Do you ever dream about what your yard could look like some day? As you look through garden catalogs filled with beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers and pictures of beautifully landscaped yards--complete with ponds and garden sculptures--the choices seem endless. Before ordering hundreds of plants or giving up because you cannot decide what you really want, let us take a closer look at Xeriscaping your yard.
Generally, people are looking to create an attractive, peaceful and private environment. So take a look at your yard, ideally how would you like it to look. What features are you looking for? How will you use each space? When you start to design your Xeriscape yard, you need to keep a few things in mind. You are looking to create a sustainable landscape, which is attractive, is balance with your local climate and requires minimal added resources, especially water.
Another thing to consider is your long-term and short-term goals. Your short-term goals may include creating your Ideal Yard in sections, or keeping in mind that any new plantings will need extra water to get them started. A long-term goal might be to have a sustainable landscape designed to your maintenance needs.
Your Xeriscape design begins by considering many different factors. Part of this process will include answering some of the following questions:
• How would you like to use the space that you have?
• What conditions currently exist, that you need to address? For instance, existing trees, large rocks or boulders, local or homeowner association covenants.
• What is your budget? Are you looking at doing all or part of the work yourself?
• What is your timeline for completing the project? Will it be completed as a series of smaller projects over a number of years?
• What are you looking for as regards to maintenance? Do you want a high or low maintenance yard? Or something in between?
• Ultimately, what are you looking to create?
Remember, a professional landscape designer / contractor can help with the design and construction process, and the local nursery with plant selection.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
English Style Xeriscape Gardens
Here in Northern Arizona Winter is finally slowly showing signs of Spring. January was harsh here. We had over 5 feet of snow fall within one week through a series of storms. That resulted in weeks of shoveling for me, along with the shoveling there was the job of clearing the weight off of roofs. My one client who has a house that was built in 1917 had the support beam on the porch break because of the weight of the snow.
I’ve talked too many here in Flagstaff and they are all talking about Spring. So following that consensus, let’s talk about Gardens. I would like to start the discussion by looking at English Style Xeriscape Gardens.
First let’s briefly describe what Xeriscape Landscape is. The concept was originally developed by a special task force in Colorado, which was comprised of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, Denver Water Department and Colorado State University. The origins of the word Xeriscape is from the Greek word ‘Xeros’, which means ‘Dry’.
Xeriscape landscapes are landscapes that use water-efficient plants or landscapes that use little supplemental water. The principles in Xeriscaping are good horticultural practices that apply to the environment of your particular region. Therefore, some of the benefits of Xeriscaping include having beautiful landscapes that use water-efficient plants.
A traditional English Garden has always been known for its lush green gardens and lawns, with colorful flowers built into a relaxing outdoor hideaway. The lush plant life, secluded sitting areas and meandering walkways can create the romantic elements to English Gardens.
So now the question is how do you combine the principles of Xeriscape with the beauty of an English Garden?
The answer lies in combining the concepts of an English Garden while incorporating the principles of Xeriscape landscaping.
The main components of an English Garden are:
• Winding Paths
• Sitting areas
• Colorful Plants in irregular shaped beds
• Garden Arbors & Potted Plants
• Wildlife Habitats & Ponds
• Rustic Fences or Stone Walls
• Gazebos & Bridges
All of these components can be incorporated into any landscape design. Then by adding the principles of Xeriscape landscaping, you end up with an English style Garden that uses native plants to create that secret hideaway. That can be enjoyed by all.
So how does this look and is it feasible. Let’s look at an example. Since I live in Northern Arizona, let’s use that as the location. Most yards are of modest size and usually have cedar fences.
The first component is the secluded sitting area. So let’s replace the oak, elm or maple tree with a grove of Aspens in semi-circular pattern and hidden within this grove we add a garden bench or even a couple of redwood chairs with table. This area is situated that you can view the rest of the garden.
Now around this area let’s design a number of flower beds of various sizes and shapes. So let’s place one bed near the house. In this bed we’ll have a trellis with Old Blush, Cecile Brunner or Ivy. In front of that we’ll replace the typical English perennials with Purple Coneflower, Winecup, Purple Loosestrife, Oxeye Daisy, Yarrow, Iris, Russian sage, yellow or red-and-yellow Columbine.
Now in the center of the yard, we’ll add a small lawn that surrounds another flower bed that has a lawn statue with a rustic appearance. In this flower bed let’s plant some annuals such as bachelor button, cosmos, Texas bluebells, trailing lantana, poppies and larkspur. All are planted from seed except lantana and bluebells, which are usually started from transplants.
Now off to the far side we’ll create a wildlife habitat. So let’s start with another grove of Aspen, no Mountain Ash. In the shadows of the trees, we’ll add a final flower bed. In this bed we’ll add a birdbath. Let’s surround the birdbath a flowering groundcover and along the edges we’ll add a couple of flowering bushes. We’ll then add a couple of birdfeeders and maybe a birdhouse.
We have now created an English Style Xeriscape Garden in Northern Arizona.
If you’re starting from scratch, you will have a beautiful garden within a few years.
I’ve talked too many here in Flagstaff and they are all talking about Spring. So following that consensus, let’s talk about Gardens. I would like to start the discussion by looking at English Style Xeriscape Gardens.
First let’s briefly describe what Xeriscape Landscape is. The concept was originally developed by a special task force in Colorado, which was comprised of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, Denver Water Department and Colorado State University. The origins of the word Xeriscape is from the Greek word ‘Xeros’, which means ‘Dry’.
Xeriscape landscapes are landscapes that use water-efficient plants or landscapes that use little supplemental water. The principles in Xeriscaping are good horticultural practices that apply to the environment of your particular region. Therefore, some of the benefits of Xeriscaping include having beautiful landscapes that use water-efficient plants.
A traditional English Garden has always been known for its lush green gardens and lawns, with colorful flowers built into a relaxing outdoor hideaway. The lush plant life, secluded sitting areas and meandering walkways can create the romantic elements to English Gardens.
So now the question is how do you combine the principles of Xeriscape with the beauty of an English Garden?
The answer lies in combining the concepts of an English Garden while incorporating the principles of Xeriscape landscaping.
The main components of an English Garden are:
• Winding Paths
• Sitting areas
• Colorful Plants in irregular shaped beds
• Garden Arbors & Potted Plants
• Wildlife Habitats & Ponds
• Rustic Fences or Stone Walls
• Gazebos & Bridges
All of these components can be incorporated into any landscape design. Then by adding the principles of Xeriscape landscaping, you end up with an English style Garden that uses native plants to create that secret hideaway. That can be enjoyed by all.
So how does this look and is it feasible. Let’s look at an example. Since I live in Northern Arizona, let’s use that as the location. Most yards are of modest size and usually have cedar fences.
The first component is the secluded sitting area. So let’s replace the oak, elm or maple tree with a grove of Aspens in semi-circular pattern and hidden within this grove we add a garden bench or even a couple of redwood chairs with table. This area is situated that you can view the rest of the garden.
Now around this area let’s design a number of flower beds of various sizes and shapes. So let’s place one bed near the house. In this bed we’ll have a trellis with Old Blush, Cecile Brunner or Ivy. In front of that we’ll replace the typical English perennials with Purple Coneflower, Winecup, Purple Loosestrife, Oxeye Daisy, Yarrow, Iris, Russian sage, yellow or red-and-yellow Columbine.
Now in the center of the yard, we’ll add a small lawn that surrounds another flower bed that has a lawn statue with a rustic appearance. In this flower bed let’s plant some annuals such as bachelor button, cosmos, Texas bluebells, trailing lantana, poppies and larkspur. All are planted from seed except lantana and bluebells, which are usually started from transplants.
Now off to the far side we’ll create a wildlife habitat. So let’s start with another grove of Aspen, no Mountain Ash. In the shadows of the trees, we’ll add a final flower bed. In this bed we’ll add a birdbath. Let’s surround the birdbath a flowering groundcover and along the edges we’ll add a couple of flowering bushes. We’ll then add a couple of birdfeeders and maybe a birdhouse.
We have now created an English Style Xeriscape Garden in Northern Arizona.
If you’re starting from scratch, you will have a beautiful garden within a few years.
Friday, January 15, 2010
No Cost Home Energy Savers
We learned from our teachers that energy is neither created nor destroyed. But, this doesn’t mean that it is FREE. If your energy bills are little over what you have allocated in your monthly household budget, there are things that you can do.
You must learn How to Conserve Energy.
There are several things that can be done to significantly lower your energy bills. All you need are common sense and sensitivity to the things you can change.
With No Cost Home Energy Savers, you can cut down your energy bills without buying any energy saving devices. Here are some ways to do it:
•Turn off stereos, televisions, and lights when you leave the room or if you do not need them
Surely, some of us are aware that turning off appliances when not using them is important, but many of us still neglect to practice this, knowing that it only costs a small amount. Yes, it may be small amount for one appliance, but multiply that by the number of appliances you have in your home, you could be unwisely spending hundreds of dollars.
•Turn off computer monitor when not in use
Just like your television, your computer monitor consumes energy. And like your television, you may want to turn it off while away from your computer.
•Maximize the use of your washing machine or dishwasher
Fully load your washing machine and dishwashers. Take note that you consume the same power regardless of the quantity of your loads. In the case when you have a few dishes to wash; you can always wash and dry them by hand. This way, you have saved not only energy but also water and dish washing soap. This also goes with few pieces of clothes you need to wash. Another energy saver is the Front Load Washing Machine. Using this will save you 50% on water and 50% on energy. You may also want to air dry your dishes as well as your clothes.
•Use cold water when washing your clothes
Washing machines consume most of their energy heating the water that will be used.
•Refrain from using your microwave to thaw frozen meat
If you are in the practice removing frozen meat from the freezer and thawing it in your microwave, you are wasting a lot of money. Save money and energy by removing frozen meat hours before you plan to cook it. You can immerse it in warm water to speed up the thawing process.
•Do not put hot or warm food on the refrigerator
Let them cool down first. The refrigerator will consume a lot of power in order to cool down these hot foods.
•Do not use second refrigerator
If you can squeeze all your food into one refrigerator, do so. A second refrigerator doubles your energy consumption.
•Lower the thermostat by as much as 7 degrees when not at home or while sleeping
This will keep your energy consumption minimized. Remember that you don’t need super cool air or extremely hot room while you are away or while you are sleeping.
Making sure that you maximize your efforts you will keep your energy bills manageable.
You must learn How to Conserve Energy.
There are several things that can be done to significantly lower your energy bills. All you need are common sense and sensitivity to the things you can change.
With No Cost Home Energy Savers, you can cut down your energy bills without buying any energy saving devices. Here are some ways to do it:
•Turn off stereos, televisions, and lights when you leave the room or if you do not need them
Surely, some of us are aware that turning off appliances when not using them is important, but many of us still neglect to practice this, knowing that it only costs a small amount. Yes, it may be small amount for one appliance, but multiply that by the number of appliances you have in your home, you could be unwisely spending hundreds of dollars.
•Turn off computer monitor when not in use
Just like your television, your computer monitor consumes energy. And like your television, you may want to turn it off while away from your computer.
•Maximize the use of your washing machine or dishwasher
Fully load your washing machine and dishwashers. Take note that you consume the same power regardless of the quantity of your loads. In the case when you have a few dishes to wash; you can always wash and dry them by hand. This way, you have saved not only energy but also water and dish washing soap. This also goes with few pieces of clothes you need to wash. Another energy saver is the Front Load Washing Machine. Using this will save you 50% on water and 50% on energy. You may also want to air dry your dishes as well as your clothes.
•Use cold water when washing your clothes
Washing machines consume most of their energy heating the water that will be used.
•Refrain from using your microwave to thaw frozen meat
If you are in the practice removing frozen meat from the freezer and thawing it in your microwave, you are wasting a lot of money. Save money and energy by removing frozen meat hours before you plan to cook it. You can immerse it in warm water to speed up the thawing process.
•Do not put hot or warm food on the refrigerator
Let them cool down first. The refrigerator will consume a lot of power in order to cool down these hot foods.
•Do not use second refrigerator
If you can squeeze all your food into one refrigerator, do so. A second refrigerator doubles your energy consumption.
•Lower the thermostat by as much as 7 degrees when not at home or while sleeping
This will keep your energy consumption minimized. Remember that you don’t need super cool air or extremely hot room while you are away or while you are sleeping.
Making sure that you maximize your efforts you will keep your energy bills manageable.
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