Ideas for Green Thumb Landscaping

Green thumb landscaping is landscaping without the use of dangerous chemicals or harmful methods that will destroy the environment. Green landscaping helps to restore all the natural resources back to the earth that has been taken away by misuse.

Green Thumb Landscaping

Most of us have become aware of the damage that chemical products have done and are now trying to do our best to use only natural products. We have also started using less water on our gardens for conservation. We also realize that many of the chemicals we use are probably a big cause of the climate changes around the world. Now is a good time to research ways to help and creating a green landscape would be a great start.

There are a few things to consider before thinking about any green landscaping ideas. The first to consider is the climate in your part of the country. Temperate climate zones will tolerate a wide variety of plants but an arid climate zone will only support a smaller variety. In either climate zone you want to conserve water and it is better to select plants that drought tolerant and still be able to handle their own climate environment. The second consideration is the elevation such as high mountain areas, rocky areas or marshy areas with heavy water content in the soil. Whichever area you reside, it is best to purchase drought tolerant native plants.

In most cases it is how you water the landscape not how often to water. The majority of sprinkler systems spray water way too high and the water ends up on the sidewalk or driveway and not on the landscape. This water gets wasted and finds its way to the sewer. The best way to water your landscaping is by using a drip irrigation system where the water spray is low to the ground and goes right to the plants’ roots. Another good way to water is by using soaker hoses, these hoses sit on the ground and seep water directly the plants’ roots. Both these irrigation systems work very well on individual plants, trees, shrubs, and lawns in your green thumb landscaping.

If your family uses environmentally friendly shampoos, soaps, and detergents you can hook that gray water to your drip irrigation system; this will save you money on your fresh water usage. Another green thumb landscaping tip is to use collected rain water to water your green landscape and to conserve water usage for your home. Many people collect rain water from their roofs each time it rains by directing their gutters directly to one or two rain barrels. You would be surprised how much water comes off a roof and how much money you can save.

There are a number of components that will help with green landscaping namely compost or natural fertilizers, mulch, native plants and ornamental grasses. Your grassy landscape can become very dependent on water unless you water less often; keep the grass at an optimal length and mulch. During hot weather the length of the grass should be a little longer in order to keep the soil cool and to retain moisture. Even better start mowing with a push reel mower, this way you will keep harmful pollutants out of the atmosphere; you not only will be cutting down on noise but will maintain your muscles.

Natural Materials

Another way of using natural materials on your lawn is to use a mulching lawn mower that will chop up grass clippings; by leaving the chopped up grass clippings on your lawn it will begin to decompose and fertilize your grass. If your grass is long just bag the clippings and add to the compost pile. Another way to conserve water, prevent weeds and cool roots is to use organic mulch around the plants. These are just a few things you can do when creating a green landscaping.…

The Best Options For Desert Landscaping

You can not just pick any plants because died plants cannot do much for your property. Spend a while to think carefully about your desert landscaping plan and confirm that everything is suitable for the climate of your area.

Desert Landscaping

Using a better irrigation might keep your plants alive but its time consuming and also cost you a lot. It will be much better if you just stick to an easier plan which includes only plants with high survivability under the hot climate.

The best thing about desert landscaping friendly plants is that the plants will survive under the hot tempered sun and adapt to the bad characteristic soils. Do not look down to those abilities because the areas under the hot sun usually have bad soil too. You do one thing, but you get two results. Here are the list of beautiful plants that you can employ in your desert landscaping ideas

Longwood Blue bluebeard

This is a shrub, it is deciduous and it will grow back each and every spring. Its capability to restore health and happiness makes it very great for desert landscaping. It is a big shrub; it can grow up to three and four feet high and two feet wide. You will love this shrub in your desert landscaping because it has beautiful blue flower clusters and silver foliage. Furthermore, it also spread a very nice fragrance.

Autumn Joy

Autumn Joy is a lovely evergreen that perfect your desert landscaping with its great amount of leaves which twist beautifully. It has many leaves colors which can fit with any plant in your garden. It is also suitable for any desert landscaping plan. If there is a plant that should always be used in any desert garden, this is that plant. It grows easily anywhere, even on the rocky gardens. It also has beautiful flowers that you have never seen anywhere before.

The flowers have different colors and shades, mostly are red, pink, yellow, and orange. One thing for sure; this plant attract butterflies which give even more peaceful nuance to your garden.…

Starting a Landscaping Business Cards the Right Way

So you have just started your own landscaping business cards, congratulations to yourself. The landscaping industry is growing at rapid rates and the people who are coming up with new innovation’s are leading the pack.

Landscaping Business Cards

What you will discover in this article is how to market your landscaping business cards so you can establish and build a solid and loyal client base quickly without spending all your profits on advertising. Marketing is really the life blood of any business; the biggest problem is that most business owners know very little about marketing their business and for good reason, just like yourself I am sure you got into landscaping in the first place because you have skills, knowledge and experience with landscaping and not marketing landscaping companies

So with that said my intention is to provide you with some easy to follow guide lines and tasks you can do right away to help grow and market your landscaping business cards. When most businesses start out they don’t always have a huge advertising budget, and if this is you too then definitely the best way to market your business is to use the internet.
So why choose the internet to market your landscaping business?
According to an authority for research and statistic on the internet says:
In 2009 87% of people used the search engines to find a local business

52% of consumers used telephone directories less than they did two years ago

78% of consumers researched a product online before making a as you can see if you don’t create a strong online presence you are missing out of all these consumers and as time goes on only more and more consumers will flock online to find local businesses.

So how do you build an online presence?

You can pay search engine optimization, pay-per-click and website designer firms thousands of dollars a month to do it all for you or you can follow a proven simple system and do it yourself, or even get your receptionist or assistant to do the task for you in their spare time or between phone calls.

In order to build a strong online presence you need to create content or information that answers your customer’s top questions. You can do this by creating videos, articles, a blog, press releases, and social networking sites.

What you want to do then is create a very simple website with an way of capturing your visitors name and email so you can follow up and build a relationship with your potential customers. If any of this sounds confusing or goes straight over your head don’t worry, you are not alone.…

Amazing Backyard Landscaping Ideas

If you have a house that you’ve really spent a lot of money for building and want it to look at its best, for you only deserve the best things in life, then I bet you want to know some backyard landscaping ideas that will make your dream a reality.

Landscaping Ideas

Here are some of the best front yard landscaping ideas that you can use to make your home look gorgeous:

• A tropical backyard would really sound very nice and if you want to consider getting one, you should know that it mainly consists of many shapely elements and of nice bright colors.
• The tropics are very abundant in sun and this make them to be very diverse when it comes to the flora and fauna.

Because of this, you will need to choose some flowers that are very colored and have different shapes. Venous stems, big leaves, thick roots and so on are just a few of the elements that you will be able to incorporate in the design of your backyard landscaping ideas.

Yes, I bet that you know the fact that the rain is very abundant in the tropics, so you will have to make sure that you will get plenty of water to keep them moisturized properly. But even though you will have a very nice and colored backyard, you can expect uninvited guests, like different types of bugs and insects.

Bamboo Backyard

Opting for a bamboo backyard is a very good choice as they will never die and will be evergreen all year long. You will also never have to worry about them losing their colors, their leaves or anything close to that. Having a bamboo, you will definitely attract people’s attention and one thing you should know is that they can grow up to a few feet high, so make sure to plant them in an adequate space. When you will see that they just got too big, cutting them and making chopsticks out of them is just a funny and also good idea!

Small Pots

A bonsai backyard is a rare thing indeed and you will have to take very special care of them. Bonsais are originally from Japan, and they are grown in small pots. You will need to have a special care for them, as they are a little more sensitive than other plants and trees out there.
Because of their size, you will definitely feel like a giant when you will walk into your backyard between them.

These trees can also produce fruits, thus taking a spring flower landscape picture and also a hillside landscaping picture after everything will be done, will be just a great idea!…

A Sense of Welcome – Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

One of the key decisions when drawing up a garden design is how to approach the front yard landscaping ideas. Behind the house, in the backyard, you can hide a million things that nobody sees, but the front yard is your home’s ‘public’ face as it were. So this begs the question – how do you want others to see it – and therefore you? Another consideration is value adding. Quality landscaping can 5% – 10% value to your property – and this can benefit you if want to borrow against accumulated equity or, more importantly, if you are putting the house or property up for sale. Good landscaping doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg – even if the front yard is quite large. Trees can fill up large spaces when combined with lawns. They also can add a touch of serenity or elegance landscaping

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

By their shape and foliage trees can also add be an extra architectural feature in their own right. This can also be true in small front gardens if you use trees like silver birches or Japanese maples or flowering cherries or almonds. Some simple beds of cottage flowers are easy to construct and inexpensive – and with all the color you can obtain from annuals like marigolds, foxgloves or petunias and the like – you add both a sense of welcome and enhance the front yard with beauty. The main aim is to create a sense of invitation and accessibility. As we don’t use the front for much else, it doesn’t have to cost a lot. A simple design front yard landscaping ideas usually works best.

DIY Front Yard Landscaping

Anyone can do their own front yard landscaping ideas if they need to save the expense of professional landscape architects. If you do not know what to choose, simply look around at the better gardens in the street and neighborhood – to see what you like – and if they look healthy, then you know they will also work in your garden. Good gardeners love to talk about plants and garden owners will identify the names of the plants if you don’t know them. They will also pass on tips if you need them. You also can take a leaf from a plant or a digital picture, and your local nursery should be able to identify the plant from that.

Care And Maintenance

All plants prefer good well drained soil, mulching and occasional feeding with manure and other targeted feed from time to time. In the heat of summer keeping up the mulch will conserve water and keep your plants happy. Having said that, many plants will grow in soils and conditions that are not optimal. I have grown roses will in the tropics – with a constant fight against fungal diseases! But I deemed it worth it as I can’t live without roses! The better the growing conditions the better the plant will be of course.

Soils can always be improved and mulching helps be more water wise in dry regions. Clays can be broken down with gypsum and sandy soils can be built up with regular mulch and manure. If you need information on how to plant (soil, mulch etc), the local nursery will always provide free advice. They will also tell you what plants are drought resistant, tough, not delicate and how fast they grow and what maintenance they need.

Quality comes from balance and careful placement of what plants you choose for your front area. Simplicity works well, as do more complex designs that incorporate a wide range of plantings and features like cottage garden beds, hedges, trees, bushes, arches, fountains and so on. Add to that a perception of order (in the sense of tidy, not necessarily formality). Finally, adding subtle landscape lighting can heighten the beauty of your garden and make your front yard landscaping an asset at night as well as in daylight.

Keep an eye open for “The Backyard: Trash-heap or Treasure?” (Landscaping For Beauty And The Environment – Part 4)… and later a dirty story (Soils ain’t dirt!)…

Helpful Tips In Choosing The Right Landscaping Supply Stores For Your Needs

The demand for landscaping supply stores continues to escalate as more and more people are becoming obsessed in beautifying their homes. This is why stores offering landscaping supplies are spreading like fire. If you are planning to buy some supplies, you have to choose the right store that can offer you the best materials that you need.

Landscaping Supply Store

Sometimes the best stores are the ones that do not have advertisements on TV. If you are the on the search for a landscaping supply stores, this article will give you tips in finding the right store for your landscaping needs landscaping companies

It is a good idea to check on the stores where professional landscapers buy their materials. These landscaping supply stores are not usually well known to the public but they are popular to those who are in the landscaping industry. If you are able to find this kind of store, then you are on the right track because professional landscapers will acquire materials that are of good quality and price.

Local Landscaping Supply Store

If you are eyeing on a local local landscaping supply stores near your place, try to get some feedback from a professional landscaper about it. He might know some information about the store even if he does not buy his materials from them.

He may also know the landscaping supplies available in the store and the quality of their products. If you get good feedback, then you can proceed with buying your materials and you can get started with your landscaping job. This way, you can save money and quite assured that you are getting good quality landscaping supplies.

You can also browse the yellow pages and look for contractors in your area. Talk to the contractor regarding the materials that they use and where they acquire their supplies.

If it is a bit awkward on your part to ask these questions, you can tell them that you are in the search for someone to do the landscaping job for you and that you want to be assured of the quality of materials that they use. This way, they can share you some specifications on their materials and where they purchase them.

Landscaping Companies

Most landscaping supply stores where landscaping companies acquire their materials are not very popular to the general public. This is because they do not need to do some advertising to attract ordinary buyers like you since they are already making a lot of money from landscaping companies.

When you have gotten the names of the stores from those in the industry, the next step is to find out where to find them. This way, you are able to save money while getting good quality landscaping materials.…

Tips Desert Landscaping Ideas

Everyone tends to think of the desert areas such as the area around Phoenix Arizona as being hot. While its true that the desert is hot, the characteristic that is most defining about the Phoenix area is that it is very arid and lacks the humidity of many of the other areas. In fact, the desert can be, and often is very cold. To qualify as a desert, it is necessary that your area has a rainfall total of under ten inches each year. Most of the state of Arizona meets that which is why it’s often difficult to get the kind of desert landscaping ideas that you might want in this type of an environment.

Desert Landscaping Ideas

Regular kinds of desert landscaping ideas in this dry environment isn’t going to be functional. The reasons why normal landscaping techniques for regular environments isn’t a viable solution is that it would require a vast array of energy and water and resources to make normal things bloom in the desert. Yes, you can accomplish it but the reality is that you’re going to be using a wide array of things that you could live without and still get that blooming desert.

Water and power are not infinite resources. Using them unwisely is simply not the right way to go. Yes, you can do those things but the reality is that they are no longer fashionable or smart. The desert has it’s own kind of beauty and a relatively knowledgeable desert landscaping artist will be able to help you to find that beauty, to offer you splashes of color, even help you to get a water feature that is useable in the desert without eating away at resources.

Your quality landscaper knows the inherent beauties that can be found in the desert and how to offer the color and the textures that you want without sacrificing the precious resources that are found in the desert. He or she will be best able to advise you about how to use native plants or plants that are well suited to the quality of soil and the arid environment that is found in the desert.

Desert Landscaping

sing native plants instead of imported plants, using plants that are well suited to the desert and the wildlife there means that you’re going to be well able to enjoy natural beauty, beautiful flowers and brilliant colors without using up vast resources, vast energy, and paying out major amounts of money and time to keep and maintain your landscaping properly landscaping ideas

Among the many plants that you can use which are brilliant in color and texture are cacti, succulents, yucca, agave, and even mesquite trees, as well as flowers like the Arizona yellow bell, the desert daisies and others which offer you those splashes of color that you want. The best kind of desert plant life will be the native plants. Your Phoenix area or Arizona landscaping professional can help you to select the best type of plants for your desert landscaping ideas project.…

Tips On Using Landscaping Stones To Decorate Your Garden

Using landscaping stones for decoration is not exactly a new concept, but it has proved itself time and time again to be a great method to improve the look of gardens and yards of homes and palaces all around the world.

Where To Find Landscaping Stones

Needless to say, there’s a huge variety of stones to choose from, so planning ahead is definitely something you should do. Don’t just start hauling stones to your house and then decide what you’re going to use. Instead, do a well planned design that includes the types of rocks and colors you want to use. After that start searching for places you could get your stones from landscaping

Some hardware stores have different kinds of landscaping stones available. But it has been my experience that usually the best way to obtain these stones is to simply search the internet and order them online. Saves me from the struggle of having to drive from place to place only to be disappointed when the rocks I were searching for weren’t actually there.

So How Exactly Do I Use Them?

Landscaping Stones can probably be used in as many ways as there are people on Earth. One popular choice is to use them to create a pathway leading to, say, your porch. You can even spice up the pathways themselves by creating patterns such as a checker pattern and achieve a very unique look.

Artificial landscaping stones can be used to hide things. Say you have a nasty septic tank riser in your garden that you’d like to get rid of, but really can’t. Instead of ripping it off (Don’t do this!), you can put a fake stone on top of it and hide it for good. You can then use that stone as a center piece and create something unique around it.

Fake Landscaping Stones

Using fake stones has recently become more and more popular thanks to constantly improving materials. These fake stones can make your garden look great, and well artificial stones are nearly impossible to distinguish from real ones. They can even be used to hide any unwanted objects in your garden such as septic tank risers.
Conclusion

Whichever way you prefer, the stones or real landscaping stones, you can’t really go wrong just as long as you design your plan well, and remember that it isn’t all that important to try to come up with the perfect plan. Just go with the flow and give your design your own unique look. It’s better to make a small mistake and end up with a unique landscape, than to tinker around trying to perfect your design and never finishing it.…

Landscaping With Rocks – Not As “Hard” As You Might Think

The art of landscaping with rocks is not as hard as you might think. Using rocks for your landscape is one of the best yet often overlooked options for front yard landscaping. Rock landscaping, often called “hard landscaping” does not give you the complications and headache compared to dealing with lots of plants, hedges and shrubs. Second, it is low maintenance giving your more time to enjoy the view.

Landscaping With Rocks

The advantage of landscaping with rocks is you can use it no matter your climate. Almost every planting zone has plants that are conducive to growing among rocks. This makes it really easy to incorporate indigenous plants into your landscaping theme. Consult with your local nursery before you begin selecting plants for you area.

Start With A Plan

It is always a good idea to put your landscaping plan on paper. This is really important when using rock landscaping. Many of the rocks you will be using may be extremely heavy and you will not want to move them twice! Also, plan traffic patterns throughout your landscaping to make it easier for planting and maintenance landscaping rocks

Placement

Every rock or boulder must be placed with a specific purpose for aesthetics, design, or balance. Again, planning ahead of exactly where each rock will be located will ensure a much better overall design. To achieve the look you want consider using everything from small rock or stone for accents along paths to large permanently placed rocks for stability.

Consider using landscaping rock around your front porch. The porch makes an excellent backdrop for this type of landscaping and will add interest to your home’s entrance. Another often over looked area is the walkway leading to the porch. Do not just line the walkway; create a rock garden along the way to the front door.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

One common mistake is not burying the rock. If you bury the rock you will create a natural look and blend in with the overall landscape. As a general rule, bury large landscaping boulders deeper than smaller landscaping rocks. Burying large rocks four to six inches is ideal.
Avoid lone rocks. Try to group them together in patterns of from three to five of them in different sizes. This helps you minimize space while setting up a more natural and artistic view.

Every rock has a face, that is, the side that has the most character. Place the rock with its best face forward so that it creates the most appeal for your yard.

Landscaping with rocks will undoubtedly boost the unique appeal of your yard. Be the envy of your neighborhood and enjoy the beauty of landscaping with rock.…

Home Depot Landscaping Rocks Project

It is a well-known fact that if you want to improve curbs appeal of your home depot landscaping rocks and property is through landscaping. This has made many home owners to have an interest in starting a home landscaping project. In this article tips which are useful in helping one complete the project successful are outlined and discussed in detail.

Home Depot Landscaping Rocks

This should be the first thing you should do before the start of any home depot landscaping rocks project. You should be aware of what you have in your home yard. You should make notes of the features that interest you in your yard. Some of such features may include trees and so on. They you can go ahead and create a landscaping design which is based on the features that interest you.

Have a look at you neighborhood

You can do some online research about the best available landscaping designs. The designs should incorporate the style you prefer your yard to be set at. If you like something about your neighborhood you can have a copy of it. If you come across a home with an amazing, you can have a picture of it. You should drive your inspiration from everyplace.

Have a look at your home style

It is important to understand that when it comes to landscaping design, the style in which your home depot landscaping rocks was built matters a lot. For instance, you are living in a home built with old Victorian style it would not match with tropical Hawaiian theme. If you decorate your home with non-matching style, it is likely to have a ridiculous look. Therefore ensure that your home matches with a given landscaping rocks theme.

Have a look at your final design needs

What is the main purpose of the landscaping design project you are undertaking? Are you after creating an outdoor room or increasing the entertainment space, creating an ideal place for children to play. Your final design needs determine a lot of how you want your landscaping design to be.

Hire a professional landscaping company

A professional landscaping company will play a big role in ensuring that your project is successful. The main advantage of hiring such a company is that they have a wealth of experience in home landscaping projects.

To ensure that your home landscaping project adds value and appeal to your property you should ensure that it is carried out by professionals and it is completed in a functional and attractive manner.…

Low Maintenance Landscaping Ideas Tricks for Real Estate

We know that curb-appeal and beautiful gardens help sell a home but it’s not always easy to achieve these things with our busy schedules. Low maintenance landscaping ideas is great for sellers who are out of town or who don’t have the time to look after a property.

Low Maintenance Landscaping Ideas

Let’s start with the lawn itself. Grass can be very time-demanding, as it requires regular watering and mowing. If you neglect a grass lawn, it will give away your secret by turning browning or growing into a messy jungle. Clover and moss are good alternatives to grass, because they are low growing and require little care.

If an all-clover or moss lawn isn’t your style, low maintenance landscaping ideas lawn mixes can be purchased instead. These lawns are usually derived from a mixture of slow-growing, drought-tolerant turf grasses, broadleafs and fescues. Note that these often include clover, but mixes with minimal or no clover can still be found. Low-maintenance lawn mixes usually need to be mowed a few times a year.

Smaller spaces can forgo lawns all together in favour of rock gardens. The primary ingredient in a rock garden is, of course, rock. These are then accented with plants that require minimal care. In general, choose rocks that are larger, because smaller rocks can be a nightmare to clear of leaflitter. Even if you don’t think you have trees nearby, autumn will prove differently. Gardens that use larger rocks can be vacuumed of excess debris, while smaller rocks may get sucked up and cause problems.

Flowering Plants

The best rock gardens are complemented by their plants, but the plants themselves don’t need to be showy. Rather than choosing a wide variety of plants, stick to a few types and repeat them throughout the garden. Good base plants for rock gardens are lichens and mosses, while nurseries and garden stores can suggest good flowering plants for your region.

A great way to green up your low maintenance landscaping ideas with minimal effort is with trees. Trees do need to be pruned but the reward is worth it. Evergreens are the most desirable trees, as they don’t shed, while deciduous trees can make a beautiful statement if you’re willing to rake the leaves.

Maintenance Landscape

Flowers, bushes and plants can also add to your low maintenance landscaping services if you choose the right ones. Native plants to any region are the most likely to survive, as they grow naturally in the area without human interference. Talk to your local nursery about the best low-maintenance plants and trees for your area. Factor in light levels and bring in a soil sample so they can best assess your needs.

The final key ingredients in any low-maintenance landscaping plan are mulch, stone, and pre-set irrigation. Mulch and stone look good and can’t die, while irrigation systems will water the plants and trees that can die. Both of these solutions require initial investment but reward you with long-term peace of mind. With a little bit of planning, the right landscape can look beautiful with very minimal effort.…

Landscaping Blocks Tips to Beautify Your Yard

When you hear the word concrete you may not think that it’s something you would want in your yard. Landscaping blocks has come a long way in the last 10 years or so, and now it’s all the rage. You can use concrete to add to your landscape in many different areas of your yard as well as many different applications.

Landscaping Blocks

Most people use concrete sidewalks as a design feature for the walkways and paths that wind through their yards and gardens. An attractive option for any size yard would be a very inviting stamped concrete patio. Stamping is a process where the concrete is impressed before it sets with different patterns, such as stone and brick. Color can also be added in several ways to add more depth and realism. Additionally there are plenty of other options, such as exposed aggregate for those with larger yards landscaping

Stone walls are another form of landscaping blocks that has really caught on like wildfire. These walls run the perimeter of your property, essentially framing your home. They are very attractive and set the tone for other landscaping in your front, side, and back yards. Other advantages to these types of walls are that they are perfect for keeping your pet in the yard, and they create a solid perimeter that helps at keeping intruders out. The harder your home is to get into the less likely burglars will try.

Type Landscaping

You can also use concrete type landscaping to keep your soil in place, or separate grass from landscaped areas. If there is a part of your yard that is prone to slipping, or washing out, you can build a retention wall expressly for this purpose. One of the great attributes concrete has is that while it can be serving a necessary function, it can also look very attractive. There is so much that you can do with concrete in terms of landscaping blocks, because it is relatively easy to work with.

Pre-cast concrete landscaping blocks can be stacked and used for retaining or decorative walls. You can even build an entire BBQ pit with these pre-cast concrete landscape blocks. There are several companies that manufacture custom concrete landscaping stones that are unique and creative and are available in different shapes, colors, textures and patterns.

There are few things as relaxing as inviting some friends over and having a little party out on the patio, overlooking a beautifully landscaped yard. Take some time to visit your local home improvement store and see what is out there in terms of concrete landscaping, you might just be surprised.…