The Right Shrub For The Job

A professional garden designer chooses landscape shrubs and bushes in a certain way, while an inexperienced home gardener chooses them in another. The novice tends to go for plants that he or she has seen and liked in parks, gardens, and nurseries. The landscape architect or garden designer on the other hand, while taking personal preference into account, works according to a set of principles, which unlike other aspects of design, can be readily applied by the average home gardener.

To think like a professional, do not at first have specific plants in mind, but rather distinguish between the various design functions that shrubs perform in the garden, and then choose those species that fit the design criteria you have established. It’s like a manager choosing from a list of candidates, the person or persons for a certain job in the company. Certainly, subjective factors play their part, but primarily, the hirer will be looking at the objective credentials of the candidates, such as qualifications and work experience. Here then are some of the “qualifications” that your “candidates”, i.e. your shrubs, should possess before including them in the garden.




Sheared Hedges

The role of a neatly trimmed, sheared hedge is to act either as a formal screen or as a background to some showy focal point. Not every shrub is suitable for the purpose. As a relatively formal garden element, the plant’s foliage should be neat, small, and of fine texture. Plants with large leaves and course texture, like Hibiscus for example look poor and ragged after the hedge trimmer has been at them. That is why “unspectacular” bushes such as Pistacia lentiscus or Myrtus communis make excellent trimmed hedges.

It is tempting to choose species that grow quickly, but this is not necessarily wise in the long run, as rampant plants, like Elaeagnus pungens, are more difficult to maintain on a regular basis. Undoubtedly, that is the reason why the “boring” Privet plants (Ligustrum sp.) are often the choice of the landscape professional.

Informal Screens

Shrubs that are grown as loose, informal screens are usually more suited to larger spaces as opposed to small backyard gardens. The plants can be larger, faster in growth, and have courser leaf texture, than those designated as trimmed hedges. As screens, they ought to be evergreen, and to recover well from pruning. Examples include species of Viburnum, Myoporum, Cocculus. Conifers, such as the large varieties of Juniper, are especially suitable, as they generally do not require pruning

Flowering Shrubs

A landscape bush that acts as a screen can also double up as a flowering shrub. It is worth distinguishing here between those such as Plumbago, that bloom almost continuously through the growing season, and others, like Grevillea and Callistemon, that have a brief, seasonal, flowering period. Strangely, the continual flowerers often produce negative reactions amongst homeowners, perhaps according to the principle that familiarity breeds contempt! They are best used in the farther reaches of large gardens, and perhaps avoided in small spaces. With regard to color, shrubs that sport decorative fruit should not be overlooked.

Sculptural and Emphasis Plants

I addition to screening and background functions; a number of shrubs are highly decorative as individual specimens, creating either a clear focal point or a subtle emphasis amongst a mass of “regular” plants. Yucca and Plumeria for instance, have definite sculptural qualities, while the colored foliage of purple-leaved plants creates a striking contrast. The key with such “special” plants is to use them as sparingly and carefully as possible. Nothing shows up the amateur more, than the sight of plants with purple, silver, or variegated leaves, dotted throughout the garden.   Source: http://www.greenthumbarticles.com/author/Jonathan-Yaakobi-a70.html

More info on shrub care.

Make Your Own Garden Fertilizer - Cheap & Easy

One of the keys to successful organic gardening is healthy soil. By feeding your soil with rich, homemade fertilizers before planting then you will be giving your plants the best chance of success, and encourage robust, vigorous growth. You will also be avoiding adding potentially dangerous chemicals to your soil, and saving money in the process! Organic garden fertilizer is easy to make and cheaper than commercial, chemical fertilizers as you can make it from waste you generate every day around your home.
Ideally you should feed your soil twice a year, particularly in areas where you grow vegetables or annual plants, which deplete the soil of nutrients more rapidly.


Animal based fertilizer
Animal based fertilizer can be made from animal manure that has been well rotted or decomposed. You can use horse, chicken, cow or sheep manure, and fertilizer made in this way will add structure and warmth to your soil.

Once the manure has rotted down and decomposed you can either dig directly into the soil, or use in a liquid form by pouring water through your fertilizer and collecting the runoff. However it's important to ensure your fertilizer is well combined with the soil for a least 3 weeks prior to planting, to ensure it is well integrated.
Plant based fertilizer
Plant based fertilizers are probably easier to make than animal based fertilizers as they use produce and scraps from around the home. Plant based fertilizers include home made compost, worm fertilizers and green manure.
Worm fertilizers are easily made using commercial worm farms which you can buy from your local garden centre, or online. This can be a great project if you have children and the resulting fertilizer and worm 'tea' is very beneficial for your garden. Weight for weight, worm fertilizer is five times more nutrient rich than the surrounding soil, and it requires very little effort on your part. Feed your worm farm with green waste from your home, and you can also include damp newspaper and other organic matter.
Growing "green manure" is very beneficial for your soil if you have the patience to wait for it to grow. Green manure is a nitrogen fixing crop such as clover or lupin that you grow in your soil, then cut and dig in. The decomposing matter feeds the soil as it breaks down, and the roots help to improve the soil structure.
Making your own compost
Organic compost is easy to make, satisfying and cost effective, and is one of the best ways to feed your soil organically. Compost is the result of green waste which has decomposed. It improves the soil by returning nutrients, helping to retain water, and improving the structure of the soil. It also helps soil aeration and drainage, allowing the soil to 'breathe'.
You can make compost in a commercially bought compost bin, or make your own bin from chicken wire or wood. (If using wood try to ensure it is untreated). Place your compost bin in a sheltered area, but not one that is shady or cool.

You can use a range of household green waste in your compost - vegetable scraps, egg shells, grass clippings and leaves are all ideal. It's also hand to add straw or hay every so often to help improve the structure. Do not, however, include grease, bones or meat scraps in your soil as they can attract vermin.
Try to keep your compost pile no more than 3 feet high, and turn it every couple of weeks to ensure good ventilation. Depending on your climate, you should have compost ready to use between 1 to 6 months after you begin.
When is it ready?
A question I'm often asked is, how do you know when your compost is ready? Compost that is ready for use is crumbly, and a dark, rich brown or black in color. It has a distinct, sweet smell when you crumble it in your hands.
Which brings us to one final point about compost piles - they should not smell. If you compost pile smells then something is not in balance; you may have too much water or not enough air in your pile. This can generally be fixed by forking over and mixing your compost.
By making your own range of organic fertilizers at home you not only save money, you know exactly what is going into your soil, and therefore into your plants. And what can be more satilfying than that?
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/make-your-own-organic-garden-fertilizer-easily-and-cheaply-3027332.html


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