by Kent Higgins
Patioscape design allows for a lot of creative leeway. In fact, the possibilities for patios and pools are nearly limitless. Still, the best in the business recommend following basic design rules by answering these questions:
What materials and colours go well with the property’s existing design?
What are the project’s budget constraints?
Who will take care of the containers, and will they be watered by hand or automatic irrigation?
Do the specified containers have drainage holes? If not, can holes be drilled into them?
After a careful assessment, it’s time to select your plants.
Colour, of course, is the element that usually catches the eye first. Though it can be tough, the designer in you needs to exercise restraint in this area. Choose colours based on your individual situation. For example, blue tones are popular because they give a feeling of serenity. They look great near a pool. Warm, bold colours – reds, orange and yellows – are temperamental and have a high impact. Mono-aromatic designs are elegant and trendy.
No matter what the trends are, don’t just consider aesthetics. Make sure the plants you choose have similar requirements for light exposure and water. They should also have similar growth vigor, or more aggressive ones might outpace those that grow slowly.
For a well-balanced design use tall, upright plants, mounding or medium-height plants and trailing elements. Work your way from the center to the rim, placing uprights in the centre, medium plants around them and trailing elements along the edges. If the planter is against a wall or in a corner work your way from back to front, with tall plants in the back and trailing elements in front.
Other important considerations are proportion and texture. Aim for the plants to take up to 2/3 of the entire design, leaving 1/3 for the visible part of the planter. Keep in mind that trailing plants will hide part of your container. Use simpler plants to accent a showpiece planter.
For a pool landscaping plan one idea is to consider using texture to create a natural design. Incorporate foliage plants for richness and work with different foliage and flower shapes and sizes. Design professionals favour such varieties as purple fountain grass (regular and dwarf forms), New Zealand flax, Mexican feather grass and sedges. You can also try perennials with intriguing foliage like Hosta, Heuchera, Ajugn, Euphorbia, Sedum or ornamental herbs.
Other excellent foliage plants are coleus, English Ivy, Ornamental Sweet Potato, and Strobilanthes. For novel flowering plants try Ange Ionia, Nemesia, Bacopa, Calibrachoa or Cleome ‘Linde Armstrong’.
In most cases it’s best to make a design last the entire year, but some gardeners prefer spring and fall planting. Sometimes plants become less attractive as summer wears on and fall planting becomes necessary. In this case consider including evergreens for winter interest. Try to limit complete change-outs to two to four times yearly, typically when the seasons change. Choose bromeliads over annuals for their longevity. Using mostly perennials will make fewer change-outs necessary.
About the Author:
Unpack for yourself why so many people are interested in
pool landscaping ideas. Join us http://www.plant-care.com/1545-pool-landscaping.html.
Tags:
Landscaping
Related posts
August 28 2008 | Landscaping | No Comments »
There’s nothing better than a salad made with fresh lettuce from the garden. Adding lettuce to your garden can be a welcome addition. Not only is healthy and tasty to eat but it needs very little space to grow. But there are some guidelines you should know before planting lettuce.
To grow lettuce or any other vegetable, you need to have good soil. For lettuce, keep the nitrogen level high by using 30-10-10 NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer. This will provide the lettuce with the nutrition it needs to produce healthy leaves.
Plant the seeds about 1/8-3/8 inch deep, separated by 6-12 inches (2-3.5 m) from the next plant. Romaine does fine at the smaller spacing, but crisp lettuce needs more room. If you plant in rows, keep the rows separated by about 20 inches (6m). Keep in mind that seeds shouldn’t be planted too early, since they’re subject to cold damage.
Keeping the soil moist but not soaked is good. Lettuce doesn’t have very deep roots, so it needs to find moisture near the surface. Still, try to keep the water off the leaves and onto the soil, except for the occasional washing. Wet leaves encourages disease, especially when they’re moist during nighttime temperatures.
Since their roots aren’t very deep you’ll also need to be diligent about weeding around lettuce plants. Many grasses and other plants can compete well because their roots go down to deeper soil. Infrequent but deep watering, letting the top layers dry out, will give most an advantage. But lettuce doesn’t have that advantage, so you’ll need to help them.
Like most vegetables, lettuce plants also have problems with diseases and pests. In their case, the variety is quite large. Many insects find the leaves irresistible and the folds offer many places for fungi to grow.
Aphids, flea beetles and leafhoppers are common problems. Slugs are even more so. Cutworms are often seen. Washing with a high pressure hose can help temporarily, but be sure to do it early to give the leaves time to dry before nightfall. A good insecticide lightly applied will keep them under control for the long term.
Anthracnose (Microdochium panattonianum) is a common fungal disease. It can stay alive in unplanted soil for many years, so don’t assume you’re safe because your garden is new. Bottom rot (Rhizoctonia solani) is another common fungus. It occurs usually in soil that drains poorly. Keeping the foliage dry and planting in good soil will help to reduce the odds of being infected.
Another common problem with lettuce is bolting. Bolting is not a disease or pest but occurs when the plant goes to seed and the leaves stop growing. Bolting happens when the temperatures are consistently too high. To prevent this from happening, plant lettuce in shaded area or plant next to a shading crop such as corn.
With the proper preparation, planting technique and care you can have lettuce several times during a growing season.
About the Author:
Looking for ideas for your
vegetable garden layout? Search no more – visit the Vegetable Gardeners website at http://www.vegetablegardeners.com for lots of helpful tips and advice. Plus get your own copy of our free reports for growing better vegetables.
Tags:
garden,
Gardening,
lettuce,
vegetable garden,
vegetable garden layout,
vegetables
Related posts
August 25 2008 | Gardening | No Comments »