Guide and how to do: March 2014

Friday, 7 March 2014

Evergreen Plants Give Your Landscape Year Round Color and Privacy

Are you looking for a way to transform your garden into a special retreat for relaxing and burning-off stress? Then look no further than evergreen Plants, tress and shrubs.

Evergreen Plants can provide Privacy from noisy neighbors and strangers walking the street. In addition, the Plants can add year round color and attract wildlife throughout the coldest of days.

So, the first question you may ask is what exactly is an evergreen? Evergreen plant refers to any plant that keeps it leaves during the winter. When growing the Plants you have option of ground covers, flowering Plants, shrubs and trees to name a few.

Cypress, holly, juniper, spruce, fir, cedar, pine, and yew a few common evergreens you may have heard of before.
Ground cover:

Juniper is a frequently used as ground cover. It can also be found as a Bosai plant. Eight inches high is about the most the plant will grow. It has an attractive bluish-green color that, during winter, tends to turn a to shade of purple.

The Blue Rug Wiltoni is another common juniper variety. This flat growing plant has branches growing out from the base of the plant. They often stretch eight feet across with a silver blue color that is quite appealing to the eye.

Flowering Evergreen Plants

The sweet aroma of Lavender is reason enough to include it in your garden. They are well known for filling the night air with sweet perfume. In addition, the purple flowers of the Lavender are quite a sight to be seen. Just sit back and enjoy the scent and sight this wonderful plant has to offer.

Evergreen shrubs

The snowmound is a really nice shrub to include in your garden for year round color. Its leaves are bluish-green and they pop-out by the hundreds just as white as fresh fallen snow. The scientific name is for the shrub is Shirobana Spirea

Barberry is shrub that can make a wonderful backdrop for your Landscape. The Rosy Glow Variety has red and purple leaves that add a wonderful splash of color wherever grown. To add more color the Golden Barberry makes a great choice. It has bright yellow leaves and will maintain its color as long as the plant receives plenty of sun. When kept in an area that receives more shade the leaves change to a lime green color.

Carefully selected shrubs can be the showpiece of any garden. With an artistic eye and steady hand they can be shaped into virtually anything you desire. And if they are evergreens, you get enjoy them all year long.

The Carolina jasmine is a great evergreen vine to grow on a trellis or fence. The vine will bloom from the end of winter through spring. Dark green leaves with fragrant yellow flowers are the talking point of this plant.

When you looking for a place to unwind while enjoying the sights and sounds of nature, evergreen Plants, shrubs and groundcovers make a great choose. Regardless where you live there is a evergreen that will fit perfectly into your Landscape theam.

Steve Habib is an active gardener, researcher and lawn maintenance operator. You can get more information about Evergreen Plants Or if youd like a Free copy of "How Do Plants Grow" visit Plant and Gardening blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Charles_Habib
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Warm Season vs Cool Season Grasses

Understanding the distinction can improve your designs

Confessional moment: I am a grass freak. Of the vast universe of plants I adore, ornamental grasses are among my favorite plants to design with. No other plant expresses the ephemeral and sensory beauty of a garden like grasses. They catch light like a stain glass window, rustle with the slightest breeze, and glisten with the morning dew. Grasses are a wonderful and sustainable addition to any border, yard, or planting. But there is one pitfall to designing with grasses that almost no one mentions: understanding the difference between warm season grasses and cool season grasses.

Before a garden book seduces with you photos of a grasses glowing in the sun, you really should understand how to use warm season and cool season grasses in a designed setting. I’ve learned the hard way. Some of my biggest planting fiascos resulted when I failed to pay attention to this distinction. Here’s what you need to know.

Gardeners frequently call anything that looks grassy a “grass.” True grasses are members of the Poacaea family. Other grass-like plants include the popular Carex genus (Cyperaceae), rushes (Juncaceae), and cattails (Typhaceae). But none of these are true grasses. Horticulturists divide true grasses into two general categories that describe their growth cycle through a year: cool season and warm season grasses.

Cool season grass Nasella tenuissima "browns out" in the heat and creates a lovely effect.

Cool season grasses start their growth early in spring and continue that growth while cool temperatures and rain prevails. When summer gets hot, these grasses typically go dormant, often “browning out.” Some cool season grasses even die back in the summer, leaving seeds to germinate during the next cool season. If you’ve ever seen your lawn covered in Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) in May only to see it disappear by June, it’s because this is an evolutionary strategy devised by this cool season grass. Cool season grasses are best planted/seeded in early spring or late summer/early fall. They tend to germinate and establish quickly. Cool season grasses foliage color looks best during late spring and early summer.

Warm season grasses, on the other hand, focus their energy on establishing deep roots during their first and second year of life, and then growing during their second and third year. Warm season grasses are slow to establish, often frustrating gardeners during their first year. This is especially true when seeding a meadow—weeds and other aggressive plants can take hold while WSG establish. These grasses are best planted in late spring. Fall planting is not recommended unless you plant them as plugs, quarts, or gallons before mid-September. If you seed warm season grasses in the fall, they will stay dormant and emerge in the spring. Warm season grasses also tend to stay low during the cooler parts of summer, and wait till the heat of summer to put on their full height.

My mistake: Little Bluestem hugs the ground like a little clump until
August when it shoots up. This left a hole in the planting bed most of the summer.

Here’s where you need to be careful. Twice I planted a large grass massing next to a client’s house without paying attention to whether it was warm or cool season. The result was jarring. Both times, I planted warm season grasses (Little Bluestem and Pink Muhly Grass) that emerged as a little fuzzy clump only 4-6 inches off the ground and stayed that way until August. All of the perennial and shrub planting around those grasses was lush and tall, while the warm season grasses left a hole in the border. By August, the grass finally grew to height and the composition was beautiful. But the client had to look at a gap in the border most of the summer.

My recommendation is to balance both warm and cool season grasses in a design. Cool season grasses give you immediate volume and impact. With cool season grasses, you have to be careful of them “browning out”. This can be a good thing as some species like Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia caespitosa) look stunning dried in July. But other cool season grasses like Quaking Grass (Briza media) disappear almost to the ground by mid-summer. Warm season grasses are wonderful in the landscape, but be sure to locate them strategically so their low height during the first half of summer is visually appealing.

So which grasses are which? Here is a list of some of the most popular ornamental grasses categorized for you:

Cool Season Grasses:

Briza media, Bromus spp., Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Calamagrostis canadensis Chasmanthium latifolium, Deschampsia caespitosa, Deschampsia flexuosa, Elymus spp., All Fescues, Helictotron sempervirens, Koeleria spp, Melica altissima and ciliata, Molinia, Nasella tenuissima, Sesleria spp., Stipa spp.

Warm Season Grasses:

Andropogon spp, Bouteloua spp, Buchloe, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Eragrostis spp, Hakonechloa spp, Miscanthus spp, Muhlenbergia spp, Panicum spp, Pennisetum spp. Sporobolus heterolepsis, Schizachyrium spp, Sorghastrum nutans

Thursday, 6 March 2014

landscaping designs free

Free landscape designs can easily be bought in a number of locations. These standard outdoor ideas are a great way to locate a landscape design that integrates with the design of your home even though meeting the requirements of you and your family. Free of charge designs in many cases are offered in home based and backyard magazines in addition to popular landscaping magazines, but the number 1 place to find all of them is on the net.

landscaping designs free

Finding a big selection of no cost landscape designs online is as fundamental as typing this into your google search. You can then see the results to gather ideas for your individual yard. Whilst free yard plans are generally full of beneficial design data and landscaping suggestions, most are extremely generic and really should be fine-tuned to suit your preferences and the seem of your property.

The advantages of Free Landscape Designs

There are numerous of factors homeowners make use of free style plans prior to landscaping their outdoor area. The most beneficial consist of:

Deciding on any central style, as well as a design, for your backyard.
Designing an operating outdoor dining area that mixes with the indoor of your home.
Deciding on the best plant life on your landscape design, including flowering mounds of plants and perennials to offer year round shade.
Generating brand new landscaping ideas that suit the design of your property.
No cost landscape designs are extremely valuable resources, yet detailed garden planning and also outdoor locations that require an opulent style normally demand the assistance of a professional landscape designer. As stated, these plans tend to be basic patterns that must be custom-made to your distinct home.

Some great benefits of Using a Specialist

A landscape design designer can bring jointly all of the tips you accumulate to create the best outdoor space for your residence. Securing the assistance of a professional doesnt just save you time and expense, it also enhances the value of your house and makes certain a beautiful garden planned by the knowledgeable custom.

A professional landscape designer could:

Provide you with a tailor made landscape design that combines your favorite suggestions with the style and look of your home.
Integrate other landscape design factors, including colonic irrigation, outdoor audio systems, landscape lighting style, and more.
Offer you information on the top plant kinds for your certain climate as well as soil.
Include accessories, way and flooring choices, and other outside d?cor that may accent the design and style of your home.
The world wide web is not only an enormous help in discovering free landscape designs, there is also professional landscape design companies online for the convenient method to plan the actual outdoor space you have always wanted.

Spark Workshop A Collaborative Space For Making Things

I recently joined Spark Workshop in Sunset Park in order to start building garden elements for clients.

The timing is perfect since winter is around the corner and my urban anxieties start to build-up if I dont have an outlet for my creative energies. This is now my chance to build planter boxes, offbeat birdhouses, 15 foot trellises made from re-bar and recycled wood and anything else that I can come up with.

The space is located on 34th street between 2nd and 3rd avenues and without the oversized freight elevator and loading dock my fabrication goals wouldnt be possible. Blue Marble Ice Cream, Tumbador Chocolates and Industry City Distillery are all nearby. Getting my work done might be a bigger challenge than expected.

Spark opened shortly before I joined. Back then the space had recently been renovated with a conference room, kitchen, photo studio, education room, gallery space and woodshop. But the rooms were empty except for a chop-box and a few hand tools. The place was eerily devoid of activity. But now the workshop is filled with equipment for drilling, cutting, planing, sanding and connecting materials. Artists and artisans have joined and the sites and sounds of things being produced motivate me to get my latest projects done. Until joining Spark I had never drilled or cut through steel with an angle grinder. I had never used a band saw. Learning how to use new tools and applying them to new projects has opened up new possibilities for GreenZone Landscape and personal projects as well.

Right now the education room is empty except for scraps of wood that Ive been collecting for a future class on woodworking that I plan on teaching as an afternoon class with kids. I also plan on teaching an introductory class to garden design. Work tables will soon be installed and anyone with an idea for a class will have the opportunity to pitch it.

The first big collaborative effort at Spark is a group show that will happen in mid-December. Artists, artisans, and designers from Brooklyn are welcome to participate. Aside from food and drink it will be a great opportunity to expose local artists to a larger audience and expose people to Brooklyns newest collaborative work space.

Link to Spark Workshop Brooklyn

Link to other Industry City tenants

Senecio

Senecio

Senecio aureus ( Golden Groundsel )
A rapid growing, rhizome spreading perennial, reaching a maximum size of 4 x 4 ( averaging 2 ) feet, that is native to moist woods and bogs in eastern North America ( from Minnesota to Ontario to Newfoundland; south to Texas to Florida ). Makes an attractive groundcover.
The leaves, up to 6 x 8 inches, are glossy rich green.
The golden-yellow, daisy-like flowers, up to 1 inch across, are borne during mid spring.
The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
The stems are purple.
Hardy zones 4 to 9 in partial shade on fertile, moist, well drained soil. Very easy to grow and rarely bothered by pests or disease. Deer resistant.

* photo taken on April 5 2011 in Columbia, MD

Senecio cannabifolius ( Aleutian Ragwort )
Also called Senecio palmatus. A strongly erect, vigorous rhizome spreading perennial, reaching up to 8 ( rarely over 6.5 ) feet, that is native to mountains and open woods from eastern Russia to the Aleutian Islands; south to Korea and Japan.
The pointed, 3-lobed palmate leaves, up to 5 x 2 inches, are luxuriant green.
The bright yellow flowers are borne on corymbs during mid summer.
They are followed by fluffy seedheads persisting through autumn.
The stems are reddish.
Hardy zones 4 to 7 ( 3 on protected sites ) in full sun to partial shade on moist soil.
It thrives best in cool summer climates and is great for boggy gardens. It is not often bothered by pests or disease.

Senecio obovatus ( Round-Leaf Ragwort )
A perennial, reaching up to 2 feet, that is native to the eastern U.S. ( from Michigan to Massachusetts; south to eastern Texas to northern Florida ).
The deep green leaves are borne on 3 inch rosettes.
The bright yellow flowers are borne during spring.
Hardy zones 4 to 8

Peruvian Lily

Alstroemeria

A genus of long-lived perennials that are native to South America.
While most species bloom during summer, the ones from Mediterranean parts of Chile grow and flower during the winter rainy season.

* photos taken on April 12 2012 in Columbia, MD

Alstroemeria aurantiaca ( Peruvian Lily )
Reaches up to 3 x 3 feet.
The lance-shaped leaves are gray-green.
The trumpet-shaped flowers are borne in clusters.
Hardy zones 8 to 9 ( 6 and 7 if heavily mulched during winter ) in full sun ( some afternoon shade where very hot ) on very well drained soil. This plant resents transplanting and the thick tubers should be handled carefully. The tubers should be planted 10 inches deep.

Alstroemeria Inca Exotica
Flowers are yellow and red.
The hardiest of the Alstroemerias, solidly hardy in zone 5 Michigan,

* photos taken on June 10 2013 in Columbia, MD

Alstroemeria Inca Ice
Similar to Inca Exotica except with very profuse flowers that are pale pink and cream.

Alstroemeria Ligtu Hybrids
Reaches up to 4 feet in height, with red, orange or yellow flowers.

Alstroemeria Sweet Laura
A vigorous but slowly rhizomatous spreading perennial, reaching a maximum height of 3 feet.
The sweetly-fragrant, abundant, yellow ( tinted deep red ) flowers are borne early summer to early autumn.
Hardy zones 5 to 9 in full sun to partial shade, this hybrid is tolerant of heat and humidity in the southeastern U.S. Deer resistant.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Active Space Rock Climbing

A climbing trip to Winspit Quarry on the dorset coast.

This was an old Limestone quarry, where the stones used to build buckingham palace were sourced from.

Now it is a leisure spotfor walkers, picnics and also rock climbing.

I thought this was an excellent example of a once -used space that is now being used for sport and activity.

Governors Island Park will be Developed by New York City

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Governor David A. Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senator Daniel L. Squadron today announced an agreement on the long-term development, funding and governance of Governors Island in which New York City will have primary responsibility to develop and operate the island.

As a part of the announcement the City and the State together released the Governors Island Park and Public Space Master Plan, a comprehensive design for 87 acres of open green space, rejuvenating existing landscapes in the National Historic District, transforming the southern half of the island and creating a 2.2 mile Great Promenade along the waterfront."

See the design by landscape architecture firm, West 8 in this great interactive website:

http://www.govislandpark.com/

All images by (Rendering by West 8 / Rogers Marvel Architects / Diller Scofidio + Renfro / Mathews Nielsen / Urban Design +)

Custom Oak Steel Logs Are Hot with Fire Pits

Our custom, hand-welded oak steel log kits are a hot trend in landscape design and fire pit ambiance.

These log kits are durable, last for years, resistant to abuse and can be bolted down to prevent theft. Perfect for commercial properties, bars and restaurants, we can build each custom oak steel log kit to your specifications. Not only are the steel log kits attractive, but they also disperse heat while adding to the visual appeal of the fire pit.