Posted by gzfreezeadmin on April 18, 2010 · Leave a Comment
About Goodway Landscape : Goodway Landscape will meet with you during the design process to ensure that you are comfortable with the direction the design is going in. We will meet with you once more before the design is finalized and provide you with an estimated cost. While the design doesn’t typically change much at this point, we can determine how much of the project will be installed during the first phase. Because financial considerations are given at the outset, Goodway Landscape is often able to accommodate your budget and therefore install the design in one phase. For every pest in nature there is a predator bug that will leave the plant alone while dining on the bad bugs. These are called beneficials and include ladybugs, praying mantis and lacewings. Protecting beneficials takes advantage of nature’s control mechanisms. Chemical pesticides kill both pests and beneficials, which leads to pest population explosions once the predators are gone. The new approach to pest control is through least toxic measures designed to protect beneficials while controlling pests.
To lower pH, ferrous sulfate and aluminum sulfate are often recommended. Ferrous sulfate, which also adds iron to the soil, is of the most help to plants that show yellow leaves as well as overall poor health. You’ll also lower the pH of alkaline soil over time by regularly applying organic amendments such as compost. * You may have noticed that soluble fertilizers – like the liquid mixes – must be applied every week or two. The reason is that plants are only able to utilize seven or eight percent of the nutrients per application. So they need to be reapplied quite frequently which can be costly and tedious. Conversely, organic and natural fertilizers only need to be applied a couple times a year, because as they break down, they continue to feed the roots. Goodway Landscape News Most projects begin with tearing out the existing landscape unless there’s already nothing there. Be sure to let your design consultant know if there are any items you wish to remain so that we can incorporate it into your design. Before the tear out takes place we ask you to tie bright colored ribbons or tape on the plants that are going to stay. Plant more trees. Many newer neighborhoods in this country just don’t have enough trees. Recent suburbs and developments are built on former farm fields with no trees. If possible, homeowners should plant trees. Trees, just like all plants, breathe oxygen back in to the atmosphere. They create shade which can cut air-conditioning costs for your home and they add all-season beauty. Goodway Landscape Caring for a pond takes less effort than maintaining a lawn. The ecosystem you have helped to create by having Goodway Landscape install an Aquascape™ pond does most of the work for you. So aside from stepping out of the way and allowing nature to take its course, there are a few basic things you need to know. Purchases to Make and Tools You Need * Mail in your warranty card for your Aquascape™ pump that came with your pond. * Purchase a digital thermometer for your pond. * Pond and waterfall lights won’t last forever. Simply remove the bulbs and take them to your local hardware store. Easy to replace! * Aquatic plants are necessary for taking up sludge and excess nutrients. Goodway Landscape installs plants for 90 percent of our customers; however, many of you enjoy adding plants after we have gone, as well you should. When adding plants take them out of their containers. * Algea are a natural part of any ecosystem and should never be thought of as something you want to completely do away with. however, string algea is best taken care of with a product call Algae Fix® . (Coming soon to our Products page.) * Pond Salt only gets added once per pond filling and is optional. Add 1 cup of Pond Salt for every 100 gallons of pond water for healthier fish. Using more than this application will hurt your plants and is not recommended. Less is more, in this case. A good formula for figuring out pond gallons: Length x Width x Despth x 7.48 = Gallons. (Example: for an 11′ x 16′ pond the formula would be: 11 x 16 x 2 x 7.48 = 2,633 gallons or 25 cups of Pond Salt.) * Test your pond water with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test Kit. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals sells a kit that provides a chart for aquarium solition / PH Balance / Pond Salt for Ponds with plants.
Filed under Landscaping · Tagged with Alkaline Soil, Aluminum Sulfate, Bad Bugs, Chemical Pesticides, Compost, Control Mechanisms, Couple Times, Design, Ferrous Sulfate, Financial Considerations, Finish, From, Goodway, Ladybugs, Landscape, Natural Fertilizers, New Approach, Organic Amendments, Pest Population, Pests, Poor Health, Population Explosions, Praying Mantis, Soluble Fertilizers, Yellow Leaves
Posted by gzfreezeadmin on April 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Create a beautiful backyard landscape that will attract birds, butterflies and wildlife. It’s really not that hard and you can make it manageable by breaking the landscaping plan down into sections.
Here are 10 steps that will help you create your own backyard haven.
1) Develop a landscaping plan
Look over your backyard. Where is the area you will most likely be sitting and viewing the backyard? What is the focal point of the landscape? If you are adding a water feature, you will probably want to make that the focus and develop your plan with that in mind.
Don’t rush through this phase. It’s important to have an idea what you are trying to accomplish, but it’s also important to be flexible enough to make changes to the plan along the way.
2) Plan what features you want in your backyard
This goes hand in hand with developing your landscape plan. Some features you might consider are the sound of running water, colorful plants, easy to maintain plants, a gazebo, a section for the kids to play, etc.
3) Break down the plan into sections
Don’t try to accomplish everything in one year. Break your yard down into manageable sections and begin working on section 1. A pond and stream or waterfall, if you are adding this, will be your starting point. Do this section first. Remember though, you can and most likely will make changes to each section throughout the years, so don’t get too concerned about the final output. The important thing is to get started.
4) When you begin to do planting, till the area thoroughly.
Remove the grass as much as possible, then till the area thoroughly. Mix in compost, maybe some sand, and whatever your local flower shop might recommend to make the soil rich. The richer the soil, the better your plants will grow, and the less weeding and maintenance you will have.
5) Plant according to height.
Taller plants need to go at the back of each section. Low plants and flowers should be at the front. It would be a shame to have beautiful flowers in your garden that you can’t see. This seems rather basic but surprisingly, it’s often overlooked.
6) Know the best time to plant your plants.
Read the instructions that come with the plants thoroughly. Trees are usually best planted in the fall so they can develop a solid root system before the heat and humidity arrive in the sumer months. Most bulbs are also best planted in the fall and grow in the spring. Many plants need to be planted after the chance of frost is over. Mother’s Day or Memorial Day are favorite planting weekends, depending on when the frost danger passes in your area.
7)When choosing plants, look for sun requirement.
Some flowers need full sun for most of the day. Some need partial sun and others grow best in shady areas. Don’t overlook this. Know the section you are working on and how much sun you generally have on that area and buy accordingly. 
Different flowers bloom at different times of the year so plan accordingly. Try as much as possible to have flowers in each section that will be blooming throughout the summer months. Many plants bloom in the spring, some from June to July, some only in August; they vary greatly. There are some that bloom from early summer to early fall and, if possible, it’s nice to mix some of these into each section. Having said that, there may be a section where you have bulbs planted that only bloom in the spring. No problem if you plan for this. It is important to keep this in mind, however.
9) Pansies for the winter months.
Consider planting pansies so you can continue to have colorful flowers even throughout the winter months. They thrive in cool weather and will grow throughout the winter with proper care. Plant them in the area where your spring blooming plants are planted. Plant the spring bulbs first, then the pansies above them. The spring flowers will grow right through the pansies and add a very rich colorful area.
10) Don’t neglect watering your plants.
The morning is the best time to day to water your plants. The water absorbs into the ground without evaporating. Avoid watering at night as foliage will stay wet all night long, which can lead to disease. Avoid watering during the middle of the day as water droplets sitting on a plant’s leaves acts like a magnifying glass and can burn the leaves of your plants in the sun.
Follow these steps and you can have a beautiful backyard landscape that will attract birds and butterflies and wildlife. A place where you can get away from it all.
Filed under Landscaping · Tagged with Backyard, Backyard Landscape, Beautiful, Birds, Butterflies, Colorful Plants, Compost, Creating, Flower Shop, Flowers, Focal Point, Grass, Landscape, Landscape Plan, Manageable Sections, Own Backyard, Running Water, Section 1, Shame, Soil, steps, T Rush, Water Feature, Waterfall, Weeding
