Backyard Landscape Pro

My husband and I would like to make our yard and the area around our front porch look nicer, but neither of us know much at all about landscaping and need the advice of good "green thumbers." We would like to spend an upcoming weekend making simple improvements that make a big difference in the overall look, and want to see how much we could do with $200 as a budget. A little more info: we have a LOT of mulched areas with NO "ground cover" (I think that’s what you call it) and so weeds can get out of control (there is no "edging" either). Any recommended plants that would look nice and be easy to maintain? Or can we somehow make grass there? Any good flowers that would be durable? Our front yard has a good amount of sun during the day. Any help and ideas about spending the $200 to make a NICE improvement are GREATLY appreciated! )

remove the mulch yourself-$0
border the yard with used bricks ( if u are lucky you will get it for free sometimes)-$0
get soil or dirt from home depot or lowes -$25( $5 each).
go to your nursery and tell them ur light and wheather conditions they will suggest you some plants.Good thing is you get sun. Marigolds, and other seeds can make a very inexpensive garden.($10 max)
You are a little late for bulbs but u can plant them in fall by then you garden will be well prepared for them.

Ferns , palms are very less maintainnace (ferns -$5each, palms need lot of research if u want to save money ).Impatients, pansies, begonias are shade loving plants and less maintiance.since you get sun you should be fine with any plant.However your challenge will be leveling, making the soil ready to plant.Good luck you can do a lot in $200 spent wisely and with patience.Dont hurry take your time.

I am currently trying plan a design for my backyard landscape, does anyone know of anythings I should keep in mind? I live in zone 10b and have dogs and know that I want something relatively low maintainance. What are things that are more on the actual design side that I should think about?

Several things.
1. Water movement and pooling – if you have areas that are more wet, look for plants that prefer wet soil.
2. Sun – obviously know what type of light the plant likes.
3. pH. Plants that like a higher pH soil are happier next to the house in most soils. Typically, the foundation of a house is concrete which leaks lime into the soil.
4. Roots – most trees should be 10 feet from the house. Be careful with Silver Maple, Cherry and Redwood. Trees like these can actually push in the walls of a submerged basement, tear up sidewalks and wreak havoc.
5. Compatibility. Some plants are toxic to other plants. Black Walnut will kill just about everything around it.
6. Size at maturity. People buy "cute" shrubs because they like the flowers or color. 10 years later, they’re living in Sleeping Beauty’s castle, surrounded by a jungle.
7. Color arrangement. Consider different layers – light greens, white, reds, etc. Don’t just use monotone green. Contrast the color of the house with a shrub, then put another contrast in front of that. If you have room – 3 layers is very luxurious looking.
8. Maintenance. If you don’t want to trim or divide, look for things that grow more slowly. In 10b, you probably use Bermuda grass? Consider putting in solid flowerbed edging to stop or severely deter invasive runners. If you have Fescue, you don’t have to worry as much.
9. Flowers. Leave limited space for annuals if you want some really amazing color. Otherwise, look at some perennials. Note, however, that Perennials get bigger and bigger each year.
10. Fire. This is more an issue in dry climates. Consider rock against the house rather than mulch. Mulch is very VERY flamable in hot dry weather. Even in the moderate areas of the Northeast, it’s not uncommon for catastrophic fires to start in flowerbeds when someone flips a burning cigarette into someone’s yard and it lands in the mulch.
11. Shade – put deciduous trees around the south and west sides. The leaves will reduce your power bills in the summer. But they will drop their leaves in the winter allowing that sun to warm the house. Of course – in 10b, this might not matter! Go with Palm Trees!
12. Go Native. Look for plants that are native to your area. They’re more likely to survive weather cycles. Imported plants are most prone to escape and cause environmental problems. Look at Honeysuckle in the Northeast, Kudzu in the South, etc.

One of life’s simple pleasures is to come home from a long day at work to your quiet backyard to relax your body and renew your spirit. It is very satisfying to look at the work you did to create a retreat from all of life’s stresses. It did not just happen, the result took planning and a lot of work to get to where it is now.

In planning stage, you look at the size of your yard, the shape of your yard and what you plan on doing with your backyard landscape. How many of the existing plants are you going to keep and are you going to be adding plants. Make decisions about any demolition in your backyard and decide if you are going to be constructing an addition to your backyard. With all of the possibilities at hand, the result has to come in on budget.

With your planning complete, getting all of the required elements together to start the actual backyard landscaping would be the next action to do. Having a ‘to do’ list would be a good organizational tool.  You could even have a time line projection, but keep a large eraser handy because that time line needs to be flexible. If you’re backyard landscaping project needs large power tools such as backhoes and the like it would be best to hire outside contractors who specialize in this type of work. They can also be a source of useful information and someone to bounce ideas off of.  Having a water feature in your backyard will add to the tranquility that you are trying to create, it can be a pondless waterfall or a pond for fish and aquatic plants. Remember this backyard is your get away from everything.  

 Landscaping your backyard One of life’s simple pleasures is to come home from a long day at work to …

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By: Pamela Kazmierczak

What is butterfly gardening? Simply put butterfly gardening is the art of growing flowers and plants that will attract these colorful and dainty creatures to your garden. Delight your family and visitors with beautiful butterflies, but be sure to create a safe habitat for them. If you own cats rethink your plans, because it would be a shame to attract these lovely insects to their death.

The design your butterfly garden is a matter of personal preference. Typical points to consider are the size of your garden and the types of flowers and plants you want to grow. Pick a style of garden that appeals to you, but ensure it also contains the plants and flowers that appeal to the butterflies you wish to attract.

It is important to find out which plants and flowers will attract the species of butterflies. That live in your area. This information can be found at the local library.

To create the kind of environment that they find attractive, you will also need water of some kind. A birdbath will look attractive and keep the butterflies up off the ground, away from stray cats or mischievous puppies. A shallow dish on a post or hung in a tree will do just as well.

When planting your butterfly garden be careful how you coordinate the colors you choose for your flowerbeds. Although butterflies do not care about your choice of color, you don’t want your garden to be a hodgepodge of unrelated colors and textures.

Butterflies are attracted to those flowers that have nectar rather than pollen, like honeysuckle, milkweed, summer lilac, Valerian, daisies, Purple Coneflower, Yellow Sage, day lilies and lavender.

Some people find it helpful to draw and color a layout of their butterfly gardening plan to see what the finished product would look like. Keep in mind that warm colors like red and orange are flashy and showy.

These colors have a greater impact against a strong green background. Cool colors such as blue and purple are soothing and toned down and would work better with a white contrast to create the look of freshness and brightness.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Pamela Kazmierczak is an expert in the wedding field. She reports on all wedding subjects including Wedding Flowers. Looking for something seasonal, check out June Wedding Flowers Now.

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The ground is almost solid rock, so I need to put some type of sandy loam or top soil on it. I want to order this but I do not know how to figure how much I would need to buy.
I would also suggest going to a local garden center and looking at the different ammendments and soil mixes they sell there. I agree with the tape measurement of the yard. The bags tell you how much to buy and what they cover. I would also get the soil wet to see how dense it really is. You might even take a sample with you to the store.

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Iwould also like some plant and flower ideas; I live in the north
Check the yellow pages under “Landscape Architect.” They are experts in design, and know which plants will be suitable for your particular area. A Concept Plan isn’t too expensive, and should include a general design layout and a list of plants to use for different situations. Unfortunately I’m probably not licensed in your State. I have done a lot of work in the Las Vegas area woking with someone who was licensed in Nevada, so am quite experienced in that style of design and won a couple of awards on projects I’ve worked on down there. I use a similar design here, which is probably a similar climate to where you are. Click on my profile and e-mail me and give me the specifics on where you are, I may be able to recommend someone in your area.

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