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Planning
Your Fall
Landscape
Project |
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The recent tax credits for
buying new homes were as successful in Wyobraska as
elsewhere around the country, and many first-time
Wyobraska homeowners are now facing the prospect of
undertaking their first do-it-yourself landscape
projects. The stormy weather around the region
this spring made it a difficult season for landscape
projects, but the fall landscape season is almost
here, and it is, of course, the best time of year
for projects that involve planting trees, shrubs,
and perennial flowers and ornamental grasses.
Gardening and yard work remains the number one hobby
in the United States, and many homeowners enjoy the
physical work of doing yard care and landscape work,
but it is also true that many homeowners feel
insecure about their knowledge of plants and
landscape work, and thus approach do-it-yourself
landscape projects with apprehension. Over the past
20 years I have had the opportunity to work with
many homeowners as they undertook do-it-yourself
landscape projects, and there seems to be several
keys to successful projects.
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Previous Articles
A
Loooooong Winter
March 10
Just Dirt
March 18
Horse Manure & Hot Air
March 25
Mulch
to do this Spring
April 01
Creating Long Term
Tree-lationships
April 15
Spring Blooming
Shrubs & Trees
April 22
New
and Improved
Nebraska Arbor Day
April 29
A
Normal Spring
May 6
The Winter of Eight Moons
May 13
Adding Style to your Landscape
May 20
Adding Style to you
Landscape Part 2
May 27
Summer School
June 3
Signature WyoBraska Plants
June 10
It's Time to Fertilize Trees
June 17
A Prairie Garden Walk
June 24
Care of Weather Injured Trees and Shrubs
July 1
What Makes a Good Perennial
July 8
2009
Articles
2008 Articles
2007 Articles
2006 Articles
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The first key is to start
small. Don’t try to redo your entire landscape at
one time. Successful do-it-yourself landscapers
tend to start with a small project, do it
successfully, and then use the knowledge and skills
they gained to take on other, often bigger, projects
in their landscape. Examples of good starter
projects are to redo the “foundation beds” or
landscaping around the front of your home. Another
easy project is to start a perennial or landscape
border in your back yard.
The second key to undertaking a
successful do-it-yourself landscape project is to
understand that the plants are only a small part of
it. A successful landscape project is usually going
to involve 6 steps. 1. Removing existing plants
and/or sod and establishing a proper grade (slope of
the soil) for the landscape bed. 2. Amending the
soil—sulfur, compost, and starter fertilizer are
essential soil amending ingredients. 3. Installing
appropriate edging if any of the bed edges are
adjacent to lawn areas. 4. Selecting and planting
the plants. 5. Installing appropriate
irrigation—generally some type of low-output
irrigation. 6. Mulching, preferably using a
shredded wood mulch and no plastic or weed barrier.
So when planning your first project, be aware that
buying plants and planting them is only one of
several steps. A good approach is to do steps 1-3
one weekend, and then do steps 4-6 another weekend.
The third key to successful
landscape projects in Wyobraska is plant selection.
Plant selection is to some degree, of course, a
matter of personal preference. But as a general
rule, do-it-yourselfers in Wyobraska may want to
work hard to avoid two types of highly promoted and
highly used landscape plants—small shrubs with
colored foliage and many of the traditional spring
flowering shrubs. The reason is simple—Wyobraska’s
soil’s and climate are not very friendly to small
shrubs or to spring-flowering shrubs. Small shrubs
often have thin stems which dry out in our long
winter season causing their appearance to decline in
just a few years. And spring flowering shrubs often
find that their blooms are greeted with a late
spring freeze or snowstorm—leaving the homeowner
waiting for another full year to see their prize
plant at its best.
Instead, try to select plants
which bloom or are at their best in mid-late summer,
or which are attractive in winter. That list
includes ornamental grasses, summer-flowering
shrubs, summer and fall blooming perennials, large
deciduous shrubs, and evergreen shrubs and trees.
Mix and match these types of plants, and you’ll
likely be pleased with the results. A good rule
of thumb for landscape plant selection is the Rule
of Thirds—use 1/3 evergreen trees or shrubs, 1/3
deciduous trees and shrubs (medium to tall shrubs
especially) and 1/3 perennials and ornamental
grasses.
Finally, a word or two about
maintaining your do-it-yourself landscape project.
“Low maintenance” is the popular request for
landscape projects. Homeowners want an attractive
landscape, but they don’t want to be a slave to it.
They want a little yard work, but not a lot. I like
to tell homeowners that the key to a low maintenance
landscape is doing a good job of installing it. The
soil amending helps plants to be healthy and
fast-growing—virtually eliminating any problems with
insects or diseases. Drip or other low-output
irrigation takes care of the watering. And mulch
eliminates any weed problems. Presto—a low
maintenance landscape.
An example of a project to
avoid is to try to get something to grow in that one
spot in your landscape where nothing seems to want
to grow. These spots are often in out-of-the-way
places like along the south side of the home or back
by the air-conditioning unit. These are good
projects to put off until you have a little more
landscape knowledge and experience.
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