Garden design planning

Author: Rita Hutner

Article: Good garden design starts with thinking before digging.

Garden design takes time

It's too late to plan your garden when you are standing in the nursery eyeing every new plant that tempts you. Spend some time looking at your garden site, either during the off season, when you can really view it objectively or during the growing season, when your successes and failures make themselves known.

Once you have an idea of how you are going to use your garden, come back to reality and take an objective look at the site before you come up with your garden design. This is of utmost importance in determining which plants and trees you use to achieve the desired effect. Monitor it during different times of the day and year. How many hours of sun does the site receive? What times of day is it sunny? Does sun exposure change with the seasons? Do trees allow sun in the spring and shade during summer? How is the soil, as far as pH and texture? Link to amendments Are there structures or large trees that will affect plant growth and selection? Are there structures nearby that you would like to camouflage? What plants are already growing there?

You know what you want to use your garden for, what you are working with and what resources you can devote to it. Now, what do you want it to look like?

Formal or informal? Wild? Should it complement your house? Do you want it to flow with the natural landscape? Do you favor soft pastels or bold tropicals?

All these things might seem overwhelming, but you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and a considerable amount of money if you take this advice and you'll find that each step gets easier and more fun. Plant selection should be one of the last things you consider, or you may be overwhelmed trying to create a garden design to accommodate the dozens (or hundreds or even thousands) of plants you crave.

Before you buy that first plant, you have to know what your planting zone is. Without that knowledge, you can end up ordering all sorts of wonderful looking plants and shrubs only to find that they are not suitable for your planting zone and they will die. You will have spent time and money needlessly. If you're buying by catalog or online, every plant and seed catalog or online merchant should show a planting zone map and each plant depicted should have an indication of the zones in which that particular plant (or tree, etc.) will thrive. You can also contact your local garden clubs or your county's Agriculture Extension Bureau with your questions regarding the suitability and care of plants for your particular area. This knowledge is of critical importance, particularly if you have moved from one zone to another. Not only will you save money, but you will avoid countless hours of frustrating work in your garden.

Keep in mind what your garden will be used for and when. This is important in your plant consideration. If you plan to entertain a lot and don't want to spend all summer on chores, look for lower maintenance plants that don't require constant deadheading and staking to look good and, if you are planting for small children, choose plants that will bloom at their eye level, with interesting textures and scents and non-poisonous flowers and seeds.

Make a list of the plants you like and group them by color, texture and form - the garden design triumvirate. Also chart them by season of bloom and/or interest. Consider both flowers and foliage. There are more and more plants being bred with colorful foliage that will provide interest in the garden all season.

Be sure to include some large anchor plants that will look good all year. These are usually shrubs and often evergreens. Most gardens can only accommodate 1 or 2 trees or shrubs, but they are important for providing the good bones of the garden and you want to choose wisely at the beginning. Trees and shrubs can be very difficult and heavy to move around.

Planting bulbs for added beauty

A wonderful way to use bulbs effectively is to naturalize daffodils in a wooded area or group them for colorful accent around evergreen shrubs. High quality Dutch flower bulbs can be ordered online from reputable catalogers and merchants who will advise you as to what's appropriate for your zone.

Plan ahead when planting bulbs; i.e., for spring flowering you plant in the Fall. Follow directions accompanying your bulbs regarding depth (usually six inches) and fertilizer (there are special bulb fertilizers that should be put in the planting holes). An important reminder - again: Know your planting zone before ordering any bulbs. They all look so beautiful in the catalogs,but what grows well in the midwest, in most instances, will not grow in South Florida! Special tools for planting bulbs are also available online. They make digging holdes so much easier than using a simple trowel. Check them out.

Happy planting!

About the author: Rita Hutner is a copywriter for Catalogs.com. Catalogs.com is the Internet's leading source for print and online catalog shopping - and a growing hub of original content and ""how to"" information at <a href=http://www.catalogs.com>www.catalogs.com</a>

Planting the Sunset Red Maple Tree

Author: B Hirst

Article: Sunset Red Maple trees are fairly easy to plant because they are fairly rugged and durable. Yet to plant or transplant them you do need to follow some basic guidelines. These trees are similar in planting to Autum Flame and October Glory maple. Red Maples are sometimes known as Swamp Maples. This name gives away its habitat being located naturally in moist areas of open woodlands and commonly along creeks and bottomlands. These soils are constantly moist to wet. Red Maples are found throughout the North Eastern States.These trees when grown in the open reach 70 feet tall by 40 feet wide. This tree is sturdier than the Silver Maple and is a delight to own in back yard as a shade tree.

On of our finest selections is the Sunset Red Maple. The Sunset Red Maple tree is a fast growing hybrid red maple tree. This Acer rubrum cultivar was developed by J. Frank Schmidt and Son Nursery. A Red Sunset red maple is one of the finest trees you can plant at your home. Red Sunset foliage is a lustrous green in the summer, which changes to brilliant shades of red and orange-red in the fall. We have a large selection of liners and some 2"" caliper stock ready for your selection.

All people handling seedlings and small trees need to help with the life support of your plants. Seedlings are like fish out of water and need care which is often overlooked between the time the seedlings are lifted and transplanted. Improper care means higher mortality. Do not try and reinvent the wheel. You must protect seedling from moisture and temperature extremes, as well as physical damage. Seedlings are living and should be handled carefully. For a higher survival rate, treat trees carefully and plant them immediately. I like to have a backup plan for planting if the weather turns bad. I will sometimes switch from lining out the seedlings to potting them up if I realize that the soil conditions will not be right for an extended lenght of time. If planting must be delayed a few days, keep the plants in a cold, protected place with air circulation between the trees. Keep the trees out of the rain and wind. To check if the trees need water, feel the media at the roots.. If it isn't damp, water the trees and allow the excess water to drain. In cool, damp weather, the biggest threat to these trees is from mold. Try to keep out of soil seedlings moist by either restricting water loss with a water vapor barrier or by wetting the roots at regular intervals. While handling or planting try to reduce temperature and air movement around the seedlings. Windy days can dry out seedlings so consider waiting for calmer weather. Once your soil conditions are correct OUR FREE USE PLANTERS will make planting a snap so its will be worth waiting for good planting conditions.

HOW TO PLANT

Ideal planting days are cool and cloudy with little or no wind. If possible, avoid planting on warm, windy days. The soil should be moist not wet. Care in planting is more important than speed. Make sure the roots are never allowed to become dry. Bare root seedlings should be carried in a waterproof bag or bucket with plenty of moist material packed around the roots to keep them damp. Ideally, bare root boxes should be kept refrigerated or packed in ice or snow. Don't freeze the trees. Competition from weeds, grass, brush or other trees is very detrimental to survival and growth of seedlings. Choose areas free from this competition or clear at least a three-foot square bare spot before planting. Seedlings should not be planted under the crown of existing trees, or closer than 6 feet to existing brush. Avoid areas near walnut trees. Brush aside loose organic material such as leaves, grass, etc., from the planting spot to expose mineral soil. If organic matter gets into the planting hole, it can decompose and leave air spaces. Roots will dry out when they grow into these spaces. Open up the hole, making sure the hole is deep enough for the roots to be fully extended. If roots are curled or bunched up, the tree will not be able to take up water correctly, will often weaken and die, or may blow down later due to poor root structure. Take a tree out of your planting bag or bucket only after a hole is ready. When exposed, the fine roots can dry out in as little as 30 seconds. Seedling shoots and roots lose water to air, roots require more protecting.Unlike leaves ,they do not have stomata (closeable openings on the surface of the leaves) or any waxy coatings to help reduce water loss. If the roots apear dry they are probably dead. Now I know you are thinking,""I will place them in a buckect of water and store them there until planting"". This will not work. Submerge plants for no longer that a couple of minutes. Placing them in water cuts them off from oxygen. Remember to remove the container before planting a containerized tree. A helpful hint to all those new gardeners just starting is to remember to always plant green side up. Hold the seedling in place in the hole, making sure the roots are straight, fully extended and that the tree is neither too shallow or too deep in the hole. Fill hole, allowing soil to fall in around the roots. Tamp with hands or with your heel. Don't crush the roots by jumping up and down around the seedling like there is a snake curled up around the seedling. It is delicate. Fill with more soil, if necessary, and tamp. Tamping is important. If soil is not firmly packed around the roots, there will be air pockets that can dry out the roots, and the seedlings may be weakly anchored. It is far easier to plant the tree strait up then have the tree leaning and have to adjust the tree later. (Addition of fertilizer and plant vitamins at the time of planting is not generally necessary.) Take your time in planting. Proper spacing will help you grow a more valuable crop. I have tried to get more production from a limited area by over planting and then thinning, but I always have had trouble in harvesting .... digging is slower and poor quality usually results for a portion of the crop. Avoid these tree planting errors:

Tangled roots Planting too shallow Planting too deep Air pockets Turned up roots (this is called J rooting) Planting trees that are not tolerant of wet soils in poorly drained areas Planting over rocks, septic tanks and leach fields, on sand mounds

CARE OF TREES FOLLOWING PLANTING Check periodically to be sure that brush, grass and other vegetation is kept under control by mowing, mulching, spraying or a combination of these treatments. Always obtain advice from a licensed pest control advisor before using chemicals. You ag extension agency may offer courses in application of chemicals. Monitoring the appearance of your trees will help you to detect signs of insects, diseases or other problems. Apperances also help sell your product. Look for foliage turning yellow, new foliage drooping or other signs of poor health. It is easier to take successful corrective action if the problem is detected early.

Over watering is a common problem in irrigated plantations. You probably won't need to water more frequently than every 7-10 days. Give your trees a thorough, deep soak and then let the soil dry out before the next watering. This encourages the roots to grow down in search of water. Frequent, shallow watering encourages root growth near the surface and the trees are more dependent on irrigation and are less windfirm. Animals can be a major cause of damage to young trees. Porcupines, gophers, mice, rabbits, deer and cattle are the most frequent source of damage. In many states you may have to call your game commission and get their recomendations on legal methods to protect your crop. In our state, you can get help from the Pa. Game Commission to kill deer that are a threat to your seedlings or obtain a free fence to keep deer away from your seedlings. Over the years we have lost more trees to mice than any other animal. Put rat baits out on a regular basis. Over the years we have lost more seedlings and plants to mice than any other culprit including deer and rabbitts combined. You an see more articles about the care of trees plants and nursery stock at our web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.highlandhillfarm.com

About the author: Bill has been raising and selling trees on his tree farm in Doylestown Pa. for over 25 years.

January Gardening Thoughts

Author: Bill Hirst

Article: I look forward each day durring the winter. To some, lamenting the past days of fall with its bright foliage in the landscape, and feeling down that the dull days of winter are here. For me I have grown to appreciate each day and look forward to interests in landscapes that are there knowing that many dazzeling displays can be found by careful observation. The days are short and the nights are long. Yet growing plants and enjoying plants are year round activities that bring many quality hours of enjoyment.

Watering plants can be be on your list of things to do. Make it a point to get out and check on your plants. The ground may not be frozen and plants still use water. If the ground is not frozen you can still water if the ground will accept the water. Most plants are dormant so the amount of watering is not as high as in the hotter seasons. Evergreens lose water through their needles in the winter. So if one keeps watering as long as possible into the winter, seedlings and plants will suffer less stress. Winter drying of evergreens is a major stress factor in overwintering.

Snow and ice on your plants can be problematic. Tall thin plants are not as sturdy a plant. They tend to bend under snow loads and may require staking later to train them strait. If your small plants have a light amount of snow covering them you may ease the snow burden by lightly sweeping the snow with a broom. Don't shake them, they are like babies ... they get shaken baby syndrome. If snow or ice is frozen to the branches, allow it to melt rather than attempting to correct. If any branches are broken, you probably don't need to do anything unless there is a split in the trunk. If the breakage of the plant is sever, the seedling or liner shoud be discarded. The labor to correct is not worth the value of the plant. Also a poor quality seedling will probably be a poor quality mature plant. There is a market for such plants however, we have had many customers who want, "" Charly Brown Trees"" or stunted trees for unusual customer needs.

Warm spells in the winter occur. Suddenly, there can be days of warmer temperatures. This should not be a problem. When a warm spell occurs, get out and use some shoe leather and wear out those leather gloves. Its a great to have a break in mid winter and you can prepare for spring. If you have covering on or over the plants, you may need to ventilate. We normally open the doors to our greenhoses and this is usually all that is necessary. Cold frame temps may rise so ventilation will be helpful. Close up as nightfall arrives as the temperature will fall. Note that when sunlight intensity is high, plant tissues become active. Water loss at this time can't be replaced if the root are frozen. This is called plant desiccation. Also if there many freeze-thaw cycles, the crown of the plant will be heaved up exposing the roots. Root systems have a lower tolerance to temperature extremes and can killed by freezing low temperatures.A common way to prevent desiccation is to screen plants in exposed areas with Burlap .

Varmit control is important in the winter. Mice and rabbits feed constantly . Their teeth grow constantly and they love to chew on tender plants. We spread rat and mice bait about every two to threes weeks as long as we see it being consumed. Try and place the baits in a place where its easy to moniter, dry, and accessable only to the varmits. When the snow gets deep mice will feed up higher on the plants. They don't like to dig in the snow for food. They take the easy to reach food first. Thus tracks in the snow are an important sign to watch for. Mouse damage is usually not correctable. You may not see root feeding damage to stock till spring, so over baiting is the best solution. Care should be taken that the baits are only available to the target varmit. Viburnums are the most attractive, versatile, adaptable shrubs for any landscape. They can be used as hedges or screens and in mixed perennial/shrub borders. They can also stand alone as specimen plants. They usually take the form of shrubs, but some species can become small ornamental trees. They range in size from the Dwarf American Cranberrybush at 2 feet tall by 2 feet wide, to the Siebold at over 15 feet tall.

We feel that Viburnums are plants that have great winter interest. All Viburnums have white to pink flowers in the spring. The foliage is large, attractive and often textured leaves. Some viburnums have fragrant flowers that are produced in snowball shaped clusters in April. Their flower clusters can consist of pink buds, which develop into white flowers. Some fruits are red and turn black with age usually bitter tasting. Leaves can be glossy, dark green and turn a burgundy color in the fall. Midsummer berries are an important food source for birds. Viburnums have colorful red to purple leaves. Some viburnums can become medium-size trees, especially if they are pruned. Viburnums excel as specimen plants or as anchors in mixed borders. You won't find a more versatile group of shrubs for hedges or for massing in groups, since viburnums hold their own in every season. Some viburnums, such as Prague viburnum 'Pragense', are evergreen. Others, such as leatherleaf viburnum, are semi-evergreen in colder climates, losing their leaves when temperatures dip below 10 degrees.

The great feature of Viburnums is that they are adaptabe. While they would like full sun and moderately watered, well-drained rich soils, they will grow very well in part shade, and in clay soils. Diseases and pests rarely attack them and they don't tend to have to be spayed. My kids have run over them with brush hogs and they survived. Their fibrous root system makes them transplant easily.

In your search for a good, hardy shrub with winter interest consider the Viburnum family.

Viburnums have long been popular garden plants, known for their white, sometimes fragrant spring flowers, and their fall color. But it's the Asian viburnums that have so far been most noteworthy. Perhaps the most liked viburnums are the Burkwood viburnum (Viburnum x burkwoodii), and the Korean spice viburnum (V. carlesii), both of which fill your landscape with pleasant odors in the spring. Also popular is the doublefile viburnum (V. plicatum f. tomentosum), valued for its layered habit, fall foliage, and clusters of red fruits. Viburnum acerifolium (Maple-leafed viburnum) Although I wouldn't plant a landscape without viburnums, I have a special fondness for several of our native viburnums. They may not provide the great flower fragrance of their Asian counterparts, but I love them not only for their rich fall colors ,but for that fact they help attract and feed so many of our wild birds that liven up our landscape durring the long winter. In addition, several are great for urban conditions. They require only corrective pruning, and seldom commonly suffer from pests or diseases. I would be hard pressed to say which viburnum I would choose if I could only have one.

Viburnums are moist woodland plants. In nature they are found along steam banks from Long Island to Florida. When you come to our 5275 West Swamp Rd. location ask us to show some in their native habitat that we found along our stream bank. These plants perform well under normal landscape conditions. I especially like the floral display in the spring and these viburnums that bear fruit in the fall. Winterthur has great red leaves and abundant fruit in the fall. This cultivar needs a cross pollinator such as viburnum nudum. If you want things to do in the winter this is when I cut back our viburnums. Pressing issues of the other seasons always leaves my viburnums to stand alone untouched. It is mid winter and I always enjoy trimming back these plants then. I see all the nests that the birds haver built and can work without disturbing their families. It seems to me that it is easier to cut back and trim now for I always feel bad in the summer when I trim out green foliage. When trimming foliage I always guilty cutting greens off of the plants. Wintertime frees me from those demons. You can see more out plants at the following web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com

About the author: Bill has been raising plants and trees for 25 years on his farm in Fountainville Pa.