Archive for Flowers
Different Kinds of Irrigation Systems
If you are a farmer, gardener or even a landscaper you probably know how important it is to have an irrigation system installed to supply your plants, gardens or crops with water. Most irrigation systems are used during dry seasons when rainfall is scarce but since there are several types of irrigation it would be important for persons to identify which type would best serve their needs.
Lets Look At irrigation Systems
Irrigation techniques may differ in several ways but the basic concept of the system is that water is obtained from a source and is distributed to plants or crops. Generally the aim of the system is to equally and uniformly distribute specific amounts of water to each plant or crop.
Types of irrigation used include high or micro flow irrigation, sub-irrigation, in-ground irrigation, localized irrigation and even automatic irrigation systems. They are all utilized to best suit their specific purpose however the two, most, commonly, used systems are the high flow or micro flow irrigation systems.
With these two main types of irrigation systems one releases water with a high flow and the other distributes water with a low flow or a drip. The high flowing system operates so that water spreads heavily across the surface of the specified area, in order to wet and infiltrate into the soil and the low flowing system functions so that water falls in a dripping fashion and is delivered directly at the position of roots.
The high flowing system is mostly used when irrigating agricultural land. Here water levels that originate from the irrigation source and are used to flood or control the level of water in each distinct field. The flooding system is controlled by dikes which are slopes that help to regulate water levels. This form of irrigation is mostly seen with the cultivation of rice.
The low flowing or drip irrigation system as we know obtains water from a source and transports and delivers it to plants through emitters, mini rotors, micro sprays or drip lines in a dripping fashion where water goes directly to roots.This method has been seen as the most, water-efficient, method, of irrigation as it utilizes less water and once managed properly minimizes evaporation and runoff.
Since drip irrigation systems are the more domestic and commonly used system here are a few tips that can assist persons with operating and maintaining them so that they function as efficiently as possible.
For this type drip lines are most recommended and should be used for continuous rooting as they have flexible tubing containing tiny, water, flow, regulators, for evenly spaced water distribution.
Micro sprays and mini rotors clog easily, and should be regularly maintained. Monthly investigations should be conducted and if necessary repairs or replacements done to ensure there are no irregularities within the system.
Laying out emitters individually can also prove to be an efficient practice as this delivers water exactly where the plant needs. It reduces the amount of weeds produced and eliminates excess, irrelevant water. Persons also need to make sure that their drip system includes pressure reducers and filters as these ensure water is measured accurately and delivered at the specified rate.
Remember that these systems must be designed to prevent runoff, low head drainage and overspray. For more information on irrigation contact us.
Winter Gardening: Growing Vegetables
Though snow may lie deep in drifts outside your window, this is the ideal time to get started with this year’s winter gardening program. There are many garden tasks that can be done now, while there is ample time to plan, research, and begin gathering materials. Some gardeners consider these winter chores to be the most enjoyable parts of gardening. Tasks can be accomplished comfortably from your armchair as the garden takes shape in your imagination, where it is always lush, abundant, and of course free of weeds.
Winter Gardening Advice
In midwinter, before the growing season gets underway you have time to organize yourself so you can accomplish everything you need to do from now until your garden is planted. This is the time to make rough plans which can be refined and modified as you go along. So while the birds twitter around their feeders and the forecast is for more snow, grab a stack of seed catalogs, some paper, and a pencil, and settle into a comfortable chair and plan your dream garden.
It is helpful at this early stage to make some key decisions about your garden. You need to compile the list of vegetables that you plan to grow. You must also decide which vegetables you will start from seed inside, which you’ll sow as seed directly into your garden, and which you’ll purchase as seedlings from a nursery. Additionally, you should list supplies you’ll need for cowing seedlings indoors, and begin to gather these items. It is also helpful to start composing a rough sketch of your garden layout. Finally, you should draw up a calendar of garden tasks to do to help you stay on schedule as the season progresses.
Start by thinking about which vegetables you’d like to grow this year. If you’ve had a vegetable garden before you should consider what grew well for you before and what failed. Certainly include any of your old favorites, those vegetables that are easy to grow and can be relied upon to produce abundantly. There may be new vegetables you’d like to try or new varieties of your old favorites that you would like to experiment with. Consider quantity too. Did you have as much as you wanted of everything last year? Was there something that you could not give away fast enough such as all those zucchinis? Perhaps there was something which you enjoyed eating but took up too much space?
If you haven’t grown vegetables before, a good way to start putting a list together is simply to consider what your family enjoys eating. You’ll want to think about vegetables that you’d like to provide fresh from your garden over the summer, as well as considering any vegetables that you’d like to can, freeze, or store for fall and winter eating. If this is your first vegetable garden it’s wise to start small. A small kitchen garden of ten or twenty square feet planted with a handful of vegetables and herbs will keep you fairly busy with garden tasks, supplement your family’s food, and provide you with good gardening experience to go forward.
Don’t forget to take your growing zone into consideration when choosing vegetables to grow. If you are not sure which zone you live in, you can readily find out in almost any gardening book or online. Do some research on gardening in your region to find out how long your growing season is, when planting time starts, and what types of vegetables do best where you live. Contact us for more information.
Narrow Walkway Flower Bed Ideas
Flower bed ideas can be quite easy to implement. Most gardens have walkways that are about two feet wide. Narrower walkways may help you to use a small space more efficiently.
However, they pose a unique design challenge to gardeners, landscapers and homeowners: how can you create and position flower beds so that they don’t visually overpower the walkways? Try these flower bed ideas to add variety and beauty to your space.
Perennial and Evergreen Flower Bed Ideas
Narrow walkways limit access to your flower beds, and make maneuvering through the space more difficult. Annual plants are flower bed ideas that can create headaches due to yearly replanting. By choosing perennials suitable to your climate, you’ll ensure that your plants come back each year and minimize the amount of work you (or your landscapers) must do.
You may also put evergreen plants on your list of flower bed ideas. These come back each year, and the plants won’t lose their leaves or fade in ways that require additional maintenance.
Keep Flower Beds Controlled
If your flower beds grow weedy or otherwise out of control, they can cut into your walkway. Normally that may be unsightly, but not a disaster. But if your garden’s walkways are narrow, this can make the pathway difficult to navigate, or even find. This is particularly problematic with gravel or dirt walkways, where the edges are already, often, poorly defined.
When going through your flower bed ideas, make sure that the line between the flower bed and the path is clearly marked. You may want a small fence, stone wall or other raised marker. Make sure your flowers are semi-regularly pruned back from the edges of the path, and that any weeds are removed. You may want to choose plants that grow more slowly, and that put off fewer vines or shoots for you to have to deal with.
Use Trellises
Trellises and fences are perfect flower bed ideas for climbing plants, that allow you more room to play. Be sure to choose climbing plants that don’t grow to too tall of a height, to minimize maintenance. Many vines are invasive, as well, so be sure that your final choice is native to your area.
Create a Unique Environment
Finally, once your flower beds are complete, your garden may feel crowded. Take advantage of this by creating a unique atmosphere. Delicate lighting along the edges of your path, or hanging from trees, can create a mysterious atmosphere like an enchanted forest. A little fence around the whole space, along with a gate, is one of those flower bed ideas that can make your garden feel like something out of a fairy tale.
Conclusion
When you want to implement your flower bed ideas, it’s time to call an expert. Contact us for a consultation about your yard and its specific needs, including repair, maintenance, irritation, and xeriscaping for saving water.
Flower Bed Ideas – A Few Good Tips You Should Follow
Flower beds are one of the most convenient ways of sprucing up your outdoor decor and beautifying your entire yard.
Planting a flower bed is also a labor of love for millions of homeowners who already have the knack (and experience) for it; for those who don’t, the rest of this post if for you.
And if you’re still worried about your garden or you feel like your entire yard could benefit from aeration, then don’t hesitate to contact us your lawn experts. Now, let’s get started:
Tips for the Perfect Flower Bed
The perfect flower bed brings together form and function by applying a few simple tips in order to create a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
- Focus on Framing
Part of the “form” part of creating the ideal flower bed for your home is going with a melange of perennials, annuals and shrubs for variety and framing.
In the same way that what’s in the background on a stage set can help to frame all the action going on in the foreground, you want a “framing device” in the back of your flower bed to draw your eye into the action.
A good rule of thumb is to plant tall perennial plants in the back of your garden to get the most out of everything going on upfront.
If you’re on a tight budget or you want to make a simpler landscaping project for yourself, then you can always put shrubs behind your perennials and annuals as well.
- Blend Perennials and Annuals
Annual flowers cycle through the germination, seeding, flowering and expiration process in one single year whereas perennials are able to grow from one year to the next with an off-season of dormancy in the winter.
The good news is that perennials like roses, daylilies, and peonies tend to play nice with annual flowers like marigolds and zinnias when it comes to finding the right balance between earth tones and more vibrant colors for your home garden.
- Combining Earth Tones and Vibrancy
In particular, the pink of a blossoming peony tends to work beautifully with the vibrant red of most roses. Marigolds and zinnias can also work well together if you’re looking to combine more tropical orange and yellow tones into your next flower bed.
Zinnias are actually easier to cultivate than most annuals and come in a myriad of colors that can make any garden really pop and dazzle guests.
You can find zinnias in purple, crimson, rose and scarlet to suit your tastes and make a flowing color combination with actual roses or even peonies when it comes time to get going.
Putting on the Finishing Touches
Once you know the kind of look that you’re going for and how to frame it with shrubs and/or tall perennials, then you want to move onto decorating fences or surrounding wall structures.
For this the beautiful pink and purples of an annual flower like the climbing snapdragon or greens, purples and yellows of passion flower can work very well.
Peony and roses upfront with climbing snapdragon or passion flower snaking along overhanging structures are an awesome want to frame your garden as well as beautify your home and complement your other landscaping efforts.
For help with aeration, irrigation, gardening or regular landscaping maintenance, or just to find out more tips like these, get in touch with DK Landscaping today.
Front Yard Flower Bed Ideas – DK Landscaping
Want to make your home look calm, inviting, and happy? Add flower beds to your property for constant color. Use the beds to delineate property or break up bland expanses of lawn grass and dirt. Finding flower bed ideas is simple, but you should be sure of what you need and why. There are so many possible flower bed ideas that you can get easily bogged down in details if you start to look for designs without taking issues like drought and level of care into consideration. Pinpoint non-negotiable issues like those first to make designing your front yard a lot more efficient.
Drought-Proof Flower Bed Ideas
Drought is probably going to be one of your main considerations when looking at flower bed ideas. Many areas of the country are experiencing water shortages, and anything you plant has to be able to deal with a lack of abundant water. That doesn’t mean you have to plant cacti — just look for cultivars of flowers that have been bred to be less water-needy. Native flowers are always a wonderful choice in this case as they are already somewhat adapted to their region’s fluctuating water supplies. Plant breeders have been working on drought- and disease-resistant cultivars of all sorts of plants for years, and it’s become easier to find these in garden centers and from landscaping companies when looking at flower bed ideas.
Easy Care Flower Bed Ideas
Ease of care is another big consideration for flower bed ideas. Even if you have a landscaping company taking care of most of your garden, you’ll still have to do some minor care yourself. If you don’t feel up to that, you’ll want flower varieties that can handle benign neglect. Again, native flowers tend to be a little better for this, though there are easy-care species from all over the country if you’d like more variety for your flower bed ideas.
Location Ideas For Your Flower Bed
Now take a look at location to further refine your flower bed ideas. Flower beds that will be near the street need to be able to handle road salt spray, for example, if your area tends to have occasional snowfall in spring or fall. That’s not so much of a problem with annuals, as you’d be removing them anyway, but if can be for perennial or biennial flowers.
Flower bed ideas for spaces near fences can have species of varying heights, so those plants nearer the fence should be taller. The shorter flowers near the edge of the bed may need to be shade-tolerant if the bed is positioned where the fence or taller plants might block a lot of the sunlight.
Reduce Insects
Flowers planted next to the house need to be pest-resistant if possible. While it is impossible to guarantee that a flower will never attract a bug, if you have flowers that tend to attract pests, those pests could get into your house. Ask your garden center or landscaping company to show you flowers that have a reputation for repelling insects, too, such as marigolds, petunias, and nasturtiums. As you come up with ideas for other areas of your yard, you can work a few of these plants in so that you can reduce the number of pests you have to deal with overall. Start talking to landscape design companies about flower bed ideas and species that fit what you need for your yard’s environment, and you’ll have a beautiful yard in no time.
