Start Gardening Design
Where to Start gardening design with books, videos, websites anywhere you look you will find design inspiration. Keep it simple to start then as you become more confident you will be dreaming gardening design ideas of your own. Secondhand bookshops, eBay books, local fetes, garage sales all excellent places to pick up bargains for gardening design. Don’t forget YouTube – the video’s are endless. The video below shows winning professional garden design landscaping (on grand designs) but scale it down and you will see some fabulous ideas. Enjoy the viewing.
The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association awarded these companies 2009 Landscape Awards in design: 1. Residential Front Yard Lori McCabe, Johnson Creek Landscaping Bicker residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN 2. Residential Rear Yard Tim Johnson, Southview Design Tashjain Residence-Reflection Pool Redux MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Jack Dorcey, Bever Landscaping Grover Residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Heather Grossmann, Mom’s Landscaping & Design Nordvad Residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Meg Arnosti & Dan Gleeson, Windsor Companies Sauer Residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN 3. Residential Full Yard Christopher Ochs, Windsor Companies Private Residence-N. Oaks MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Dee Larson, Winco Landscape & Design MERIT AWARD – DESIGN David Sonka, Bever Landscaping North Shore Hawaii Estate MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Alyson Landmark, Outdoor Environments, Inc. Rochester Residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN Steve Modrow, biota- A Landscape Design + Build Firm Lakeside Modern MERIT AWARD – DESIGN James Sweeney, Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC Hale Residence MERIT AWARD – DESIGN 4. Specialty Projects Scott Buerkley, Sarahs Cottage Creations Manning Trail Flower Box MERIT AWARD – DESIGN 2009 Landscape Design Grand Honor Awards 1. Residential Front Yard Ed Burke, Phillips Garden Summit Hill Residence GRAND HONOR – DESIGN 2. Residential Rear Yard Tyler Grissman, Phillips Garden Macalester Groveland residence GRAND HONOR – DESIGN Eric Baldus, Terravista landscape and Design Twin Cities Tyrens GRAND HONOR …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Garden Landscaping on eBay:
[wprebay kw=”garden+landscaping” num=”18″ ebcat=”-1″]
[wprebay kw=”garden+landscaping” num=”19″ ebcat=”-1″]
I recently found 2 fabulous hardcover garden flower books at our local fete – probably $40 books in their day – paid 50cents each – what a bargain.
Walk around your neighbourhood see what’s working in the way of plants and gardening design for your local conditions.
Your local Nursery or Garden Centre is always a great starting place. Take along a soil sample, they will test it and advise you on the necessary additives to improve the soil in preparation for your new look garden. No point trying to start a garden if the foundation soil isn’t going to support your plantings.
Learn about plants, what growing conditions they like, water-wise, feeding, how big will they grow? You won’t want to put a shrub under your window then 2 years later find it overtaking the spouting!
Become familiar with reading the tags on plants. If the growing conditions suggested don’t fit your situation don’t buy it. You are just wasting your money.
On the budget side of things, try raising your own seedlings. This is great for mass plantings. A packet of seeds can cost as little as $1, sew direct into your soil or use seed raising planters if you like. My preference is to just scatter the seeds on a prepared bed and wait a see. It only takes a couple of weeks for seeds to germinate and I let the Darwin theory take over – survival of the fittest. From the strongest plants you will be able to collect the seeds after flowering and repeat the process the following year – magic!
For trees I prefer to buy “tube” plants (cost is around $1.50 to $3.00). They are inexpensive and their fastest growing period is in the first 2 years, so if they don’t grow well, I have not wasted say $30 for a three year old tree that may die in the first 6 months.
Of course if budget isn’t a problem, by all means buy mature plants and trees but beware, they do cost.
Hope this short article was of some interest to help you on your way to start gardening design for your own home.
Enjoy Gardening.