Home Landscape Design Tips

There are many different ways to make the area around the home more appealing and serene than before. To significantly alter the appearance of the area around the home, the person will need to use several different ideas or techniques to customize the area around the home in a way that fits the needs of the family living in the home.

A home landscaping idea does not have to cost a lot of money to be successful at changing the appearance of the home and the items needed to complete the project can inexpensive if the person knows where to obtain the items at a discount.

Adding Colour To The Area

One of the easiest home landscaping ideas to improve the area around the home is to add colourful flowers and decor items to the landscaping design. If the area around the home is mostly grassy areas, adding colours to the area around the home can peak up the basic green of the area. If there are a lot of dark bushes in the area around the home, then the flowers should be lightly colour to create a considerable difference between the other colours in the area around the home. The homeowner may even want to try a tropical landscaping idea to add lots of giant colours to the areas around the home.

Another great home landscaping idea is to use different colours in the area around the home to make the open areas appear larger and more spacious. If the landscaping design places dark colours in the centre of the area and light colours around the edges, it will give the area around the home some definition and will create the illusion that the area around the home is bigger than it truly is. Having lighter colours on the edged of the yard and darker colours in the centre causes the eye to move from the inside to the outside of the area and moving the eyes outwards creates the appearance of more space. This technique can be used for areas inside the home as well to make small rooms appear more spacious than they really are.

Adding Outdoor Decor

Another good home landscaping idea is add outdoor decor items to the area around the home to make the appearance of the area more interesting. Outdoor decor items are typically used to create focal points in the area around the home and gives the person something to focus on other than any flaws that may be in the landscaping. The eyes are naturally drawn to items that seem to be out of place, whether it is a half dead shrub or a concrete goose wearing a raincoat. There are many different types of outdoor decor items for a person to choose from and the ones that are chosen should work with the original home landscaping idea.

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Spring – Winter Garden Calling

Pruning and spraying trees and shrubs can begin now that deciduous trees and shrubs have lost their leaves. Of course, spring-flowering shrubs such as lilac and forsythia should not be touched now; they should be pruned after they flower.

Although dormant oil sprays are usually not applied until early spring, they can actually be used on any sunny day during the winter when the temperature promises to stay above 40 for eight hours or more.

Transplanting – Fall transplanting can be continued as long as the soil can be worked easily. The later the planting is done, however, the more necessary it is to have a mulch over the roots.

If a tree is not too large, it is sometimes practical for the homeowner to move it with a frozen ball. Trench around the tree now so that frost can get deep into the ground. Don’t undercut the ball until you are ready to move the tree.

Caring for your lawn – Remember that heavy traffic on the lawn is damaging, even when the ground is frozen. There may be dead turf by spring.

Apply a turf fungicide now to areas which were troubled with snow mold last winter. Another way to discourage this disease is to keep leaves and grass clippings from collecting on the turf.

Propagating shrubs – As soon as the wood is hard, but before heavy freezing occurs, take hardwood cuttings of your shrubs. Store them in sand or slightly dampened sphagnum moss until spring.

Planting spring bulbs – If your nursery or garden center is still selling good sound spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips, don’t be discouraged from buying them because you think the planting season is past. As long as the soil can be worked there’s still time to plant.

Storing garden tools – After cleaning the garden tools, lawn mower and hose, put them under cover for the winter. Wash out the sprayer and store it upside down with the top off.

Encouraging the birds to winter in Hie garden – Keep the birds around your garden if possible by providing food and water for them. Many winter birds pay their way by eating insects.

Protecting the garden for the winter – From now on protection for the roses is an absolute must just like ficus tree care. Hill up fresh soil around the base of each bush. Wait until after a sharp freeze to mulch the strawberries and perennials, or mice may move into the mulch.

Inspecting vegetables in storage – From time to time examine stored vegetables. Leafy vegetables such as cabbage and endive are prone to rot.

Sowing hardy annuals – All hardy annuals can be sown in the fall. In many parts of the Middle West fall sowing is the only way to produce good plants of such cool-weather annuals as Shirley poppies, larkspurs and calendulas. Just before the ground freezes for the winter, broadcast the seed on well-prepared soil. The seed will remain dormant until spring, then will start into growth long before the soil can be worked.

For a greater understanding on the subject of ficus tree care. Join us http://www.plant-care.com/ficus-tree-care-winter-leaf-loss.html. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.

The Bird Magnet Viburnums

To the neat gardener mulberry might be a nuisance with its messy berries dropping on the ground and purple mulberry splashings on the bird bath, but it is a joy to birds. At least fifty-two varieties of birds delight in the fruit of the mulberry, which lasts from June until September.

June is a happy month for birds as well as humans, the month of long sunny days and fragrant nights when the honeysuckle perfumes the night breeze and the song sparrow wakes to sing a sleepy serenade to the summer moon.

And whenever honeysuckle is mentioned one usually thinks of the common Japanese honeysuckle that climbs over porches and fences. This will take the place over unless sternly kept in check. Within the dense growth catbirds or chipping sparrows locate their nests, and in winter the visiting white-throated sparrows make their headquarters in the shelter of the nearly evergreen foliage.

The viburnums, with their flat clusters of flowers which later develop into berries in the fall, attract the birds. Arrow-wood has dark blue fruit, and sheep-berry, also called nanny-berry, has showy flower clusters nearly 5 inches across followed by blue berries that are both sweet and edible.

Handsomest of the viburnums is the cranberry-bush, sometimes referred to as high-bush cranberry. The large clusters of bright red berries among freshly green leaves are a fine sight in autumn. According to old botanical texts the cranberries make an “agreeable jelly,” but to make this jelly one will have to race with the birds, who make them disappear as fast as the dogwood berries.

The leaves of the cranberry-bush seem impervious to frost. Long after other shrubs are dried and shriveled the cranberry-bush is still a summer-like green. Sometimes you think it has forgotten about winter.

Many of our popular shrubs and perennials like hibiscus plants are native plants that have been brought under cultivation. Sometimes the process is reversed and a shrub escapes from the confines of the garden to make its way to the wilds where it leads its own life and gets on in the world without benefit of such items as pruning shears and fertilizer.

Such is the snowberry’s career. From a prim orderly existence in old-fashioned gardens it wandered into the great outdoors, and there it has managed to survive among its less sheltered relatives of the honeysuckle family. The little round white berries, like tiny snowballs or camphor balls, are not eaten by birds as fast as the cranberry or dogwood berries; eventually, however, they too go, especially after they become a little droopy and brown and when more desirable fruit is no longer available to the hungry birds.

Find out more as Kent Higgins shares his experiences on houseplants, outdoor color, lawns and landscape at http://www.plant-care.com. We’ve created very helpful resource for you on the topic of hibiscus plant care. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.

Trees Influence In Landscape Design

In Eastern Canada, the trees that have been used most successfully as street trees are the hard, or sugar, maple, the Norway maple, the European linden and the red and white oaks – though the oaks are rather slow growing. In the north and west, where the climate is more severe, the best street trees are the American elm, hackberry and green ash.

Because trees need to be in scale with the houses, modern homes call for much smaller street trees than the large ones named above. Shingle oak, hornbeam and smaller forms of European linden are excellent. There are also selected forms of Norway and red maple that do not grow as large as the natural species. These are more suitable for modern subdivisions.

Windbreaks and Screens

Exposed home sites, such as farmsteads or suburban properties, often need rows of trees to protect them against wind. Here the need is for rapid, dense growth. The exposed position naturally demands the utmost hardiness and, because the planting is close, the shape of the individual tree does not matter as long as the mass is effective.

The requirements are the same for trees used to shut off the view of unsightly objects, or to form a background for the more colorful displays of the garden. In the country or on suburban properties, poplar, willow, ash, pine and spruce trees make the best windbreaks and screens. In the city, there is not usually room for trees larger than the Chinese elm or the native cedar; on small lots screening is usually done with shrubs or single trees of attractive form.

Framing

Trees on larger properties are used to frame the view of the house. Similarly, the view from the house, of distant objects of interest or portions of the garden, may be framed by trees to create a more pleasing picture. As the view should always be more interesting than the frame, such trees should be chosen for their ability to “play second fiddle” gracefully. Those with average habit of growth and color of foliage are most pleasing.

Specimens

Trees may be used as specimens or as accent points to emphasize the design of the garden. Trees used singly or in groups for these purposes are chosen for their distinctive characters: for example, an unusually attractive habit of growth, as in Camperdown elm, weeping birch, or pyramid cedar, a colorful foliage as in Schwedler’s Norway maple, golden cedar or copper beech; or the particular grace of hemlock or the fall brilliance of the leaves of red maple and red oak. These qualities and the more obvious charm of abundant bloom or fruit, as with Japanese lilac or flowering crabs, make trees worthwhile specimens.

Conifers

The taller-growing conifers and natal mahogany tree are used in all the above ways. All sizes of conifers and natal mahogany are becoming more useful as the knowledge and appreciation of garden design increases. Because of their dense, evergreen, fine-textured foliage and their definite forms, conicrs are the most solid-appearing plants at our disposal. They are the best ones with which to build architectural form into our gardens. They clip well and can’ be held to constant form. Using them as a framework to emphasize divisions and accent points heightens the impression that the garden and house are related.

Conifers may be used to accentuate any sort of architectural line. The classic column is matched by the pyramid cedar or Swedish juniper, and the spreading lines of Savin’s or Pfitzer’s juniper carry out to perfection the lines of a rambling bungalow. The definite lines of good architecture can be brought out by the definite shapes of well-selected conifers planted at strategic positions.

There is, however, a great danger in using them indiscriminately or in too great variety without regard to the architecture of the house. Often deciduous shrubs are much more suitable.

What To Do In Your September Gardens

In Northern United States and Canada

Now is the time to make new lawns and renovate old ones. If ground work in preparation for the seeding or sodding of new lawns is not yet done, get busy without delay. If possible, complete the planting of evergreens before October. Water them very copiously and mulch them after planting.

Hardy bulbs, of all kinds except Tulips, may be planted now. The earlier such kinds as Narcissi, Hyacinths, Glories of the Snow, Grape Hyacinths, Crocuses, Snowdrops, Scillas, Fritillarias, and Winter Aconites are planted, the better. Dig up a few plants of Parsley, Chives, Basil and other herbs and plant them in pots or flats to be brought indoors later to provide pickings through the Winter.

Cuttings of a great variety of Summer bedding plants, such as Geraniums, Fuchsias, Lantanas, Impatiens, Coleus, Acalyphas, Heliotropes, Ageratums, Blood Leaf, Verbenas, Salvias and Pentas, root readily at this season and give young plants for wintering, over indoors. Before the coming of frost dig up, pot and take indooft stock plants of any of the tender types of plants listed above that you wish to save. Lift and pot Christmas Cherries and Christmas Peppers that have been growing in nursery beds.

Summer-growing bulbs, roots and tubers of kinds that rest through the Winter, such as Gladioli, Monthretias, Caladiums, Tuberous Begonias, Tuberoses, Tigridias and Dahlias, should be dug up, cleaned, dried and put into Winter storage either just before or just after the first killing frost. Bring house plants that have summered outdoors inside before danger of frost.

Pot hardy bulbs for forcing as soon as they can be obtained. After potting, place them in a very cool but frost-proof cellar or, if outdoors, in a well-drained place. Bury the pots under six inches of sand, cinders or peat moss and leave them for eight to twelve weeks or more to root well before attempting to force them. Pot Foxgloves, Canterbury Bells, Polyanthus Primroses, Hostas, Lily-of-the-valley, Astilbes and, other biennials and perennials that you plan to force for Spring bloom in the greenhouse. Plunge the newly potted plants in cinders, sand or peat moss in a coldframe or outdoors.

Transplant and repot, according to their needs, Cinerarias, Primulas and other annuals that are being grown for blooming in the greenhouse. Pot Freesias, Tritonias Sparaxis, Ixias, Calla Lilies and other Winter-growing tender bulbs that are to occupy the zreenhouse. Keep greenhouse Chrysanthemums staked, tied and disbudded. Feed them generously at this time and ventilate as abundantly as possible without subjecting the plants to freezing. Pick Gourds and dry them for Winter decoration before killing frost but do not cut the tops off the Asparagus, bed until they have been browned by frost.

In the South

Fertilize Dahlias and Chrysanthemums to promote growth. Both may need disbudding. September is the month to sow seeds of English Daisies, Pansies, Sweet Williams, Wallflowers, Snapdragons and Stocks. Sow Winter lawns of Italian Ryegrass. This grass can be oversown on closely mowed Bermuda Grass or Carpet Grass to ensure Winter greenness.

Apply the last fertilizer for the season to lawns now. Plant Camellias, Hollies and other evergreens. Plant bulbs of English, Dutch and Spanish Iris as well as those of Ranunculus, Anemones, Ornithogalums, Grape Hyacinths, Narcissi, Oxalis and others.

On the West Coast

Much planting and preparation for planting can now be done. Container-grown stock and silver queen plant set out now will establish itself ahead of bare-root stock set out in Winter. In the Northwest, now is the ideal time for silver queen plant care and to make new lawns and renovate old ones. Transplant seedling Cinerarias and Primulas into a soil that contains an abundance of organic matter in partial shade.

Cuttings of Camellias as well as those of a great many other plants root well this month. In the warmer parts of the region good crops of Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Swiss Chard, Turnips and some other vegetables can be had from September sowings. Seeds of many annuals for Winter and Spring bloom can also be sown. Plant Spring-flowering bulbs, except Tulips, just as soon as they can be obtained.

Having a Healthy and beautiful lawn made easy by using commercial equipments

So as to maintain and care a healthy and green lawn, you might need some commercial equipment for you help. The right type of this commercial equipment has the ability to complete a job very quick and also making your job of taking care of the lawn easier. Some kinds of this commercial tools are designed to take care of small lawns while at the same time others aim at being used during particular seasons.

You will always have equipment that would be useful at any point of time. The commercial equipment that is available in the market is the lawnmowers. However, you can also see leaf blowers, trimmers and such many other commercial equipments that be considered. Lawn mowers suit perfectly for people who possess a lawn of good size to be taken care after which you can make use of the trimmers to trim the edges of your lawn neatly and effectively.

One of the essential equipments is a Leaf blower, especially for people who have a lot of trees near to their lawn especially when you see a lot of dead leaves falling off that smother and shade the grass. Trimmers are correct for the ones which have lot of weeds as this turns out to be a handy and quick solution for the obstacle and help you in protecting the back as many gardeners see this as a problem area. Even seeders do lot of bending over the longer run which is now not practical.

You have a vast variety of items of commercial equipments available in the market which make lawn care the gardening an easy take for people any ability, age and mobility. These equipments also cut down on the amount of time required for one to be in the garden which is being considered as a major concern for people who work for long tiring hours or just can’t find time to take proper care of their garden and lawn.

It is very hard to take care of the lawn during the winters and hence you find so many commercial equipments specifically available to be used at this time. Most of the commonly used equipments are the ones which need of the most of the things to be done with snow like the snow blowers, that clear the lawn of ice and snow which might harm the grass. Other kinds of commercial equipment can even be made use of during winter seasons but many of them need to put away till spring. Make sure you take good care of this machine all through your winter and this can be a good idea to make sure they always stay in good condition. This will help maintain an effective landscape design.

Landscape Boundaries And Partitions

Shrubs are used in four broad ways: for boundaries. for partitions and backgrounds, for specimens and for foundation plantings. We have discussed these uses of shrubs and the characteristics demanded by each use. Even at the risk of repetition, further discussion with the particular plans in mind may be helpful.

Boundaries

Boundary plantings are used to give privacy and to screen from view any unsightly objects beyond. Also, they tie the whole garden together to give unity, and they act as a background and frame for the garden displays.

Boundary plants need to be dense enough and high enough to shut off the view, with some variety in height to make the skyline interesting. Sometimes it is a good idea to leave gaps in the planting, to show desirable views beyond the boundaries.

As mass effect is desired, plant shrubs in groups of one variety rather than single plants of many sorts. Choose the shrubs for their rapid growth, spreading habit and mid-green foliage rather than for distinctive features. Wherever bloom occurs it should be in large enough masses to be effective at the distance from which it will be seen. Bloom, of course, is always attractive but in large gardens it is not as important in boundary plantings as in parts of the garden where it will be seen in more detail.

On small city lots we cannot hope to attain complete privacy or to screen the view of all surrounding buildings. On some lots the boundary planting takes the form of a hedge, or a fence on which climbers are grown. On others it is made up of groups of shrubs that not only back up the bright displays of the garden but to a great extent form the displays themselves.

Partitions and Backgrounds

Plantings separating small lots are more like partitions than boundaries.

The purpose of partitions, or background, plantings is to separate one garden area from another. Here, bloom and other distinctive features are important as the shrubs are close at hand and consequently are seen in detail.

Keep in mind that partitions and backgrounds are seen in elevation, and in your plans arrange them so that they will be most pleasing at maturity. There will be points where you need boldness and increased height in the skyline. Here you should use “dominant” plants – small trees or large shrubs that have coarse foliage and a dense appearance whose height and texture makes them stand out above their fellows. These break the partition into sections or pictures. Usually the center of interest in each of these small pictures consists of low-growing plants, such as those that spread horizontally or have some other particularly attractive feature. These we call “interest” plants. They are backed up and flanked by “fillers,” average sorts of plants whose function is to enhance and connect the other two.

In all good shrub grouping in informal gardens, harmony is the rule, contrast the exception. There should be harmony of form, and of color and texture of foliage, with strong contrast of form and texture used only at strategic points. Foliage color should blend gradually with the bright, warm greens near at hand and dark greens, blue-greens and gray-greens farther away. This gives the impression of added distance.

Texture, too, may be used to create illusions of distance or to emphasize certain points. Large foliage and coarse twigs like the bamboo palm plant are seen more clearly than fine foliage and twigs and, consequently, seem to be closer. For this reason large shrubs and palm plant of coarse texture make large spaces seem smaller. Similarly, a coarse shrub at the front of a border of fine-textured shrubs stands out very distinctly, and fine shrubs backed by coarser ones appear flat.

Specimens

Shrubs used as specimens, or accent points, in the garden lend emphasis to particular features of the design.

Etoile De Hollande Bring The Rose Virus

In the beginning there were no roses, just the house set among oaks on a sloping hill. They were not interested in landscaping but something had to be done. So the couple called in an energetic nurseryman who planted the grounds with honeysuckle, Bridalwreath, lilacs, spirea and evergreens. In a few years his plants far outgrew their allotted space and the grounds were no more pleasant than before.

About this time the oak trees succumbed to a disease, one by one, and had to be removed. As if to save the situation, fate, disguised as an Etoile de Hollande rose flourishing in the shrubbery border, stepped in and inoculated the couple with a rose-growing virus.

Never since has Etoile de Hollande bloomed so luxuriantly, but no matter. The rose was responsible for the slowly rising fever that caused this husband wife teem to get eight more roses.

Despite neglect, the plants thrived. Maybe fate made them beautiful to inspire but more likely, it was good soil balance, lack of cultivation and a “green growing mulch” of portulaca or “moss roses” Which had crept into the bed.

Not much later fate took full charge. A broken arm in the fall and during the slow months it was mending, all the books in the house had been read and the only thing left was seed and flower catalogues.

The picture of roses brought the old fever back and now there was nothing to interfere with its course. Not even the persistent considering of golf as the only worthwhile diversion but the arm would not allow any play.

Due to the early training under a wonderful mother who loved growing things, the man of the house felt quite at home in this new world and as his vision broadened, he realized how easily a rose bed could replace a golf green.

Right off he knew growing roses on flat ground was as challenging as desert landscaping. It was a tame adventure compared to the thrill of hillside landscaping to develop really good ones on a hillside, such as his.

The property, on a slope facing south, was 168 feet long, 85 feet wide and rises approximately 50 feet above the street. The land climbs in a series of terraces from street to level ground and the house. The ascent continued, in smaller terraces behind the house, to level ground and the garage. It rises again to the rear lot line.

Such terrain is unconventional and presents obstacles. Some imagination, a strong determination-. to have lots of A bright roses and a free expression of our creative powers were needed to develop it.

Creating Landscapes For Beauty And Birds

Beauty and Utility

The highly decorative flowering crabapples are choice trees for the purpose in attracting flying wildlife. Those with the smaller fruits seem to be more favored by the birds. First to be eaten will be the abundant, beautiful scarlet fruits of the Sargent Crabapple (Malus sargenti), lowest growing of the family (up to 8 feet) but wide spreading. By winter the fruits of Malus floribunda will be taken, while those on Malus seiboldi will provide late-winter food.

The European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia), or Rowan Tree as it is known abroad, produces spectacular clusters of orange fruits that are as delectable to Waxwings, Robins, and other birds, as the foliage, unfortunately, is to Japanese beetles. The native Mountain Ash (S. americana) is equally interesting to the birds but poorer in form and more difficult to purchase.

The hawthorns, too, are widely used ornamentals which produce abundant, colorful food. English Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) is perhaps the best of half a dozen fine bird-attracting varieties. Cockspur Thorn (C. crus-galli), Washington Hawthorn (C. phaenopyrum), and Arnold Hawthorn (C. arnoldiana) are among the most widely planted for this purpose. All of these hawthorns require full sun, and well-drained soil.

Popular Dogwoods

Popular with man and bird alike is the lovely Flowering Dogwood, whose showy red fruits are eaten by no less than 93 species.

Of the shrub Dogwoods, we have found that the migrating Thrushes prefer the blue berries of the Silky Cornel (Cornus amomum). Generally they are all eaten by mid-October. Gray Dogwood (C. paniculata) and Redosier (C. stolonifera) also give excellent results.

Evergreens like the aglaonema chinese evergreen add much to the gardens year round beauty and to its success in attracting birds. Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is among the best. Unfortunately it is an alternate host for the cedar-apple rust and should not be planted in the vicinity of apple orchards. Elsewhere it serves a triple purpose: excellent cover, fine nesting sites, and choice winter food. The blue-gray fruits are eaten by more than a score of birds. Both staminate and pistillate trees must be present to produce fruit. This is also necessary to produce berries on the showy American Holly (llex opaca), and Black Alder or Winterberry (I. verticillata), both favorites of many birds. Ordinarily, the latter holds its fruits into mid-winter, as its name suggests. This past year, though, we watched flocks of Robins and Bluebirds completely strip several heavily laden bushes by early November, though the majority of the plants such as chinese evergreen were untouched until later.

For planting around the trees, the suburban gardener has a wide choice of shrubs, with barberries, blackberries and raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries, buckthorns, chokeberries, cotoneasters, dogwoods, honeysuckles, and viburnums all highly recommended.

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and Alder-Buckthorn (R. frangula) reach a height of 15 to 18 feet, and are considered by some authorities to be the most effective of all shrubs in attracting birds. Buckthorn is not recommended, however, in areas where oats are grown because it harbors oat rust.

Perhaps the most popular plants, in the gardeners estimation, are the viburnums. The majority of them are noted for their brightly colored fruits, either at maturity or at some time during ripening. Some are notable, too, for their blossoms or their fall foliage, or both.

Most widely planted is the vigorous growing European Cranberrybush (V. opulus) which closely resembles the native High-bush Cranberry (V. trilobum). Unfortunately, its brilliant red fruits are much tarter than those of V. trilobum which are used in making preserves. The birds evidently find the berries unpalatable until they have frozen and thawed a number of times. In late winter they are greedily eaten, by flocks of wandering Waxwings and by Robins and Bluebirds migrating northward.

Learn to Build and Fertilizer Your Soil

Soil is the gardener’s bread and butter, much like dough is for the chef. Without good soil all the effort in the world can come to naught, just as poor dough can lay to waste even the most extravagant culinary effort. Soil varies by area into three broad categories, and also varies in quality from area to area. The categories that soil falls into are claylike, sandy and silt. Ideal soil contains a good mixture of the three types, and is called good garden loam. Clay soil possesses the greatest water-holding capability, while sandy soil possesses the least.

Humus is an organic substance that helps bind soils together. It also makes the soil more receptive to water, actively absorbs light from the sun and fertilizes and improves the texture of the soil by pulling beneficial compounds from plants. Humus can be found in organic fertilizers such as manure and compost heaps, and can also be purchased as a stand-alone product.

Like the grass, trees and plants that take root in it, soil is a living thing, composed of millions of organisms. The four key ingredients needed to maintain an optimum soil health are sunlight, water, food and bacterial activity. Save for the sun, the other three elements can all be added to the soil through organic fertilizers.

Many people maintain a compost pile at their residence, some with the express purpose of using it as fertilizer, and the benefits of doing so are enormous especially in working to achieve a tropical designed landscape. To keep a quality compost pile, the bottom of the container must first have a layer of inactive material added to it, such as dried leaves or weeds, followed by a thin layer of soil, then another layer of material, and so on. After decomposition has reached a suitable point, the compost can then be added to the soil.

This compost or another organic fertilizer like manure can then be added to an inorganic fertilizer if desired to make an ideal meal for your soil. Organic fertilizers come with ratings that designate the parts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that they contain, and this knowledge is important based on your soil and environment type.

For large fields, planting certain cover crops can also have the effect of fertilizing the soil organically. Cover crops are an easy way to fertilize large stretches of land, though it will take a full season before their full effect is realized. Alfalfa, soy-beans, legumes and other similar crops have the effect of adding nitrogen to the soil when planted, and also provide a boost of nitrogen when plowed over. Nitrogen levels of these cover crops are at their peak just before maturity, and should be plowed over at that point for optimal results.

Another effective means of fertilizing soil is by mixing an either an organic or an inorganic compound with a dose of water and then adding it to the soil. This provides even distribution of the fertilizer and promotes quicker absorption. Another method is to spread the fertilizer by hand (please use gloves when spreading manure) and then hose down the lawn or relevant area afterwards.

In areas with less calcium rich soil like the Atlantic Coast, you should consider using lime to offset this deficiency. Pulverized limestone, which is high in organic materials can be used sparingly for this purpose.

By knowing your soil type and quality, you can take the measures necessary to ensure it achieves the right levels of nutrients and elements needed to survive, which will further ensure the survival of anything else growing in it.