Just a quick note.

The Landscape Design Site looks a bit odd as we're changing templates. We've also added a video section to the site at Landscaping Videos. Of course, the videos there are our own as well as landscaping lessons and ideas from some of the better producers.

Soil Ph, The Taste of Dirt, and Organic Gardening

My Grandfather was an old world dirt farmer who depended on his crops for his living. That old man knew more about soil and dirt than anyone I've ever known.

On his farm there was never a need for chemical fertilizers and insecticides as his crops were healthy and produced incredible yields. He was completely organic, returned everything to the soil, and rotated his crops. And in return, his soil had a perfect ph balance. Or at least that's what he said.

Back then, there were no soil test kits or probes so folks tasted the soil to test its ph. If it was sweet, it was acid. If it was sour, it was alkaline. And I guess bittersweet was a perfect 7. I don't know. To me, most dirt just tastes like...dirt.

Anyway, the importance of proper ph has been known for a long time. Nutrient uptake as well as many other factors are regulated by ph balance. And plants are always healthiest, produce more, are more nutritious, and have fewer pests and diseases when ph is perfect.

Anyway, the point of this blurb.....

I was reminded of my Grandfather the other day as I consulted with a client about his yellowing Hollies, Nandina, and other Evergreens. He had already been to the nursery where they had given him the cure to his problem in the form of a sack of iron supplement.

Since I live here and have dealt with this same problem many times, I knew the problem wasn't a lack of iron. There's plenty of iron in our soil. However, the plants can't pick it up. It's locked in the soil because of improper soil ph. We live on a huge limestone shelf and so the soil is extremely alkaline.

So rather than drown the soil in toxic levels of manufactured iron supplement, we began a slow systematic increase in soil acidity with simple garden sulfer. Within a few months the soil ph will become more acid, the iron will become available, the tree will get healthy and green, and I'll get paid.

So, while you won't have to eat dirt because there are modern test kits and probes, there's no excuse for not knowing the ph of your soil. And actually, at the first sign of plant problems, you should look for visible signs of insects or disease and check the ph of the soil.

Ultimately and the biggest lesson learned from my Grandfather is organics. Before the extensive use of chemicals, folks did just fine and even better with rich organic soil. And while organics may not be practical in some of our modern applications, using it when and where you can will produce growing benefits to your gardening experience. Naturally balanced soil ph being one of them.

winter houseplant care - caring for houseplants

I don't know a lot about caring for houseplants. I could tell you a lot about outdoor landscaping plants but I couldn't tell you a thing about houseplant care. Well...except for my Ficus tree.

I have one plant in my entire home. A 7 foot Ficus tree. However, since it appears to be quite a happy little tree, I'd say I'm doing something right with it. Really, it just seems that taking care of houseplants is common sense.....for the most part.

Just like in landscaping, plants can add so much beauty and structure to the interior landscape. That sounds a little strange to me. Interior "landscape". Anyway, I've seen it done wonderfully but never really thought about it in my own house. My arguement has always been that it's just something more to take care of. And you're always having to get someone to take care of your plants when you go out of town.

However, being interior design challenged, this seems to be the simplest no-brainer way to add a little something to my home. I don't think I would go all out to the extent of landscaping the interior of my house but maybe you would. You may be interested to read Interior Landscaping and Indoor Plants for a more extreme approach to interiorscaping.

Indoor Gardens And Terrariums are more my speed as they seem to be easy to take care of. Especially terrariums. I've always liked the way they're more like a showpiece than a plant. And being self contained, means less mess.

Anyway, as I started looking into this, I came across a few good articles that I wanted to share with you. I didn't mean to ramble on and get sidetracked. Anyway, if houseplants is your thing, you might find some fresh ideas in these stories.

5 Ways To A Greener Indoors
Taking Care Of Indoor Plants In Winter
Proper Care Of Some Houseplants

Off the subject. I also published another article this week as a list of what little Free Landscape Design Software I could find available. There's not much to speak of but it might be useful if you're planning any landscaping, designing, or or drawing.

Winter Gardening - Springtime Planting Ideas

I guess I must be ready for Spring. I was geared up to write a bit on Springtime planting and spring gardening. However, as I skim the headlines I am reminded that it's still Winter in most parts of the Country.

Caring For Plants In The Cold

I never really gave it much thought. Around here, once things (including my yard and garden) are put up for the Winter, I don't give them much thought until I dig them out in the Spring. However, I stumbled on a nice piece of information that reminded me that there are some considerations to keep in mind for your plants in the dead cold of Winter.

I'll use the word "considerations" here just to keep us safe from actually having to get out and do any of this. So check out Caring For Plants In The Cold if you might like to "consider" some tasks you can do pre-spring to keep your garden and landscaping in order.

Fluctuating temperatures harm your landscaping

I thought this was an interesting piece of news. While this may be something I'm aware of as a professional, I bet most folks never give it much thought. While it's generally not a problem for established gardens and landscaping, newly planted landscapes can suffer due to extreme fluctuation of temperatures in early Spring and Late Winter.

Even if your landscape or garden is well established, it's a good read for a few tips on protecting your plants in Winter. See Fluctuating temperatures harm your landscaping

A winter checklist for your home and garden

Here we go. I like checklists. You usually get at least one good thing you never thought of even if it's completely obvious. As well as a few gardening tips for Early Spring, this article looks mostly at indoor home issues such as energy savings and weatherproofing.

Actually, this is something you probably would already have done at this point - before it was freezing cold outside. It's still good info you can use next year. Read A winter checklist for your home and garden.

Planning A Springtime Landscaping Project?

O.K., one more thing. This is a piece I just created on planning your own landscaping. And since it's almost Springtime and I know lots of folks are "planning" to do some landscaping as soon as it warms up, I figured it would be worth mentioning here. The article Landscaping Ideas - Creating Do It Yourself Landscaping Ideas is based on a method we use to help consultees and clients come up with their own design ideas. It's a good exercize that will give you a few things to think about if you're planning to do your own landscaping projects.

I hope you get some good stuff from this. We'll talk soon.

Video Landscaping Ideas

Garden and Landscape Design

Video landscaping ideas, plans, pictures, videos

If you've ever visited a major video sharing site looking for specific information on gardening, landscaping, or home improvement, you're already aware that most of the videos are useless for your purpose.

Because of this, I decided to create a list of the best do it yourself landscaping and garden design videos I could find. The site is in the same format of the major video sites except it is focused on your specific needs and searches.

LandscapingVideos.com is brand new but growing daily. View how to landscaping - garden design Ideas videos without having to wade through endless movies just to find one with some good information.

I do hope you find the new resource useful.
Landscaping Videos.com

Free lawn care and turf grass information.

So what about the stuff that comes after the landscaping project is finished? To address part of that we're expanding the site to include a lawn care information resource.

As we build it we will include information on common turfgrass types, mowing tips, fertilizing, pests, diseases, sprinklers, etc.

The directory eill also include information on planting with seed and how to install a sod lawn.

Feel free to take a look at the new directory and check back as it will be growing daily. See it at: Yard, Grass, and Lawn Care.

Landscaping for curb appeal

In all honesty, most front yard projects we consult on could improve curb appeal simply by cleaning up and mowing the yard. However, some do require a serious landscaping makeover.

While most clients and visitors can never get on our list for a consultation, we haven't just left everyone out in the cold. We have created several free picture resources for you to get ideas from.

For pictures that deals specifically with front yards and curb appeal, see the gallery at Landscaping For Curb Appeal.

For thousands more pictures that cover many design styles including front yards, see the galleries at Landscaping Ideas Pictures and Landscaping Pictures.

Another good front yard ideas source that's not my own is an ebook from Kevin Wood. 197 Ways To Create Curb Appeal. For those of you who have never heard of him, Kevins business is in helping people sell their homes so he has a lot of simple and quick and simple ideas for landscaping the front of your home.

You can get your copy along with some free landscaping software by Clicking Here.

One more design on our site worth looking into is Curb Appeal Landscaping. It's a cool design where we use our hardscape materials to create all season interest.

All season interest is something that most folks overlook. And of course this can also be created by adding some evergreen and semi-evergreen plants. But you're sure to get some neat ideas from this one design. Go and check it out.

Landscaping A Culdesac.

It's been a while. I know. However, I, like most landscaping professionals, am so busy this time of year that there is hardly time for anything else.

I have managed to squezze a little time out to get our popular newsletter out which has a great cul de sac landscaping idea as the main landscape design lesson. Lots of other great stuff as well.

I also got up to speed by creating a few of my own free landscaping ideas pages at squidoo.com. It's pretty cool as anyone, including yourself, can create pages on anything you like.

Not much time but I'll try to post more soon.

Home Landscaping Ideas

As a part of my individual regular landscaping study, I regularly make the time to visit landscaping and gardens designed by do it yourselfers and homeowners. There are always a lot of individual touches for each yard that differ in degree of design, budget, and creativity. However, the main deciding factor that I've seen between fantastic landscaping ideas and not so great is the amount of planning that goes into each yard or landscape.

It's clear that planning everything and getting a vision may be hard and confusing for beginner do it yourselfers. However, no matter how long it takes, you should never leave out this part out. It is essential to the final constant growth, effectiveness, functionality, and appearance of your garden design. Take the time to plan. Remember the following hints. They could be helpful for getting your vision on paper and finally to your yard.

In the first part of the design process you might find it helpful to think in the abstract rather than specifics. A lot of professional landscapers design in this way. As opposed to getting hung up on specific flowers and plants that you would like to grow in your landscaping plans, think in terms of size, colors, texture, shape, and function of the plants and flowers needed in different areas. Specific plant types can be picked and researched after the plan is finished.

A common design block is not being able to look past what's already there. Even though it's great to include existing elements and views that are pleasing, your landscaping ideas should not be restricted by a lot more than resourcefulness, location, and budget. It's very valuable to see beyond what you already have and start with a fresh design in mind.

Try outlining or copying your dream landscape into your space as though you have a blank flat dirt lot to start on. Look at landscaping pictures and use the whole design in your yard if you want to. Change it, adapt it, or use another. The point is to plan without restriction and then change it and work with what you've got.

Try not to fill your head with each aspect of the landscaping plan. Focus on accessibility, purpose, shape, etc. Rather than thinking of exact materials for patios, fences, decks, pathways, walls, and other hardscapes, focus on the shape, size, function, convenience, access, and necessity.

A final hint is to keep it simplistic by keeping elements to only a few and then repeating them. You could also try making a focus in each main area. This could simply be a lamp post, entry door or gate, or even a bed of roses. Keep focal points to no more than one as too many will compete for focus and confuse the view.

Landscaping Contractors - Designers - Hiring a skillful and reputable landscaping contractor needs to be addressed in the same way as any other type of construction project. Acquiring several different quotes for your design and project is a good idea. Hiring a landscaping designer and contractor based completely on the lowest bid price isn't generally the smartest way to go. In all areas of construction, credibility and reputation matters and really should be given the same regard and weight as the quoted price.

Finding a design build company with a perfect reputation may not be as simple as you may think. Nevertheless, a contractor that finishes landscape and garden design projects on time, has good service following the sale, quality, and original design ideas should really be considered as a prospect.

Any extremely low bid should be looked at with some reservation. But even still, reputation should still come into question. If the landscape designer in question has a radiant reputation and design, you might just have the right designer. But usually, with any quote that's way below the others, there's a chance of some cutting of corners if the landscape project does not go as planned. Just be aware of that.

Always ask for references from every one of the landscape designers you prospect. In my own company I display a list of past designs, pictures of past landscaping designs, and the opportunity of a
personal tour of my finished landscape design projects.

Once you've narrowed down your prospects, you'll be set to make an informed decision that's based on far more than only price. Your decision is going to be based on your gut feeling, the most appealing landscape design, the company's reputation, and of course, price.

Realistic and reasonable estimates usually will be in the same or similar price range. I believe we should spend slightly more for ingenuity and credibility but I do not think anyone has to get burned.

The most popular landscape companies in my area aren't those that regularly bid the lowest. Typically, they're the ones that have long-established themselves because of high quality, impressive landscaping design plans, and reputation. And yes, they regularly do cost more. But, of course, the price is relative when you factor in follow up and service after the sale into the cost. Credibility and reputation really does pay for itself.

Landscaping Ideas And Planning Do It Yourself

As Springtime approaches, the landscaping and outdoor projects that were put to sleep for the Winter start to return to our thoughts. And for first time do it yourselfers, the almost frustrating task of putting a landscaping plan on paper begins.

In a few cases, a creative garden design can be as easy as drawing a few circles and placing a few groups plants to the idea. However, it's usually not that easy. For most first timers, creating practical and delightful landscaping ideas can be quite difficult.

Creating functional good looking landscape designs requires a focus on purpose, vision, applying a few basic principles of art, and a little bit of knowledge about plants. The first of these focuses is the purposes and functions of specific areas. Knowing every function your garden will perform can actually make the design process much easier.

Focus on function of the overall design will help to determine different areas of your landscaping which are simpler to achieve and envision. Whether your purpose is only to cover an area with rocks or mulch, the end result should be clear in your head.

Different areas require different purposes. Front yards typically have a different purpose than a backyard would. Designing and making good front yard landscaping ideas will often focus on getting access to the front of the house. Walkways and driveways generally take up most of the space in the front yard. After these major areas are designated, it can make the rest of the design process much easier.

The backyard, on the other hand, is where most folks will spend most of their time. So backyard landscaping ideas normally will be focused on entertaining, privacy, and areas for children to play in. While creating a backyard design will generally be more detailed, deciding the purpose of the major design areas will help lay out the major groundwork for the entire design.

Having a clear focus of what you want your finished landscape to do needs to be on your mind from the time you start creating a landscaping plan to the time you're finished with the project.

It is not always easy for a do it yourselfer to realize the many functions that landscapes perform. There are several galleries on our site containing landscaping pictures to aid you in coming up with ideas. Looking at other peoples designs will not just help you create ideas but will also show function and objective which can be applied in your own landscaping projects.

About Desert Southwest Landscaping Ideas

As the popularity of desert southwest style homes increase so does the style of landscaping that fits the homes. And while the design style is expected to have somewhat of a dry desert landscaping atmosphere, it can be so much more colorful and alive than most people imagine.

There are a few different aspects of thought that go into designing a desert landscape. While Southwest is generally the style of design, planned xeriscaping (zee-ri-scaping)is more of the method, principles, planning, and maintenance of a water wise landscape.

When most folks first start to look into this style of design, they generally have a dull vision of cactus, rocks, and a fake dry riverbed in their yard. But as you can see in our design at Desert Southwest Landscaping Ideas, the design can be very colorful and beautiful. Plant selection is almost endless with the types of native and adaptive plants available in most areas.

Native plants right from your own backyard can give you a list of plants that you know will grow well in your area. And in most cases they look great and tie the landscape to the surrounding area. See the native plants database for a list of ideas, pictures, and examples of plants native to your area.

Since this design style is becoming popular, I've added several related resources to the site. Along with the few mentioned above, there is also the Southwest Landscaping Ideas And Pictures Gallery which is a collection of designs from assorted professional designers.

There are also several of my own Southwest desert ideas at the Xeriscaping Ideas Gallery. There are also more explainations and guidelines behind the creation of each design.

Take a look at the design example I mentioned earlier at Desert Landscaping Ideas. It's a great example of the simplicity and beauty of Southwest Landscape Design.

For a list of several of my articles on design and designing see Landscaping And Garden Design Articles.

Free Landscaping Plans, Ideas, and articles

As the landscape design site continues to grow in popularity, I find it necessary to add new content and information almost daily. Don't want it to get stale.

Since I'm adding so much landscaping information so fast, a lot of first time visitors miss it. Like the free landscaping plans directory. It's been up for a while but I still get a lot of emails wanting to know where to find free plans and designs. So I know folks aren't finding it.

There's even a new picture gallery up that features hundreds of landscaping ideas for the front yard. But since I don't have a home page link up to it yet, nobody is finding it either.

I've also added several new categories to the original landscaping pictures gallery. I'll try to keep things posted but just keep your eyes open when you're at the site. You're bound to find something new.

Oh ya. And some cool news. Three of my articles are getting published in a national gardening magazine in February. Cool huh? Go to Landscaping And Gardening Articles if you'd like to read some of the latest landscaping articles from my collection.

We'll talk soon.
Steve

Creating A Landscaping Plan

Creating a landscape design plan from scratch can be a difficult task for a lot of people. Measuring, drawing, and coming up with good landscaping ideas can be very intimidating.

So I've created a few pages and directories to help you plan, design, and get ideas for your landscaping.

The first page is a simplified and complete guideline for creating a landscaping plan from a plat map or from scratch.

The second resource is a very nice collection of designs and plans which has over 120 free landscaping plans from several of the best designers online and off.

These resources are in addition to the large directory of landscaping pictures from various designers that I've put together and the directory of my own landscaping ideas and designs. I do hope you find these resources useful.

Landscaping Videos And Ideas

Howdy folks. I just wanted to announce a new landscaping ideas project that I'm working on. I'm going to be uploading how to videos of the landscape projects and plans that we create here at S&S Designed Landscaping.

See: Video Landscaping Ideas

As you'll see in the videos, I'm no actor. Being in front of the camera makes me forget a lot of what I want to say. Hopefully, it will get easier.

Anyway.....

Even though I'm just getting started with the project, I wanted to go ahead and announce it. As of this writing, there is one video on the site. And by the end of the day there should be more. I'll do my best to add more every week.

Also, as of right now, this site and the videos are free. If bandwidth doesn't get too much, I'll keep it that way. However, if the site gets way popular, I may have to make it a paid membership site just to pay for the bandwidth of running the site.

Check it out. www.landscaping-videos.com

Front yard landscaping ideas. To what extent you can plan landscaping the front yard may be limited by some circumstances that you can’t control. The size of your lot, how your home faces the street, and property lines can all be limiting factors. However, with some careful landscape planning, you may be able to reach a medium of functionality and beauty in the front.

I know that this seems basic and obvious but many times folks simply just don’t know where to start or go with their design. So by first laying out your needed or desired access paths, you could possibly be laying out the framework of your entire design. Not only will it take up a lot of space, but will also create shape, areas to design around, and a visual direction for your landscaping ideas and thoughts.

In creating a convenient, inviting, and attractive entryway to your home and property, you should first think about functionality and then plants and materials later. With the main function of front yard landscaping generally being access, our first design focus would be how and where we enter and exit our homes.

Generally, the most predominant access use is for vehicles and parking. So our first focus should be where we and our guests are going to park and drive in the front. Also, walkway access from these areas to the front door, side door, or any other entry points of the home needs to be considered.

Most folks need a driveway that not only leads to the home but also allows room for offstreet guest parking. So if this is a needed or desired landscaping element, we should start designing with that in mind.

The driveway entrance should be wide enough to comfortably move in and out of. It’s not required but a lot of times it is desirable to also have a way to turn around inside the driveway. This is an added safety factor to keep from having to blindly back out onto busy streets.

If you have room, a circular driveway design usually provides the best access to entries along with the safety factor of drive through. It also provides some shape and an opportunity for landscaping inside of the outer circle of the driveway.

Many times when a complete semi-circle drive isn’t possible, there may be room for a simple cutout addition. This area can also be used as additional parking when needed. It doesn’t necessarily need to be paved as it won’t receive the same amount of use and traffic as the rest of the drive.

Simply widening the driveway in an area can provide additional parking as well as enough room to turn around. Again, this area doesn’t have to be paved or totally improved. It just has to drain well and support the weight of a car.

By first addressing your vehicle access to your home, you’ll have one necessary element taken care of and less area to have to have to plan for. Then by adding foot access from driveway areas to the home, you’ll possibly have the entire framework of your front yard landscaping created.

free Landscaping Ideas And Pictures

Since the first time I saw one of those fancy online picture and Ideas galleries, I wanted one on my site. What a cool deal. So now I have one. So far and at the time of this writing, it's only two pages and needs a lot of work to look right.

Landscaping Ideas And Pictures

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

After thinking about it and getting past the temptation, I've decided to keep the gallery free. I've kept all the information on the site free from the very beginning. It just doesn't feel right at this point to go commercial.

Still, dont forget my old galleries as they're just as good if not better than this new one.

Old Landscaping Pictures Gallery
Landscaping Ideas Gallery

Check back often. I'll be adding to all directories and galleries daily.

Steve

The Landscape Design Site

Using landscape fabric is dependant on the type of landscape or garden you wish to create.

If I had my way and if it was practical, I would eliminate the use of landscape fabric altogether in all of my designs. Not only would this make creating the designs much easier, but would also be a substantial savings for my clients.

The need for weed barrier in a design is actually related to the type of landscape a client wants me to create. If a client wishes for a low maintenance landscape that they’ll rarely have to deal with, them most likely the design will include fabric.

On the other hand, if a client asks for original landscaping ideas with beds and borders that I refer to as "living beds and borders", then it’s possible that we’ll eliminate their use altogether. For reference, a "living bed" is one generally created with mulch and compost where the client actually works, weeds, replants, and replenishes the soil. In this case, landscape fabrics would only get in the way.

However, most of the designs we create are for low maintenance landscapes that require very little weeding and upkeep. And therefore weed cloth is pretty much a necessity.

Landscape fabrics can serve different purposes in landscaping. One is, of course, to keep unwanted weeds and grasses from taking over the landscaped areas. The source of weeds and grasses are either already present in the soil or are from blown in seed. If you use a good quality fabric, you’ll win the battle with that which is already present. However, blown in seed is out of everyones control and will require some attention regardless of the quality of barrier used.

Another purpose is for ground and groundcover separation. When using groundcover such as decorative rock, it’s important to lay down a layer of weed cloth between the soil and groundcover. Otherwise, the two elements will eventually become mixed and your groundcover rock will work its way into the soil.

And still another purpose is as an underlayment for pavers, patios, and walkways. This helps to stabilize and contain the leveling material as well as prevent weeds and grasses that are already present in the soil.

So whether or not you actually need the added expense of landscaping fabric in your project is dependant on the type of landscape or garden you want to create. Or in the amount of maintenance and upkeep you want to put into it. It’s not always a necessity.

If you find that you design requires weed barrier then buy the best professional landscaping fabric on the market at this link.

I know that it's far from spring and most thoughts of spring planting. However, this is actually the best time to start planning your garden and landscaping ideas. You can think about your ideas all Winter and before you know it, it will be time for prepping the soil for the spring garden.

Moving ahead to early spring, most of us will head to the nurseries and garden centers like kids to the candy store.

Here's a little tip that can save you lots of money when that time comes:

Plants generally come in containers of 2, 4, 6 inch, 1 gallon, 5 gallon, etc. sizes. Plant price increases proportionately with the size of pot. And planting in our gardens and landscaping can add up in price very quickly.

What most people don't know is that the plants in the small containers will reach almost, if not the same size as the plants in the 1's and even some 5 gallon containers by mid season.

With this in mind, you can save lots of money at the nursery and still have a beautiful landscape or garden by Summer even if you choose plants in smaller pots.

Of course, most of us want a full looking landscape right now and if your budget allows for larger pots and price, I say go for it.

Just keep this in mind if you need to spread your landscaping budget out into different areas.

Landscaping Resources Update

Howdy Folks,

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog. And even though I've neglected to post here I've still been hard at work adding a lot of new landscaping ideas the the main site. Let's not forget the main site because that's really where everything happens.

Most of the new ideas are picture, plans, and guidelines to designs my company has actually created for offline clients. It really is a great resource for those of you set on doing it yourself.

Those that have become friends of The Landscape Design Site already know it as the best free resource for do it yourself landscaping information. I've put a lot into it to make it that way.

While I've added a lot of my own designs, I've also added a lot more pictures to the landscaping pictures directory. This is probably one of my most favorite parts of the entire site as it showcases designs from a lot of designers better than myself.

So go and check out all the new resources to the site and if you have any questions feel free to post them to the new landscaping forum. I'll get around to answering them as quick as I can.