Lawn & Garden Info & Techniques » archive for 'Techniques'

Choosing the Best Plants for Your Garden

  • May 25th, 2008

Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You’ll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.

But wait! Test your soil first, to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow. You can alter the soil’s pH level, but it’s much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.

Now you are ready to plant. Well - almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy ‘one of everything’ your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organized, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest.

Before planting out, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them until you are satisfied. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants. Tall plants should go to the back, or the center if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your flowers.

The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, gray or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have added value.

Source: General Articles

Source: Gardening


Spring Gardening Designs

  • April 15th, 2008

Gardening is something that many do for a love of nature and for a chance to relax. Some do a little, and are happy with that, but others take it much more seriously. They may come up with amazing spring garden designs that would take your breath away. Those are always a lot of fun to view, and can be even more fun to grow. It might be compared to putting together a very complicated puzzle and hoping everything comes out just right.

If you want to put together your own spring garden designs, you should think a lot about your skill and knowledge of plants. You want to think about color and design, but you also have to think about caring for the various plants that you choose. Some are harder than others to care for, and that can be problematic for those who don’t have a lot of time ..

Source: Gardening


Planting a Tree

  • July 2nd, 2007

When planting a tree or shrub there are a few factors that can affect the outcome. The soil the tree is in play a major part. if it is too acidic, too compact, or there is not enough of it, the results can be less than favorable. So, I decided to post some simple instructions for planting a redbud tree.

Getting the right size of hole to dig.Sizing the Hole

A good rule of thumb for getting the proper size to dig the hole is to set the container holding the bush or tree on the ground and, with your shovel, draw a circle around the container that is about twice the size of the root ball (container).

As far as depth, I like digging the hole a little deeper then the root ball so that there is a goodFinished hole deal of loose soil around the entire root system. Loose soil is a key because the root system must have the ability to grow without having to push through tightly compacted soil.

Setting the Tree

Once I’ve gotten the hole dug, I mix some of the existing soil with an ‘organic mix’. The organic materials in the mix will continually breakdown and become nutritional down the road. Then I put enough of the mix into the hole to bring the top of the root ball up to ground level. Once this is completed, I set the plant into the hole and fill it in with the remainder of the mix that is left.

The last step is to deeply water the tree so the soil can settle and then mulch the new addition so the moisture will stay in the ground around the root system.


Pre-Liming Photo

  • April 26th, 2007

Lawn Before Liming

In the previous post, I forgot to include the before photo for visual representation. This is my front lawn before lime (and fertilizer), the second photo is a spot of the lawn that got the fertilizer but no lime.

Section Not Limed


Producing a Lime Green Lawn

  • April 20th, 2007

Depending on where you live, you may consider this effective method of greening up your lawn. It’s simple, as the pay off is good.

Lawns Get Heartburn

If you’ve ever had a case of heartburn you can appreciate the problems of too much acid. Your lawn also needs a good balance when it comes to acidity. Many grasses do not grow well in soil that is very acidic. Because of this, many people will  spread lime on the lawn to counteract the acidity in the soil. If you’re the kind of person that has to know the ‘why’, you might find an article on liming your lawn helpful. Otherwise, I’ll explain some things you might want to consider when applying lime to your yard.
Sweet and Green

In my area, the soil is very acidic so I absolutely must apply lime to reduce the acidity. The old-timers in my area call this “sweetening the soil”. Perhaps, this term comes from the sweet smell of the lime itself. I don’t about those things, but I do know that liming your lawn makes a difference. Application is easy. I’ll briefly describe how I prefer to lime my lawn.

I choose to apply most substances to my lawn with a drop spreader and lime is no different. I prefer a drop spreader because many times I apply ‘weed and feed’ and I don’t like having to watch where the fertilizer is being broadcast - if weed and feed gets on a bush or shrub it thinks it is a weed and kills it. However, drop spreaders have disadvantages too.

Multiple Passes With the Lime

Using a drop spreader to apply lime coupled with the dramatic results creates a need for multiple passes. Every place the lime is applied will green up very well and any spot missed will not. If a drop spreader is used, there may be streaks or stripes in the lawn after the application.

To prevent uneven application I like to be sure and overlap wheel with the previous path’s wheel track. Then after I finish all passes, I apply other coat the same way only the paths cross the previous coat like a grid. Sort of like this symbol looks -> #.

After I’ve made my two coats with multiple passes I give it a light watering so that the lime doesn’t wash away. And that’s all there is to it.

My lawn took about a week to start showing results and about three weeks to get completely evenly green. So if your lawn isn’t greening up like you would like it to, you just might give this a shot.