Author: Busucher

It will not cut once you’ve discovered ornamental kale. This cool-weather plant provides big, leafy rosettes of purples and brilliant pinks , offset by green or ivory. Long-stem varieties are more eye catching, with roselike centers you can accentuate through trimming — a favorite in fall floral structures. The decorative kale cultivar Sunset (Brassica oleracea”Sunset”) is a long-stemmed variety that can reach 24 inches tall and features deep pink”blossoms” with green outer leaves, sometimes streaked with pink. Like Sunset, it’s best to begin with seed in midsummer while kale seedlings are available each autumn, when you’re looking for a specific cultivar.

Fill flats with sterile seed-starting mix when day temperatures are around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and it is at least 75 days before temperatures are regularly below 50 F. This will be about mid-August, but assess by your particular climate or microclimate.

Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep and gently cover with all the mix. They can be kept outdoors provided that the temperatures are warm and you keep them moist. Ornamental kale seeds must germinate within 10 days at a temperature of 70 F.

Transplant the strongest, most appealing seedlings to 4-inch pots filled with potting soil around a month after they germinate. Water well. Use a soil with plant foods or fertilize with a balanced fertilizer.

As day temperatures start to dip near 60 F clear weeds and summer annuals from an area of well-drained soil in full sun. In accordance with University of California Extension, this really is from early October through November depending on where you are. Until temperatures cool, the plants don’t start to show their true colours and colour can take up to a month.

Dig holes equal to the root chunk of each plant in full sun in their final place as evening temperatures fall toward 60 F. Space the holes six inches apart. While ornamental kale needs 10 to 12 inches between plants to achieve it summit, tight spacing promotes the stalks of types like Sunset to elongate.

Add a handful of slow-release fertilizer and pop a plant. Business up the soil and water well. Keep the plants moist as they set in their new location.

Remove leaves of Sunset ornamental kale beginning when the plants are 6 inches tall, so lasting as they grow till they have a reddish to deep pink center with one outer layer of green to pink-streaked green leaves and a stem. It may take up to completely develop.

Stakes and tie stalks to supports once they reach 10 to 12 inches. Sunset has rosettes from 3 to 7 inches across and may grow to 24 inches tall, so though stalks are fairly sturdy, supports keep the top-heavy plant from flopping over.

Fertilize once a month with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer. While established practice is to cease fertilizing once the plant begins to colour, as it may keep color from developing this may not be the situation. Research conducted for farmers by North Carolina State University showed that when the plant has feedings the plants can suffer from nutrient deficiencies if fertilizer is stopped and demonstrate no difference.

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Low-maintenance lawn alternatives are growing in popularity, but many homeowners still love a little bit of turf grass — yards make great areas for entertaining; children can play along with pets can operate on them. However, what if you have to put in a new yard or start over if your current yard is past its prime? Is this a great DIY project for someone with average skills? As it happens, yes. However, just like the majority of things, a thriving yard starts with the ideal preparation.

Samuel H. Williamson Associates

Materials and tools:
Soil testSod cutterHoeTillerHard rakeSpreaderSoil amendmentsFertilizer

How to Prep for a New Lawn

1. Test your soil. The only way to learn what’s on your soil (and what’s not) is to test it. For about $15, you can have a sample of your soil tested at your regional county extension office. There are fundamental kits available for you to conduct a test, but your extension office will have the ability to give you more extensive info about what’s going on with your own soil, so it is money well spent.

A good soil test will tell you what your soil pH is; what kind of soil texture you’ve got; the comparative quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; and quantities of other minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium and copper. Once you have this info, you can amend your soil properly to prepare it to your new yard.

Photo by Ryo Chijiiwa

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

2. Remove present grass weeds and plants. Starting out with a fresh slate is important — you don’t wish to spend time and money on a new yard if you are simply placing it on top of a weedy area. The way you eliminate this undesirable material is up to you, and largely depends on how big the area is and what kind of plant material you’re going to be removing. For small areas having old weeds and grass, a hoe will work nicely, but for larger areas consider renting a sod cutter (normally $70 per day). If you’ve got big plants (shrubs, woody perennials), remove them first and decide if you want to replant them in another area or transfer them into a compost pile.

3. Loosen the soil with a tiller. This is an optional step, since there are a couple of schools of thought concerning tilling your own soil. Some specialists believe tilling is required to completely combine old dirt with amendments; others think tilling simply disturbs weed seeds and produces a mess. My recommendation is that if you’ve got a place of very hard dirt, it might make sense to break it up to a thickness of 6 to 8 inches utilizing a rear-tine tiller (normally $55 daily to lease) before incorporating your soil amendments, but otherwise feel free to omit this step.

Photo by Flickr Commons user Topslakr

decordemon

4. Add compost. All lands, regardless of the results of a soil test, can benefit from a 2- to 3-inch use of compost. This is sometimes compost taken from your pile or bought from a landscape supply yard. Use well-rotted mulch, as compost that is too new or “warm” won’t be broken down and won’t benefit your new yard. Good-quality compost costs about $30 to $50 per cubic yard, depending on the kind you purchase along with the area in which you live. Make sure you distinguish the landscape supply yard which you need it to set a new yard, since there are often different combinations for various backyard software.

You can also put in other soil adjustments, such as sand, to break up clay-like lands. Soil amendments tackle the soil’s physical state (feel, ability to drain), and are not to be confused with fertilizers, which tackle the nutrient amounts in the dirt.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

5. Add fertilizers and rake smooth. Based on the results of your soil test, you might elect to add some starter fertilizers to get your lawn off to a good start. Your soil test should make some recommendations on what to add to bring your particular soil up to healthful nutrient levels; search for a lawn starter fertilizer with those components. If you have any questions, make certain to ask your county extension office for clarification to avoid performing any unnecessary actions or steps.

Use a spreader to add the compost evenly, then use a hard rake to evenly smooth the surface of your soil. You’ll want the dirt to be approximately 1 inch below grade to permit for the elevation of the installed bud. Ensure that your soil surface is totally free of “hills and valleys,” which will make for a lumpy lawn along with a less-than-professional look.

Koch Architects, Inc.. Joanne Koch

Plant sod or spread grass seed as soon as possible after completing your prep work. The longer your unplanted soil is bare, the faster weeds will once again stake their own claim.

Special considerations:
Every geographic area has its dirt quirks — too much rock, sandy soil, clay dirt etc.. Get to know so that you can better tackle your gardening issues.Don’t skimp on soil planning when planning for a new yard — even though you won’t find the specific materials in the end, a healthy lawn will be your reward.Always use sod or grass seed that is suggested for your region and your website. More:
5 Great Grasses for a New Yard
Getting Along With Less Lawn
The situation for Losing the Traditional Lawn

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Fall is one of the most exciting seasons in the backyard, when we can benefit from the many autumn foliage superstars to make a frame for late-blooming perennials. As opposed to thinking in terms of picking a favourite flower or two, make a vibrant vignette of trees and shrubs which will span the seasons and offer your garden a picture-perfect appearance in autumn.

When decorating a space, we generally start by choosing a wall color. With that in place, the fun starts as we locate the perfect floors or accent rug prior to finally think about the placement and style of furniture. The total color palette can be kept restrained, with attachments providing the finishing touch and extra color punch.

Creating a backyard vignette is a little like that. Start by choosing the key vertical elements — picking the trees which will look great over many seasons but that also have wonderful autumn tints. For the floor plane, search out grasses and shrubs which bring color, different leaf shapes and exciting textures to the spectacle. Finally add a swath of your favorite late-blooming perennials and garnish with an enjoyable container or 2 to get a bright splash of color.

Le jardinet

Creating a Foliage Picture Frame

In the scene below the eye is naturally drawn to the wide sweep of golden black-eyed Susan, yet this scene’s great looks rely a lot more on great foliage than on these ephemeral flowers.

A mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs creates a frame for these sunny daisies. Although two trees punctuate the boundary, notice how several of these grasses and shrubs are planted in massive classes to help balance the bulk of flowers.

Strategic placement of simple containers helps to carry the color scheme through the cabin’s porch, making a wonderful escape for people who care to linger and enjoy the autumn screen.

The principal color scheme is green and gold, with a few bold accessories in crimson, showing restraint while being enjoyable.

This combination will start to develop in late July as the flowers begin to bloom. Those plants which are deciduous or die back in winter will do so over a period of many months. Even when the last leaf has fallen, the evergreen blossoms, conifer and striking bark of the pine tree will add interest.

Here is how to get the appearance.

Le jardinet

1. Begin with the trees. Insert structure and height with a couple of trees. Both the golden locust tree and the paperbark maple used here offer you excellent fall foliage, so this late-season border will continue to become a garden display for many months.

The golden locust tree shines a foliage spotlight on the entire scene. The chartreuse leaves of summer and spring turn into a softer yellow in autumn — a beautiful counterpoint to the adjacent maple and a wonderful comparison to the cedar-shingled cabin.

Botanical name: Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’
Common title: Golden locust tree
Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zones 4 to 9; locate your zone)
Water requirement: Low once established
moderate requirement: Full sun for best color
Mature size: 30 to 50 feet tall and around 20 feet wide
Seasonal interest: Spring to collapse
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring or autumn.

Caution: Golden locust trees can produce unwanted suckers in some parts of the U.S.

Le jardinet

The paperbark maple is a modest-size, slow-growing deciduous shrub, prized not just for its beautiful foliage but also for its appealing paring cinnamon-colored bark.

Le jardinet

In autumn the leaves of the paperbark maple vary from green to shades of peach, coral and caramel — a wonderful highlight of any autumnal screen.

Le jardinet

Botanical name: Acer griseum
Common title: Paperbark maple
Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 8)
Water requirement: Low once established
moderate requirement: Full sun or partial shade
Mature size: 18 feet tall and around 15 feet wide
Seasonal interest: Year-round
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring or autumn.

Le jardinet

2. Insert a lesser tier of shrubs. With the elevation established, it’s time to fill in the floor plane with an range of shrubs and low-growing conifers. Soft gold shades blend with blue-green to make a vibrant fall tapestry.

Feelin’ Blue deodar cedar is a standout in the garden with its low, wide-spreading habit and stunning blue tones. This evergreen conifer is totally low maintenance and deer resistant, and has also been drought tolerant in my backyard.

Botanical name: Cedrus deodara ‘Feein’ Blue’
Common title: Feelin’ Blue deodar cedar
Where it will grow: Hardy to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 7 to 9)
Water requirement: Low once established
moderate requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall and around 6 feet wide. It can also be trained as a low standard to form a brief weeping shrub.
Seasonal curiosity: Year-round
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in autumn or spring.

Le jardinet

Spirea come in many sizes and its foliage comes in many colors — it is really just a matter of choosing your own favorite. This layout features Double Play Big Bang spirea.

In spring the leaves opens in shades of orange and aluminum, turning a gentle green in summer and yellow in autumn. Apartment clusters of pink flowers attract butterflies in summer. And although deer do nibble the new shoots, I do not mind — it boosts a flush of new rosy growth, as shown here.

Le jardinet

This is unquestionably a shrub to put in your backyard for 3 seasons of interest.

Botanical name: Double Play Big Bang Spiraea ‘Tracy’
Common title: Double Play Big Bang spirea
Where it will grow: Hardy to-30degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 9)
Water requirement: Low once established
Light requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 3 feet tall and wide
Seasonal interest: Spring through autumn
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring or autumn.

Le jardinet

3. Use wispy textures to add softness. Bring a feeling of movement to your garden by including delicate grasses or other fine-textured foliage which will move in the breeze. They will produce a soft background for the stiffer shrubs and flowers.

Who can withstand bronze fennel? Not me! Just look at that foliage — and it looks even more amazing when the early-morning dew collects on its feathery branches. Yes, it does self-seed, so perhaps this isn’t for everyone — and really, this autumn combo would still look lovely without it but you need to acknowledge the feathery foliage is spectacular and certainly adds to this scene.

Botanical name: Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’
Common title: Bronze fennel
Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 9). In zone 3 it could be appreciated as an annual without anxiety of these seeds’ overwintering
Water requirement: Low
moderate requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 6 feet tall and wide
Seasonal interest: Spring through autumn
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring.

Caution: Bronze fennel can self-seed and become a nuisance.

Le jardinet

Grasses are the typical choice for adding excellent texture to the backyard, and the evergreen Mexican feather grass is one of my personal favorites, as it is not invasive where I live. You may prefer to substitute orange hair sedge (Carex testacea, zones 7 to 10), which is also evergreen and would stay within the color scheme.

Botanical name: Stipa tenuissima
Common title: Mexican feather grass
Where it will grow: Hardy to -10degrees Fahrenheit (zones 6 to 10); avoid planting where it’s invasive.
Water requirement: Low
moderate requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 18 to 36 inches tall and wide
Seasonal interest: Year-round
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring.

Le jardinet

4. Add bold sweeps of your favourite autumn flowers. Black-eyed Susans are with no doubt a drop favorite. Place them within a picture frame of beautiful foliage, and they’ll really shine.

Botanical name: Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’
Common title: Black-eyed Susan
Where it will grow: Hardy to -10 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 6 to 10)
Water requirement: Reduced to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade
Mature size: 3 feet tall and wide
Seasonal interest: Summer through fall
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring or autumn.

Le jardinet

Zagreb tickseed is a remarkably low-maintenance perennial which produces dozens of 1-inch-diameter yellow daisies within a period of many months without deadheading. In the first picture you can see they’ve been used to flank the pathway resulting in the cabin.

Botanical name: Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’
Common title: Zagreb tickseed
Where it will grow: Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 3 to 9)
Water requirement: Low
Light requirement: Total sun
Mature size: two feet tall and wide
Seasonal interest: Spring through autumn
When to plant: Plant it into well-drained soil in spring or autumn.

Le jardinet

5. Accessorize. Insert detail and an excess layer of color by incorporating a drop container garden in your vignette. This container sits on the cabin porch, and while the mix keeps within the general warm color scheme of this garden planting mix, it moves past the golden yellows to fiery orange and red.

Caution: Some of the plants listed in this ideabook may be invasive in your area. Check with your neighborhood cooperative extension or county extension office prior to planting any.

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Summer’s almost over and temperatures have started to cool, so it’s time for desert gardeners to venture outside and dress their own landscape with new trees, shrubs and succulents. Vegetables and fruits growing in upper-elevation gardens are ready to be harvested, and bulbs may be planted now for a gorgeous spring display.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Low Deserts (around 3,000 Trainers)

Add feel with distinctively shaped succulents. The spiky traces of agave contrast beautifully with the rounded shapes of shrubs here, including a distinctive layout twist to the landscape.

Plant a couple of big agave, such as octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana), smooth leaf agave (Agave desmettiana)or Weber’s agave (Agave weberi). Add three to five flowering ground covers around the base of each agave, such as purple trailing lantana (Lantana montevidensis), verbena (Glandularia spp), blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum)or prostrate rosemary(Rosmarinus officials ‘Prostratus’).

Shown: Weber’s agave with gopher plant (Euphorbia biglandulosa)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Fertilize palm trees. Palms should be fertilized throughout the hot months of summer, since they can uptake fertilizer only when the soil is warm. Use a fertilizer specially formulated for palm trees, which will include the significant nutrients and micronutrients that palms need to be healthful. Follow the directions on the fertilizer package water and carefully deeply after applying. When in doubt about how much to use, it is best to apply a little less fertilizer rather than a lot of, which may burn your crops.

Find the Ideal palm to your lawn

Shown: Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Prepare your vegetable garden before planting cool-season edibles. Add a 3-inch layer of compostor manure to existing vegetable garden dirt and lightly rake it in.

Toward the end of September, plant broccoli and cauliflower from seed or transplants.

Shown: Broccoli

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Give citrus trees their last application of fertilizer to the year. Citrus trees have to be fertilized three times each year: in late winter, early summer and late summer. Apply citrus fertilizer around the base of this tree, after the package instructions. Be sure to add fertilizer out to the drip line, which is really where the majority of the origins of citrus trees are situated.

For the best results, water before and after applying fertilizer to allow it to attain the roots.

Shown: Kumquats

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Mid- to High Deserts (3,000 to 6,000 Trainers)

Spice a boring garden with ornamental grasses. There’s a great reason why these grasses are known as cosmetic. They add beauty to the landscape with their gently mounded shapes.

Plumes of varying colours of burgundy to tan look in autumn, based on the species. Plant ornamental grasses in groups of five or three; try gulf muhly(Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Regal Mist’), deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)or Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima)for a gorgeous autumn display.

8 Spectacular Grasses to Energize a Fall Garden

Shown: Regal Mist pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Regal Mist’)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Year-old perennials by breaking them. If your elderly perennials are not flowering just like they used to, it is probably time for them to be divided (that is, dividing the root system of a large plant into at least two sections that may then be replanted). Perennials such as daylily, Shasta daisies, coneflower and iris do best when divided every 3 decades.

You can use a scoop to separate plants to smaller portions and then replant them in your backyard or give some to friends.

Shown: Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Change outside warm-season annuals for cool-season blossoms. With the approach of fall, it is time to switch out of summer-flowering annuals to people that will thrive in Southwestern winters. Before planting new flowers, amend the soil with compost and a slow-release fertilizer.

Create lovely colour combinations in your favorite container by incorporating three distinct flowering plants. Try planting yellow snapdragons at the center, then add deep purple petunias and finish off with white alyssum round the exterior. Or use bright pink geraniums surrounded by white petunias and gloomy lobelias.

Shown: Snapdragons

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Fertilize your warm-season lawn. Even though summer lawns will shortly go dormant, now’s the very best time of year to fertilize. Fall fertilizing adds vital nutrients which will strengthen the roots and will help the grass to green up earlier in spring.

See more autumn lawn maintenance

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Plant leaf lettuce. Leaf lettuce is very easy to grow from seed or transplants. Anyone who has tasted new homegrown lettuce understands that the flavor of store-bought lettuce simply can not compare to it.

Shown: Leaf lettuce

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Upper Elevations (More than 6,000 Trainers)

Harvest tomatoes before the first frost. September generally attracts the first frost, so head out in the backyard and pick each one your tomatoes — green ones and all. Don’t worry if you’ve got a bunch of green tomatoes; they will ripen indoors.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Plant spring-blooming bulbs now to ensure a gorgeous show. The blossoms from spring bulbs would be the much-looked-for harbingers of spring. But to appreciate them, you need to plant bulbs now, so they are going to grow roots before the ground freezes.

For maximum color effect, plant crocus, daffodil, hyacinth or tulip bulbs in massive swaths rather than in a single row.

Shown: Blue hyacinth

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Grow your garlic. Plant garlic now for a yummy harvest next summer. Garlic is very easy to grow. Only plant person tsp 2 inches deep in your vegetable garden or in a container. Plant each clove with the pointed end up, 6 inches away from each other in rows which are just 1 foot apart.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Preserve the flavors of your summer garden by drying herbs. Herbs can readily be dried by tying them in bunches and hanging them in a dry, dark location. Drying takes. When the herbs are dry, then crumble the dried leaves into small pieces, keep them in sealed jars and use them to flavor your favourite dishes.

Prepare for October. Plants need less water as the temperatures cool, so adjust your irrigation control as needed.

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Light and life are inextricably related. From its beginning, the human race has worshipped, celebrated and sought to catch light. And I feel that gardeners, over most people, are aware of lighting: how it affects our plants and the way it influences our moods. Phototropism (how plants grow toward sunlight ) and seasonal affective disorder are just two examples of its effects.

People appear to desire what they apparently can’t have. People with straight hair want curly hair. People that have curly hair want straight hair. Shade gardeners want more sun. Sun anglers desire more colour. My personal garden resides in partial to full shade. Through the years I have celebrated it, cursed it, embraced it and tweaked it. My garden has gone through this procedure with me, indulging me, being patient with me and sometimes fighting back at me. Finally, my garden is all the better for it, as am I. We’re at peace.

Let me take you on my journey. If your garden is a color garden, I think that I can help save you time, money and frustration. Let’s take a stroll and have that dialogue.

Jay Sifford Garden Design

Take inventory of the way that light plays in your own garden. Since most gardeners realize, a truly great personalized garden takes some time to develop. This type of garden is no one-weekend DIY project, regardless of what television commercials preach to us. A fantastic gardener is one who has developed a keen sense of observation. An experienced gardener knows that sunlight strikes her or his garden differently at various times of year, the intensity of the sun ebbs and flows with the seasons, and that the color of sun varies with its own intensity.

Whether you are in the process of initially developing your colour garden or at the continuous process of renovating and editing, take a year to really notice how light interacts with your garden. Take photographs or maintain a journal to document your findings. Your garden is going to be better for it.

On the edge of my pond, beside the largest waterfall, is a flat boulder I affectionately call my”wine stone .” I sit in the evenings with coffee or in the day with a fantastic malbec, watch the koi and reflect in your life.

I shot this movie one day in late spring, when the morning sun appeared through the trees and flawlessly choreographed the interactive dance between the hardy begonia (Begonia grandis, zones 6 to 9) and also the fall fern (Dryopteris erythrosora, zones 5 to 9). This only happens for a few minutes daily, but what a spectacular way to begin the day. I wouldn’t miss it.

Ron Yeo, FAIA Architect

Consider pruning, limbing up or elimination to open up your distance. Your garden space will talk to you if you open your mind and soul and just listen. My approach to garden design incorporates a bit of mysticism, as I feel that a distance will enable you to know what it yearns to become. A successfully implemented garden is a cooperation between what the space says and the way the gardener interprets this speech. This skill comes naturally to some people but is a learned skill to most. If you are having trouble in this area, don’t hesitate to request the help of a fantastic garden designer or landscape architect with whose work you are familiar.

Once you have a vision to the shape and scope your garden needs to take, you might find it necessary to prune, thin saplings or limb your trees up to create an environment that welcomes sun. You might also need to hire a fantastic arborist to remove trees that are detracting from the overall feel of your garden or inhibiting your sight lines. This occasionally requires fortitude, but your garden will thank you in the long run.

Chicago Specialty Gardens, Inc..

Embrace the art of backlighting. Some of the mundane plants in your garden will suddenly take on fresh vibrancy when placed in front of available light.

Some of the best plants for this technique are the ones that are translucent by nature, the ones that catch and diffuse light.

My favorite translucent plant is the sometimes-invasive horsetail rush (Equisetum hyemale, zones 3 to 11). Its 3- to 4-foot vertical growth habit is an ideal foil for a curved or rounded sculpture, or a clumping shrub. Just make sure you contain it, lest it spread indefinitely.

Jay Sifford Garden Design

Aside from backlighting an individual plant, you can backlight an whole garden scene. This photo shows a magic late-afternoon garden second. Who wouldn’t wish to return home to this after sitting at rush-hour traffic?

Harold Leidner Landscape Architects

Catch reflections on water. Water features are excellent instruments to use in our quest for inviting light into our garden spaces. Water churns, bubbles, spills and cascades, all the while catching light in ever-changing ways. A correctly sited and designed water feature may be a mesmerizing focal point.

I wholeheartedly suggest that you consult a pond specialist, and that you view her or his work in different gardens, before you design and set up your own pond. A badly constructed water feature will probably be an expensive disappointment.

Locate pond designers on

Jay Sifford Garden Design

Watch ice light the winter garden. Most of us think ponds to be warm-weather features that are coated, drained or place to bed for winter. Your pond may reinvent itself in winter, performing double duty as a cold-weather garden focal point. Consider the captivating elegance of ice because it forms at a pond. Notice the way its opaque beauty captures the winter light better than any artist could.

Jay Sifford Garden Design

Insert glass. Nothing catches, reflects and refracts light such as glass. The pieces shown here have been custom designed to mimic fresh shoots of plant growth and placed so that they rise out of a sea of shade-loving ground cover.

One thing to consider before installing a glass sculpture in your garden is potential breakage from overhead limbs falling in inclement weather. Assess your financial plan and tolerance amount for reduction before purchasing your glass. If you decide to put money into a glass garden sculpture, then you’ll get shining rewards.

Jay Sifford Garden Design

Let light project onto a screen. Much like the drive-in film theaters of the past, you are able to project light in your garden, capturing its movement and nuances, by erecting a wall or screen, or perhaps by enlisting the side of your residence. This three-paneled privacy screen, built from concrete backer board like you’d find beneath a tile flooring, faces west and jobs a virtual documentary of the day sun. Who wouldn’t wish to watch this light display?

Margie Grace – Grace Design Associates

Create the illusion of light with chartreuse foliage. The human eye generally reads sun as having a yellow cast. You can present the illusion of light into a color garden by introducing plants using chartreuse foliage. This photograph illustrates the principle brilliantly. Do not you almost wish to squint when you view this photo? On a closer look, you understand this really is a shaded area, the impact of sun is an illusion.

Pulling off this illusion does require some skill, but here are some tips to get you started.
Begin by observing the way that shafts of sunlight pierce the tree canopy in your garden and the consequent shape on your garden floor. Is it an elongated triangle, a line or a patch? Leave your plants in their pots and arrange them in this pattern until the outcome is gratifying to you. Easier still, wait till the sun creates its distinctive shape on your garden flooring, then trace the pattern with your potted plants.
Among my favorite chartreuse-leafed plants for you to consider, taking into consideration your specific growing requirements:
‘Sun Power’ and ‘Sum and Substance’ hostas (Hosta cvs, zones 4 to 9)‘All Gold’ and‘Aureola’ Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra cvs, zones 4 to 9)‘Orange Fantasy’ Japanese walnut (Acer palmatum‘Orange Fantasy’, zones 5 to 9)Golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus‘Ogon’, zone 5 to 9)Scotch moss (Sagina subulata‘Aurea’, zones 3 to 9) ‘Skylands’ Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis‘Skylands’, zones 4 to 8)
Note that plants with chartreuse foliage require at least a few hours of sun to carry out correctly.

Katia Goffin Gardens

Insert plants with white flowers or foliage foliage. Nothing brightens a color garden such as white flowers and foliage. While white doesn’t imitate sun quite as well as chartreuse, it’s still quite effective in providing the illusion of lighting. It’s also especially effective at dusk, when it appears to glow.

What’s a color garden without a minumum of one hydrangea? Before buying your hydrangea, do some quick research on the types best suited to your location.

The oakleafs and mopheads are much better suited to colour, whereas the paniculatas require sun to achieve their thriving possible. ‘Little Honey’ (Hydrangea quercifolia‘Little Honey’, zones 5 to 9) combines the best features for our discussion since it may take colour or partial sun, also has chartruese foliage and white flowers. Another one of my favorites is ‘Incrediball’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Abetwo’, zones 3 to 9). Its nondrooping 12-inch flower heads are real showstoppers.

Some plants with variegated foliage that you consider are bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla, zones 3 to 2 ),’Patriot’ hosta (Hosta‘Patriot’, zones 3 to 2 ),’River Mist’ Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium‘River Mist’, zones 4 to 9), also’Floating Clouds’ redbud (Cercis canadensis‘Floating Clouds’, zones 5 to 9).

Possidento Lightscapes LLC

Invest in garden light. Nothing animates a garden quite like good-quality lighting. This spectacular photo says everything. There are a number of points to consider before light setup. Do your research concerning technology, yearly utility cost, and fixture and bulb life.

LED light has come a long way in just the last couple of years and is extremely economical as time passes. Buy the best-quality light you are able. Cheaper lighting is going to wind up costing you more in the long term, in terms of both replacements and electricity usage.

Most significant, decide which focal points should be illuminated and which ones are better left to daylight. There is a fine line between just enough light and also much. Consider the enchanting elegance of shadows and shadow to gain the most from light your garden.

I have seen way too many DIY lighting jobs that wind up looking like the vegas strip. If you are not gifted with an eye for design, please consider having your system designed and installed by a certified professional with whose work you are familiar.

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