Fall is the best time for setting out roses, but you can plant in spring. When they arrive from the nursery, plant at once. If they have dried en route, soak the roots and put the tops in a bucket of water before planting. Trim back any roots that are weak, long or broken at this time.

Dig a hole that is wide enough to allow the roots to spread without crowding. The rose is properly placed when the bud (the point where the top joins the roots) is just under the ground surface. Space hybrid teas about 18 inches apart in any direction. Prune the branches 6 to 10 inches from the soil.

To grow good roses it is necessary to cultivate, to prune and to spray. If you have a well cultivated bed you need not worry about watering. But if you start to water in hot weather, you must keep it up, soaking the roots thoroughly about once a week.  Spraying every 10 days guards against the diseases and insects that attack roses.

Winterize your roses by mounding sod around them after the first frost, or mulch with straw and evergreens. In cold parts of the country, remove the supports from the climbing roses and place the canes on the ground, peg them, and cover with soil mounds.

In spring, cut back your roses to within 6 inches of the ground. Ruthlessly lop off all but three or four canes on hybrid teas.  This pruning will give you strong plants. When your plants grow out from spring pruning, you will have to disbud, cutting off all the buds except the top ones on the cane. This is the way to grow large blossoms.

Front Yard Landscaping

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Think On Different Levels

When landscaping a small area, think not only horizontally, but also vertically.  You may not be able to go out, but you may be able to go up using an arbor, or hanging plants or raised beds to get different levels working visually and functionally.

You can also use containers to achieve different levels, with the added benefit that they can easily be moved around if necessary to accommodate your use of the area.  Containers are available in many shapes and sizes from very small to very large.

Coloring Small Landscaping Areas

Color can actually make your small landscaping area look larger than it really is.  By using colors that are in the cooler spectrum (like blues and purples) you can actually make an area look bigger.  There are many plants that you can use to get these colors.  Then use the hotter colors for accent.

Small Landscaping Plants

There are many dwarf varieties of landscape plants that look just like their larger cousins, but take up less space.  By using varieties that are specifically designed to grow smaller or slower you can get the affect of a large plant without taking up a lot of space.

Small Water Features

Just because you have a small landscaping area doesn’t mean you have to give up on having a pond or waterfall.  It just means it is going to have to be moderate in size and frankly that means it will require less maintenance and will cost less.  There are fountains and ponds available in many different sizes so try to find one that is proportional to your landscaping area.

Make Use of Lost Areas

With a small landscaping area to work with you need to make the most of every inch.  In most yards there are lost areas such as corners or sloped areas that generally get ignored or covered up.  Instead, make the most of these area by adding features that will enhance them or by changing the terrain to make it more useable.  You could terrace a sloped area to make it more usable or put a small waterfall in a corner to make the most of the available space.

When it comes to designing small landscaping areas the only real limit is your imagination.  You can do many of the things you can in a big yard; you just have to do it a little more creatively.

Visit our other posts to learn more about working with small landscaping.

Technorati Tags: Front Yard Landscaping, Small Landscaping