Landscaping: PLEASE HELP ME!!! Landscaping/Designin

Replies: 21 Views: 291

Author	Comment
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 2, 2008 10:16 PM	I am new to landscaping and design and dont know anything about flowers, so you guys are really going to have to walk me through this one. To be honest, im tired of having my house look bland when I know it can look soooooo much better with some flowers. I am going to need you guys tell me exactly what to buy and how to arrange everything... The area in the picture has look exactly like that for about 10 years, and now its time for a change! :-) I will greatly appreciate any feedback you guys could give me. This is 1 of 2 plots... There is one just like it but a little smaller but i want to accomplish one at a time... Thanks! View Larger
alyrics Beachwood, OH June 2, 2008 11:46 PM	You've got lots to work with. For starters, trim the shrubs down to the same height as the white fence across the sidewalk - they are hiding your house and look overgrown. I'm assuming this is a shrub that can take pruning. I like that you didn't cut it in a rectangle, the rounded edges look more natural. Second. You need a rototiller and a copy of Tracy di'Sabato Aust's book Designing the Perennial Garden. In there she has a recipe for amending soil and what amounts of material. The soil in front looks very old, compacted and nutrition-less. It needs to be dug up, rototilled and amended with lots of organic material. You may want to just remove the brick edging. Its not really necessary once you have plants established to hold the soil down. I like to use composted cow or horse manure, a little peat moss, leaf mould, etc when I amend. For plants - well - you would have to start with what do you like, how much time are you really, really willing to spend year in and year out on maintenance, what zone are you in, how much rainfall do you have, etc. Its clearly a full sun exposure so you would want plants that are drought resistant. Have you contacted your local Master Gardener group or local university or botanical garden? Usually they have bulletins for free that list plants that are suitable to your area. Good luck and have fun!
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 3, 2008 8:18 PM	I have access to a rototiller and im on my way to pick up that book right now! Thanks for the advice! Keep it coming! Also here is a bigger picture of the area if it helps.... Thanks!!! View Larger
Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC (Zone 7b) June 4, 2008 7:56 PM	I totally agree with alyrics the bushes are way to tall. They are just hiding your lovely home. If you plan to cut them back please send a pic as soon as you do.
pastime Waterman, IL (Zone 5a) June 5, 2008 6:39 AM	There are lots of possibilities with platnings along your sidewalk. Go to the perennial forum and check out the garden pictures. Several people have posted pics of their plantings along curvy sidewalks.
zenpotter Minneapolis, MN (Zone 4b) June 5, 2008 7:02 AM	Stop, before you dig it up. Do you have a horticultural society or group that will test your soil for you? Here we can mail soil samples to the University of MN and they will test it for us. If I remember right it is free. Next there is another way less work and also good for the soil. This is how I make a new bed: 1. Cut the grass very short it, looks like it already is. 2. Cover it with 5-6 layers of newspapers make sure you over lap the edges. 3. Next step is to cover that with a 3-4 inch layer of farm post. In my case I get farm post from a local horse track. When they clean the stables they grind the manure and bedding straw up, put it in wind rows in a field and let it dry. I get mine from the rows that have been aging for at lease a year. If you don't have access to a farm or race track. You can buy it from a garden store. 4. You can now start to plant or let it sit for awhile. I have done it both ways. If I plant right away I push the farmpost back cut through the newspaper put my plant in and then tuck everything back around the plant. Making sure to water it well. If I want to wait. I just water it and wait to plant when I am ready. Most of the time I don't need to mulch on top of that. If I do I use shredded bark. The newspaper will decompose over time. You do not need to do any other fertilizing unless there is a nutrient your soil especially needs. This is my short version of lasagna gardening if you want to look at longer versions google lasagna gardening. The only other thing I have done to enrich my gardens is spread corn gluten twice a year. Corn gluten is both a preemergent and it works as a fertilizer. It is totally harmless to the environment and is gaining in popularity as being earth friendly. Make sure you do not use it and then plant seeds. It is a preemergent for all seeds not just weeds. Since you have waited 10 years you know the sun and when the most is on the garden and how much you get that is really nice to know. Do consider native plants. They have adapted to the local conditions and take the least fuss.
meadowyck Sagamore Hills, OH (Zone 5b) June 5, 2008 9:38 PM	zenpotter don't ya love the natives.... There is really something to be said for a flower bed that showcases a lot of the same natives together. Back in Kentucky there was a gal that had the most beautiful beds. All of them were native plants to that area. She did a lot of seed saving and replanting and then would just give them away to get folks to pay attention to them. rjp20: I put in my new beds last month with mowing and laying down newspapers then had to put some weed guard cause I didn't get my new soil delivery scheduled in time to be able to just put on top of the newspapers. Anyway, my beds just 2 that have 10 yards (6 yards top soil, 2 yards sweet peat, 2 yards leaf humus) and then another top dressing of 4 yards of leaf humus. My plants are doing so well that after only two weeks I'm already seeing new growth with new blooms on others. It was so much easier to do the new beds this way, then to try and dig up and amend the clay soil. Less back breaking work and the beds take shape rather fast.
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 6, 2008 12:26 AM	Thanks everyone for the advice so far! Please keep it coming! I havent heard anything about the methods that require the news paper. I just have this picture of the newspaper method being a complete disaster for me! HAHAHAHA I also dont mind doing it the hard way... I tried to get a soil test kit but the garden store closed early so i will try again tomorrow... That area is about 112 sq. ft. My plan was to get about 4 bags of this [HYPERLINK@www.homedepot.com] and get a bag of 8-32-16 fertilizer and just till the garden... What does everyone think about this plan??? Does it sound ok, or am i completely stupid? I am also going to need help deciding what flowers to get. The book list several low maintenance flowers, but i dont know what ANY of them are and it list ALOT of them... Also, from my understanding you put mulch down when you've completed the planting of the flowers right??? What do you guys think? Im pretty excited an want to get started asap! :-)
zenpotter Minneapolis, MN (Zone 4b) June 6, 2008 7:09 AM	I am amazed that you can get fertilizer with phosphorus in it. We can't, it is so harmful to the water. Now my phosphorus experience if you aren't interested skip to the next paragraph. We lived in Tunisia near a phosphorus plant for two years. Our home was on the Mediterranean and we couldn't set foot in it it was so polluted. It was green and foamy the whole year. The main reason that I use the newspaper method is that it keeps the weeds out without using harmful chemicals. The weeds you get are from seeds blowing in. The same ones you would get with chemicals. The newspaper lasts long enough that you end up with a bed that is easy to keep clean of weeds.. The same with the farm post. Another advantage is that under the newspaper is a fast decomposition of the grass and we get lots of happy earth worms working away breaking up the soil and adding their own fertilizer. You can buy native plants that will break the clay up. Here are two resources for OK natives. [HYPERLINK@www.usao.edu] [HYPERLINK@www.fhwa.dot.gov] I got on my soap box (pun intended) here I grow with organic methods and truly think that it is the way to go. The Earth will thank you.
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 6, 2008 10:32 AM	I think maybe it's just a local thing that you can't get ferts with phosphorus--I grow a number of plants that hate phosphorus and will die if they have too much of it, and if I wanted to use conventional synthetic fertilizers on them I would have a near impossible time finding one that didn't contain phosphorus. I maintain my garden organically so I can just go buy individual fertilizer components and skip the ones that have phosphorus in them, but every single bottle of Miracle Gro, Scotts, etc fertilizer that I see at the store has phosphorus in it.
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 6, 2008 1:29 PM	Ok guys im kinda interested in the "newspaper method" and I think thats what im going to go with now. Could someone give me detailed instructions as to what to do in this method? The area that im working with is about 112 sq ft. How much of the newspaper, manure/compost 40lb bags, and mulch would i need for the area? Also later im going to need help determing which flowers i want for the area... Im pretty excited!
Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC (Zone 7b) June 6, 2008 1:31 PM	I have never tried the newspaper method. I can't imagine it working on my rock hard red clay soil. I amend with mushroom compost from Walmart and peat moss. I add dead leaves and mix it all together. If you till it in it should give you good healthy plants. I use very little fertilizer on anything. the following mix is good for annuals and perennials.After you till this in, plant your plants. I then use landscape fabric with mulch on top. This mix will cover 100 sq. ft. 50 lbs peat moss 25 lbs. of gypsum 10 lbs of organic plant food ( 5-10-5) 4 bushels compost
meadowyck Sagamore Hills, OH (Zone 5b) June 6, 2008 7:21 PM	simple formula to figure out how much yardage you need. 1. length of bed x width of bed = square footage of bed 2. Square footage of bed x 144 (sq inches in sq footage) = square inches in bed 3. Square inches of bed x desired depth of soil/mulch = cubic inches of soil/mulch 4. Cubic inches of soil/mulch needed divided by 46,656 (cubic inces in a cubic yard) = cubic yards needed so take an average size bed of 20' length x 10' width 1. 10' x 20' = Square feet in bed 2. 200 x 144 = 28,800 square inches in bed 3. 28,800 x 4 (inches deep) = 115,200 cubic inches soil/mulch needed 4. 115,200 divided by 46,656 = 2.568 yards of soil/mulch needed 2 1/2 yards needed Janet
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 7, 2008 12:00 AM	I have a question. When do I add the landscape fabric and the mulch? Lay everything down including the fabric and the mulch and then cut through the mulch and fabric to plant the flowers or do I just plant the flowers, then add the fabric and 2 in. of mulch?? I was worried because I didnt want the 2 in. of mulch to cover up too much of the flowers once i planted them... Thanks again! Tomorrow is the big day if everything goes according to plan!!!!
meadowyck Sagamore Hills, OH (Zone 5b) June 7, 2008 10:42 PM	rjp20 you are planning on adding some top soil on top of the fabric before the mulch,????? Janet
pennefeather McLean, VA (Zone 6b) June 8, 2008 2:03 PM	I am attaching a thread that has pictures to show what Zenpotter was describing in creating a quick lasagna garden. In the past, I have stripped sod before amending and planting, and it is a long painful process. This is so much easier, and allows your soil to get all of the nutrients that it needs. When I do this, I lay down about six sheets of paper, sometimes more and dampen it. If you wait to dampen it, the wind may blow it away. After I have a sizeable area of newspaper, then I add bagged hummus (I don't have a compost pile), and hardwood fines (that's very fine mulch, and excellent for hard or stickly clay). I also include alfalfa, sometimes plantone, and top with hardwood mulch. Only after everthing is layered, do I push enough aside to dig a hole through the newspaper and plant. It is much easier to move the mulch and dig a hold than to plant all the plants and put the mulch around it. This is the second thread in a longer thread. Susan (Soulgardenlove) has pictures beginning in post #4698490 on March 23. I hope that this is helpful. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 9, 2008 12:47 AM	I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread and helped me with this process! I seriously cant thank you enough! I didnt know ANYTHING about flowers before i posted on this forum! So here is an after picture of the area, i spent the whole day tilling the ground! and getting flowers... especially since i forgot to get them when i picked up everything else!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHH Aso take into consideration that I took this picture right after i planted the last flower and i hadnt cleaned up the dirt off the sidewalk and borders... So I planted some perennials and mixed in some annuals to add a bit of color and it looks sooooo good already! Im going to plant flowers on the other parts of my house tomorrow! im excited!!! Thanks again and i am going to enjoy looking around this sited/forum to enhance my gardening knowledge! This message was edited Jun 8, 2008 10:49 PM View Larger
tcinmb Myrtle Beach, SC (Zone 8b) June 9, 2008 1:00 AM	Great job it looks terrific!!
Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC (Zone 7b) June 9, 2008 8:01 PM	rjp, that looks sooooo good. You did a great job. Post a pic later so we can see how your plants have filled out.
alyrics Beachwood, OH June 9, 2008 11:46 PM	Great job! I'd still cut another 12" off the shrubs - they cut your house in half now. Looks like the blue color in the flowers will complement your brick color If its as hot there as here, keep the new thing watered to let the roots grow. a
tcinmb Myrtle Beach, SC (Zone 8b) June 10, 2008 1:10 AM	I agree . It looks great . Shorten the shrubs some more!!
zenpotter Minneapolis, MN (Zone 4b) June 10, 2008 9:57 AM	You must have decided the newspaper method wasn't for you since you did the tilling. Maybe next time. It looks good.