you need to complete your tasks.

Some Useful Design Ideas For Your Garden

The planning and placement of plants in your garden is known as garden designing.  Of course, its scope can vary from a simple vegetable garden to the huge complicated schemes that you can see lovingly created by a professional landscaper.  However there is more than one way to design a garden.  In fact external factors like how much room you have, what kind of plants you want to grow and your preferences will influence it.

When designing your garden, colour is something you should consider very early on.  It’s relevant even if you are planting a vegetable garden to provide  healthy and nutritious food.  A nice looking vegetable garden makes the food look good as well, especially important if you’re trying to encourage youngsters to eat their greens.  But of course, colours are even more important when you want to plant some flowers.

When it comes to flowers and plants not only are there a lot of different colors, there are also lots of different shades for each colour.  For any person who is familiar with roses, you’ll be well aware of exactly just how many different pinks and reds there are.  A new garden is best started out with just two or three main colours – don’t be tempted to start out with more.  This way you can keep it controlled and choose colors that will actually compliment each other rather than ending up with some nightmare colour explosion.

If you decide on other features perhaps such as a rock garden in your design; you will be adding a more demanding element to the mix. You don’t need to be any sort of professional though so don’t be put off.  It is not that difficult; it involves placing the rocks in locations where they will create the look you want. A rock garden will normally thrive in dry soil; maybe on rugged terrain in a hilly area.  Look for larger rocks that have a weathered appearance, which gives your rock garden a natural and wild look. There will be considerable work when you figure that the majority of the rock will be underground; be prepared for some shoveling.

Select plants that will add colour to your garden and of course the varieties that will thrive in your particular area.

Gardens can be designed for almost any space, including non-traditional ones if you have limited space or any unused area to improve its appearance. Think of planting trees or colorful flowers next to your driveway, for example. Maybe you can plant something by the sidewalk outside your home if there is space between it and the street. Any type of path on your property could be made more attractive by placing flowers next to it.

This doesn’t replace your main garden, but it can improve the environment of your property and home. Spend time looking around to find creative areas to plant something. After you have been gardening for awhile, you will realize how rewarding it can be to design your own ultimate garden.

Gardening design is not that difficult, but it does require you to come up with a blueprint, just as though you were building a house or other structure. Remember, though, that plants are living things, so you have to remember their biological needs as well as how they’ll look.

Why You Should Add a Fountain To Your Garden

If you plan to shake up the feel of your garden, adding a feature that uses water is a good idea. A water fountain in the garden will make your garden more aesthetically pleasing and relaxing to be in. If you spend time reading or perhaps getting work done in your garden with the sound of flowing water, you can sooth your frayed spirit. To install a fountain to your garden is relatively easy to do and does not have to cost a lot of money to do it.

Many people enjoy the look of a fountain when they add one to their garden. Furthermore, just the sounds of the water helps you focus on what you’re doing. You will find a pleasant, almost trance-like quality whenever you add a water fountain. Anybody who has been beside a waterfall, or by the ocean will understand what this is like. You may want to take some time considering what you want since there are many choices of water fountains. You shouldn’t make the mistake of purchasing a fountain that looks great only to discover that it doesn’t look good in your garden. You could also have someone to help you look for the right one for your garden.

In the event your garden isn’t actually near your house, you might need to find a solution to getting power to your fountain. You may find that having a long extension cord stretched out to your backyard to be ugly. You can find a better way around the long extension cord if you realize that is what you may potentially need. Head on down to your neighborhood hardware store, and obtain an extension cord that is intended to be buried. Simply by placing the cord below ground, you will have a fountain that seems as if that it is running on its own.

This might be put together quickly with the assistance of your friends or family. A backyard garden is not only for planting vegetables to eat, even though that is important to a lot of people. While it’s healthy to raise your own food, your garden must also have more functionality. Your psyche can also acquire a sense of peace and happiness with the addition of beautiful elements to your garden. It won’t cost very much, so installing a fountain can be an ideal way to add inspiration to your garden, and therefore to your life. A backyard garden that is rather bland can have its character changed without much work or expense.

Ones own garden will be able to be something more than simply a place to grow your food. Your garden can also be your own personal retreat to get a way from the daily grind.  Believe me when you’ve spent a warm afternoon in the sun with a cool drink and the relaxing sound of water in the background – you’ll wonder why you waited so long before installing that fountain believe me!

Some Tips To Get You Started Gardening

Horticulture is one of several Americans’ most favoured pastimes. It can be a spare time activity that delivers pleasure to not just the most avid of gardeners, but to all who participate in it. Usually there are some essentials to learn, but there after it is actually quite easy. Here are several ideas to help you prepare your garden for year-round enjoyment.

When you begin, first figure out the order of your planting. The easiest way is to first make a decision about the larger sized plants, and lastly to plan where the rest should go. This subject of all the sizes of plants has to be considered in your planning. When you want to add in a certain plant, it is good to find out its size when fully grown. Gardening newbies will find it useful to plant a few perennials, of which one of the many benefits is that they don’t die annually, but keep going year after year. Perennials in addition cost less than annuals while maintaining them is not as demanding. Pick plants like hostas, black-eyed susans and daylilies in case you want to enjoy minimal routine maintenance.

With annuals, instead of buying plants ready to set in the soil, it is less expensive to start them from seed. That is the reason why many people want to plant seeds in their garden, but it is difficult to start annuals that way. A good thing to do is to begin seeding this kind of plant indoors, making sure that they get plenty of water and sunlight. This is likely to make them plenty hearty when you are ready to transplant them to the soil outside. Make certain that the soil is dry when you relocate your annuals. Drier soil encourages the most growth of annuals. Do be sure to blend organic matter into the garden soil, because this helps retain water in the soil, which is needed by the plants subsequent to planting. If the soil is dry initially the plants take better, but once they start growing the roots want lots of water.

Come to a decision on a technique for irrigating your garden, because if that is lacking it will cause a real problem. The kind of plants that you will grow basically decides the irrigation system you should get. For plants requiring lots of water, you could possibly consider installing an in-ground system, but this needs to be done before you plant anything. When you have this kind of system, you never need to be concerned about how your plants will get watered when you are gone. Once you arrange carefully, you will make your garden energy-efficient. You can establish a slope plan if you have issues about your garden in the summer and the water it needs. Plants that are shaded need to have less water, so place your taller plants so that they provide shade for the shorter ones.

Grow to be the neighbourhood gardening expert by building on these simple ideas. As soon as you know the tips for success, you can become an excellent gardener.

The First Thing Your Visitors Look At Is Your Gorgeous Lawn

Most people, who are living in their own house, take a lot of pride in looking after their home, both inside and out. The exterior landscaping is the first thing that visitors will see, which means you will want to have it looking the best it can. Additionally, you’ll have a feeling of happiness when you see your beautifully landscaped lawn. If you would like your lawn or garden looking its best, you will need the right tools and equipment for the job.

Many homeowners think that using dangerous chemicals and pesticides are critical for having a successful lawn or garden. That does not have to be the case, since you are able to use organic products on your lawn and garden, which will work on them without harming the environment. You will find quite a few harmful chemicals in the fertilizer for your grass, primarily phosphates and nitrates. It will require plenty of fertilizer to do the whole yard, in some cases, a couple of pounds, which will expose your family to some unnecessary problems. Significant health complications, like asthma and cancer can result. During rains, the chemicals become washed away and pollutes the water supply.

Using natural compost is really a better option than using fertilizers, especially if you can make your own. You can make your own compost simply by filling a compost container with old leaves, grass, food scraps and even pet droppings. It does not demand much effort once you set it up and you won’t create any health issues. The compost you create will likely be filled with nutrients. If you have a large yard, you will need to make a lot of compost. The quantity of compost you get isn’t going to be much because it shrinks as the elements first decompose. The lawn and other plants will grow really well in your nutrient-rich soil.

Having a healthy soil, the plants and grass will have healthier and longer roots. Having sturdy roots means there is less water for you to use consequently, you’ll have a lower water bill. Since several areas have constraints on water usage, you will need properly prepared soil, to get the best results from the water you are allowed. Even not having much water, you will still be ready to have a yard, full of green grass.

When you water in the early morning hours, you’re going to get the most effective benefits from the water, than almost every other time. Since there is less sunlight, there’ll be less evaporation and the water will have a chance to saturate into the soil. But don’t get it done at night since the water could potentially cause fungus to grow.

Is Constructing Your Own Personal Greenhouse Worth The Effort?

Have you at any time contemplated building a greenhouse? There are actually numerous reasons that you should want to have a greenhouse, and even build it yourself. A single primary reason is to have fresh produce in the winter. To begin with, it is much easier to raise small vegetables as opposed to larger ones. Starting up plant seedlings inside a greenhouse gives the plants a better chance of survival because they are protected inside a warm area. To be able to use a greenhouse for your own tests makes it an attractive choice. Trying out various plant varieties can in fact be a most enjoyable hobby.

Finding a sensible location for your greenhouse is the first step to take once you know it is what you want. It needs to be a location that gets the most sunlight. The whole day sunlight would be better, but for plants, ideally they need morning sun. There are two reasons why you ought to construct your greenhouse with the much longer side facing to the south.First would be to have the direction of the roof designed to catch the rays of the sun in the greatest amount. Another factor to consider is you will undoubtedly need to shade one side, rather than both, when using shade cloth. You can utilize maple trees, as well as oak for keeping the daytime sun away from your greenhouse. Even so, don’t forget that your greenhouse usually requires morning sun and so cannot be shaded by these trees in the morning..

It is vital that you have a reliable water source regarding your greenhouse. You can accomplish this with a hose that elongates the full length of the greenhouse or you can install a completely separate water system. Along with a water source, you also need a way for water drainage. The simple way to get this done is to create the greenhouse on higher ground, so this way the irrigation water will drain away, and so will rainwater, or snow melt.

In terms of structuring your greenhouse’s look, you have several possibilities. One uncomplicated option is to construct a lean-to greenhouse on the side wall structure of your house or garage. This is an affordable way to go due to the fact you’re using an existing framework, but don’t forget to face the wall so that your plants will get all the sunlight they need. Constructing a Quonset hut might be an additional less costly method. They are usually simple to warm up as a result of their dome-shaped structure. One more model is the Gothic Arch greenhouse which happens to be similar to the Quonset style, but the curved roof is pointed top, and the sides are generally straighter.

Continuing on, you have the Classic A-Frame with its high slanted sides that make it hard to heat up. A Modified A-Frame may be what you need if you want the Classic A-Frame minus the steep roof. A Barn-Style greenhouse offers a lot of space and resembles a barn in appearance. Yet another type, the even-span greenhouse, is attached to one end of another building and is a full-sized structure.

Some Green Alternatives to Chemical Weedkillers

Many people love their gardens and the environment, but unfortunately there seems to be a trade off between a lovely weed free garden and using toxic but effective chemical weed killers.  However don’t worry, there is a way to keep your garden in good repair without having to use these chemicals.  It’s simple, just find out which of the Green and environmentally friendly weed killers is most effective for you.

It is perfectly possible to look after a garden organically, and is actually not as difficult as you might imagine.After all their have been beautiful gardens for centuries, in fact long before chemicals and weed killers have existed.These gardens of the past must have used environmentally friendly methods of weed control, so you can too.

But first before zooming on to the green weed killers, you should think for a minute about the apparent effectiveness of these chemicals everyone seems to use.

They are expensive, harmful to many plants as well as pets and even children.There are bigger risks too, potentially they can end up seeping into our water systems.For example rain can carry these chemicals whcih have been recently applied into the water through drainage systems and storm drains.Also seeping into the soil, and then to streams, rivers, ponds and wells.

In fact there’s so many risks of using these chemicals – it really doesn’t seem worth it.So this is all very well, but are there any alternatives. Well fortunately there are many ways of dealing with weeds without all these nasty chemicals.

Ordinary Salt

Mixed with water and then appied directly on to the offending weeds.This definitely is effective but you need to be careful where you use it. Salt water on the soil will sterilise for all plants too.

Vinegar

This is a very, very effective weed killer, all you need to do is to pour it directly on the roots of any weed.If you mix it up with washing up liquid or detergent, then spay the misture onto weeds also works well.You can also use lemon juice, but unfortunately this can be expensive. However if you have access to lemons it’s a fantasticly effective green weed killer.

Water

Yes even humble water, if boiled first can be used to scald and destroy weeds.It’s obviously a very cheap option, but of course don’t get it on your other plants as they will also be affected.

Tabasco Sauce

Another heat based approach, surprisingly many very successful gardeners use this spicy sauce to control weeds.

As well as using some or all of these tips, in some cases manual intervention will do the trick  .Leave whatever weed killers you have used for a day or two, then remove the dying ones to finish them off.  It’s important here to get all the roots of the weed rather than just a few leaves or the stem.  If you leave the root in then there is a very good chance that the weed will resprout.

For those of use who’s back has seen better days, then getting at roots can be difficult – try using a gardening hoe to hack the roots out.  It’s certain that some deep rooted weeds may even survive.  You’ll then need a hand rake or a cultivator so that you can dig them out completely.

Brown Patch and Other Lawn Diseases

There are many different lawn diseases that can jeopardize the health of your lawn at any given time. Being educated about these different diseases and the harm that they cause can help you to treat and prevent them.

One very common lawn disease is known as brown patches. Brown patches are most common in areas that experience high levels of humidity and shade. They most commonly occur in Kentucky Bluegrass, Bermuda grass, Bent grass, St. Augustine grass, Centipede grass, and Ryegrasses. These brown spots typically will start out small, but they can quickly spread out in horseshoe or circular patterns. They can grow to be up to several feet wide. Many times, as the brown spot is expanding, the inside of it will recover. This will leave a brown ring in your lawn. The best way to prevent these brown spots from occurring is through regular aeration of your lawn. You can also reduce the shade to the effected areas. This will help them to grow back. A couple common fungicides that are used to treat brown patches are benomyl and chlorothalonil.
Another common lawn disease is the fairy ring. Fairy rings can grow in almost any type of grass. They are circular rings that are filled with a fast growing, dark green grass. Typically, the outside of the ring will turn brown and grow mushrooms. They are most typically found growing in soils that contain a lot of wood debris or old decaying trees. The best way to prevent fairy rings from growing in your lawn is to aerate the area that is effected by the fairy rings. This will help to kill them. It is also a good idea to water only in the early morning hours to help prevent them from growing. You should remove any excess thatch from your lawn, as well. Increasing the nitrogen levels in your lawn through fertilization is also a good way to prevent fairy rings.

Red Thread is another lawn disease that can turn your lawn brown. Red Thread is most commonly found in Fescues, Ryegrasses, and Kentucky Bluegrass. The name ‘Red Thread’ is taken from the pinkish-read threads that are formed around the blades of the grass. These threads then bind the grass blades together. The grass that is affected by Red Thread will eventually turn brown. Since Red Thread attacks only the leaves and leaf sheathes of the grass, it is rarely serious enough to kill the grass. It is easiest to spot Red Thread when the grass is wet. The best way to prevent Red Thread from occurring is to aerate your lawn often and remove any thatch that may have fallen onto the lawn. It is also important to follow a regular fertilization schedule. Chlorothalonil is a commonly used fungicide that can help to treat Red Thread.

Lawn diseases can cause a lot of damage to your lawn, if left untreated. With the proper knowledge, you can spot these diseases and stop them before they get out of control. This article was brought to you by the http://www.bestelectriclawnmower.co.uk/ team, thank you for reading.