Dress Up and Show Off! Window Boxes for All Seasons
Dress Up and Show Off! Window Boxes for All Seasons
Make the exterior of your home fashionable for spring-dress it up with window boxes full of colorful flowers and foliage. But window boxes are not just spring things, change their contents for each season and you’ll not only be keeping up with the Jones’, you’ll be way ahead of your neighbors in helping to beautify the neighborhood. Tongue- in-cheek jesting aside, do this for yourself and your family. The efforts are few and the rewards are many.
Window Box Styles
You can usually find window boxes in a variety of styles at your local garden center or chain building supply store. These include ready-made wood boxes as well as metal “hayrack” types. Or, if you have a handy-man (or woman) carpenter in the family, they can be custom-made from rot-resistant wood such as pressure-treated pine, cedar, teak or redwood. Just measure the width of your window, allow 8 to 10 inches for the height of the box and 6 to 8 inches for the width (bottom board). Drill holes for drainage in the bottom board. Attach it with heavy-duty hardware.
You can also find plastic or metal liner boxes which sit inside the wooden window boxes. These help protect the bottom board from rot, and they make planting easier. Just remove the liner box, take it to your potting table and fill it with potting soil and plants. It can then be inserted back into the box that is attached to the house.
Look for other unusual items to use as window boxes, such as old sap buckets. Make a grouping of three or four buckets and mount them on a board and attach it to the bottom of your window. Be sure to drill drainage holes in the buckets before attaching to the board. How about old bicycle baskets or other wire baskets, a grouping of old watering cans, even children’s brightly colored plastic buckets-well, maybe for a window at the back of the house or on a fence!
Planting Your Window Boxes
Keep in mind that these boxes will be hanging out there in mid air, so they will get more intense exposure to the sun and will dry out faster than plants in the ground. You can help remedy this by adding water-retaining polymers to the soil. Don’t put them on top of the soil; bury them in the bottom two to three inches of soil in the window box so roots can receive their benefits. Read the directions on the polymer container for calculating the amount to be added. After planting, water gently, but heavily. This allows the polymers to take up water, which they will hold until the soil around them dries out. They will then release their moisture to the roots of your plants.
Choose a good potting mix with fertilizer already added. This will insure that your plants get a good start and stay healthy throughout the season. When you change the plants out for the next season, you can simply work in more time-release fertilizer in the remaining potting mixture. For your wire or hayrack baskets, you will need to purchase cocoa mat liners, which can be fitted to the basket to hold the soil in.
Plants for Your Window Boxes
When selecting plants for your window boxes, think about which color, or colors, will look good against your house. You may choose only one outstanding plant, or a mixture of plants that complement each other. Remember to place the tall plants toward the rear of the box, the shorter ones in the middle and the trailing plants along the edge of the box. With your window box in place, you can enjoy planning and planting each season of the year.…
Landscaping Made Easy
Landscaping Made Easy
Do you wish you could wave a magic wand and your landscaping would look amazing? There are many people in the same shoes as you but they do know a great way to get what they want. They have found landscaping is made easy with the help of a professional. Depending on the climate and location where you are, it can be virtually impossible to really get your grass looking good on your own.
Most people have gone that route and feel that they failed. What is even more frustrating is that they spent lots of money to get to that point. New lawns though are going to be possible when you know what to do. Why wait for new grass to grow? That is a long process and one that can end up not offering you the results you had in mind.
How do you get it then? With new sod you can have green looking grass and new landscaping within the week. Most of that time will be spent talking to contractors and working out a deal. They are professions and can tell you how much sod you will need, what types they would recommend for your area, and then they can get it installed for you.
Before you say that you simply can’t afford this type of landscaping made easy, you need to find out what the cost will be. Too often people assume that the cost of it is going to be out of the ballpark. However, when you consider how much you will spend for your grass seed, supplies to till the soil, and other materials you are going to be spending money and not be guaranteed and results.
With the use of grass sod you will be able to get the changes you want for your landscaping right now. Summer is right around the corner so you will have plenty of time to be able to enjoy the new look. Don’t put off getting started with it today!
With new lawns you can have a look outdoors that you are really impressed with. You can have something that looks amazing each time you go outside. Other people are going to notice your new grass too. Don’t be surprised if they ask you about it because they too have been going through the same things you have.
The use of new sod is going to end your frustrations with your landscaping. While you won’t have a magic wand to change things, you are going to have the assistance of products and professionals that can help you to make your dream of a gorgeous lawn a reality. They can also help you to do it for an affordable price that fits well for your budget.…
More About Landscape Tips For Beginners
More About Landscape Tips For Beginners
In landscaping for the first time, you will need to understand the principles of landscaping. The trees, grass, flowers and plants are living creatures that you can mold to your liking in more ways than one. You have to care for not only them but their soil or they will die. You will need to at least have a plan of how you want your landscaping to look before you actually start digging up the yard. Monitor your ground so you will know which types of flowers and plants and grass you want to use in your landscaping. It is wise to spend at least a week watching the places where you will to start landscaping so you can see how the sun hits the area or keep track of its shade. If a lot of sun hits an area, you will know what kind of plants to place there.
You will need to keep an eye on the ground and how it reacts to rain. It is important to know what areas of your ground are soft after it rains or what areas have pooling of water. A lot of times trees are a factor. Think about whether or not you plan to keep your existing trees or not. They tend to leave an ambush of leaves in the fall season. This is okay if you do not mind raking them. Few people will have the trees removed and replace them with evergreens. Sometimes it is hard for grass to grow around the roots of an evergreen.
Having an eye for colors is an important attribute to have when you are landscaping. At least and understanding of what each one brings to the table and how they will all work together are the basics. This fits into every garden blueprint. You will need to know if you want the colors to be in sync with each other or not. Colors determine your garden’s moods. You will need to study the primary ones which are blues, yellows and reds. The secondary colors are your oranges, purples and greens and lastly a combination of the primaries and secondaries. Silvers, whites, grays and blacks are neutral colors that will help you mix the right shades.
When beginning to landscape for the first time, you should decide in your gardening or flower blueprint if you want the plants and trees together or lining a path. Will the colors be in sync? Will they all just have their own separate areas? Instead of sketching your ideas on paper, you can buy software that can help you do three dimensional planning. You can also get ideas from landscaping magazines or check out the books your local library may have. You will also want to make sure you have the right lawn and gardening tools and equipment for your landscaping. Most equipment can be rented, especially if you only need to use it like once or twice a year. This will depend on the size of your yards. If you are planning to do statues or ponds, you may want to hire a small crew or either a professional. You will want your yard to shine for your neighbors and passers by.…
Landscaping Ideas in Small Yard – Things to Consider
Landscaping Ideas in Small Yard – Things to Consider
If you have a small yard you may begin to think that there’s a big limitation on what you can do with your landscape. And while that may be true, it certainly shouldn’t be a hindrance in having an awesome looking yard. There are several landscaping ideas for small yard that you can definitely work with. In fact, the only limitation here really is the space, everything else would be up to your creativity and resourcefulness.
There are various ways you can work around having a small space for your landscape. The real trick is to maximize whatever space you have and to create an illusion of expansiveness. This is something you can do with some of the consideration I will discuss with you.
To get started, here are some considerations to keep in mind:
Plants
Plants should definitely be a part of any landscape design no matter how big or small. Plants are what gives vibrancy and life to any particular space. In your case, you would do well if you can select plant varieties that could thrive well even in small spaces.
Another idea you can entertain is to start container gardening. You can have some hanging ornamental plants. You can also have some of these lined up in places such as the entryway or stairs. With container gardening, space wouldn’t be so much of an issue at all.
Accents
Since furniture and other fixture requiring bigger space are out of the picture, you can have some smaller accents that would enhance the beauty of your yard just the same. For example, you can have a smaller, ready made water feature to adorn your yard. Water features like those serenity garden or maybe even a simple birdbath wouldn’t have to take up so much space.
Another thing you might want to consider is using rocks. You can lay out rocks of varying sizes at different corners of the yard. Those rocks wouldn’t take up to much space but they do contribute to vary the elements of your landscape.
Design
Since you are quite limited on space, you need to maximize whatever space you have. In order to do this, you can look at areas like near fences, stairs, walls and paved areas. They can be utilized as areas which you can use as part of the landscape.
Also, you need to be more thorough in the arrangement of your plants and other accents. You may have a small rock garden in the corner of your yard to utilize even that little space. You can arrange your container garden in a layered manner. You can have some of those ornamental plants hung on strategic places where they can be easily noticed and appreciated. These are minor things which spell out a big difference when you are landscaping a small yard.…
4 Reasons Why Plants and Animals are Heading for Extinction – Landscaping for Wildlife
4 Reasons Why Plants and Animals are Heading for Extinction – Landscaping for Wildlife
As human beings in the 21st century we live a very privileged existence compared to our ancestors. We live in the most technological era since the start of mans evolution. We now have access to gadgets that exist to make our lives and our day-to-day tasks easier and quicker such as washing machines, blenders etc. But at what price? The environmental damage due to modern industrial evolution has been drastic.
Early man respected nature. As hunter gatherers they needed both plant and animal life to thrive. They hunted animals and gathered plants as a means of maintaining their existence. They may have hunted some species of animals to extinction due to their ignorance but we, modern man no longer have that privilege or excuse.
Wildlife conservation does not seem to be a priority for many governments and individuals. Our dependence and reliance on natural wildlife resources seems to be increasing instead of decreasing. We do not appear to be taking steps to change that. Before we know it animal and plant life will be completely from this world.
There are many reasons why plants and animals are heading that way.
FOOD: As spoken of before, certain species of animals are being driven to extinction due to over culling by humans.
FASHION: In the history of man, animals have been killed for the use of their skins and furs. In the past as a means of protection against extreme weather conditions this has been quite acceptable. But nowadays you could argue that with the development of products such as man-made synthetic fibres and appliances like heaters this need has been eliminated.
HOUSING: With the population of earth now exceeding six billion people, the demand for land to house them all has increased. More and more wildlife is destroyed in the pursuit of this.
THE CORPORATE ROLE: Big business has contributed to the depletion of wildlife and plants by their demand on our natural resources. Contributing to this are things such as manufacturing synthetic products, such as plastics, or by drilling for oil and thus disturbing the habitat of ocean wildlife.
We know there will always be a demand on the environment and its natural resources to enable man to thrive. However, what we need to do is create a balance. Surprisingly enough that which contributes to the cause of the negative impact on our environment is also contributing to the positive. Scientific research is being sought to implement strategies that will protect the environment. Also, by safeguarding natural areas and leaving them undisturbed they will flourish for future generations.…
How to Do Yard Landscaping in an Easy Way
How to Do Yard Landscaping in an Easy Way
It is part of everyone’s goal to have a front yard that does not require too much work to maintain. You can have a professional to make your yard easy to manage or you can just do it by yourself. In both ways you can have a facade yard that will take less work to maintain its fantastic look throughout the year.
Make sure that this goal of having a wonderful front house yard landscape with a little maintenance is discussed carefully with a professional if you are going to hire one.
Cutting grasses out every time they grow will take too much time and effort just to keep the grasses from ruining the design of your landscaping design.
Fewer grasses would mean less effort and time to spend on your garden.
If you are a busy career person, it is best to discuss with an expert about the alternative ways to maintain the good look of your front garden even if you have a small lawn while exerting the minimum effort to keep your yard at its best structure.
Clover will actually do better than grass and most people find it a good idea because it will save your time and money. It does not require mowing as often as grasses do. Clover lawn will also do well in areas where droughts often occur.
They look good almost everywhere and the best part about the clover is you can have fun on your yard with you and your family without bugs ruining the moment because bugs hate clovers.
Your yard will also need watering and doing so might take a lot of your time and money. But now people are putting automatic irrigation systems as part of their front yard landscape design.
It will be easier for you to keep your plants on their best condition even during hot days of the year as this system will automatically water your plants.
Another good thing is that you do not have to do watering by yourself like dragging the host to your yard or having a sprinkler to water your garden front.
You should hire a professional to install the automatic irrigation system in your front yard landscape to avoid leakages causing flood and excessive water to yard.…
Landscaping Designs Can Help Improve Your Lot Area
Landscaping Designs Can Help Improve Your Lot Area
The art of landscaping has been adored and recognized, not only for the residential areas but for the commercial areas as well. There are lots of ideas that can be applied for landscaping jobs, but it takes a skillful and imaginative landscaping artist to create such an art for each type of residential and commercial location. The purpose of landscaping is actually to blend colors, shapes, and objects to the natural beauty and wonders of nature.
Residential landscape may focus on modifying the appearance of the lot area. Landscaping designs can be done on the front area of your house, the backyard, the pool area, the patio, or the pavements. It may also focus on the cultivation of plants or the modification of the shape of the land or terrain. The main objective is to create beautiful scenery while promoting conservation of nature and its proper sustenance.
On the other hand, the commercial landscaping designs are focused on creating different artistic presentation, whether it is for small-scale businesses or large-scale ones. The artistic designs of landscaping used for such commercial areas are very important and significant for companies and organizations, because the exterior appearance of their office buildings will be the basis for their clients and customers’ first impression regarding the business.
Landscaping designs can be very beautiful in terms of decorations and house appearance, but aside from that, it can also improve the environmental and ecological balance of nature as the plants and trees used in landscaping can help keep and increase the green house effect in resolving the issues of global warming.
Plants and trees are the perfect natural sources for ecological balance. And since plants and trees are used as one of the materials in landscaping, the art of landscaping should also consider the necessary steps in conserving and preserving the sustainability of nature.
In addition to that, there are also lots of landscaping designs and tips that would enhance the beauty of the garden. The plants can be decorated with artificial materials like fences, stones, rocks, pebbles, woods, and other similar materials to create gravel pathway, artistic patios, pavements, driveways, and yard decorations. The area could also be added with swings, hammocks, fountains, bird cages, and many more, as long as it does not harm the nature and the people or animals around.
Landscaping designs can be a good way to improve the appearance of the area, residential or commercial. A well-maintained landscape reflects the value of the residents and the building owners. More than that, a beautifully landscaped land or terrain promotes environmental improvements and less-polluted surroundings.…
Plants Indigenous to the Brisbane Garden
Plants Indigenous to the Brisbane Garden
Brisbane is a beautiful place. It has amazing architecture showcasing the European influences as well as the modern influences of architecture. The CBD and Story Bridge are masterpieces of metal. Beautiful flowers line the walkways of South Bank Park. In full bloom you are in the middle of a virtual paradise even when you are walking at the heart of the city. The City is situated at the bank of the Brisbane River. The emerald water reflects the sun like tiny diamonds on its surface it is a sight that cannot be equaled in beauty.
You can bring home the beauty that you so admire with the help of a garden that works well within the eco-system. Although there are foreign species of plants that will work with a Brisbane Garden, you may want to try out indigenous plants to create your Garden to thrive in the unique Brisbane weather and environment.
Some of the benefits of using indigenous plants in your garden are that it works well with the natural weather of the garden. You do not need to create artificial means of survival for the plant. You eliminate the need for the creation of green houses.
Because of adaptation and evolution, the resources needed to help a plant from foreign surroundings thrive are a lot more significant compared to the resources of plants found in the local areas. For example, some foreign plants need more sun than Brisbane can provide. The same goes with rain and plants. Plants from outside of Brisbane may need more watering compared to a plant indigenous to the region. Remember that your garden is built to last and if you have to compensate too much for the environment, then, those expenses can add up.
Some of the indigenous plants you can use vary depending on the conditions you are planting them in. After all, there are a multitude of conditions that one can experience in Brisbane. For example, if one plans to grow a shrub in the shade some of the plants indigenous to Brisbane are Narrow Leaved Gardenias and Cat’s Whiskers. You can also plant shade loving ground coverings like the Native Violets dominant in the area or the low Rasp Fern that you can naturally find in many areas in Brisbane.
If you plan to work in areas fully exposed to the sun, some of the plants you can use include frangipani, a small deciduous flowering plant, and the butterfly bush, a glossy leaved shrub with white perfumed flowers.
There are more indigenous plants that you can choose from. It is important to choose wisely because not all plants can thrive in Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate. If you want to learn more about the many plants you can use in your Brisbane garden do not hesitate to talk to a local garden shop and I am sure that they will be happy to assist you. A few minutes with a professional can be your key to a wonderful Brisbane Garden.…