Tag Archives: Garden

Landscaping Your Summer Garden

December 09, 2023   Matt

Landscaping Your Summer Garden

There are many things that must be considered when planning and planting your summer garden. One of those things is the natural landscape or terrain of your lawn and garden area. It is best, whenever possible to work with the landscape rather than working against it or going to extraordinary efforts to make changes to the natural landscape of your lawn when you could very easily and beautifully plan your summer garden to go with the flow of and work well with the natural terrain of your lawn and garden area.

One way in which this is accomplished is by taking a quick survey of your lawn. This will need to be more than a cursory visual survey. You will need to walk your lawn and the area in which you are planning for your garden space. You will need to measure the terrain and take not of inclines and slopes. While you are at it, you need to study the condition of the soil and any areas that seem particularly inhospitable for planting. If these types of areas are present in your garden you need to decide what you want to do about them. Is it possible to turn this patch into a water feature or some other attractive addition to your garden rather than remaining a bare patch in the midst of your flowers, plants, and/or vegetables?

You should also determine the amount of shade a particular area receive and, if in direct sunlight, how to create shade for those plants, vegetables, or flowers that grow best in indirect sunlight. This can be accomplished by planting them creatively in the shadow of plants, shrubs, or vegetables that grow much taller or by using rocks to create shade or even climbing vines on trellises or fences in order to create an artificial shade.

Once you have a good feel for the terrain and landscape of your summer garden you will need to plan for the vegetables, flowers, or plants that will be used. Vegetable gardens tend to be less aesthetic in nature and are often the easiest to landscape, as it is a matter of need rather than beauty. If you are planting a flowery summer garden however, it is quite likely that you will be planning to achieve some degree of beauty within your garden. Decide now if you want to keep the flowers and plants within a certain color scheme or if you want dramatic blues and greens combined with bright and vivid reds and yellows. This is a personal decision but will greatly affect the appearance of your garden when all is said and done.

You should also landscape your garden according to the amount of time and effort you want to devote to working your garden on any given week. Some plants require more care than others. If you want a garden that is basically sow and go then you need to make sure it is filled with plants and flowers that are suited to that sort of low maintenance. Most vegetable gardens require a good deal of tending in order to flourish and are not acceptable in this sort of situation.

If you are completely lost as to how to landscape your summer garden it may be worth the effort to have a team of professionals come in and do the landscaping for you. When procuring their services be sure to either check into a maintenance program with them in which the upkeep the landscaping or have them provide a low maintenance type of landscaping that you will be able to maintain and duplicate on your own.

Many gardeners find the task of landscaping their summer garden to be the highlight of the summer growing season. If you are not among those, the hope is that the recommendations provided here will provide you with a good start and several helpful tips on getting your garden landscaped and ready to grow.

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Solar Lights For Your Garden

October 10, 2023   Matt

Solar Lights For Your Garden

We all care how our homes appear to others and lighting is a big part of that. Solar lights are a popular and cost effective option for adding a little zing to your landscaping efforts.

Solar Lights For Your Garden

Many people enjoy the look of lights in their landscaping. Whether you want to light a path to your door or the area around your pool, proper lighting can heighten your night time enjoyment of your yard. You can choose from several options for lighting outdoors, but by far your best choice in this area are solar lights.

While you can choose from other different powering options for your outdoor lights, such as electric and battery powered, a choice of solar landscaping lights will definitely be the right one. Electric powered landscaping lights may seem economical and easy at first, but then you have to realize that they will add to your homes electric bill, as well as needing many dangerous extension cables and cords in order to obtain their power. Battery powered lights can be safer, but even more expensive, once you figure in the cost of batteries and the time and effort it takes to change them.

Solar lights work by recharging during the sunlight hours, and shining bright with that power at night. Solar panels are located on the lights, and these panels collect solar energy and charge a battery with that energy. The battery, in turn, powers the lights at night, eliminating the need for another power source. This is a very economical and eco-friendly way to light your yard area, and solar lights require little maintenance from you, the home owner.

You also have different options in styles of solar garden lights. Whether you would like to have a hanging solar lamp, a solar flood light above your garage, or even a solar security light that detects motion, there are options that can meet your needs. Solar post lights can be used to line a driveway or garden path to make your yard safer for nighttime use. Solar garden lights are available in a number of different wattages and sizes, so you can choose just what you need for your project. Most solar lights use LEDs, which are tiny but emit a strong light. They also take little energy to power, so your solar powered battery will last longer at night.

Choosing solar lighting for your garden is a great way to help the environment, while you are also helping to beautify your home. These lights can add value to your property, while also making your yard more useful at night – all in the most economical way possible.

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3 Tips in Landscaping your Garden

September 15, 2023   Matt

3 Tips in Landscaping your Garden

Landscaping is usually a fairly big task, consuming much time and energy. But before you hire that professional, here are some tips that could save both time and money.

1. Spend some time thinking about exactly how you want the final design to be. You need to take account of the style and function of your landscape. Do you want to include an area for entertaining? A barbeque? Is there to be an area for children to play, a fishpond or a swimming pool? An idea of the plants you want to be there will also help. Focus on the area where you spend most of your time. That’s a good place to start.

2. Think twice before hiring a pro. An independent designer might cost you hundreds of dollars when you may be able to access free plans on the internet or at a nursery. But if you have an awkward block such as very steep ground, a pro might give you the expertise to save costly mistakes.

3. The style of your home must be taken into account. If you have a rural cottage, formal gardens surrounding it will look out of place. Think also about your lifestyle. Do you want to spend hours caring for many beds of annuals or pruning beds of roses? If so, go ahead and plant them, but if you’d rather spend your free time at the beach, then go for an easy-care garden and landscape.

Here are the various landscape styles you can choose for your own garden:

a. Formal. This style uses lots of straight lines and perfect geometrical shapes. Orderly arrangement of plants instead of random positioning is employed. Close arrangement and pruning is seen on many landscaped gardens with this style.

b. Informal. This kind of landscaping workds well with cosy cottages. Beds with curved edges instead of straight lines and random placement of plants suit this landscape style.

c. English Garden. This style emphasizes the harmony between the house’s architecture and the garden.

d. Formal/Informal Garden. This style often comes with a brick walkway that exudes formality. This walkway leads to the rear with a circle of plants. The arrangement of plants resembles the English garden style but it has no formal borders.

e. Oriental. It is often the kind of garden found in small backyards. It uses rocks, evergreens and water. A wide variety of plants create several interesting angles with this style.

f. Woodland. This landscaping suits a house that has a wooded backyard and sloping ground.

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What do you when you’ve decided a garden bench would look perfect in your landscaping

August 26, 2023   Matt

What do you when you’ve decided a garden bench would look perfect in your landscaping

What do you do if you decide to build a new shed for your backyard?

If your answers are:

Go to the garden center and buy one,

Hire a reputable contractor

Buy a premade shed from lumbermills

You may be right! Then again, you may be wrong! If you would like to save 50% or more on your home projects, and feel the satisfaction of doing it yourself, this is where MyShedPlans.com comes to the rescue.

MyShedPlans offers the most complete home project resource you can buy on the Internet.

It is bursting with plans for over 12,000 woodworking projects! You will find plans for birdhouses, garden furniture, sheds, full size decks, and everything in between. If it can be made out of wood, it will most likely be here. After all, 12,000 pretty well covers the gamut of whatever you might like to build! Toys are included, too. All plans are complete from start to finish, and include material lists, detailed diagrams, and explicit step by step instructions.

Many different designs for each type of project are also included. For example, there are hundreds of designs for outdoor buildings, from small sheds all the way up to a complete stable. Choose whatever type of shed or storage house is right for you. Pick from fancy ones or more utilitarian designs.

What if you do not have carpentry skills?

No worries. it brings you up to speed with professional tips and tricks used by the pros. Learn how to handle carpenter equipment, follow the right safety rules, and how to do your projects professionally so that they will look good and last.

In addition to the woodworking projects, MyShedPlans brings you valuable information for all your home projects. You will discover professional guidelines for plumbing, electrical work, foundations, plastering, building codes, wallpapering, installing fireplaces, decorating, tile, stone work, working with cement and mortar, and so much more!

With MyShedPlans, you can finally be the handyman you always wanted to be. You don’t need to feel helpless if the faucet breaks. Install improvements like new lighting with ease. Got a new puppy? Make him feel welcome with his own doghouse.

You’ll always have the ideas and plans you need for your next project.

MyShedPlans is delivered via instant downloads. The plans are printable, so that you can pick out your project on the computer, print out the plans, and have them with you when you go to get materials and then work on your project.

It really is an awesome resource. And you can have it all, in one swoop, with a single, small payment. Save time and money, and get the satisfaction and pride that comes with accomplishment at MyShedPlans.

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Building A Fish Pond For Your Own Backyard Garden

June 18, 2023   Matt

BUILDING A FISH POND FOR YOUR OWN BACKYARD GARDEN

DIYs

Building the perfect pond for your backyard garden can
be a do-it yourself activity or you can hire a
professional to do it for you. It’s really not that
hard but does require some research and certain
knowledge about landscaping in order to get it right.
You need to get a good book and read up on it or ask
some friends and professionals about the idea of
building a pond in your garden. For now, here is a
brief discussion on how to build that pond that you’ve
always wanted in your garden.

Situate the Pond

Basically the first step to building a pond is to find
a suitable spot to dig a hole in your garden. The size
and depth of the pond should be proportional to size
of your garden. A liner will also be needed for the
pond. You can buy and place a prefabricated fiberglass
piece or have the choice free forming your pond with
rubber roofing material or similar to it. In any case,
a liner is a must for ponds to keep the water from
draining.

If you are planning to breed fishes in the pond, you
need to consider the depth. You have to make sure that
the pond is deep enough for the fishes. In colder
climates, the pond should be deeper than the frost
line and making sure that the fishes have still enough
room to go to.

Ponds should not be placed near trees, shaded, or low
areas. Plant life, especially lilies, and fishes need
the warmth of the sun. Falling leaves can also
accumulate fast and cause a cleaning nightmare. Low
areas cause large volume of rainwater runoff to enter
the pond. Rainwater runoff may contain chemicals
coming from pesticides and fertilizers which can be
harmful to pond plants and fishes.

Filtration

Building a pond also requires the owners to put some
thought on how to filter off the waste that
accumulates in it. A good thing to remember is that
the bigger the water area the better it can handle the
waste coming from the fishes. Keep in mind that you
will need to put some kind of substrate or gravel so
that a bacteria bed can build up and help maintain the
water in good quality. You can buy good filters and
gravel in your local pet stores.

If you are building a pond to keep a school of gold
fish or other kinds of fishes, wait until you have
covered the bottom with gravel and placed a good
filtering machine. Like an aquarium or a fish tank,
you should introduce a fish to the pond one at a time.
Allow some time for the environment of the pond to
adjust with the population. If you dump all of the
fish you intend to place in the pond, they probably
would not survive the environment because the natural
filtering of the bacteria will not be able to handle
the waste of the fishes and their food.

Filters can also help to ensure that your pond doesn’t
become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes
lay their eggs on still waters, so anything that
agitates the eggs will help prevent the pond to become
a breeding ground. Filters help maintain the waters
clean but regular cleaning is still needed to maintain
the quality of the pond.

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Landscaping a Small Garden: When Beauty is in the Details

February 02, 2023   Matt

Landscaping a Small Garden: When Beauty is in the Details

For most landscapers, the unique beauty and spirit of something made by hand, constructed, and shaped, emphasizes the joy of creating. And even if it means having a small garden to work with, every landscaper knows the value of enjoying their craft and mastering their skills.

Having a small garden to work on does not necessarily mean less details and minor work. What should matter most is to closely assess each detail to come up with the best result.

Working on a small garden is never a problem to most landscape designers. Whether the area is large or small, the sales continue to have a gradual annual growth increase of 8% for the last five years.

In addition, from 1997 to 2002 alone, landscaping sales achieved a growth rate of almost billion. This shows that the landscape designers know how to hone their craft well, regardless of the size of the area they work on.

Generally, when people describe small gardens, they refer to those areas that have straight walls, borders, lines, and/or walks. Then a problem is created because small gardens tend to create an impression of being dull, rigid, and boring. The goal of landscaping should delve into how to make the garden look alive, larger, and more appealing.

The Main Concept

The very core of landscaping a small garden is based on how a landscaper can make the most of the size of the area through plant selection.

With a small garden, having the right kind and size of plants is crucial to the outcome of the whole project.

Size is an important factor because the size of the plants that will be used in the garden should project an image of a bigger space, even if the area is quite small. The color, shape, and texture of the plantings should be coordinated.

It is best to use curves to create a visible flow to the design. Since small gardens tend to have rigid, straight lines, it is best to have curves to open up the garden to reveal its natural beauty. It is also important to create illusions that will give a small garden an effect of being larger.

Considering these, landscaping a small garden will never be a daunting task. As they say, it is all in the details. So whether it is a small or a large garden, landscape designers always take note of the details in the design.

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