Front Yard Landscaping

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American Beech   

Beautiful tree with edible nut. Long-lived and relatively free from insect and fungal diseases. For accent planting. May be clipped, as hedge, for formal settings

American Elm   

Very  tall,  with  attractive  vase  form.  Early bloom. Excellent for shade but widely disappearing because of Dutch elm disease,  (pulvem necrosis)

American Linden   

Tall tree. Provides dense shade. Has fragrant yellowish flowers. Prefers a moderately moist soil.

Chinese Elm   

Medium height. Small dense foliage. A rapid grower, excellent for screening or windbreak. A   wide spreading   tree   with   slender  limbs. Makes good shade in five years.

Hackberry

Usually a small tree, but with a wide spread. Has cherry-like fruit lasting late in winter. Survives drought, hardy in the cities.

Moraine Locust   

Majestic tree. Hardy to cold. Survives drought and flooding, smoke and soot. Lawns flourish under it since it is late in leafing, has no seeds to clutter lawn. Fast growing.

Norway Maple

Trees of medium height. Most widely planted street and lawn tree.  Dense  growth.  Symmetrical. Orderly habits—free of insects and disease. Leaves turn bright yellow in fall.

Pin Oak   

Remove lower branches if used for lawn tree. Least threatened by disease of all shade trees. Not good in alkali soil. Makes good windbreak. Symmetrical  and  pyramidal  in  shape with clean, glossy leaves. Turns scarlet in fall.

Red Oak   

Rapid-growing tree with rounded head. A large tree appropriate for large lawns. Has glossy, deep-cut green foliage, which turns deep red in fall.

Silver Maple   

Most rapid growing of all maples. A large spreading tree. Well-cut leaf with a silvery cast and silvery bark. Good sap for sugar making. Early blooming.

Sugar Maple   

Grows well in any soil. Ideal for street planting as it grows straight and tall and gives good shade. Turns beautiful orange and scarlet in the fall. Source of maple sugar.

White Clump Birch   

In natural setting or as lawn specimen, this multiple-stemmed tree is effective. White bark. Upright growth with horizontal branches.

Technorati Tags: Front Yard Landscaping, landscaping trees, shade trees

When planting trees, the mature height of the tree and it’s eventual spread should be considered before making a selection.  Tempting as the nursery catalogs are, choose carefully because crowding spoils the growth and appearance of trees, particularly if they are specimen trees.

In general, it is the wisest and most economical choice to plant young trees. Planting a mature tree is difficult and, if you have it done professionally is can be a bit pricy. It certainly can transform a landscape overnight though, if you can afford it.  And if a mature tree is needed for a terrace or screening, it may well justify the expense.

Today you can plant trees when in full leaf with the aid of new wilt-proof sprays that seal the leaves against moisture loss until the roots are established. This, however, costs money and entails greater risks than buying your tree and planting it in early spring (the best time) or late fall.

If you are planting a tree over 6 feet tall, it will suffer less setback if moved with a bur-lapped root ball or in a plastic pot.

Since the root system must have fertile soil when it is planted, special steps must be taken. Dig a hole two feet deeper and at least one foot wider each way than the full spread of the roots. The bottom of the hole should be broken up with a pitchfork and thoroughly mixed with peat, leaf mold, loam, etc.

Manure should be used sparingly and only on the top of the hole as it burns the roots. The deeper you can cultivate your hole, the better for your tree. Once it is planted, you can cultivate around it but not under the roots. If you strike a subsoil of building rubble or clay, which you are very apt to find anywhere near a house and in which a tree cannot grow, this subsoil must be removed and good soil, or better still, garden humus, should be substituted for it.

If you are planting a seedling that is not balled and burlapped, you will want to protect it by “heeling in” a vacant planting bed where it may be kept before planting as long as dormant.

This means laying it on its side and covering the roots with good soil. When you take it from the soil, give it a mud bath or “puddle” it.  Puddling protects the roots from exposure to air before planting and also from any air pockets which may exist after planting. Having filled the hole to the depth required by the roots of the plant, flood it with water to settle the soil at the bottom; when this has drained away, place the tree in the position in which it is to grow and settle the soil around it.

Use a stick or shovel handle to work the soil around the roots, and make certain there are no air pockets. Spread the roots out naturally, planting the tree at about the same depth as in the nursery or its former location. When the hole is two-thirds full, trample it down and again fill with water. Don’t firm down the remaining soil, so that the water will drain towards the trunk.

A balled-and-burlapped tree is one dug with a solid ball of rich, heavy loam in which it has been growing in the nursery for years, its root system thus amply covered and protected. The ball is firmed and held in place by a secure covering of twine and burlap. To plant it, set the tree in a hole a trifle lower than it stood in the nursery. Work the soil beneath this depth, as directed above. Dig the hole about twice the size of your ball and plant at once.

If the ground is dry at planting time, fill the hole with water and let it soak away before planting. Cut the burlap at the top when you put the ball in place, rolling it back 3 or 4 inches. Plant ball, burlap and all—the burlap will soon rot away.

After the tree is planted, cutting back is proper. Cut back sharply at least one-third, pruning the branches. It is necessary to brace the tree with wire ropes so that the roots will not be broken by the wind. Use a single wire around the trunk and three guy wires.

For the first year after planting, the more cultivation the better.
 
Keep weeds away, too, with straw or mulch, and strawy manure mulch in the spring and fall will help keep the moisture in the ground.

Technorati Tags: Front Yard Landscaping, Outdoor Landscaping, planting trees

The Basics of Building a Landscaping Wall

If you are building a landscaping wall for retaining purposes in needs to be strong enough to hold back the necessary weight, yet porous enough to allow for drainage.  A stone landscaping wall is probably the most popular choice.

There are two basic types of stone landscaping wall: the dry type, which uses soil to fill the area between the stones, and the mortar type, which uses cement mortar to hold the stones together.

Landscaping Wall Foundations

The foundation of a landscaping wall used for retaining needs to reach below the frost line. Check to find out how deep this is in your area.  A flat wall without buttresses or projections should have a width at the base equal to 1/4th the height of the landscaping wall.  As the wall rises it can taper down to a width about 1/4th the width of the base.

Dry Landscaping Walls

The cheapest way to build a dry stone landscaping wall is to use local stone, using large stones for the main building blocks and smaller stones for the chinks in between the large stones. The very biggest stones should be sorted to use in building the base of the landscaping wall with the medium and smaller stones being using at the top.  If the wall is porous enough you can get away without providing for drainage pipe

The face of the wall should be as flat as possible.  Round stones do not work well for building walls and should not be used.  Stones on one course should overlap the spaces in the lower course.  If a stone does not fit well, earth or smaller stones should be used to stabilize it.

The landscaping wall will be stronger if it slopes back against the area to be retained.  It is common practice in many areas to slope the wall as much as 5-6 inches for each foot of rise.  As the wall rises soil should be packed into any air pockets in the wall and behind the wall.

A landscaping wall can also be used as a wall garden.  This will make it more beautiful and in many cases will also make it stronger because of the plants root systems.  There are many green plants and flowers that will work well for this purpose.  Check with your local nursery.

Mortared Landscaping Walls

Mortared landscaping walls are more permanent and actually easier to build than dry walls. The mortar holds the stones together so it is not as important to make the stones match.  A mixture of 1 part Portland cement to 2 parts sand makes for a good mortar.

Apply mortar liberally to create a bed for each stone that is added.  Areas between stones should be well filled with gravel or smaller stones.

Tight dry walls and any walls using mortar require drainage pipes.  Imbed the drainage pipes around six inches from the lower ground level of the wall at approximately two foot intervals.

Whether a dry wall, or masonry, the top of the wall needs protection. This can be accomplished using broad, flat stones (such as slate) as capstones for your landscaping wall. 

Technorati Tags: Front Yard Landscaping, landscaping wall, Outdoor Landscaping

There is a long list of landscaping shrubs that can be used in the home landscape.  Some species are new and unusual, while others are tried and true. The main types of landscaping shrubs are evergreen and deciduous.

Evergreen Landscaping Shrubs

At the top of the evergreen list of over 600 species are rhododendron and azaleas.  These ornamental plants are hardy and long-lived.  They have flowers of all shapes, colors and sizes.  The most popular are the Pink Parl, Rhododendron Maximum, Boule de neige, Abraham Lincoln, Lady Armstrong, Everestianum and Caractacus.  Rhododendrons don’t like soil high in lime, and should be protected from winter-burn with lots of humus.

Azaleas like the same conditions as rhododendrons, meaning, partial shade – may also be used for foundation planting; they do well in thin woodlands.

Boxwood has been one of the well-loved landscaping shrubs for generations where winters are not to severe. It can be pruned to make formal rounded shapes.  Unpruned they can grow as high as 20 feet.  It is used as a landscaping shrub for paths and walks.

Euonymus Patens is another of the popular evergreen landscaping shrubs that is hardy. It has glossy green leaves and red berries. Japanese holly, or inkberry, is also popular. Laurel is another of the familiar evergreen landscaping shrubs, used for foundation planting. American mountain laurel has clusters of pink flowers in spring.

Deciduous Landscaping Shrubs

Lilac is probably one of the most liked among the deciduous landscaping shrubs.  Lilac must be grafted either on its own stock or on privet stock. Plant lilac as early in the spring as the soil can be worked.  The common lilac, which has light purple flowers and grows to about 10 feet high, is the best known, but there are several hundred varieties, in white, pinkish-lilac, reddish-lilac and bluish-lilac.

Buddleia, the butterfly bush, grows to 16 feet or more if not killed back by winter damage, and gets its name from the fact that in the summer, butterflies are always seen around it. The buddleia takes many forms: a small-leaved landscaping shrub with small purple flowers; as fascinating a cattleya-pink bush; as flaming violet, a brilliant purple, and as white profusion, a dwarf variety with pure white flowers. Also the Empire blue shrub, the dubonnet, the red glory and white cloud.

Flowering quince (Cydonia) has rose-like flowers and a scarlet bloom in spring. Japanese quince grows to 6 feet; has orange-scarlet flowers.

Deutzia is one of the more easily grown landscaping shrubs, pleasing for the many small flowers it bears in the spring.  Types include the 2- to 3-foot pink deutzia, with its delicate flowers; the pride of Rochester, with large double white flowers, and Deutzia Lemoinei, which has large, pure white flowers.

Other deciduous landscaping shrubs are the dwarf buckeye, which blossoms in July with 12-inch spikes; the chokeberry bush, liked for its decorative fruit; broom, which grows in sandy places and blooms in June and July, and witch hazel, a shrub that grows to 20 feet and has spidery yellow flowers.

Forsythia is a welcome shrub because it needs little care; with its drooping sprays of yellow flowers, it is one of the more useful landscaping shrubs for softening the lines of walls.
 
Hibiscus blooms in August, a rarity, with flowers that are large and purple, or rose-pink or white. It grows to 12 feet if left unpruned. Hydrangea, another of the landscaping shrubs with large blossoms blooming in July and August, is a showy bush, with big blue globe-shaped clusters.

Honeysuckle bushes are landscaping shrubs that are useful for mass planting. Some varieties are especially enjoyable because they blossom in February and March.

Several spirea varieties are found to be useful as screen plantings, particularly because of their dense growth and abundant flowering. Anthony Waterer spirea is a 2-foot bush with white or rose-pink clusters.  Bridal wreath has profuse white clusters in May. Spirea Thunbergii also has white flowers, and Spirea Vanhouttei, 8 feet high with dense white flowers, is used as a living fence.

Viburnum (the popular snowball) is 10 to 12 feet high at maturity and is used for high foundation, screening and hedges. It has white snowball-shaped flowers and foliage turns crimson in fall.

Weigela is popular, too, in many varieties, including the variegated weigela, dwarf landscaping shrubs with rose flowers and variegated silvery leaf. There is also Weigela rosea, with rosy trumpet-shaped flowers, and the new brilliant cardinal landscaping shrubs.

Check out some of our other posts for more on landscaping shrubs.

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Planting and taking care of a landscaping plant or shrub is a little different then taking care of a tree.  For planting, early spring is usually the best time so that the landscaping plant can take advantage of a long growing season and get established before winter weather sets in. This may not be as important to a landscaping plant in more mild climates where transplanting can be done throughout the winter season.

The main cause a landscaping plant dies or grows poorly from transplantation is allowing the roots to get too dry during the process.  You can avoid letting the roots get too dry by digging a root ball with each landscaping plant and wrapping it in burlap and keeping it wet, or heeling it in, which simply means temporarily setting the landscaping plants in an area where the roots can be covered with dirt and kept moist.

If you get a landscaping plant from a nursery, be sure to water it immediately.  Other steps you can take to ease the process of transplantation for a landscaping plant are:

Provide some shade for the first little while.

Mulch the ground around the landscaping plant to help keep it from drying out.

Prune the landscaping plant back significantly (the older the plant, the more it should be cut back).

Although there are some landscaping plants that can be moved while they are in flower (Forsythia & Azalea for example) most landscaping plants should not be transplanted while in flower.
 
Another important step to help each landscape plant survive during the winter months is to water them deeply in the fall so that they have a source of moisture when the top of the ground freezes.

Pruning a landscape plant helps keep it more vigorous as it gets older.  That doesn’t mean just cutting off all the branches at the same length by topping the plant.  Pruning means cutting out the older branches and any damaged branches.  In early spring cut out any branches that have been damaged by winter-kill. 

Not all landscaping plants need pruning every year, but it is a good idea to check each landscaping plant to make sure that it is healthy and is not growing out of control.

Read our other posts to learn more about transplanting and maintaining a landscaping plant.

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When deciding on different garden landscape designs for your home you will want to include certain features and you will want to make sure that any garden landscape designs you decide on will include some basic fundamental elements of a good landscape design. 

Fundamental Elements of Garden Landscape Designs

Garden landscape designs should normally includes healthy shade trees and decorative trees, paths or walkways to provide access throughout the landscape for heavy traffic areas to avoid damaging lawns or garden beds and well prepared and planted lawn beds that will provide for a strong healthy lawn that can withstand any environmental challenges or abuse.

A healthy lawn is one of the most neglected elements when it comes to garden landscape designs.  The soil is the most important factor in determining the quality of a lawn and should be given a lot of attention to make sure that you are building your lawn on a good foundation.  Make sure the soil is rich and well draining with lots of loam.  If necessary, plan on bringing in good top soil or soil supplements when preparing your garden landscape designs.

Flower gardens also benefit from having trees to provide limited shade for shade-loving plants and to protect other plants from the full force of the elements.  Again, soil preparation is important when planning your garden landscape designs and the soil quality should be good for several feet under the proposed tree.  It may be worth your while to dig this area out to make sure there are not problems such as buried refuse or heavy rocks that would make it difficult for a tree to thrive.  Many people have spent years on a tree only to find it just won’t grow and progress in a area because of the poor quality of the ground underneath.

Service areas are another important element of garden landscape designs.  The easier and more convenient it is for you to carry out certain tasks in the garden the better chances are that you will do them and not become discouraged or overwhelmed by the work.  Garden landscape designs should be developed that reduce the amount of effort and maintenance that is required and that make the jobs easier because of the layout.  If you have service areas that allow you to keep tools handy and in good condition and that give you places to store landscape materials and supplies it will make everything easier to maintain and will provide a more fulfilling experience for you.

Outdoor living areas are another important element in and garden landscape designs.  This may include play areas, dining areas, entertainment areas, secluded meditation areas or relaxation areas such as a place for a hot tub or outdoor spa.  By including these types of elements in your garden landscape designs you can expand the living area of your home into the outdoors and make for a more elegant and pleasing property overall.

Read some of our other posts for more information and ideas about garden landscape designs.

Technorati Tags: Front Yard Landscaping, garden landscape designs, Outdoor Landscaping

As housing costs continue to rise, patio landscaping creating outdoor living areas is becoming a cost effective way to add living space to a home.

Rooms can be made to look larger by extending them into the landscaping.  This approach can be accomplished by making use of the same materials inside and out where appropriate and/or using glass walls to help join the interior together with the patio landscaping.

The roof line could easily be extended from the house or an add on roof could be built against the exterior of the house.

Patio landscaping elements such as vines, lattices, shrubs, fences, walls, shade trees, wild grasses and flowers can all be used to make a terrace a nice little hide out for relaxing or a wonderful place to entertain that is sheltered from the noises of the street or neighbors.  

Another useful patio landscaping accessory is a barbecue.  With an outdoor barbecue your patio landscaping quickly becomes an extra kitchen and a convenient location for outdoor dining.  Especially if counter space, table space and storage space for utensils and accessories are planned into the design.   The more convenient an outdoor kitchen is the more pleasure it will bring.

Your patio landscaping design should also include electric outlets.  This way, if you want some outdoor lighting, or nice background music you can easily power them without dragging extension cords from the house.

Your patio landscaping plan should also provide for children’s play areas and some kind of flooring material such as outdoor pavers, flagstone or cement to keep the grass from getting worn out. 

You should have easy access to your patio landscaping from the house via doors or pathways.   The easier it is to get to the more use it will get.

You can blend your patio landscaping with the rest of your yard with potted flowers and vines, baskets, retaining walls, dwarf trees and flowering shrubs.  You can also create more visual interest using changes of level; raising flower beds around trees, steps and walls.

Visit our other posts to learn more about patio landscaping.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Landscape, patio landscaping

Although the front yard landscaping is certainly important homeowners would do well to spend just as much time on backyard landscaping ideas and planning.  The front yard is the show piece that frames the home and creates a good impression for visitors.  The backyard is typically used for service areas and for private family entertainment but often it gets neglected.  Spending a little time focusing on backyard landscaping ideas can solve this problem and enable you to get as much or more benefit from your back yard as you do from the front.

The backyard can be a great place for barbecues, neighborhood socials and family gatherings.  It can also be a place for play for the children and a place of peace and meditation for you.  Frankly if you will spend some time generating backyard landscaping ideas it can be anything you want.

Generating Backyard Landscaping Ideas

First, consider your own wants and needs. How much time to you have to spend in the backyard enjoying and how much time do you have to spend in the backyard caring for the landscaping?  If you enjoy gardening then you may want to plant varieties based on creating the most beautiful effect.  If you are crunched for time you will want to plant native varieties that require less maintenance. 

There is no limit to the backyard landscaping ideas people come up with but you have to do what is right for you.  Perhaps you just want a large area to play catch with the kids, or a couple of tree to hang a hammock on.  Maybe you want a secluded meditation garden or a gazebo with a hot tub or an outdoor kitchen and entertainment area for parties.

Recording Backyard Landscaping Ideas

As you come up with a list of backyard landscaping ideas allow your imagination to wander and don’t be afraid to dream a little.  Be sure to write them all down and be open to ideas that come to you at other times when you are not thinking about it or trying to generate backyard landscaping ideas.

Get input from your family and find out what their backyard landscaping ideas are.  If everybody has a chance to give their input and feels like they had a part in the idea and planning process they will be more excited about helping when it comes time to start working on the project.

Read some of our other posts for more backyard landscaping ideas.

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There are many features required to make a front yard landscape both functional and attractive.  Some of the main considerations in your front yard landscape planning and design may seem basic, and they are, but they also create the foundation for a front yard landscape that stands out as exemplary.
 
Primary Front Yard Landscape Features to Consider:

Front Lawn – Think of the front lawn as a canvas to paint on.  Although a healthy green lawn may not stand out to the casual onlooker, a brown unhealthy lawn will.  Creating a good lawn and keeping it healthy is an ongoing effort, not a one time job.

Trees – Trees are the crowning jewel in any landscape because they are such a long term investment.  Because they take so long to mature, trees should be planted as soon as possible unless you can afford to bring in a grown tree.  Don’t cheap out on trees either.  If you buy a low quality tree or don’t to a proper planting job for your front yard landscape and it dies, everyone will see it and you will have lost the years that you have put into it.

Front Yard Flowers – If planned properly you can have flowers blooming in your front yard landscape from early spring through the fall.  It does take some effort of course.  Some perennials will come up on their own without a lot of work, but to have color all year long will likely require planting some annuals now and then.

Planting Around Foundations – These plantings are the border between your home and your front yard landscape.  They should be designed to create a nice visual transition between the home and the front yard landscape.

Water Features – Fountains, ponds and waterfalls should be planned with care.  They can obviously add a lot to a front yard, but they may be safer in the back. Use discretion.

Driveways and Walkways – Although you may not have a lot of control over  the location and design of sidewalks or possibly even driveways, there are still a lot of choices of material that can make an important contribution to the overall appearance of your front yard landscape.  Different colors of concrete, brick pavers and outdoor tiles are only of few of the possible ways you can customize your front yard landscape.

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