TierramadreLandscape.com

i have a small garden and i want to get it landscaped by a designer or contracter which ever is cheaper. and i want my garden to be low maintainence type.

go to www.bhg.com into their gardening section. they have designs with plant lists already made out for you. if you don't have exactly what they require for space then use it as a reference. save money and do it yourself. save up your newspapers and use them as weed control. go to your local nursery and buy quality plants that are perennials and stick them in your new garden add mulch over the top and call it macaroni! save the money and invest in the plants by doing it yourself!

2008-02-02 12:31:50 by komi

www.landscapingnetwork.com This small backyard was redesigned to fit landscape walls, a pond, raised vegetable gardens, a metal patio cover and ...

I've never done this before, but I'm not a stranger to gardening. I've done some landscaping in my life and have raised herbs for cooking.

I want a small vegetable garden in my backyard. How large of a bed should I need and should I put it in a full-sun spot or a shadier area?

Keeping in mind that this is a small garden, what would be the best way to dig it? I'm not afraid to do some manual labor -- in fact, I like it. What tools will I need to till the ground? There's only grass there and the soil may be clayey.

I'd like to grow some herbs like rosemary, mint and basil. I'd also like to have strawberries, tomatoes, garlic and a few other easy crops. What others would be good for beginners?

Also, if there are any decorative flowers or plants that would make the garden look nice as well as functional, let me know.

I live in USDA hardiness zone 6b, meaning the average temperature 0 to -5 degrees F.

I always recommend a raised bed garden, regardless of size (assuming that one doesn't have a half-acre to till).

Our last garden area was small - about 8x20. We dug/leveled and surrounded it with two rows of landscape blocks. Filling that with a combination of black dirt and compost (some sand and peat) gave us a good total of about 10-12 of tillable soil; deep enough for root crops.

We just used a garden fork and shovel to turn over the ground, although I had occasionally rented a small tiller to turn in some rough compost at the end of the season.

Always go for an area with the most sun you can get; you can always erect sun shade material if need be.

For small gardens (which includes our 8x20) I discourage people from growing things that need a lot of space, such as sweet corn, squash, melons, etc. It's just not worth it for what you'll get in yield.

Most common things we'd plant would be:
- one or two cherry tomato plants
- a couple sweet pepper and/or hot pepper plants
- a trellised Asian cuke plant or two.
- Multiplying onions (similar to green onions)
- herbs like oregano, thyme, basils, chives and garlic chives.
- lettuce greens.

As far as decorative flowers go, you can have them in separate pots around the garden, atop the landscape blocks, or hanging from iron plant hangers, and use the garden space for mostly veggies.

Strawberries are often more trouble than they're worth, as they are prone to a lot of pest problems.

Hope that helps you a bit.

2007-01-26 11:57:27 by Jeff

I'm looking to get my garden landscaped but I'm looking for ideas. It's about 20ft by 15ft and is just a rectangle of grass at the moment - where on the web can I find pictures and / or plans of gardens of this size?

Thanks. :)

Check out the Better Homes & Gardens website. They have a lot of free plans that you can view.

Go to: http://www.bhg.com/
click on "gardening"
wade through the pop-ups and eventually you can click on "garden plans"
Browse through, I am sure you will find something to your liking.

Good luck. :)

2008-06-09 15:14:37 by jonnyjpa

This is in a small landscaping rock garden. The small rocks are on a 15' long & 2' wide galvanized sheet metal channel designed to direct water quickly to a front yard storm drain (or else our basement would flood). I'll need to remove the rocks & grit by hand but it's a small job. Grit from the driveway and dirt has caused the channel to fill up. What's the best way to separate the grit/dirt from the rocks? What can I use that would function in effect as a colander? Thanks.

I had a path made of small stones that filled up with soil. I scooped them out and set them on the drive way and then blasted them with a hose sprayer. It washed the dirt away and left the stones nice and clean. I scooped them back up and put them back in the walk.

You might want to try using this technique if you have someplace to blast the stones with a hose sprayer where the soil can be washed away.

2009-06-13 08:17:58 by wampum15

my garden is just straight rectangle shape but raised my daughters swing tips as none of the garden is fla but as so much potential but dont have a clue what to do with all this space but want it ti look nice but do as cheap as possible please any gardeners/landscape desighners can you help me my budget is 300pounds i dont want water features as my daughters safety ,thankyou so much who ever gives me answers just dont know what to do .

you would be better to make it into a series of reasonable level "steps."..easy to do with railway sleepers ( don't try it on your own as they are very heavy.)..hold the sleepers with pegs from behind..........If your garden is v.steep you may need to build steps to each level...my advice would be to cover at least one level with thick polythene and stones to cut down on grass...you gotta keep cutting it..!!...take your time and it will be OK....good luck...!!

2007-01-04 13:28:59 by FAYELOUISE H