Information and Resouces for the Do-it-Yourselfer - Great Lakes Landscaping

                  ~ The Gardener ~

In this Issue:

       Publishers Notes
       Diversion
       The Daring For Depth
       Final Thoughts

~ Publisher's Notes ~

This week's article continues our series on Design, with my

favorite topic: Dimensions. Not in inches or feet, but 2 or 3

or 4 dimensions. (Okay, some of this is our way of describing

the "depth" of your landscaping, but it's easier to understand)

Lot's of questions came in this week, too. I'll try to answer some

of them:

Yes, you do need to take extra care preparing your soil for

bare root wildflowers. Wildflowers like lighter humus soil.

They grow in nature in woodlands where all the leaves just

rot into the soil. That's the soil you want to copy. Perennials,

daylilies, ground covers are easier. Given moisture, they

should do well planted the way you'd plant a potted plant.

Our most popular item is the fern. Cinnamon fern to be

exact. They are probably the easiest to grow. Bluebells

are getting pretty popular, too.

Water garden kits and supplies by Aquascape ship next day.

OASE and AquaBead take a few days to a week longer to

ship. Irrigation supplies can take a few days, too.

Moles are a big problem this spring. Best defense is a thick

healthy well fertilized and watered lawn. If you have a lot of

insects in your lawn, any good systemic from a garden center

that kills grubs should help a LOT and might solve your

problem. (Moles are eating the grubs, tearing up your yard).

NOTE: Some grubs are cyclical, and aren't always a

problem. Chemicals spread all over your yard are not

earth freindly. Mole traps and a healthy lawn are your best bet,

until such time as there's just no other way...

Yes, your bare root plant order will keep a few days in a

cool garage, in the box, while you prepare your bed.

Moisten a little if they start to dry out.

Most plants are still dormant from being dug last fall and

early spring. They may look like dried up 'chunks'. Rest

assured, they are fine. Wildflowers dug fresh will be soft

and moist, and may not come up this year. Plant them

anyway, as they will come up next year! Care for them as

you would any plant, too.

*** Those were the main questions this week. If you want to

read any of the previous articles on design:

http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/news.htm

~ Diversion ~

(And thanks to those that responded how funny last issue's joke was...)

The owner of a large factory decided to make a surprise visit and
check up on his staff. Walking though the plant, he noticed a young man
leaning lazily against a post.

"Just how much are you being paid a week?" said the owner angrily.

"Three hundred bucks," replied the young man.

Taking out a fold of bills from his wallet, the owner counted out $300,
slapped the money into the boy's hands, and said "Here's a week's pay
- now get out and don't come back!"

Turning to one of the supervisors, he said "How long has that lazy bum
been working here anyway?"

"He doesn't work here," said the supervisor. "He was just here to
deliver a pizza!"

~ Adding Dimensions To Your 'Scape ~

It used to be that a nice landscape meant low shrubs under the windows,

and a taller tree on the ends of your dwelling to pull the eye and stretch

out the view. A drive through any newly built subdivision would confirm

this. I call this One Dimensional Landscaping, a row of bushes.

Thankfully, landscaping is much more then this. It's about comfort.

a comfortable landscaping has depth. You add a dimension to your

'scape when you add depth to it. For instance, in front of, and around

a taller shrub or tree there should be an underplanting of something

smaller. This would be Two Dimensional Landscaping.

Next, Three Dimensional Landscaping would put YOU in the equasion.

You need to be surrounded by landscaping for this to happen. How

many times have you got out of your car at a home, and as you walked

up to the house, there are shrubs around the house, between the

front walk and the house, and a beautiful lawn coming up to the walk.

So you are not "in" the landscape, you are looking at it.

Instead, the beds around the house should extend out much farther

then the front walk, so the walk is going THROUGH the landscape

bed. There are trees, shrubs, flowers, all around you as you approach

the front door. Can we add more dimensions yet?

Off course! Time, and sound. Night lighting of a 3 dimensional

landscape will make an ambience that is out of this world. The

sound of water babling in a pond... Landscaping should stimulate

the senses. Flowers that smell sweet...

Though 'something low' under the windows is correct, group shrubs

together in random groups to break any lines of shrubs. Each group

should appear random in relation to the other groupings, also. You do

want the home to be framed when you see it from a distance, and

appear balanced on the lot. However, when you're standing 10 feet from

it, all you'll see is the siding if you look at it. Random 3 and 4

dimensional landscaping will give a comfort and add character,

your charactor, to your home as your guests approach your front door,

and stimulate their senses with the atmoshere you create.

~ Final Thoughts! ~

No room for a computer tip this week. I try to be brief.

Growers are having trouble shipping to far west states! Sorry,

due to new washing regulations, added inspection fees, etc.,

we can't ship live plants to CA, OR, AZ, NV, or ID.

Thanks for reading!

Spike

Contact me here ~
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/question.htm

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