home sectionhome section
Weed Guard and Weed Guard Plus are chemical herbicides designed to kill weeds in flowerbeds and landscaping projects. If you are reconditioning an overgrown yard, you can use Weed Guard while landscaping to help speed the process of reclamation. According to the Weed Guard manufacturer, starting Weed Guard early will reduce stress on the plants you want to raise in your landscaping.
Crape myrtles are versatile plants that can grow either like a shrub or tree. They are easily pruned and can be trained in various shapes, depending on your preference. They bloom in a variety colors starting in mid- to late summer. If you are looking for an easy-to-care for plant that even with some neglect will grow well, then there's likely a crape myrtle variety perfect for your landscape.
Summer gardens are some of the most colorful of the year. Many annual and perennial plants come alive with displays of flowers during the summer. Planting for a summer garden means choosing plants that will flower at least part of the season. A mixture of annuals, which flower all season, and perennials, which flower for two to three weeks per years, is a good choice.
Flower gardens are places to showcase the blooms in your yard. Depending on your climate, you can have flowers from the early spring to late fall coming alive in your flower garden. While most flower foliage is a shade of green, additional green garden plants, such as hostas, can add a touch of interest to a busy flowerbed. Green plants also break up the colors in formal garden beds to keep different colors separate.
Flower gardening is educational, relaxing and can be beneficial to the landscape designs. When daunted by a lack of shade, the sun's heat can harm many flowers and leaves. When you are faced with a full sun yard, you can still have a beautiful flower garden, by choosing plants that will grow in sunny areas.
Landscape fabric, or geotextiles, provides a protective barrier over garden soil. The fabric blocks the growth of most weeds while allowing moisture and air through to the soil beneath. Fabric lasts longer than plastic, so it is typically used to mulch over perennial and shrub beds. Sunlight and exposure does degrade the fabric. Applying a wood chip or other attractive mulch over the top protects the fabric layer while improving the appearance of the area. Set plants and the final mulch layer into the bed after installing the fabric.
Blooming plants will make a large impact on your home's landscaping. They can hide a home's foundation, add color to drab areas and fill in empty spaces with color and texture. Flowers are available in two different groups; annuals and perennials. Perennials take longer to establish and bloom in the landscape, but they return every year. Annuals add instant color and survive one season.
Flowering plants, whether indoors or outdoors, can be encouraged to bloom more frequently and to produce more flowers throughout the growing season. While not all plants are profuse bloomers, many annuals can be encouraged and trained to produce more flowers. Even roses, with the proper care, can become more productive. Exceptions to the rule are perennials, which typically bloom only once before becoming dormant again. However, a few tips will help perennials have more blooms.
Trees add to the landscape by providing shade, shelter and color. When selecting a flowering tree for your yard, consider your area's climate -- as well as the growing conditions found in your landscape. Many flowering trees require full sun, but some grow in partial light. Flowering trees may or may not produce fruit once the flowers have matured. Also, consider maintenance, cleanup and harvesting before you purchase your trees.
Black landscaping fabric functions as a weed barrier in the gardens. The advantage of fabric over plastic is that fabric allows water and sunlight to filter through to the soil--a must if you're trying to grow plants. It is available in different thicknesses and widths, which makes it convenient for planting. Once you invest in the fabric--if you handle it carefully--you can remove it and reuse it for subsequent plantings.
About 90 percent of plants -- over 250,000 species -- produce flowers. Sunflowers, orchids and legumes are the largest families. Together they hold 62,000 species. Flowering plants are everywhere, including in the harsh Artic and Antartic climates. Such variety makes it impossible for horticulturists to devise a global diet that meets the requirements of every single flowering shrub, tree and herb. Yet, following a few common sense practices concerning plant fertilization helps to keep your flowers thriving.
Some plants seem to stubbornly refuse to flower no matter what the gardener does. Fortunately, in most cases using a fertilizer specially formulated for flower production will do the trick.
Landscape fabric, a thin and porous geo-textile, works effectively as a weed barrier beneath a layer of mulch in a flower garden. Water and nutrients can still reach desired plant roots, but landscape fabric stops weeds from penetrating through mulch. When you already have landscape fabric covering a planting area, you can still cut it plant new plants. Cut the fabric carefully to ensure you can still use it around the new plants.
Flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds while adding color and fragrance to the landscaping. Plant flowers in beds or containers, depending on the size and overall design that you have chosen for your garden. Integrate different types of landscape flowers and stagger plants that have different blooming seasons with evergreen varieties to achieve an attractive landscape throughout the year. Select plants that flourish in your region; the USDA defines regions by the lowest average winter temperature.
You can spruce up your front sidewalk by adding flowers of all kinds, depending upon your taste and the amount of work you want to put in. Some sidewalk borders are plantings of a single flower type that create a strip of color along the edge of the sidewalk. More intricate landscaping might involve elaborate beds that run along the sidewalk edges. If your sidewalk is close to a building, start the border with short flowers at the sidewalk edge and progress to taller varieties closer to the wall. Otherwise, choose flowers that are short and won't encroach on the…
Successful landscaping calls for careful research and preparation. Landscape plants must grow well in the given region, require the same basic care, live well as companion plants and receive the appropriate placement. While some plants and flowers survive in both sun and shade, others require full sunshine for successful growth and blooming.
Bougainvillea is a tropical plant that doesn't tolerate cold weather. If you live where winters are cold, treat the bougainvillea as an annual and replant it every year. The plant throws out long canes with sharp thorns, and the flowers are minuscule and easy to overlook. However, bougainvillea's most attractive aspect is the vibrant bracts -- or colored leaves -- surrounding the tiny flowers, in white, orange, purple, peach, pink or red. A backdrop of bougainvillea is a dark green for most of the year and vividly colored when in bloom.
Flowering plants benefit from regular composting or a yearly fertilizing program. Composting or fertilizing newly planted trees or shrubs encourages growth. Fertilizer is also needed to replace minerals lost when topsoil is taken off during landscaping. Compost and other organic fertilizers or chemical fertilizers can be used. Compost has the advantage of being easily and cheaply made and renewable.
Landscape fabric, also called geotextiles, was developed to control weeds in agricultural fields. Professional landscapers brought landscape fabric to home gardens where it quickly gained favor as a means of organic (chemical free) weed control. While landscape fabric prevents most weed seeds from sprouting, it is not maintenance free. You will still have to weed, as aggressive weeds can and will sprout underneath the fabric (emerging from planting holes) and from the mulch on top of the fabric. Landscape fabric does not last forever. You will have to replace it sometimes depending on the the quality of the fabric and…
If your space, time and budget for floral landscaping were unlimited, then your landscaping challenges would be virtually eliminated. However, many people find that they are challenged in one of those areas and need ideas for getting around those obstacles. Here are some solutions for those three common hurdles related to landscaping with flowers.
A well-designed flower bed or two adds curb appeal and value to any home. However, you can't just plunk down a few flowers in soldier-straight rows and expect a good result. Before heading out to your local home improvement store's garden center, plant nursery, or even clicking through an online plant seller, do some research and develop a plan to select the the best flowers for your landscape.
Landscaping a flowerbed can make your entire yard look updated. It’s easy to do and all you need is a little planning, some manual labor and a few things to make it all possible. You don’t have to pay top dollar to have a professional do it for you either; it’s a project you can do over a weekend or even in just a day if you have the time. Don’t let the gorgeous landscape jobs you’ve seen be intimidating. You can get started with a few easy steps and best of all, you can be proud that you did…
