Archive for the ‘Irrigation’ Category

Submitted by: Roland Brown

Landscaping is in itself is a work of art. As with any art there are guidelines to follow, like composition, color, lines, designs, and consistency. Really landscape design has often much less to do with landscaping and a lot more to do with art.

So in landscaping there must be in the gardener’s thoughts a picture of what he needs the entire picture to be once he completes his landscaping project.

When landscaping, it is important to buy trees that are healthy and will compliment your landscape design. If you are using a single tree or a modest group it is important to make sure you do not centre the tree or bushes. Let them drop a bit into the background. Make a satisfying side feature using them. In selecting bushes for your landscaping project, keep in mind a quantity of issues. You must not opt for an overpowering tree. The tree must possess a good shape, with something interesting about its bark, leaves, flowers or fruit.

For the attractiveness of landscaping, the autumn blaze pear is very pretty by itself. Its leaves are shiny, its flowers appealing, the seeds are not a nuisance, it is one of the last trees to shed their leaves in the fall, it has good fall color, and has a nice uniform shape. The bright fruits of the mountain ash, the brilliant fall color of the autumn blaze maple, the blossoms of the crab apple, and the bark of the river birch are all things to look at when preparing your overall landscaping arrangement.

When landscaping, there are two unique sorts that are typically followed, they are formal and natural. The first may have straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds, trees in shrubs ought to be symmetrical, every thing, as the name tells, perfectly formal. The other proceedure is, of course, the exact opposite. You must base your choice on your personal preferences, the style of your house, and the style of the neighboring land.

Right here are some helpful guidelines on using mulch. With increased environmental understanding amongst today’s gardeners, a lot of are mastering new practices similar to leaving grass clippings on the lawn, saving too much plant materials for creating compost and taking advantage of the a lot of advantages of natural mulch. Mulches help minimize evaporation from the sun, thereby decreasing watering needs.

Mulches additionally decrease the chance of abrupt changes in dirt temperature, that helps prevent tender premature growth during winter weather warm spells. Such growth is killed simply in early spring by the return of chilly winter temperatures.

Various excellent spots for mulch include close to ornamental shrubs and flowers, on garden walkways, alongside fences or next to an alley. Remember which natural mulches break down over time, and finally will require to be replenished.

Whilst this decomposition recycles nutrients again to the soil, it temporarily depletes nitrogen amounts in the process. You will need to supplement nitrogen if you start to notice indicators of poor plant performance, such as yellowing lower leaves or weak progress. It may be valuable to use a landscape barrier in conjunction with your mulch to hold down weeds. If you decide to use a barrier, stay away from (the dreaded) solid black plastic material. This solid plastic material interferes with air and water exchange with the dirt. As an alternative, try a breathable cloth material with two to three inches of mulch spread on top.

About the Author: The bottom line is to

buy trees

that are healthy and will compliment your

Landscape Design

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=711773&ca=Gardening

By Marilyn Pokorney

Row covers are a matter of choice for gardeners. Some love them. Others hate them. If larger and more earlier yields of veggies is a goal then row covers are an excellent choice.

Row covers come in a wide variety of materials and can be used as tunnels supported by hoops or as floating covers which just lie gently on the growing plants.

The lightweight covers are used for keeping insect pests away from your plants while the heavier ones are used for frost protection in both the spring and fall.

Whether used with hoops or free floating the edges of the covers need to be weighted down to prevent them from blowing away in the wind and to prevent insect pests from getting under the covers. Weigh the edges down with rocks, bricks, or anything handy. A row of soil placed on top of the edges is an excellent and simple method.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DZIyD8stSY[/youtube]

Although studies show that most plants do best with hooped covers there are three plants that require hoops. Tomatoes, peppers and squash grow large and fast. These plants do best with hooped covers because the constant rubbing of the cover on the plants can damage the growing points and break the large leaves.

Added benefits of using row covers include:

Earlier and larger yields. Plants produce 1 to 3 weeks earlier than without row covers.

Frost protection of 4 to 7 degrees. Especially in the fall when the soil is much warmer than it is in the spring. Just one layer of row cover gives the added protection of moving the garden by one USDA growing zone.

Pest protection as long as the edges remain weighted down or buried.

Moisture Retention. The soil doesn’t dry out as fast under the row covers as the temperature isn’t as high as without the cover, and water under the row cover condenses and returns to the plants and soil.

Wind damage. Plants under row covers suffer less from high winds.

For more information on gardening with row covers visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/rowcover.htm

About the Author: Marilyn Pokorney, Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: apluswriting.net Email: Current address on website

Source: isnare.com

Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=42641&ca=Gardening

Treating Landscape Gardener’s Sore Hands

by

Peter Friswell

Landscape gardeners are resourceful and industrious when faced with a landscaping project. Unfortunately, many do not adopt the same approach when their own health care is at issue. As a result, many suffer from dermatitis, which can be both painful and unsightly. However, a simple skin care routine can relieve even the most severe dermatitis condition.

Dermatitis, often used to cover a wide range of skin problems, is commonly regarded as referring to skin inflammation, rashes and soreness outbreaks. As a generic condition, it does not have a single cause. Rather, it can result from contact with allergens, be due to an inappropriate hygiene routine, stem from an inadequate diet, or even be linked to a person’s hereditary makeup.

The foundation of any good garden is the soil. The landscape gardener will build upon this foundation and adorn with plants, low-level walls, paving areas and an assortment of other decorative features.

Unfortunately, the main component, soil, is not conducive to healthy skin. With everyday tasks such as lifting heavy goods around the plot and working with flowers, vegetation and seedlings, it is not surprising that dirt and grime can become ingrained – this is particularly prone in the vicinity of the hands and fingernails.

Ingrained grime not only looks unattractive, but it can lead to dry skin. With the passage of time, this can lead to inflamed, sore and cracked skin ‘ often referred to by the catch-all term “chapped hands”.

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In such cases, the normal inclination is to wash the skin with a strong soap or, even worse, use a brush to scrub the skin clean. This may remove every last trace of dirt, but it will also likely remove the surface lipids that are vital for maintaining your skin’s correct moisture levels.

Moisturise and protect. This is excellent advice not only for plants but the landscaper gardener as well.

Just as plants need nurturing and protection so does a landscape gardener’s skin.

First, choose a mild soap or cleansing lotion, free from chemical additives. Use cool, not hot, water. Dry by blotting the skin with a soft, cotton rich towel rather than by rubbing.

Adopting this hygiene routine will allow you to clean without further damaging the skin.

Next, select a moisturising product. This will help maintain supple and healthy hands. In addition, barrier cream protection will help minimise contact with irritants and allergens. Ideally, using a product that encompasses both will provide an effective skin care routine for all those who regularly work in and around the garden.

The cream selected should not contain any fragrance as any unnecessary additives can sometimes produce an allergic reaction. This will rule out many cosmetic moisturising creams. You should also be aware that, any cream that leaves the skin feeling oily or greasy is also likely leaving a layer on the hands that can act as a harbour for further dirt contamination. The best barrier creams do not prevent the skin from breathing naturally. Once applied, barrier creams should also provide protection, even after washing the hands.

Finally, reduce skin friction on the hands by wearing freshly cleaned gloves for any heavy duty work. However, whilst gloves offer excellent short-term protection, avoid wearing them for prolonged periods as they can trap perspiration and themselves become a cause of friction.

If you adopt these few simple rules, soon your hands will be up to even the grandest of landscape designs – and the arduous tasks that are involved in making them a reality.

As with any other health issue, if the onset of your dermatitis is sudden, or is extensive, or is accompanied by other symptoms, seek immediate advice from your doctor.

Peter Friswell has additional information that will be of interest to the

landscape gardener with dermatitis

on his dedicated webpage Additional practical information concerning skin care in general, gained by Peter Friswell’s during his 20 years skin care industry involvement, is shared on his

skin care

website

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Beautiful Blooms Garden Centre

by

Johnathon Gouldsberry

Some

gardeners

will battle on what to plant in their gardens that could give a great show, the begonia as an example isn\’t every person\’s favorite flower, their heads are massive with little our bodies, and occasionally are hard to love.

They may be loved just as much as the rose, geranium, or another plant in the garden, you can find some that hardly look much like the average begonia, and you are able to plant for late summer shade, and you will find one or two nearly hardy kinds that might surely be price a consider.

Begonia sutherlandii is actually a tuberous-rooted and arrived here from Natal from the 1860s, it truly is a graceful plant which carries tiny bunches of clear orange solitary flowers in the ends of pale-red stems, the leaves with jagged edges, look fresh and the flowers appear for weeks. It could occur by means of harsh winters and usually seeds itself in gravel on the North side of our houses.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuhLVl5qf2A[/youtube]

The Papaya\’ might not be very so hardy, it has bigger flowers, but when you did must consider it indoors, it would make a pretty pot plant for the shady windowsill. You can find numerous species of begonia and also a very good

garden centre

or nursery will soon type you out.

One more favourite that offers beautiful blooms garden centre, may be the geranium, they are really one in the less complicated plants to propagate from stem cuttings. In the end in the summer you\’ll be able to carry cuttings in the plants which have been as part of your garden above the summer and create plants for use subsequent year.

The best solution to do it is get rid of a cutting with about 2 or 3 leaf joints through the leading, minimize the stem just beneath a leaf joint and eliminate the lowest leaves to create a bare stem that is often inserted in the cutting compost.

The cuttings must root in about 10 to 20 days, when rooted they are going to have to have being transferred into their own pots 75mm to 100mm working with typical potting compost, remember when the cutting has rooted you\’ll need to pinch out the high to encourage the brand new plant to create part shoots.

An English garden wouldn\’t be complete without the need of the lavender plant, obviously there are a lot of plants from the lavender family, however the form most generally utilised medicinally is English lavender. Traditionally the essential oil of lavender was applied externally to treat joint ache, muscle aches, plus a variety of skin problems, such as insect stings, acne, eczema and burns, also lavender vital oil was inhaled to relieve headaches, anxiety, and stress, how good being capable to increase this sort of a useful plant within our gardens.

A spokesman for Blooming Direct a nursery and online buying facility dependent within the island of Jersey mentioned \”you will discover a lot of favorite species of

garden plants

which the UK gardener will choose to plant year immediately after year, we provide completely just about every plant you may think about and if we do not commodity what you might be right after we will go out within your method to source it from someplace else\”.

Blooms Garden Centre

reviews and tips. Everything you want to know about

Blooms Garden Centre

is here!

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com