By Muna wa Wanjiru
For the interested person there are many avenues which are available to make
your garden look spectacular. One of the most popular forms of revamping your
garden is to use landscaping techniques. The various landscape plans which you
can use will help you to make the most out of your garden. With these plans you
can make a small sized garden look bigger or you can turn a messy looking garden
into a tropical sophisticated paradise.
While there are many people who like to use landscaping firms to help get their
gardens looking fantastic you can achieve this look with a minimum amount of
fuss. The many landscape magazines which are available will be able to provide
you with lots of different ideas which you can use. You might also want to look
at your garden with a critical eye.
Take one part of the garden at a time and see what parts of the garden you want
to have changed. These changes can be large ones like uprooting the various
plants and repotting them in large decorative pots. You may decide that you want
to have a section of your garden looking like a water garden.
To make landscape plans like this work it is best if you have an idea of how the
rest of the garden will look. This is of use when you are trying to make sure
that your entire garden looks harmonious. To achieve this look you will need to
make sure that your landscape plans are not overambitious. While it is nice to
have a garden that looks like a model house garden you will need to be
realistic.
As you are the one who will be taking care of the garden you may appreciate
having an easy to maintain yet stylish looking garden. Some of the best
landscape plans can come from desires like this. For an easy to look after
garden you can see about minimizing the amount of lawn you have to trim by
planting grass which needs to be stepped on to keep it in shape. This grass does
not require any mowing. The added bonus of using this type of lawn in your
landscape plans is that it grows quite attractively over stones.
You could also see about placing a row of planters with brightly colored
flowering plants along the sides of your front walkway. Now intersperse these
planters with large decorative stones and you have a distinctive look to your
garden. There are as you see many different landscape plans that you can use to
turn your garden into a dream garden.
About the author:
Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on
Landscaping for Years. For More Information on Landscape Plans, Visit His Site
at Landscape Plans
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
By Craig Elliott Elliott
Mulch and compost are the two most important things that you can use for
your garden. Every spring begins a new battle to keep your gardens growing
green and healthy. Gardener's worst enemies typically are blight, drought,
parasites and diseases and of course the dreaded weeds. There are two basic
type of mulch, inorganic and organic. Inorganic mulches are things such as,
gravel, pebbles, landscaping fabric and any items that do not decompose.
Organic mulch decomposes and is made of all natural substances and is very
easy to make right at home.
One of the best defenses for weed control is homemade organic mulch. Mulch
reduces water loss through evaporation. Mulch adds nutrients to your soil
and helps keep those pesky weeds at bay. An excellent source of mulch that
is completely free is tree trimmings. Normally arborists have to pay to
dispose of their tree trimmings so they will gladly give you a truckload.
Depending on the truck size you might just end up with 10 cubic yards of
wood chip for absolutely nothing. What a great savings especially since
plants and flowers can get rather expensive. With wood chips you do have to
be careful since they will draw termites and other insects. Small chips
decompose very rapidly using nitrogen from the soil.
Pine bark is another great mulch and aids in weed control. Pine bark is very
attractive mulch. It is dark in color and can be purchased in large
particles down to shreds. If you are cutting down any pine trees then take
the time to rent a shredder and shred the scraps of the tree for your
springtime mulching. One of the weaknesses of pine bark is that it is very
light weight and does not hold up well in heavy rains. Another benefit is
the odor of pine bark, it is very fragrant. Another part of the pine tree is
very useful in mulching and that is pine needles. Pine needles are excellent
mulch for staying in place because the needles have a tendency to interlock
making them stay better especially on little hills. Trees and shrubs that
intake a lot of acid love pine needles as a covering because this type of
mulch allows air, water and nutrients to penetrate easily to the soil.
Another type of homemade mulch is shredded leaves. Shred the leaves coarsely
using a shredder or your lawn mower. Leaves are easy to obtain and they make
attractive mulch. Leaves also improve your soil as they decompose. After the
leaves decompose you need to dig them into the soil and add a fresh layer of
shredded leaves back on top.
The best use for grass clippings is to leave them on the lawn. Grass
clippings will decompose rapidly, adding nutrients back into the soil. A
two-inch layer of grass clippings provides weed control if they are not full
of weed seeds. It is best to build up the layer gradually using dry grass,
not fresh clippings, to prevent the formation of a solid mat. Be careful not
to use clippings from lawns that have been treated with herbicides.
If you are luck enough to live by a pecan processing plant you can use pecan
shells as mulch. Pecan shells make long-lasting, attractive, dark brown
mulch that is effective in retaining moisture in the soil. Pecan shells also
decompose slowly so there is less maintenance with this type of mulch.
Once you have decided which type of home made mulch you are going to use you
need to get your area prepared to apply the mulch. Weed your area thoroughly
before laying the mulch down. Keep your mulch 2-3 inches away from plant and
6 -12 inches away from walls of buildings. Depending on whether you are
using fine or coarse mulch will determine how deep you layer the mulch. Fine
textured mulch will suffocate the roots of your plants resulting in poor
growth. Coarse textured mulch allows good ventilation so it can be as deep
as 4 inches.
You can save a lot of money by using home made mulch. By using home made
mulch you are able to refresh your gardens and keep them looking sharp all
season long. Enjoy every aspect of your gardening it is a direct reflection
of you and your home. Using home made mulches it will add to the beauty of
you're landscaping by providing a cover of uniform color and interesting
texture to the surface. Best of luck with your gardening this spring.
About the author:
About Author:
Craig Elliott is a freelance writer who writes about topics pertaining to
home maintenance such as