A home garden is a place, which can give identity to your home building in a neighborhood. You can use very little creativity to enhance to look and feel of your garden so that it stands out from the rest …
For the avid do-it-yourself landscaper, the right tools are important. After all, if one wishes to save money on the expenses associated with having a well cared for yard, it is best to make sure that he or she has all of the tools necessary to create an attractive landscape. By understanding some of the most common tools used for basic landscaping needs, you can ensure that you have everything you need to keep your lawn in the best possible shape, bringing delight and distinction to your grounds, be they large or small.
Shovels, rakes, trowels, and hand cultivators. These are the most basic of tools when it comes to landscaping. Every home should be supplied with these basic implements. They make just about every landscaping endeavor possible. Shovels to remove sod and turn soil, as well as dig the holes necessary for fixtures like trees and hardscapes, Rakes are essential to smooth out planting beds and prepare ground for things like sod without packing the dirt. Trowels and hand cultivators allow you to perform minute work that requires more attention to detail. All of these tools are necessary to the proper functioning and care of a landscape.
Pruners and shears. These tools are used to improve the appearance of woody plants and trees. They keep plants from encroaching in other areas, and they also promote the overall health of the plants. They help maintain a neat appearance, and if you have topiary concerns, they are indispensable in maintaining a set shape. There are hand pruners, tools that help with the smaller branches and are easier to use, loppers for getting thicker branches that are to large for pruners, and even pruning saws that can help you with the toughest of branches. Hedge shears provide a way for hedges to be trimmed more conscientiously than with electric or gas-run trimmers (although these are widely available and can make maintaining hedges much easier).
Lawnmower. This is perhaps one of the most common and most obvious of landscaping tools. It is meant to keep the grass at a reasonable level, and to keep the lawn neat and healthy. Related to lawnmowers in the trimming department are things like weed wackers, which are very useful in keeping edges that can’t be cut by a mower nice and neat. Additionally, the use of some special machinery, designed to eliminate thick brush is useful to have on hand, even it is only in the form of a machine rented once a year.
Other tools of interest. Of course, there are specialty tools that may be needed depending upon on the features of your landscape. If you have a water fixture, it is important to make sure that you have the proper pumps and filters, and that you have little skimmers that can allow you to remove larger pieces of debris from the water. Automatic sprinklers can make watering the lawn and your other plants much easier, and you should have a garden hose for special watering needs. Regular household tools such as hammer and nails, levels, and drills can be helpful if you have built landscape features like patios, decks, pergolas, and trellises. They can also be useful in building things like containers and creating raised beds.
Wheelbarrow. A wheelbarrow will always be of infinite use for the avid landscaper and improver. Wheelbarrows are very useful for moving debris as well as bringing needed implements to their proper places. They haul dirt and bring in plants. They make it possible to for one person to carry a load that otherwise she or he would not be able to handle. For the serious landscaper, a wheelbarrow is indeed necessary.
When you have all of the tools necessary to take care of your landscape, then you are well rewarded for your hard work. Acquiring the more common tools can also save you money in the long run, as they can be used over and over again. Additionally, many of the more common landscape tools are fairly small in size and easy to store in a garage or a shed. As long as they are kept neatly arranged in place, they are easy to get to when needed, and not hard to find. Proper maintenance of you tools is important: keep them from becoming rusty, and make sure your lawnmower and other gas or electric implements are well oiled and always have plenty of gas. Proper care of your tools ensures that you will be able to properly care for your landscape.
Most homes have a few trees in the yard. Since they provide shade when it is too hot outside, it is only right that you landscape around the trees to make part of the beautiful scenery.
So how do you do that? The first thing you have to do is get in touch with arborist, a horticulturist or a forester. This is because planting around trees the wrong way can damaged the roots and kill the tree. Once they have established a protected root zone, you will be able to plant flowers and shrubs without any problems.
Instead of planting these on the ground, you can use planted boxes which does a great job of reducing mower damage. If you do decide to use these, be sure to maintain the soil at the original level and that the installation edging materials do not cut the tree roots.
The water requirement for plants and trees are also different. For instance, grass and plants have to be watered daily or three times a week. While the tree on the other hand only needs one application.
To prevent this from happening, you should also construct an irrigation system that is able to cater to the needs of both. You can make this happen by putting the water lines in one corridor outside the protected root zone.
But if it has to go through, make sure bore a hole only two feet below grade. Again, the improper way of doing this will compromise the tree’s stability and health.
But what if you suspect that something is wrong with tree? For that, you will have to inspect the base of the tree.
All trees have a natural root flare located at the base. If there is no flare and there is an excess fill, this has to be removed in order to save the life of the tree. Some of the work can be done by hand while the rest is done with a machine.
So if you want to landscape around trees, it is best to lay a 2 to 4 inch later of organic mulch at the base of the tree and then extend this outward to the protected root zone. Examples of these include wood chips and shredded bark. They must not be piled up against the tree trunk because this keeps the bark wet that leads to the growth of bacteria and fungi.
You must not also use landscaping fabrics or sheet plastic underneath mulch because they prevent oxygen and water going to the roots of the trees.
It is advised to prone out dead, low and rubbing branches. You must never pull on the healthy ones because this will reduce the tree’s ability to withstand heavy winds.
Irrigation must be done in the absence of precipitation. This should be done regularly during the fall until the ground freezes with periods that allows the soil to dry.
If you follow the tips mentioned, you will soon have a nice yard that surrounds a tree. Of course landscaping around trees is just one way to make your yard look good. But as this case has shown, planting flowers or shrubs into the ground and watering them is not as easy as it looks because you also have to pay attention the needs of the tree so both will be able to live.
Landscaping driveways does not necessarily mean the driveway itself, although the design of your driveway can impact the look and feel of your landscape. Rather, many people neglect to landscape their driveways to look attractive. This includes adding landscaping elements to the sides of the driveway, as well as at the bottom and the top of the driveway. There are many softscape and hardscape elements that can be added to make the area surrounding the driveway more attractive.
Your driveway landscape is the entrance to your property. If you ignore it, the driveway can look more like an ugly scar than a part of your landscape. If properly incorporated, however, it is possible to create a nice looking element in your landscape, tying it in to the rest of your design and looking as though it truly belongs. It is very worth your while to make an attempt at landscaping around your driveway. You need not spend a great deal of money to landscape your driveway, but if you carefully choose features and elements that are attractive and creative, you can have a fairly low-cost driveway landscape that is inviting to visitors as well as to those who live inside the house.
Before landscaping the driveway, however, there are a few things to take into account. First of all, you need to make sure that what you are doing will not be so much wasted work. Take into account your neighborhood. If there are a great deal of children, a flower bed at the entrance, near the street, may not be a wise decision. It may be trampled careless children, or the flowers may be picked. While these actions do not usually the products malice, they can result in a ragged and disheveled looking driveway entrance. In such a neighborhood one might consider accenting the entrance with an attractive fence, rock wall, or even a small rock garden. Also determine the footpaths traveled by those who live in the house. Make sure that any elements you add to the sides or ends of the driveway are not interfering in established walkways.
Some of the common hardscape options are walls and fences. These are projects that can add distinction and accent to your driveway area. A rock wall can be especially interesting if you use different colored rocks. It is also possible to plant grasses and small, hardy flowers in the cracks between the stones used to construct the wall. This can be decorative and it can add a more interesting aspect to your rock wall. Short, attractive fences, and even some of higher height, can also accent the driveway and give it a little more color and character. Small hanging baskets or lanterns can be used with either a fence or a wall to add more beauty.
There are plenty of softscape options for dressing up the area around the driveway. The first thing you need to decide (and this goes for hardscape accents as well) is whether you plan to use the landscape elements to run the length of the driveway or to simply accent the entrance to the driveway. If you are working with a very small budget, simply accenting either side of the driveway, near the bottom, is a good idea. It will cost much less, but add a great deal to the look of your over all landscape. Some of the softscape ideas that work well either to follow the driveway up or simply to add character to the entrance, include beds of colorful annuals, groundcover along the drive to create a natural and interesting border with the lawn, ornamental trees, and shrubs. The shrubs can even be cut to be topiary and have interesting designs.
A curved driveway is interesting of itself, and can be made even more so if a focal point is added to nestle in the curve. This focal point should be something of beauty. It can be as simple as a stately oak, or a specially designed flowerbed or rock garden. Or, instead of being something simple, the focal point can be something else entirely. Landscape bridges, wishing wells, garden arbors, and water gardens all make excellent focal points that can be exceptionally attractive.
Fixing the outside of your home is just as important as fixing the inside. If you are landscaping the yard, it is not enough to just put grass on the ground. You should plant flowers, shrubs and trees.
The garden needs to be maintained so you should cut the grass and water the plants. For that, you will need to buy some equipment like an edger, hedge trimmer and a lawnmower.
If you don’t have time to do this, pay someone to mow the lawn or hire a professional that will drop by and do the work on a regular basis.
Ideally, when landscaping your yard, you should choose two or three colors for flowerbeds and use different plants. Don’t forget that they should compliment the overall look of the house.
It will also be nice to add a few other items like some rocks, a statue or even a fountain. When choosing these from the store, make sure you know which plants need more sunlight than the others. This will prevent you from buying the wrong ones and killing them.
You can also get other ideas to improve the landscaping in your yard by looking at magazines and online sites. It is also possible to incorporate something you saw while driving around the neighborhood because decorating is not rocket science. You simply need to have a little imagination and ingenuity to bring this idea to life. The important thing is that this should reflect your personality.
The best way to start this is by putting your plan on paper. You can do it even if you do not draw that well. Just use some basic shapes and put symbols on them.
Once you have set this up, what you have in your hand is now a blueprint so it is off to the store to buy everything you need.
Don’t be afraid to make some changes in the layout because this is normal when you want the yard to look at its best. You should also make allowances for the home’s porch and decks so you can hang plants on baskets.
The success of your landscaping yard will depend largely on nature. This is because you have no control of the weather. If it rains often, you should only use plants that are able to sustain so much water. The same goes if it snows regularly where you live.
Aside from water and sunlight, you may also need to fertilizers and other chemicals to keep the soil ideal for growing.
The pH balance of the soil should also be checked. This should be between 6 and 7 at all times because if it is below 6, this means it is acidic while anything higher than 7 means there is too much alkaline content in the ground.
Landscaping the yard will not be a bed of roses. There will be challenges like weeds, pests and even the neighbor’s pet. But if you are able to provide balance, you will be able to surpass these challenges and be admired by those who pass by your home.
Who knows? They could learn something from you and also do the same for their own front or backyards so everyone is able to learn a few tricks from each other and uses this to their advantage.
