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Garden Planner – Herbs are much healthier than salt!

Posted by admin on January 26, 2012

To prepare a garden planner you have to think about what you actually want in your garden. If you are going to grow herbs then the garden planner has to start with deciding where the best location is in the garden to plant the herbs. This will depend on the soil moisture content and the strengths of the sunlight.

If your garden planner includes growing herbs then you would need to locate the sunniest spots as most herbs thrive of sunshine. The best way to locate the sunniest spots in your garden is to walk around it at about midday. Obviously if the ideal spot was near your kitchen this would be very handy for the garden planner that is going to use the fresh herbs for everyday cooking.

Herbs will not thrive if they are planted in a low spot where the water will not drain away fast; they prefer soil that is drained efficiently. The recommended hours of sunlight needed each day for most herbs is six hours.

Most types of herbs require similar growing conditions so once you have determined the ideal location it is relatively easy to care for them if you have prepared the soil for planting. Make sure you fertilize the soil a few days before you plant your herbs. The ideal time to plant your herbs is in the spring when the winter frost has gone.

Don’t forget to mark in your garden planner that herbs need about a one inch of water a week but a little more when the weather is really hot.

Garden Designer – Knowledge, Vision and Passion

Posted by admin on January 26, 2012

What is a good garden designer? A garden designer is someone that is inspired to create a garden with knowledge, vision and passion. A garden designer will listen to the client and take on board what they are expecting and then a trained garden designer will have to use a vast amount of knowledge and vision to create the clients wishes.

If a client wants specific plants, flowers, shrubs etc… the garden designer will have know which plants will grow and where. Then a good garden designer will have the vision to simulate the client’s wishes if a particular plant they wanted would just not survive in their garden.

So, knowledge and vision are two of the main qualities that make a good garden designer. Then there is the passion! In any trade or craft that involves creating something whether it is from a blank space or a redesign, there has got to be the passion. The passion to create a garden that is beautiful and stunning to look at.

A good garden designer wants to create a garden that will grow, develop and mature over the coming years. Employing a professional garden designer can also enhance the value of your property. A garden designer will often say that your garden should be treated as another room in your house with your own personality marking it.

A garden designer could transform your existing garden by changing the entire layout and add features to update the over all look.

Garden Design – What is a vertical garden?

Posted by admin on January 26, 2012

A vertical garden design basically means that every thing grows on a vertical surface whether it is on an existing building or a structure designed specifically for the vertical garden design.

There is a system in vertical garden design often referred to in the industry as greenwall or mur vegetal. This is where stainless steel wire or trellis work is used for growing vines and espaliered trees and shrubs, or a hydroponic system which is more complex and involves growing plants using mineral water and no soil.

Vertical garden design can also feature several reticulated vessels using a conventional watering system, or using waterproofed walls with felt pockets and the more elaborate hydroponic system.

There are of course different styles of vertical garden design and they especially suit the small residential, city garden. The vertical garden design can often benefit visually from a sculptural feature or you can have the sculptural as a means of providing vegetables or fruit.

The more elaborate garden design to feature as an inspiration point in a vertical garden would be to have an architectural shape made from succulent plants (or fat plants as they are known to retain water and can adapt to arid climates and soil conditions). Some succulent plants can survive and thrive on no water.

For your vertical garden design you must make sure that the wall or walls that you will be using must be structurally safe as it will need to support the extra weight pressure.

Garden Landscaping – garden landscaping without grass.

Posted by admin on January 24, 2012

There are many property owners that believe in using all the different tradesmen with the necessary skills in plumbing, electricians, carpenters etc… but when it comes to garden landscaping many people are under the illusion that because it doesn’t require the technical skills its an ‘unskilled’ trade.

Garden landscaping is very much skilled trade and once all the planning and hard work is done, yes we can maintain our professionally landscaped gardens by mowing the lawn and weeding the flower beds. However, without the skills of professional garden landscaping our gardens would definitely not be such an easy DIY task.

It is commonly believed by many homeowners that garden landscaping should include a lawn. Again this is not necessarily a fact as garden landscaping can just as beautiful by creating a grassless garden. Garden landscaping can include a combination of rocks, natural or rubber mulch, ornamental grasses, flowers, trees and shrubs making your garden look interesting and the envy of your neighbours.

The time we spend every week during the summer months mowing the lawn, and not to mention the cost if you want to keep it in pristine condition, is far outweighed by the benefits of a grassless garden landscaping design.

Once you have instructed a professional garden landscaping company to plan and design your grassless garden you won’t be worrying about the commitment of having to mow the lawn every week and debating over whose turn it is to do so. Traditional lawns in garden landscaping are said to be requested by home owners less and less nowadays