Tips For Gardening During the Recession

Many people are having to set aside their favorite hobbies and past times due to the current economic situation. This means that such activities as travel, cooking and even gardening will be reduced or eliminated thanks to financial strain. Of course this isn't always necessary, because there are many ways to save money and still enjoy favorite activities, such as gardening. In fact, many consumers are taking up gardening simply because it will eliminate the need to spend critical dollars at the grocery store.

What about people who want to garden for the beauty rather than the food? There are plenty of ways a garden can be enhanced or even created on a strictly limited budget during such an economic time as this. While selection of plants will have to be done carefully, with the majority being perennials that demand a single investment and years of relaxing maintenance, the bulk of garden planning will actually be around the various regions, structures and fixtures that will make the garden an area for seasonal enjoyment.

Let's examine a traditional backyard garden: it will have various beds laid out in formal or casual designs all around the entire garden space, there will be various fences, gates, arbors or benches and there will be a need for lighting. Gardening should not be something enjoyed only under the light of the midday sun, but also after hours when many fascinating creatures, night-blooming plants and their delicious aromas are present.

This requires lighting, and before you jump to the conclusion that an entire year's garden budget will disappear on this element alone, consider the installation of solar lighting fixtures. No longer the feeble and utilitarian objects from a decade ago, today's solar lighting fixtures are a gardener's best friend! There are subtle bollard fixtures for lining a garden path, small patio and hanging fixtures to accent a comfortable and private seating area and even post-style lights for placing by a garden gate.

Any gardener can enjoy the hobby using such solar garden lights and fixtures because they are easy to install - requiring no professional wiring or electrical services, they run by the power of the sun - meaning no bills or additional budget dollars, and they do not often need bulb replacement - they operate on LED bulbs which last for significantly lengthy periods and which demand infrequent maintenance, replacement or repair.

Creating a beautiful garden can be done on a recession era budget, and it requires some creative thinking and alternative solutions that will last a lifetime!

Jonathan Gal is a solar lighting expert and owner of YCA Solar Lights, an organization dedicated to promoting clean, energy efficient solar lighting technology. To find out more about how solar technology is changing the way we live, especially with respect to lighting, you are invited to visit: http://www.ycasolarlightstore.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Gal

Planning a New Garden

Gardening in Winter does not have quite the same appeal as it does in the Summer Months, for obvious reasons! But at this time of year most of the vegetation has died back and with a little imagination an effective garden plan can be drawn up.
If you have a blank canvas great, if not be ruthless. Cut back hard or rip out all the unsightly and under performing elements of your garden, this is no time for sentiment, get stuck in and you will reap the rewards. Believe me the hard work you do now will save you from a lot harder work in a couple of months time.

Now you are staring out of your window thinking ok so the 'jungle' has disappeared, but what the heck do I do now? If you have definite plans for your garden and are in complete control of situation good for you ( I hate know-alls!) go away and don't read any further. Most probably you are not in this category and that makes you my friend so I will try to help you.

Designing your garden

Firstly use your imagination thats what its there for!

Now the easy bit. A lot of factors will actually help you in your garden design, some of these being

The size of your garden.

A small garden would seem even smaller when stuffed full of quick growing rambling bushes and perennials.Its far better to create the illusion of space by using raised beds and curves instead of straight lines. Another excellent idea is to create different areas separated by a row of small bushes or a bridge for example.

The aspect

The amount and intensity of sunlight landing on your garden varies greatly throughout the day. In Britain and the USA a South facing garden will endure the maximum amount of sunshine and plants such as the rock rose, lavender, hebe and most types of fuchsia will thrive.
Conversely a North facing garden will receive much less sunshine, therefore shade loving plants such as hostas, ferns, mahonia and camellia would be the natural choice.
Remember there are no hard and fast rules but please check up on the plant species requirements before planting.

Soil type

This too can pre-determine a selection of plants available to achieve the maximum effect. There are six main soil types which are: sandy, loamy, chalky/alkaline, peaty/acid, silty and clay. Some plants can handle most of these conditions where as others will only tolerate one or two.
There are oodles of resources on soil types and appropriate varieties of plants, do your homework and give your garden a chance!

Get Ideas For Your Garden

There is no shortage of gardening shows on tv, there are dozens of gardening/landscaping publications and the internet is bursting with expert gardeners offering advice.
How many ideas do you need!

Good luck with your garden planning, once you have mastered the basics you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Oh and don't let the bad weather put you off.

May the Forks be with you!

Effective Garden Planning

Garden planning is no small or insignificant task. Having a large number of blossoming tasks in your garden can certainly be a pleasant sight to watch but it requires a lot of hard work and wise decisions on your part for the plants to attain that stage. Proper research is required to make your garden look elegant and cost effective at the same time. If you don’t devote proper time and energy to its maintenance, you will have to incur a lot of expenditure to bring it up to shape again.

The first step in effective garden planning is to see which type of flower plants would grow well in the type of soil found in your area. This can be done by searching on the internet. Some websites give details of which plants are suitable for the soil in your area and also the time of the year during which these plants should be grown. There are also a number of books available which give details of the soil type, sun/shade and watering requirements of each type of plants.

You can then divide different plants to want to grow into groups based on their seasons.There are different types of plants available. These are divided into trees, shrubs, roses, perennials, annuals, bulbs and corms. You must think twice before planting trees because they have a tendency to grow out of control and also occupy a major proportion of your garden. Roses require a lot of care and work like regular spraying and removing of dead flowers. Bulbs and corms require separate amounts of efforts depending on their variety.The best thing for you would be to divide your garden into separate blocks or bed. This helps you to devote time to manage each of these alternately.

You must also know which plants should be grown in the sun and which grow well in the shade. The soil should be treated with lime and fertilizers before sowing the seeds. Treating with lime helping to neutralize the acidic nature of the soil and enhances the ability of the soil to transport nutrients. Fertilizers like natural manure or nitrogen fertilizers can be used depending on your financial capacity.One thing to keep in mind when you are planting the seeds is to maintain room for moving around. This will help you to reach each plant and care for it properly. Having proper room around it also helps the plants to grow well.

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Taisha Grant writes about Flower shop,Spring Hill Coupons

Garden for all Seasons

All great gardens have one thing in common. That is, they offer something during each of the four seasons. Through spring and summer the colorful flowers of perennials, annuals and flowering trees and shrubs are the focal point in the garden. Once the summer flowers begin to fade, the brilliant, colorful foliage of autumn brightens the garden. In the winter, it's the evergreens, berries and bark which provide the garden with color as the form and shape of the plants become more prominent.

Green is the dominant color in the garden in the spring as everything seems to be rapidly putting out new growth. The bulbs and perennials which do flower in the early spring do so against a backdrop of green foliage and brown earth. Bulbs are earliest blooming plants in the garden and are essential to the spring landscape. Some bulbs will even provide color until more perennials begin to bloom in May and June.

Early flowering perennials such as iris range in color from white to yellow to purple and in size from a few inches to 4 feet. For spring foliage, plant some hosta, they grow in a wide variety of greens, from blue-green to yellow-green and they're the perfect backdrop plant for the spring flowers.

Perennial borders peak in mid summer as a wide range of sun-loving flowers begin to bloom. Part of the mix include some leftovers from spring and, towards the end of summer, there are signs of the later blooming flowers as well. Annuals are also in full bloom mid-summer. Though most have finished flowering, fully leafed out shrubs can add a lushness to the garden.

A third wave of blooms begin brighten up the garden once again as the summer flowers begin to fade. The colors in the garden begin to change a bit in the fall with many perennials blooming in shades of yellow, orange and purple. Among these flowers are the annuals, which continue to flower until the first frost. Later in the season, the flowers, especially those of the sedum and black-eyed Susan, turn into brown and rust colored seed heads. They fit in perfectly with the colorful fall foliage of the surrounding trees. The foliage of the late season perennial is attractive on its own. Once the blooms of the these flowers fade deciding whether to cut them back is up to the individual gardener. Some perennials will collapse to the ground anyways while others will remain standing though the winter with their showy seed heads creating off season interest in the garden.

Winter, the season in which many gardeners forget about the landscape, can offer color and visual interest through evergreen shrubs, bark, plant form and seed heads. For example, a clump of ornamental grass could be left standing through the winter. Redtwig dogwoods are great against the snow and birch trees have colorful, flaking bark. The winter landscape truly would be empty with the hardy evergreen trees and shrubs. Garden walls and fences become more prominent as the foliage which screens them in the summer disappears. Hedges, as well as walls, make a stronger statement in winter. protecting houses from icy blasts and sky-high heating bills.

With some careful planning, it is possible to have a beautiful garden year round. Even in winter, when everything seems to be stark and barren. A few choice shrubs or trees can provide winter interest and a well thought out garden can flower from early spring until the first frost.


About the Author
R Birch is the publisher of http://www.GardenListings.com , a garden resource website. Visit http://www.GardenListings.com/Resources.htm for all kind of gardening advice.

What Makes For A Beautiful Garden?

What makes a garden look good? Generally, you want shrubs and trees, plus grass to soften the hard, angular lines of your house and lot. Some people eliminate grass altogether and use a patio surrounded by beds. However, a flat sea of green grass add contrast for your shrub beds. Grass is also good if you have kids. Cool grass on the sole of a bare foot in summer is a much savored treat.

A few very tall things are essential to put your house in scale, or set it off, especially if it's a tall or big house. But you don't want so many tall things that they block all the light. A tall tree takes up a lot of space but it adds the element of 'grandeur.' A big tree goes on the south or west side to protect you from the blazing hot sun. It also adds habitat for kids and songbirds.

Carve out your beds in gentle sweeps around the outside perimeter. Make them three times as big as you think you need them. The amount of grass you need is really quite small, maybe enough for six chairs and a picnic table or perhaps three beach towels. A 50/50 ratio of lawn to beds is recommended. If you are lucky enough to have a lot of land, you may wish to break it up into 'rooms' with shrub bed peninsulas or fences, the path winding from one 'room' to another. These rooms are not square, they are just spaces that are separated, more or less.

One of the most pleasurable gardening experiences is that of mystery, as when you catch a glimpse of more garden around a corner or through a gate. To acquire this inviting air of mystery to your house, plant up the outside corners with your tallest trees and shrubs and have them descend to the entry to the street. This will mean that your landscape cups your house like an open hand. The broad openings, however, will invite you in and let in light.

Another good thing to incorporate in your yard is having a truck access. At some point or another you will need to get a big couch to the back door or a cement truck or 6 yards of mulch. Even if this is a giant gate in your fence, which you open once in six years, be sure you have it. If the access is not big enough for a truck, then make it at least wide enough for a wheelbarrow. Having a hidden utility area is also a very good idea.

If your house is up a steep hill, you will want to build a rockery, which you can make special with good plant choices and stepped back rocks that leave you places to plant. If your whole area slopes steeply, you should seriously consider terracing, or rock or wall reinforcements. When landscape architects tell you the ground-cover will spread and hold the bank, they lie. All landscaping needs maintenance, or else the weeds will invade and prosper until you have a blackberry patch. And if it is too steep for you to walk on, this is what will happen. Also erosion occurs with undeniable regularity on steep slopes.

Keep in mind that gravity always wins. Having steep slopes means that the summer irrigation water runs off before it sinks into the soil. Steep slopes mean that all that expensive mulch that you spread to keep the weeds down will migrate down to the bottom in about a year, leaving bare spots above and a useless thick pile at the bottom. Invest the time and money to fix your steep grades now before starting your garden.


About the Author
Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Gardening and Landscaping and you can read more at http://www.garden-care-centre.com and http://www.essential-garden-accessories.com

Low Maintenance Gardening Does Not Mean Boring Gardening!

Low maintenance gardens need not look like the bare type, not many plants, lots of rocks, paving, gravel etc. You can have a beautiful garden following a few principles. Choice of plants, type of plants, garden layout, mulching and a well thought out garden design.

Planning a low maintenance garden is how you should start, with the planning. Visit your local nurseries, find out from your local council what plants are native to your area. These are usually the ones that will thrive for you for little effort on your part.

Choice of plants.

Today there is a wonderful variety of plants to choose from, to help with your low maintenance gardening. Drought tolerant and native plants should be your first consideration. These plants will require less attention from you, less attention means less garden maintenance.

Start a reference file, write down all the plants that will be suitable for your area, then reference them either on the Internet or through garden plant books. Find a good garden book that will give you the expected growth height and width. This is very important to allow the growing room and deciding how densely you want the planting to be. The more densely a garden is planted the less moisture loss from the ground and so the less garden maintenance.

Types of plants

Any plants that need pruning regularly, don't go there. If it says quick growing, always check the estimated height and width, these can get out of control quickly. Annuals, vegetables and herbs are not what you call low maintenance gardening. Although in containers these can work well and the maintaining need not be great because of a small number. After all a low maintenance garden doesn't mean no maintenance.

Go for leaf structure, variegated, assortment of leaf sizes and colors. There are some wonderful plants in the drought tolerant range and these will be your low maintenance plants.Choose plants of various heights and go for mass plantings of the various types you choose.

Garden layout

How you set out your garden is so very important when planning a low maintenance garden. It is all in the garden design.

The walkways, areas for seating, maybe outdoor dining under shady trees in summer and trees that lose their leaves in winter.

Raking up leaves doesn't sound like low maintenance but a leaf vacuum will take care of that for you and it is only once a year.

Lawn areas should be kept to a minimum. Lawns do take much upkeep especially in summer. The use of pavers, gravels, even timber can add interest. Curves look better than straight lines for a more relaxed garden. Straight lines can make a garden look more formal.

You can add contrast to your garden with the use of different textures. That's where the use of pavers, gravels, pebbles and timber come into play. The use of large pots, raised garden beds, water features, a wall or trellis for a vine to climb on and if the garden is small, why not a mirror on a fence to reflect the plantings.

Take the eye through from one area to another with the use of plantings to create interest and extend the garden. Cleverly designing your low maintenance garden will not have it look like a 'low maintenance garden' but a wonderful place to enjoy.

Incorporate in your low maintenance garden design, things that are low maintenance, like pavers, gravel, pebbles, rocks etc but make sure you either have them professionally put down for you or learn how to do the jobs like the professionals. Everything is in the preparation, learn to do the tedious first and the end result will definitely be low maintenance.

The same applies to your garden beds. There are some very good weed mattings available today and the garden mulches or pebbles are a must. Combine these two for low maintenance gardening, no weeds or very little in the way of weeds. Mass plantings will help stop weeds growing too, give plants some room to grow but keep them tighter than recommended. Be careful with ground covers as some of these can get out of hand too and become almost like a weed.

Often times people water their gardens too much, that is, more than the plants require. I live in Australia and we have some long drought times. Our native plants thrive during summer when there is a drought. The ones that flower are just so beautiful during these drought times, many of them have massive amounts of flowers, unlike when there is adequate rainfall.

Many of the cultivated plants and shrubs during our current drought are doing the same, very tough water restrictions, no hosing at all and they are flowering so much better than other years when the home owner has been able to hose the gardens. So it is obvious, we water our gardens more than many of our plants require.

Color in the garden to add interest

When you start looking at the plants that are available in the low maintenance area, you will find the colors and variations in the leaves. There are some wonderful plants, plants like crotons, cordylines, with the number of varieties available, they can add that splash of color against the green tonings of other plants.

If you want to add more color, then the pot-o-color available today can do the trick. Even though they are annuals, the maintenance is virtually low as all the hard work in establishing the plants has been done for you.

So you can see, low maintenance gardening need not be boring gardening. You can have a garden to enjoy without the labor, it is all in the how planning a low maintenance garden is done.

CTBaird is a freelance author and web publisher, included in her many interest is gardening and landscaping. You can visit All things Landscaping and http://www.landscaping.123moreforu.com for landscaping and gardening tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmel_Baird

Landscaping Plan for a Beautiful Backyard Garden

Relaxing in your outdoor living space can be very enjoyable for you and your family and friends.. This may be easier to achieve than you think. Your backyard landscaping can be designed to include an outdoor area that you will find your whole family will enjoy.

When you start planning your backyard living space, take into account how your family will use such a space. Are your children still young enough to want a large playing areas? Do you and your family like to entertain outdoors? Would you be more likely to use the outdoor space for quiet family times and just relaxing? There is no reason with good planning for your backyard landscaping design, that all you wish could not be included in the plan..

Don’t simply formulate your plan in your mind however, draw a sketch of your backyard landscaping design, or invest in a computer program that will allow you to create a backyard landscaping design similar to what professional landscape architects will construct.
Selecting Plants For Your Backyard Landscaping Design:

When you have your design ideas for your backyard landscaping it is time to research the type of plants you want to bring in. When you research the plants, look for the ones that will do well in your area, that way the maintenance will be minimal Check with your local nurseries to find the plants that do well in your area also take a look around your neighbourhood, that is always a good source of information. Try including a good variety of trees and shrubs, check the size and shape for when they are fully grown so you will get a good balance in your backyard planting design pleasing to the eye.

You also want to consider each area that you will be planting in. Do you have a shady spot or an unprotected area that can get very windy? Constant harsh sunlight will require plants need to be grown in full sun. Perhaps you will find the use of shade trees planted strategically can reduce air conditioning costs within your home. Take special note of the different areas of your back yard, like how much sun or shade certain areas get each day. By choosing the right plants for your backyard landscaping design will ensure that they will grow well and flourish.

A beautiful backyard to enjoy begins with a comprehensive backyard landscaping design. The more time you spend putting your dreams on paper, the more your backyard landscaping design will become real.

CTBaird is a freelance author and web publisher, included in her many interests is gardening and landscaping. You can visit All things Landscaping and http://www.landscaping.123moreforu.com/ for landscaping and gardening tips.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmel_Baird