Flowers, stones and grass are just some of the ways to landscape a backyard. Large shade trees, waterfalls and herbal gardens are some other ways. The theme of your landscape will depend on your hobbies, interests and goals for your backyard. Backyard landscaping can be a lot of fun, especially when you make it personal. Landscape your yard to reflect your personality and your homes personality. If you and your family like to entertain, add a bar to your back patio. Clean up the barbeque grill and don’t forget the citronella candles to keep the bugs away. Maybe you’ll want to build a croquet course, mini golf course, or put in a sand lot for some sand volleyball. Whatever your preference, make backyard landscaping fun for the whole family.

Keep your family in mind too, when it comes time to maintain the backyard landscaping. Large yards will require a lot more maintenance and grooming. Taking care of the yard can be a nice family activity. You can mow the lawn, pull the weeds and get the kids involved in watering the plants. If you have a fruit tree in your backyard, you’ll probably be spending some time picking up the fallen apples or cherries. And of course, you’ll also need to reserve time to tend to your herbal garden. It can be surprisingly rewarding to grow your own herbs and use them in special recipes that you cook when you’re entertaining friends and neighbors.

If you are the type who would rather keep your backyard to yourself, then maybe you don’t need to worry about the huge, green lawn. Perhaps you’d rather have a quaint yard with basic backyard landscaping. You can put in some grass, strategically place some shade trees and plant some of your favorite flowers. You may want to include some bigger bushes, if space allows as they will add some gorgeous green to your colorful backyard. This type of backyard may require the same maintenance as a large backyard, but not nearly the time commitment. No matter what your personality says about your backyard landscaping, one thing’s for sure—homeowners everywhere will tell you to create your backyard just the way you want to.

Unlike my neighbor, Fred.

Fred never found a way to escape the prison of responsibilities and hard, never-ending work required by a high-maintenance garden.

If you want to avoid Fred’s fate, you need to start by making a critical examination of the maintenance of your yard and garden.

Start by taking a stroll around your property and make note of how much time you take to tend to various areas.

• Which plants require the most care, right now?
• Are there areas that please you and take less care?
• Are there some areas that you love so much that no matter how much maintenance they take you’d not want to change them?
• Can you visualize any areas being scaled down in size, or that can be improved with a low-maintenance design or gardening technique?
• Where is the problem weeding area?
• Which is the most difficult mowing area of your lawn?

In my book: “The Weekend Gardener”- The Busy Persons’ Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden, I present very specific ways to combat your problem areas as you think critically about the current maintenance problems you must take into account. Take this tour with a critical eye and a notebook. Make some notes to yourself about what you see, what you imagine, and what you are currently faced with.

As you do this preliminary overview, remember it is okay to consider what you “hate” to do in regards to gardening work. We want to get rid of these areas first and foremost.

Everyone has a different take on this subject. Some hate mowing the lawn, others actually enjoy the exercise and like getting out in the sun. Some find weeding tedious, others will enjoy the process of grabbing weeds by the fistful and yanking them forcefully out of the ground. I have a cousin who has actually been found to wonder into neighbors yards yanking the critters up (much to the surprise and cheerful appreciation of his neighbors) after he had run out of them in his own yard.

So, part of your ‘yard tour’ is to make note of the areas that require work; how you feel about each one, and listing which are particularly time-consuming.

Once you’re done, take your list and make a check mark (!) next to those items that you intend to keep no matter how much maintenance they may require. Then put a question mark (?) Next to the ones you enjoy looking at, but are nonetheless high-maintenance and take too much work. Later you will discover timesaving techniques you can surely apply to many of these problem areas.

Now plan on making your aim to eliminate those areas left UNMARKED. You’ll want low maintenance ways to turn these areas into sources of pleasure, instead of drudgery. However, you can’t DO anything to lessen the strain until you first SEE the problems out there in your yard. So do this tour as a first step to achieve true joy and freedom in your gardening experience.

How do you begin to create a garden space that is unique to you? Here are ten simple steps that will help you move effortlessly through the process.

1. Identify WHY you want a garden.
How will you use it? Who else will enjoy the garden? Remember that you may not be the sole inhabitant, so get input from all family members on how your outdoor space will be used.

2. Do a little dreaming.
Now that you know why you want a garden and how you intend to use it, let your imagination play with all the possible features in your special space. A little dreaming will uncover those attributes that will put your personal imprint on the garden.

Also decide whether you want a formal or an informal garden. Formal gardens are highly structured, divided by a strong central axis and cross axes. Informal gardens have a more natural look with strong, flowing curves.

3. Make a list of “must haves”.
What items are essential? Listing your needs up front ensures that your final plan won’t be missing anything important. Do you need a retaining wall? A privacy fence? A path to the garage? More parking space? Do children need a place to play? What about pets?

Walk around your property and make note of everything that is essential. Your final design should balance dream features and “must haves” to create a satisfying and functional space.

4. Evaluate what you already have.
To get where you are going, it helps to know your starting point. Is your space large or small? Is the site flat or sloping? What is the climate? What type of soil do you have? How much water is available and from what sources? What are the predominate views?

5. Ballpark your budget.
Once you know what you want and what you need, it’s time to consider what you are willing to spend. This dollar figure will influence what features you include in the final garden plan — trees, plants, hardscape materials and architectural elements such as arbors, fountains, ponds and benches.

Remember that your “budget” comprises two elements: money and TIME. In terms of time, does the garden need to be finished by a certain date or can you create it over time? (Speed costs!) Also, how much time are you willing to budget to maintain your dream garden? Can you spare several hours a week or are you lucky enough to afford a caretaker?

As you develop and refine your plan, you may need to balance time and cash costs. Be flexible. You may need to spend more time if you can’t spend more money and vice versa.

6. Identify your garden’s focal points.
Every garden needs an eye-catching spot that causes you to pause a moment. When you choose a focal point, you are choosing the direction you want visitors to look when they enter your garden. Did your list of “wants” include a waterfall or fountain? An arbor retreat? A blossoming apple tree? If so, you are well on your way to identifying a focal point — or points — for your garden.

7. Create a rough design.
Take all the information that you’ve gathered and incorporate it into a workable design that balances the “wants” with the “must haves”. Your goal is to create a space that is both satisfying and functional.

Buy a pad of graph paper that contains 8 or 10 squares per inch and let each square equal one foot. (In other words, every inch on the paper will equate to 8 or 10 feet on your property.) Create a basic map with your property lines and house drawn to scale.

You will also need tracing paper, markers, a tape measure, a ruler, a pencil and a good eraser. Lay the tracing paper over your basic scaled map. Then refer back to your list of “must haves” and “wants” as you sketch the various areas of your garden. Show the approximate position of focal points, activity areas (“rooms”) and pathways. Use as many sheets of tracing paper as necessary until you find a layout that pleases you and meets the goal that you identified in Step 1.

8. Choose your plants and hardscape.
The colors and materials that you choose will create the character of your garden, adding interest, movement and visual appeal. Do you want harmonious colors or strong contrast? Warm hues or cool tones? Bold colors or soft hues? Mixing different colors and materials and textures will give your garden a strong sense of space.

Plants comprise a significant part of your garden. In addition to plants, hardscape materials contribute variety and texture — wood arbors, brick borders, gravel paths, bronze statuary, and wrought-iron benches.

As you review your preliminary layout, consider the best material for each of the hardscape elements. Keep in mind that each element needs to fit with and compliment the whole. For example, a terrace constructed of the same material as the house unifies while railroad ties around a formal garden create discord.

9. Make a scale drawing.
Thus far, you have created a basic map of property lines and your house as well as an overlay sheet that shows focal points, “rooms” and pathways. You also have a list of the trees, shrubs and plants for each area of your garden. Now you need to create a scale drawing that shows EXACTLY where each feature will go. You will use this blueprint to lay the walkways, set the arbors and trellises, and plant the trees, shrubs and flowers.

It is important that you have enough information to help you create in reality the garden that you just designed on paper. As long as your scale drawing or blueprint is in sufficient scale to accomplish that purpose, you will be successful.

10. Execute your plan.
Before you begin actual construction of the garden, check all local building codes and regulations to make sure that you will be in compliance. Structures such as decks, patios and retaining walls may require a permit from the local city government. Once all permits are in place, you can start to lay out the garden.

With your scale drawing as a blueprint, use a tape measure to position all structures, walkways and plants. Be sure to measure accurately so each element in your design fits its assigned space.

If designing a garden space sounds a bit intimidating, don’t panic. Just follow these steps one by one and let a space unfold that feels right to you. You CAN do it. After all, a successful garden is just another room of your house, which you’ve already successfully decorated!

1. Choose the right plants

Kids will more likely choose plants and flowers with bright colors, so have a load of varieties of plants. Examples of bright flowers are zinnias and cosmos; these will keep your children fascinated. Don’t forget the sunflowers. Anything that is tall and fuzzy will surely overwhelm a kid. Make sure these plants will not cause any allergic reactions from your kid.

2. Starting seeds

Give your children the freedom to help you with the staring seeds. Some seeds might be too small for the tiny fingers, but their digits can be of help in covering them with dirt.

3. Home Gardening Memoir

To last the kids’ enthusiasm until the plants grow, make them create a home gardening journal. This activity will allow them to use their imagination to sketch on what the plants will be like and write down when they placed in the ground the seeds and when they first witnessed a sprout pushing up.

4. Make sure that the garden is somewhere very visible for the kids.

Before you start home gardening, pick a spot where the kids often play or walk by. Every time they see and pass by their garden, the more they will sight changes.

5. Dirt playing

Always remember that children are fond of playing with dirt or mud. They can help you ready the soil, even if what they are only doing is stomping on the clumps. To make home gardening with the kids more fun, you can provide them with kid-sized tools to make home gardening very engaging for them.

6. Your kids own the garden

A picture of each plant will enable the children to foresee what the flowers will look like. You can also put your child’s name on a placard, so everyone can see that it’s their garden.

7. Playing with the water

Playing with water is right up there with playing with dirt. Look for a small watering can that they can use to water their garden. You can show them how to let the water go right to the roots of the plants. Hoses want only trouble. They are simply formidable for little hands to control.

8. Kids commit mistakes

Adults, too, are sometimes impatient. Give the kids full control to their garden. If they create a mess, let it be, it’s their mess. Allow them to get pleasure from it and take dignity in their own piece of territory. Just don’t forget to tell them how to clean up that mess.

1. Watering
A watering can is a must-have in every garden. It is recommended that you purchase the one with a narrow spout to ensure adequate watering. But that does not always apply, so the finger test may come in handy. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If you feel that the soil is damp, don’t water it. Otherwise, do.

2. Feeding
With foliage plants, they always need to be high in nitrogen. For flowering plants, on the other hand, K2O is needed. Fertilizers such as the slow release ones can be mixed with the compost. However, some plants like cacti and orchids need special feeds. Feed plants on the height of their active growth.

3. Lighting
Plants like Sanseveria and Aspidistra require no shade. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Others need sun or no sun at all like cheeseplants.

4. Temperature
With houseplants, they can survive in temperatures a little bit higher than 15 – 250 C or 55 – 750 F. But drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them.

5. Humidity
Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. The compost will not dry out. Plants are capable of creating their own climate if grouped together. This tip can also be used for keeping the soil moist. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the day’s temperature.

6. Repotting
Other plants require repotting for optimum growth but some plants may not be suitable for this idea. They would not want their roots to be disturbed or other plants’ root system is small. One way to check if your plant needs repotting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then repot.

You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you’ll reap its benefits. You don’t only have a garden that can add to your house’s beauty you can also learn how to respect and nurture life in its varied forms.

Feed your plants weekly.  Nitrogen, the engine of plant growth, is water soluble and as you water your containers from the top the dissolved nitrogen is leaving from the bottom.   I use a fish-emulsion liquid feed with seaweed to provide all the trace nutrients my plants require and recommend it highly.  You can use any liquid plant food (like Miracle Grow or Shultz) to promote growth.  Compost tea is the Cadillac of liquid plant food and if you make your own compost tea, your plants will respond with bigger and better blooms as well as increased vigour.

And finally, no matter the size of the container, it is important to soak it all the way to the bottom at each watering.  Continue watering until water emerges from the pot bottom.  This ensures the roots can reach all parts of the container and grow properly.

There’s a new garden in town. It is (mostly) easy to install, looks good
year-round, requires almost no maintenance and has a terrifically upbeat impact
on the environment. No wonder rain gardens are such a great new gardening trend!

Storm water runoff can be a big problem in summer during heavy thunderstorms.
As the water rushes across roofs and driveways, it picks up oil and other
pollutants. Municipal storm water treatment plants often can’t handle the
deluge of water, and in many locations the untreated water ends up in natural
waterways. The EPA estimates as much as 70 percent of the pollution in our
streams, rivers, and lakes is carried there by storm water! By taking
responsibility for the rainwater that falls on your own roof and driveway, you’ll
be helping to protect our rivers, streams and lakes from stormwater pollution.

To reduce the excess water runoff, many towns are encouraging businesses and
homeowners to install rain gardens in their yards. Rain gardens are specially
constructed gardens located in low areas of a yard where storm water can collect.
The idea is to have the water naturally funnel to this garden. The rain garden
collects water runoff and stores and filters it until it can be slowly
absorbed by the soil. Rather than rushing off into a storm sewer or a local
waterway, the rainwater can collect in a garden where it will be naturally
filtered by plants and soil.

Installing a rain garden is easy.

You simply dig a shallow depression in your yard and plant it with native
grasses and wildflowers; things that are easy to grow and maintain in your area.

What makes a garden a rain garden? First, the garden will be designed with a low
spot in the middle to collect and absorb rain water and snow melt. This depression
can range from a few inches in a small garden, to an excavated trough that’s
several feet deep. Second, rain gardens are usually located where they’ll catch
the runoff from impermeable surfaces like sidewalks and driveways, or from gutters
and roof valleys. Third, rain gardens are usually planted with native wildflowers
and grasses that will thrive in tough growing conditions. Finally, rain gardens
are designed to channel heavy rains to another rain garden or to another part of
the garden.

Your rain garden should be located at least 10 feet from the house. The garden’s
size and location depends on the yard. The ideal situation would
be to locate the garden in a natural depression. You also can funnel water
from downspouts on gutters into the garden. The soil should be well drained
so the water doesn’t sit in the garden for more than two days. A special
“rain garden” soil mix of 50 to 60 percent sand, 20 to 30 percent topsoil,
and 20 to 30 percent compost is recommended. You can dig this mixture into
the soil to depth of 2 feet before planting.

Once you’ve identified the new garden’s location, remove the sod and dig a
shallow depression approximately 6-inches deep. Slope the sides gradually from the
outside edge to the deepest area. Use the soil that you remove to build up a
slightly raised area on the lowest side of the garden. This berm will help contain
the stormwater and allow it to percolate slowly through the rain garden.

If your rain garden is no more than about 6-inches deep, stormwater will usually
be absorbed within a one- to seven-day period. Because mosquitoes require seven
to 10 days to lay and hatch their eggs, this will help you avoid mosquito problems.

Your downspout or sump pump outlet should be directed toward your rain garden
depression. This can be accomplished by a natural slope, by digging a shallow
swale, or by piping the runoff directly to the garden through a buried 4″ diameter plastic drain tile.

Plant Selection.. The final touch.

The most difficult part of building a rain garden (if it can even be called that)
can be plant selection. Plants need to be tough enough to withstand periodic flooding,
yet attractive enough to look good in the garden. Deep-rooted, low-care native
plants, such as asters, and tough non-natives, such as daylilies, are best. If
properly designed, the rain garden can consist of a blend of attractive shrubs,
perennials, trees, and ground covers. Planting strips of grass around the
garden and using mulch also can help filter the water.

New plants should be watered every other day for the first two weeks or so.
Once they are well established, your garden should thrive without additional watering.
Fertilizers will not be necessary, and only minimal weeding will be needed after
the first summer of growth.

Egyptian gardens are the earliest of which definite records still exist. Pictures and inscriptions, dating far back into the centuries before Christ, show that most Egyptian dwellings were built around a series of courtyards containing vegetation both useful and ornamental. Originally, a row of trees along the inner wall of the building shaded it and the enclosed quadrangle. Later, the tree trunks gave place to solid columns, and the overhanging branches to projecting rafters, which resulted in a general effect foreshadowing the Greek peristyle (columned porch or colonnade) and monastic cloisters.

Religious significance was attached to almost every feature in pre-Christian gardens, and tree worship was observed in all ancient countries. Among the favorites were the pine, the emblem of Cybele, the oak of Jupiter, the laurel of Apollo, the myrtle of Venus, the poplar of Hercules, and the olive of Minerva. The cypress was also grown in many places. Yew, although common, was not much esteemed; instead, juniper and rosemary were often employed for topiary work. Box, too, was frequently clipped, and then, as now, considered the best shrub for edgings.

The rose, the lily, and the violet were among the most distinguished flowers of antiquity, but the narcissus, anemone, gladiolus, iris, poppy, amaranth, immortelle, verbena, periwinkle, and crocus were also cultivated and admired. Many flowerless plants like basil, sweet marjoram, and thyme were grown for their fragrance, while the acanthus was welcome on account of its beautiful foliage. Ivy covered the walls or was trained to form garlands between trees and columns.

1) Hyacinth! This highly fragrant flower is actually a member of the lily family. Lily’s tend to grow much larger than the hyacinth but if you look closely at this flower you will see that the clusters of these blooms are tubular in shape just like the lily. Hyacinths have been a popular garden flower since the 17 hundreds because of the brilliance of there color (of every shade) and because of the incredible fragrance they have. Whether you have them planted out doors or in a pot in your home, this beautiful flower will brighten up any space and give off a constant heavenly fragrance, but, it is not overpowering. I just can’t imagine a perfume that smells any better than this. And men, instead of giving her some fresh cut flowers, try giving her a hyacinth plant. It will last longer and she can replant it again next year if she wants to put it in a garden.

2) The most fragrant flowers are the pure white Casa Blanca and the dark pink Stargazer lily. They are absolutely beautiful, but beware; the fragrance they give off is so strong, that, one bouquet of lilies can fill up an entire room. Don’t place them where you are going to sit for any length of time unless, that is what you want. They don’t do well in direct sunlight or drafts so place them in a more diffused lit area. If you replace the water every couple of days and add flower food plus a new snip of the ends, you’ll have a long lasting, beautiful fragrant arrangement.

3) Tuber roses are not actually roses. Like the hyacinth, a tuber rose has a stem with clusters of flowers that are all white. Once again, the smell is fantastic. I once picked off one little petal from the cluster and put it in my car. A few hours later I return to my vehicle and was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it smelled. My children noticed it as well. It was the perfect natural air freshener.

4) Gardenias! These flowers that bloom on trees have a very short life after they are cut, but for the little time you have them in your home is worth it. Generally gardenias are made into a corsage for special occasions, but if you don’t want to do that, you can place the flower in a low dish of water and then just leave them alone to do their work.

5) There are some roses that have been bred for their fragrance such as the peach colored Oceana rose or the Sterling Silver rose (which is actually purple). Each of these have a light perfume to them. Any of the purple roses have a wonderful smell.

You can order any of these flowers from your local florist. If they don’t have them on hand you can ask them to order some for you. In most cases, if you place an order before noon, you should be able to pick them up later in the afternoon.

Rather than putting chemicals in the air, you may want to get some flowers now and again and enjoy nature’s perfume.

Enjoy!

The increased popularity of growing Bonsai trees and plants has brought with it many more specialist shops; the Internet being virtually awash with Bonsai supplies. As a beginner, it is usual for people to go out and buy everything they think they could possibly want to ever grow a Bonsai. However, there is a good chance you may not need it. You can buy Bonsai soil at very reasonable prices now, and this soil is mixed to a perfect combination of nutrients, soil and grit that will help your Bonsai grow, but many practitioners of the ancient art of Bonsai would probably consider this cheating.

As a beginner, it is important that you do what you can to make your first Bonsai as successful as possible. Many people will throw in the towel after just one failure, and when you consider how long a Bonsai can take to reach maturity this really isn’t an overnight hobby. You must get into a regime of regular watering, annual potting and plenty of care and attention in order to be able to enjoy a beautiful Bonsai for your troubles.

Is Bonsai soil expensive?

Bonsai soil shouldn’t be costing you very much more than normal potting compost or bags of nutrient rich soil that you use in your garden. A good Bonsai soil, however, may contain a long list of ingredients including clay, soil and even bark. Some of these ingredients are loaded with the nutrients that your Bonsai will thrive on, and paying that little extra can certainly promote good healthy growth from your beloved project.

Whether you decide you want to use bags of Bonsai soil or make your own soil there are certain things you need to make sure of before planting your Bonsai in the soil. A good Bonsai soil needs to have excellent drainage to make sure the water can seep to the roots and out of the bottom of the soil and through the holes in your pot. It is a good idea to have two different soils, one coarser than the other. This way, the screened soil acts as a sort of irrigation for your plants.

As well as this, you may want to consider buying nutrient supplements that you can add when repotting or mix with the soil that you use. However, if you are growing your Bonsai in a suitable area this isn’t always needed.