5 Tips For A Better Looking Landscape (via Cobweb/3.1 Planetlab2.netlab.uky.edu)
5 Tips For a Better Looking Landscape
By Thomas Fyrd
It’s no secret that landscaping can be expensive. Saving money
while still having a good looking property is very important.
Landscaping can make your home look great, while at the same time
get you out in the fresh air for some exercise. It’s possible to
save money and improve your health by landscaping yourself, but
what if it turns out poorly? It would be a shame to have wasted
that time and money. The following tips will help to ensure that
you will be happy with the results that you get from working on
your own landscaping.
Know The Soil
First, you should know what type of soil type you have. Some
plants require a more acidic soil, and others with more alkali.
Also, it makes an important different if your soil is sandy,
clay, or loamy. Your investment in plants that are known to work
in the soil type that your lawn is will save you money and a lot
of frustration. You can alter the conditions of your soil before
planting if you would really like to use a type of plant that is
not ideal for your lawns natural soil type. Depending on what
you need to change, adding mulch, peat, crushed limestone, or
clamshells can change your soil type in different ways. The
changes won’t be major, so these won’t work for if the soil type
is way off for a certain plant, but it can certainly help in many
situations.
Know The Space
Next, you need to know how much space each plants needs. The
root systems of some plants spread out more than those of others.
Also, some plants typically spread rapidly, so if you have too
little space to allow for that, the plant will overcrowd the
other plants, possibly killing them. Last, make sure you space
the plants far enough apart. To have enough room to grow
properly, many small trees and shrubs require three to four feet
between them.
Go Native
The next tip is to use native plants in your landscaping. Being
native to the area, the plants have been proven over time to
thrive in the soil type and climate of your hometown. You should
research what plants are indigenous to the region, and what
plants grow well there in general. If you choose plants that are
from other areas of the world, make sure that those areas share a
similar climate to the climate of your area. Palm trees will not
do well in New England, for example.
Know The Bloom Times
Next, make sure the plants in your landscaping bloom at different
times of year. If they all bloom at once, your lawn will look
amazing for a few weeks, but below average for the majority off
the year. You need to extend the period that the landscaping
looks the best. A way to help with this is to choose bushes that
look good even when they are simply green, and not even in bloom.
They can have flowers as well, but you don’t want the plants to
look bad when they are not flowering. An example of what you can
do is plant tulips and crocus among plants that bloom later in
the year. This way, the bulbs will bloom, and when they are
finished, the next plants will bloom. You can always have some
kind of flower blooming on your lawn if you plan correctly.
Use Mulch
The final tip to help make your lawn more attractive is to use
wood chips around shrubs, bushes, and trees. The wood chips look
better than dirt, and also help to repel weeds, hold moisture,
and provide natural food for the plants as the wood chips break
down.
Join Thomas Fryd as he looks at
Landscape Maintenance,
and follow along as Thomas shares his hands on experience of 25 plus years in the world of plants and
landscape at www.Plant-Care.com
Tags: flowers, landscape, lawns, mulc, natural, soil
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Posted: March 6th, 2008 under Home Improvement.
Tags: flowers, landscape, lawns, mulc, natural, soil