We have previously talked about in other blogs in detail about what questions to ask yourself when starting a landscape design . So far we have gone into depth on, Evaluate your likes and dislikes , Evaluate your Purposes , Evaluate your Timeline , and Evaluate your Future Projects .

Today, I want to talk about Evaluating your climate. What does this mean exactly? Well, there are many factors that can determine the climate of your property. The first thing to know is, which direction does your house face? Knowing that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, gives us a good idea of which side of the house is the coolest, and which side is the hottest. Many plants that say full sun/part shade, really mean they can tolerate morning shade and afternoon sun. Afternoon sun, just about always qualifies as full to part sun.

Another factor to consider, is your house brick or siding? That can change the daytime heating of a plant dramatically. If the circumstances are correct, I have seen ‘tropical’ plants survive the winter when planted next to a semi protected brick wall, because it stayed warmer than usual.

The last thing to watch out for, is there a tree in the way of the sun? Sometimes trees that away from the house can cause just enough shade to change a full sun side of the house to a part shade. Which can make a huge difference in which kind of plants need to be installed. I remember planting some ornamental grasses on the west side of a house, sweating the whole time, cause it was HOT. They just about all but died before I moved them somewhere else, because there was a Maple tree 50 ft. from the house that gave shade from mid afternoon on. Very frustrating to have missed that part of the design.

Using just a little bit of evaluation around your home can make a huge impact on installing the correct plants. Watch out for those nooks and crannies that can get shaded quickly and you will be just fine.

Happy Climate

Well, believe it or not, there is a product made that you can spray over the top of Iris and some other perennials that will kill the weeds and not the flower. It is called ‘Over-The-Top 2′. It is made by Fertilome, which is an independent dealer brand (meaning Lowe’s and Home Depot can’t sell it).

This product is wonderful for getting rid of Chickweed, Henbit (the purple flower), Dandelion, and many other broadleaf weeds. It literally can be sprayed directly over the plant, making sure to soak the weed leaves thoroughly so the chemical will get into the plant. This product is harmless to animals after it is dry. Of course, I would not let my dog eat the weed leaves after spraying, just to be safe.

If you cannot find this product where you live, email me at askthepigg@thepiggpin.com , and I will be glad to get you some in the mail ASAP.

Happy WeedKilling

Spraying a lawn

True Green is one of many companies that specialize in maintaining the turf areas of your property. I will not mention whether I think they do a good job or not, but I do want to give you a quick overview of the program that they do to people’s yards. This will be the quick overview and I will go into further depth of each step in later blogs.

I must first start out by qualifying the timeline I am going to mention. I live in Nashville, TN and have all my 21 years of landscaping. I know this area like the back of my hand. The timeline that I use is specifically for my area. You need to understand where you live and adjust accordingly. Such as, my ‘frost date’ is April 15th. That means, on average, we do not get any frost after April 15th. The further north you go, the longer that frost date is. I am pretty sure that Michigan is June 15th. Don’t quote me on that though. I will do more homework on sections of the country as I break down these steps in future blogs.

The standard 5 step program that needs to be done for the turf, is vital to the health of the grass and the elimination of weeds. No matter how hard you try, it will take up to 5 years to look like a golf course from the start of a new lawn. Not missing steps is key to the timeline. So let’s talk about the timeline, shall we?

It starts out in Feb. by putting out a pre-emergent. A pre-emergent prevents weed seeds from germinating. You can also put out fertilizer with this step.

In April, into May, you want to use a liquid weed killer for any weeds that got past the pre-emergent. I like liquid because it is more accurate. I will discuss further later. You can use a fertilizer again here, but I wouldn’t go very strong.

In June, or July, fertilize again with a slow release fertilizer. Be gentle because it is starting to get hot, and without enough water, you can burn up the grass. If you are going for a Bermuda or Zoysia type grass, now is the time to overseed.

In Sept, the most important step occurs. You MUST overseed with a good blend of Fescue. Compliment the overseed with lawn starter fertilizer. Yes, you can aerate if you so choose too, but in my opinion aeration, most of the time, is extremely optional.

The final step is in Dec. with using a winterizer fertilizer. This helps protect the root system and give the right amount of food for the dormant grass.
Doing these steps religiously will ensure your turf becomes healthy and weed free.

Happy Grass

We have been talking about how to start a landscape design since the first blog I wrote in May of 2009. We charted out things to think about and questions to ask yourself as you are creating a landscape design for your yard. Many factors need to be evaluated in order to maximize space and money.

Today I want to talk about evaluating your future projects. Too many times, people get real excited about planting flowers and bushes around their house, and don’t think about what they want to add in the future as money persists. Sidewalks and driveways are number one to think about. Depending on if you are in an older home or a newer home, you might or might not have concrete for a walk or drive. If you don’t, then you will want to plan out for the future sidewalk and concrete for the drive. This will effect where you can put corner bushes, and design the front of the house for the bed edge.

When working on the sides and rear of the home, you must think about if you have a patio or deck, and if you will ever add to the size as your family and friends grow. The last thing you want to do is have an expensive focal plant right where the new patio is going to go. I suggest either planting cheap stuff that you don’t mind transplanting later, or waiting until you can do it all together.

The big project that people sometimes forget to plan for is a swimming pool or addition onto the house. These are probably the hardest to plan for because you don’t know exactly how they will lay out until they are completely done. But, when you plan for the addition or pool, then you will not have too much waste in plant material before the project even begins.

As always, when starting a landscape design, treat yourself like a customer and ask yourself every question that we have talked about so far, so you can have the perfect landscape design for your home.

Happy Projects