Benefits Of Landscape Gardening
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
By M. Jedediah
Landscape gardening involves a little bit more than adding flowers to a bed. To create a full design, an entire yard needs to be addressed in the design. From the front walk to the side yard, landscape gardening takes it all in, looking at the big picture rather than just a patch.
Before endeavoring to jump into landscape gardening, it's a good idea to create a plan and work to execute it. Garden designs for backyard retreats with fish ponds and waterfalls will be very different than front yard landscapes meant to give a house curb appeal.
A good plan will take a number of things into consideration. It will include such things as available space, lighting available, soil conditions, desired plants and more. The more detailed a plan for landscape gardening, the easier it will be to ensure the outcome looks great. While it's true a plan won't make the manual labor go any more smoothly and it won't guarantee that every plant will grow and thrive, it can guide the work and make it more logical.
Although it will take some work, landscape gardening can provide huge benefits for homeowners. These benefits can include such things as:
* Property value increases. When a great plan is created and executed, it really can add to curb appeal and possible help increase property value. The amount of value increase will vary, but if the landscape design is good looking enough, it can really help sell a home if that's what the homeowner desires.
* Great hobby. Getting into gardening can be a fantastic hobby. There's just something about getting back to nature and helping things grow that just brings out the best in some people. Make no mistake, this can be a time consuming hobby, but it's often one the entire family can get into and enjoy.
* Personal retreat. When a backyard garden is the desire, it's possible to turn an ordinary landscape into one that offers a retreat for every member of the family. It doesn’t necessarily require a pro to pull off creating a design that will provide lots of enjoyment.
* Exercise. Landscape gardening provide a fantastic resource for exercise. When weed pulling, digging and moving around wheelbarrows full of mulch and fertilizer are involved in the plan, the exercise benefits can be amazing. Depending on how much gardening is done, a few hours outside working in the dirt can actually equal a full aerobic workout.
* Stress relief. Gardening not only provides some incredible exercise benefits, it can also help a person wind down after a very hard day.
* Natural attraction. Depending on the design chosen, a garden can attract birds, butterflies and other creatures that can bring major delight.
Getting into gardening isn't necessarily easy for a first-time planter, but it can be a fun endeavor with some great rewards. Landscape gardening can be a fantastic hobby for anyone to undertake Provide a way for homeowners to improve their property values, get outside and even garner some exercise and health benefits, this hobby can be a sound choice for anyone with a bit of yard and a desire to grow something in it.Gardening&id=610940
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Selecting Rose Bushes For a Dry Mediterranean Garden
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
By Jonathan Ya'akobi
From a landscape gardening point of view, roses, traditionally known as the "Queen of the Garden", are still unmatched in the color design options they provide. For magnificent flowers and a powerful color composition, rose bushes are still number one. Although there are many cultural requirements to consider while selecting rose bushes, it is worthwhile to be clear from the outset, as to the design role they are meant to play in the garden.
A group of roses should either fit into the garden's color scheme, or be the starting point, perhaps the focal point from which the other plants and garden elements take their cue. If a hot or warm color theme were wanted, then the reds, oranges, and deep yellows are suitable. Alternatively, a blotch of crimson or Bordeaux flowers in a garden that is predominantly pastel, would probably strike a discordant note. Randomly throwing colors together is simply poor taste and can never create a satisfying composition.
The intensity of the sun light either enhances or dissipates the quality of different colors. The pastel colors like sky blue, pink and pale lemon for example, look at their best in the soft light of Britain or Ireland, but weak and insipid in the harsh, fierce sun light of a Mediterranean or Southern Californian summer. If roses could be successfully grown in the shade or even filtered sun, then pastel colored flowers might be fine, but as they need a good six hours a day of direct sun, the hot colors tend to be more effective in such climates.
Roses are classified into a number of groups, which not only indicate the size of the bush itself, but also the form and shape of the blooms. Hybrid tea roses, such as the varieties, Chrysler Imperial, Papa Meilland, or Peace, typically have large individual flowers. They are best close to entrances and walkways, where the architectural wonder of the flowers' form can be appreciated. Many of course are highly fragrant as well.
The individual flower of the floribunda group is far less noteworthy than those of the hybrid teas, but as they produce massive quantities of flowers, the actual color effect of floribunda roses is often more spectacular, if used wisely, than their hybrid tea, or grandiflora counterparts. They are best planted therefore in larger groups, preferably in front of a wall or fence, which supply a quiet background to the rose bushes. The famous Iceberg variety is one example of a white flowering, floribunda rose, while Goldilocks, and Ginger sport yellow and orange blooms respectively.
Two other design uses of roses are as climbers on pillars and arches, or grown as espaliers trained horizontally on a wall. The great advantage in both cases is that the plants look passably good all year round, and not only when in flower. However, when in full bloom, they really come into their own. I particularly love the dramatic contrast of the dark red flowers of Don Juan on a whitewashed wall. A harmonious composition on the other hand would involve pale yellow flowers on a wall painted in ochre. Although such a combination might be less suitable in the bright, severe, Mediterranean light, it is quite a sumptuous thought nonetheless!
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