Summer is now here! By now you would have chosen, or
considered choosing a “Landscaper”. Consider bringing your
indoor living space outdoors this summer. Enjoy your patio, porch
or deck, barbequing & entertaining, or just even relaxing & taking
it a bit easy, enjoying the sunshine, and the extended hours of
daylight. Consider low maintenance gardening for 2010!

June is a great time of year to “Visualize” & “Create” new
gardens, or “Re-design” your current garden. Have you been
thinking of a “Garden Make Over” or a new “Landscape Design”?
Now is the time to plant. Your landscaper can be of great
assistance with your planning of trees, shrubs, bushes, roses,
ornamentals, annuals & perennials, for both sun & shade. Your
landscaper will explain how to prepare soil; it is not just digging it
and turning it over! Your gardener will even do the strenuous
work of planting if needed. Make sure you communicate with
your gardener, what plants you would like to see in your yard, and
what colors you prefer. Would you like a vegetable garden? Would
you like annuals or perennials in your garden? Would you care to
incorporate different grasses in your garden? Would you like
English Roses with a wonderful scent? Do you want T-Roses,
Climbing, Floribunda or Bush Roses? Would you be concerned
with ground cover? Would you like your garden beds to be “Low
Maintenance”, mounded with a bed of prepared soil, landscape
fabric & mulch?

You will add “Curb Appeal” to your homestead. Have your
Landscaper / Gardener suggest what would be required. Your
landscaper should be well versed in “Horticulture”. You can enjoy
your new gardens all summer, adding plants that bloom in fall.
You may be considering installation of AGL Artificial Grass, if
you have areas, that you can’t grow grass. If you don’t have time
to control weeds, fertilize, or even regular watering, consider
artificial grass. (Remember Watering Bans & Chemical Bans in
your area this year).

Late Spring & Early Summer is a good time to “Re-visit” your
early spring planting. Consider adding some perennials, or some
exotic plants. Check out the “Internet”, or ask your landscaper
what perennials are available for planting in your plant zone. Also,
bear in mind the colors you would like to see in your garden. Take
a trip to your local nursery, & browse around, get some new
planting ideas, and discuss your ideas with your gardener.

Spring & Summer “Heat” can get very intense at this time of year.
Heat & humidity will not only affect your plants, it could affect
your health. “Stay Healthy”, and enjoy your outdoor space this
summer. Just taking it easy, by sitting on your patio or deck
entertaining, you will want the best “Curb Appeal” possible.
Gardening can get very strenuous, digging, planting, or even
bending down weeding, be careful.

In “Maintaining your Gardens”, you should remove flowers dead
booms, this is also know as “dead heading”. Curb Appeal suggests
that you water in the early morning, or late evenings. Top up your
soil with “Quad Mix”, and add some shredded mulch, & even
landscape fabric to you garden. “Mulch” will assist in the water
retention of your garden & keep the weeds at a minimum.

If you are a container gardener, you should fill your sterilized
empty containers with Pro-Mix + Ultimate Container Mix or, a
comparable product. Pro-Mix + Ultimate Container Mix 1-2-3 is a
Peat Based growing mix, specially formulated for a wide variety of
plant species grown in hanging baskets, large containers and
outdoor planters. It has excellent water-holding capacity for plants
that require high amounts of water or subject to hot, sunny
conditions. This formula contains a slow release fertilizer. You can
purchase this container soil at your local garden center. For the
best results planting your mixed planters, herbs or even tomato
plants in containers, use a Pro-Mix Container Soil, or a
comparative product. Herbs will always do best if no more than
one plant is planted in a single container.

Planting hedges, will add to your homes “Curb Appeal”.
Consider a Boxwood or Privet Hedge, in a desirable location. A
hedge along the side of a driveway to separate you & your
neighbor’s property can be used to also define your property line.

Prior to planting, you or your landscaper should always check
your city’s by-laws, to be aware of the maximum height
restrictions and if there are other restrictions extending to the
sidewalk in front of your home.

Would you be concerned with ground cover? Would you like
your garden beds to be “Low Maintenance”, mounded with a
bed of prepared soil, landscape fabric & mulch?
Would you like garden walls surrounding your beautiful
gardens, or even have an artificial, low maintenance, lawn
installed?

Have you asked your gardener to prune your existing
bushes & shrubs, or even re-design & plant a new garden
bed? Ask your gardener to do a major Spring Clean-up at
this time of year. The spring clean-up can include: pruning;
turning your soil; topping your soil up with manure; compost
& a quality triple mix added. Would you like to see new
garden beds designed adding more Curb Appeal to your
existing yard? Do you require any stone work done around
your garden beds this year? Great Curb Appeal means
added value.

I would recommend that you use “Green Earths” Dormant
Kit, containing “Dormant Oil & Liquid Lime Sulphur” in early
April, before the buds show up on the green tips of your
bushes, fruit trees, roses or deciduous ornamentals. This
formula will control over wintering insects, insect eggs and
diseases on your on the above.

Lawn Maintenance is crucial in early spring.
When applying fertilizer, use a fertilizer spreader, read the
instructions carefully, not to damage or burn your lawn.
For those who have had artificial grass installed, I do
recommend that you rake your lawn with a plastic rake in the
early spring.

“Pests” could be a problem as May approaches. Use Rose
Dust to control Aphids on your roses. Purchase plant food at
your local garden center. Different formulas are available for
evergreens, flowers, and vegetable plants etc. Be sure to
purchase the right fertilizer. Read the labels on all chemicals
closely. They can be as harmful as they can be helpful.
A quality gardener is well versed in horticulture. It is very
important that you make the proper decision when hiring a
gardener or landscaper. He or she can make the difference
in your yards appeal and resulting in your curb appeal.
Remember the old saying “your get what you pay for”,
Gardening includes a lot more than cutting your lawn.
If you are a container gardener, you should fill your
sterilized empty containers with Pro-Mix + Ultimate
Container Mix or, a comparable product. Pro-Mix + Ultimate
Container Mix 1-2-3 is a Peat Based growing mix, specially
formulated for a wide variety of plant species grown in
hanging baskets, large containers and outdoor planters. It
has excellent water-holding capacity for plants that require
high amounts of water or subject to hot, sunny conditions.
This formula contains a slow release fertilizer. You can
purchase this container soil at your local garden center. For
the best results planting your mixed planters, herbs or even
tomato plants in containers, use a Pro-Mix Container Soil, or
a comparative product. Herbs will always do best if no more
than one plant is planted in a single container.

Planting hedges, will add to your homes curb appeal.
Consider a Boxwood or Privet Hedge, in a desirable location.
A hedge along the side of a driveway to separate you & your
neighbor’s property can be used to also define your property
line. Prior to planting, you or your landscaper should always
check your city’s by-law to be aware of the maximum height
restrictions and if there are other restrictions extending to the
sidewalk in front of your home.

If you are considering a yard makeover, this is the time of
year to plant. You should budget a percentage of your
homes value, to renovate an established properties yard &
gardens. If you keep your expenses within a budget, your
landscaping efforts are most likely to boost the value of your
property due to the “Curb Appeal”. This is the time of the
year to have your landscaper install a sprinkler system, for
addressing the watering challenges that may occur.

I know over the last year in past issues I have mentioned
the art of pruning, the importance of soil preparation and the
effectiveness of proper watering, of your plants, trees shrubs
& bushes. Quite often we forget what was written and
require a reminder. If you want a past article that was written
by me, I would be happy to receive an email from you and I
will forward the requested article to you.
I am very proud of my own gardens, & I would like you to
be equally as proud of your gardens.

I will end this month’s article with a note on clay soil. The
use of Lime or Gypsum work well. By adding this it will
break up your clay soil, by aggregating the clay particles and
make the clay more open and permeable. Gypsum does this
without raising the pH and is therefore suitable for use where
acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons are growing.

I would highly recommend a low maintenance garden, as part of your
vision, making sure you know your soil. The results you achieve will
depend greatly on the soil you chose. From an aesthetic point of view,
make sure that you order enough soil to HEAP your beds. Quite often,
garden beds don’t have nearly enough soil.

After getting the soil in place, to meet your requirements, add your
plantings; perennials, trees, bushes, shrubs, & ornamentals. Make
sure you plant the right plantings, for sun or shade. The next thing
that would assist your gardens in being low maintenance is to install a
20 year plus, landscape fabric. This fabric will last a lot longer than
numerous inexpensive fabrics that have a life expectancy of 3 to 6
years. Source your local garden centers, or a landscape supply
company, when purchasing fabric. Quality fabrics will hold moisture a
lot longer, & will assist in stopping any weed growth that may occur
through less expensive fabrics. Once you have installed your fabric,
ensuring that you get very close to the root or stump of your
plantings, apply 6 inches of good quality shredded mulch. Mulch is
available in different colors, red, black, hickory, as well as pine
horticulture mulch. I wouldn’t recommend chip mulch, for insect
reasons, but you could use natural shredded mulch, river rock, pea
gravel, crushed brick, or rubber mulch, on top of your landscape
fabric.

Spring is the time of year to plant summer root perennials, such as
Dahlias, Cana Lilies, and Day Lilies etc. If you are planting annuals,
and your gardens have been created to be low maintenance, by using
fabric & mulch, just move the mulch over slightly before planting, cut
out a small x, plant your annual, unfold your cut out x, then move the
mulch back around your new planting.

February & March is the time of the year to select a Quality
Landscaper, a caring individual. Ask yourself some important
questions: Would you require a landscaper this year to maintain your
grounds. Is he or she dependable & punctual; are they knowledgeable
as to what to plant; where to plant – in the sun or shade, and how to
care & maintain your gardens? Remember this is an investment
adding Curb Appeal & real estate value, to your home. There are a
number of questions that a landscaper should ask you, to understand
your likes & dislikes.

February is the time of the year to contact Landscapers to quote you
on the installation of Fencing, Decks, Stone Garden Walls, Retaining
Walls, Patios, Interlock Walkways and Garden Makeovers. In late
March you should start a Spring Clean-up & pruning (A Real Art) of
your trees, shrubs, & bushes. Some bushes will need to be sprayed, in
their dormant stage, to prevent the intrusion of aphids & other insects,
& before any fungus has a chance to take form on plantings, & before
spring budding starts. Early spring is a great time of year to remove
old dated trees & shrubs, & replace them with new, younger trees &
bushes. The soil is still moist from the winter months, & new plantings
will root faster when transplanted, ensuring a better success ratio.

Another way of making your outdoor space low maintenance is to have
artificial grass installed. If your lawn is around a swimming pool, use
an infill free lawn, if your lawn is not by a pool, then use the infill type
of lawn. Artificial grass looks so natural, that it is unbelievable. It
comes in different shades, & blends of green. Artificial grass needs no
watering or sprinkler systems, fertilizing, or cutting, and remains its
original color, no burning, for over 20 years. You can save on the
expense of having a gardener, cutting & maintaining your lawns
weekly, for 35 weeks a year. Artificial grass won’t burn, discolor & is
environmentally safe for children & pets. Used in parks, playgrounds,
dog training facilities, and front & back yards, installing artificial grass
will make your outdoor space look perfect, all year, with little, to no
maintenance.

Other applications for artificial grass are where grass doesn’t grow, for
example, underneath acid forming pine trees; in yards where the
homeowner has a grass digging dog; or on apartment balconies &
rooftop terraces. In Niagara, for more information on Artificial Grass,
contact Curb Appeal Landscaping.

If you have a natural lawn, I recommend that you thatch & aerate
your lawn each spring. With fertilizer bans now in effect, eliminating
weeds is going to be a major challenge. By aerating and thatching
your lawn, you will prevent many weeds. Aerating will help your lawn
with the continual rooting process necessary for a healthy lawn. I
would recommend using a high nitrogen fertilizer in early spring, to
assist in making your lawn green. This early spring fertilizer will not
eliminate weeds. Make sure, that if permitted by your city, water your
lawn and plantings frequently, (Some City Watering Bans are now in
Effect). Failure to water will cause your grass to burn, & look less
healthy.

Do you require a “Low Maintenance Garden”? Do you like to plant
Hosta in you garden? Would you like a “Rose Garden”? Would you like
to mix both “Annuals & Perennials” in your garden? Would you like a
“Bird or Butterfly” friendly garden? What kind of “Border” would you
desire around your garden beds? Are you interested in a well edged &
cut garden bed? Do you want to have your Garden Beds Mounded &
Sculptured professionally, adding prepared soil & mulch? Would you
like to have “Landscape Fabric” installed? What color of “Mulch” do you
prefer?

Become an “Educated Consumer”, by reading books on Landscaping,
or even sourcing the internet for plants & trees that can be planted in
your zone. A good landscaper will have the answers & suggestions for
you, making your gardens & outdoor living space most enjoyable.