The Basic Tools To Create a Beautiful Lawn
It’s only been just over a hundred fifty years since grass was cut with a hand scythe - if it was cut at all. That was about the extent of lawn care then. Now, there are a dozen tools - some hand, some power, that are considered essential for keeping that green carpet in shape.
A lawnmower is the most basic. It’s odd to think of a living organism as needing to be sliced to stay healthy, but as a professional gardener acquaintance once said ‘Grass likes to be cut’. To accomplish that, a good lawnmower is a necessity. Though among the more expensive items in the tool set, if maintained well it will last forever.
Keep the blade sharp, the spark plug clean and (if it has one) the air filter changed. Change the oil as you would on a car, every season.
Keeping the lawn neat is almost always a matter that can’t be completely carried out just by mowing, though. A trimmer or edger is needed. The two basic types are the old-fashioned two blade model with a long handle. Running the blade alongside patio bricks, steps and other edges keeps the lawn trim and looking good.
The other type is a powered whirling device that shoots a plastic string out a few inches. The string whacks off grass or other plants wherever you aim it. They’re lightweight, inexpensive and can last for years, though the coil of plastic string needs to be replaced every couple of months. At a cost of only a few dollars, it saves a lot of effort.
A spreader or two is vital for evenly laying out fertilizer, weed killer and other compounds that help keep the lawn weed free, healthy and looking great. One sort is like a small lawnmower with no blade, just a tub with small holes and a roller that dispense material. Easy to use and long-lasting, they’re adjustable for a variety of applications.
The second type of spreader is a hand-held unit, usually plastic with a rotary handle. They’re perfect for specialized applications of seed for patching small lawn areas, distributing dry fertilizer beads and so forth.
A rake is handy for more than just piling up leaves in the late fall. Though it’s important to use for that. Leaves left on the ground can cause grass to overheat or get too little water. In areas that get winter snow, at the end of the season the grass will be compressed into thatch.
Blades will overlay one another, preventing air from reaching the soil efficiently. De-thatching can be done with a power tool, but a simple hand rake is also effective.
A long fork or narrow blade, long-handled shovel spade is great for spot removal of weeds. The larger square or rounded shovel will also be needed though for post hole-digging, transferring soil and plants and a dozen other tasks around the yard.
Stock up on the basics, keep them in good shape and all your lawn care jobs will be easier. Well, easier than cutting with a scythe, that’s for sure.
Would you like to have the lawn that is the envy of your neighbors? Take a look at Lawn Care and discover how you can!
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Gardening In The Sun
Knowing which types of plant thrive best in shade or full sun is essential to a healthy garden. Most trees are very happy to soak up as much sunlight as is available. Cedars, pines, tamarack and many more all do very well. Fruit trees, especially citrus, can take 8 hours or more of full, hot sun every day for months and bloom like crazy. But, flowers vary.
‘Full sun’ means 6 or more hours per day of direct sunlight. Since it’s direct, any energy not taken by the atmosphere is delivered right to the plant. That means plenty of energy for photosynthesis, producing very green leaves and ample flowering - provided the plant doesn’t get so much light it burns and it has sufficient water.
Foxgloves, for example, do well in partial shade, but they also thrive very well in full sun. Their tall stalks will be lined with flowers when the soil is warm and they get adequate water. A completely different looking plant, yarrow, also does very well in full sun. Resembling a fern, with small white flowers, they can take as much sun as they can get.
Since there’s so much sun available in such areas, it’s important to keep the soil at an appropriate level of moisture and well fed. Plants need a certain amount of nitrogen and phosphorous, which they can not get sometimes from the poor soils found in many places around the country.
Keeping plants well supplied with nutrients, however, is easy even under very sunny conditions. For small, potted plants a small amount of liquid fertilizer is enough. How much depends on the plant and the pot, follow the directions. For moderate to large-sized gardens a few bags of inexpensive dry or moist fertilizer is a good idea.
Manure based fertilizer works well for large gardens. It typically comes in 30lb to 50lb bags, and can simply be shaken over the soil right out of the bag or from a dispenser. Keeping the ground moist, but not wet, at least every other day is important for most flowering plants.
Cacti, of course, and other drought tolerant plants can go long periods on very little water. Their unique structures allow them to retain moisture internally, with very little loss through the leaf, much better than irises or pansies or foxgloves and other common flowering plants.
Yarrow can tolerate low levels of water well, as does aloe and verbena. Several types of vine are very drought tolerant, thriving on lots of sun and little water. Bougainvillea and wisteria are two examples. Many shrubs get all the water they need from the soil, provided you don’t live in the desert or where it’s too rocky or sandy. Those types of soil don’t retain water efficiently, which can be an advantage in some circumstances.
Then, of course, citrus trees, walnuts, pines, tamarack and others will do very well in dry soil. Most people tend to overwater their orange trees, for example, especially those in big pots. Pick the right kind of plant for your soil and amount of sun and you’re well on your way to a beautiful landscape.
Do take a look at The Garden Care Centre where you will find advice on all aspects of Gardening and Landscaping
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Water gardens can blossom in pots
There is something magical about plants like water lily and lotus that grow and bloom in water. Valerie Quam, aquatic plants horticulturist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, recently reminded me that you don’t have to have a pond to enjoy these exotics. Instead, you can create a water garden in a pot that, depending on the size, features a collection of plants or one striking specimen like the dwarf lotus Nelumbo “Baby Doll” or the very small hardy water lily Nymphaea “Helvola,” with beautiful green-and-purple mottled foliage and pale yellow flowers. At the garden, Quam likes to group two to three pots together to create a bold statement. She prefers cylindrical or basket-shaped glazed pots, but terra cotta pots also work. Other options include plastic or wooden tubs (use untreated lumber, and don’t use redwood, which is toxic underwater). When Quam creates a water garden in a pot, she fills the container with sand (play sand is a good choice and contains less sediment than river sand) to bring the potted plants up to the appropriate level. In addition to lotus and hardy lilies, she combines plants like dwarf papyrus, Cyperus isocladus, and Japanese iris, Iris ensata. One unusual combination features Canna “Pretoria,” with variegated green-and-yellow foliage and bright orange flowers, and the Mexican petunia, Ruellia brittoniana, with blue flowers.
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