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Flowers are a great gift
By: Alan Jason Smith
Site: http://www.agoraflowers.com
Flowers are a great gift, useful in home decoration or in landscaping. When thinking about what to grow in any certain space, one has a wide array of choices for what kind of flowers would...
Garden Gnomes to add whimsey to your garden
Garden gnomes are a fun addition to your garden, patio or landscaping. Adding a perfect touch of whimsy, you can count on a garden gnome to always put a smile on your face. Besides their obvious charm, garden gnomes are also believed to bring good...
How to Make a Weed Dabber
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your
newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the
contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active
links. You are welcome to use this article with an...
Landscape Design
Landscaping is a wonderful pastime enjoyed by many. It provides a natural beauty and needs no ornaments or other attractive items to help achieve its magnificence. What it does need, however, is a little TLC from you and great ideas to keep the...
The True Beauty of Climbing Roses
What is more beautiful than seeing a home or building with an arch of climbing roses in the landscaping? Climbing roses are one of many plants that branch out and intertwine themselves among arches, trellises, or even buildings and railings. They...
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Water Conservation For Gardeners
There are many ways gardeners can plan and save on water usage
and water requirements in the landscape.
Sometimes the old fashion methods are not used. The simplest
that I know is like playing cards and gambling. Gamble and plant
early. There is usually more soil moisture early in the spring
than later as the average daily temperatures rise. We order some
seedlings that we don't grow ourselves and have them shipped to
us as early as possible. If we can't plant them outside, we heal
them in and wait till they can be planted. If the seedlings are
small, we consider potting them up and waiting for perfect
conditions. This gives us more chances to time our plantings to
the soil condtions that we want.
Old fashion methods also did not rely on lots of chemical
fertilizers. Lots of fertilizers don't induce the plants to grow
deep roots. Deep roots allow plants to tolerate dry periods
better than shallow roots which dry out easily. Let your plants
work for their nutrients. Make them develop far reaching roots
and then reward them with fertilizers. These plants will not
suffer as much from a lack of rainfall.
Create your own compost pile and use compost and mulches to
help the soil reserve moisture. Plants are not fussy about the
compost organic matter. Composted manure, leaves and grass, lawn
clippings, table scraps, even Fido can contribute! Mulches hold
in moisture by cutting down on evaporation of water from the
soil. Mulches also help
retain runoff of water when there is a
hard rain. Do not use plastic liners and covers as weed barriers
as these block water from the soil and also prevent air from the
root zone of the plants.
Screens and buffers also help in water conservation. Screens
and buffers cut down on wind velocity across the landscape. If
you can buffer the winds you will help your soil retain moisture
longer.
Plant selection also can be used to select plants that don't
require as much moisture. An example is American Arborvitae vs
Emerald Green Arborvitae. The Emerald green is more drought
sensitive than the American. The emerald green is a more dense
plant. Thus with more surface area, it will require more
moisture making it more sensitive to drought conditions.
Use a rain barrel. My father in law uses a plastic 55 gal.
drum. He fills it from the house downspouts. Water is always
handy when needed and best of all its free.
If you are going to water a gentle cultivation loosens the soil
so that the water can soak in easily. Hard compacted soils sends
water to your neighbors. Avoid runoff, encourage the water to
soak in.
About the author:
Bill contributes articles on subjects dealing with the nuresy
trade and landscaping. His web sites are:
http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.zone5trees.com His
home farm is in Doylestown Pa. about 30 miles north of
Philadelphia. His phone # is 215651 8329
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