Monday, June 21, 2010

Why Landscape Design Software, Why Landscape Vision?

Why Landscape Design Software?


Landscape design software gives you an accurate view of final plans before you invest time and money.

Change your mind as often as you like while planning your landscape, no cost associated with trial and error, experiment away!

Import a photo of your home or yard so you can plan your landscape around it.

You can build an accurate shopping list.

Resize plants, trees, etc.

Landscape design software is not just a gardening tool, it is fun!

What Makes Landscape Vision Software Different?

It is The Easiest To Use.

Award winning Plant Data Base (voted "Best Plant Data Base", by Top Ten Reviews)

Import images of Outdoor Living Products provided by our On-Line Vendors

Shop for these product right from your design

Import your own Plant Images

Free Flow Sketching. (Draw Garden Beds, Walkways, and Putting Greens)

Five Simple Steps To Creating Your Dream Landscape.

No Complicated CAD Drawings.

No Complicated Instruction Manuals.

No Need For Pages and Pages of "Frequently Asked Questions.

Easy To Navigate Help Feature.

Quick Fact Sheet.

Real Plant Pictures Not Renderings. (You do not want to see renderings on your lawn or in your garden. You want real pictures.)

Print Shopping List and Shop on-line right from your list and or design.

You Do Not Pay For More Software Then You Need!

24/7 Quick Response Support.

No other software lets you SEE, and easily SHOP for Outdoor Living products. Choice products from several popular on-line shopping sites.

See it, Buy it, in just a few easy steps!

Import your own images of ANYTHING!

Landscape Vision Software is for homeowners, gardeners, and landscapers , anyone who wants a simple fast way to see their ideas before they put spade to soil or purchase any outdoor living products and plants.

At Landscape Vision Software we know that gardeners and the weekend warrior, don't want to spend more time on computers, they want to be enjoying the outside.

Many of our competitors design software products are very difficult to use and expensive. Read their reviews. We believe landscape design doesn't need to be complicated, or expensive. Landscape Vision let's you easily see the possibilities, without being a computer whiz, all for under $40.00.
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Five Easy To Grow Perennials

The perennials that made this list were selected because they all share the following characteristics: they are easy to grow, they add an abundance of color, texture and shape to a garden, they thrive in gardens for a large part of the growing season, they are highly disease resistant and they are not finicky about the type of soil in which they are planted. And finally, although I would not go as far to label them as ‘drought resistant’, they have done beautifully in my garden for several years with minimal watering. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with these plants. They are truly what we in the gardening industry call “tough plants for tough times.”

1.Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ (Coral Bells). Low growing burgundy leaved perennial that can be showcased in the front of a border. In my garden (Zone 6), it retains its leaves for four seasons out of the year. It looks stunning in combination with red, soft purple, blue or yellow flowers. Can be used in both sun and partial shade effectively. Zones 6-8

2.Knautia macedonica (scabiosa like flower). Grown for its abundance of deep crimson red, scabiosa like flowers. Blooms profusely (if continually dead headed) from late Spring until frost. Spreads rapidly. Attractive to bees. I use it ‘en masse’ in my garden to complement my soft pink digitalis (foxgloves) and echinacea. Zones 5-9

3.Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’- (Reed Grass). Can be grown in sun or partial shade conditions. If grown in ideal conditions (moist soil), this grass can become invasive. Especially beautiful in the fall with its dense form and seedheads blowing in the breeze. Can be cut back to ground level in Spring. Zones 6-9

4.Macleya cordata (Plume Poppy). This perennial is one of the most attractive foliage plants on the market. Can be grown in sun or partial shade. Capable of growing as tall as 8 feet and spreads rapidly. I use it in the back of my borders for height and depth. Also blows beautifully in the breeze. Has the potential for being invasive so give it plenty of space. Zones 4-9

5.Eupatorium fistulosum (Joe Pye Weed). Grown for its dusky mauvish-purple large flowerheads that bloom from mid-summer through the fall. Thrives in sun and partial shade in the back of the border. Loves moisture. Grows 5-6 feet tall. Can be invasive in moist soil but is easily kept under control if divided every few years. Attractive to butterflies. Zones 3-8

Garden Tips for June

Any bedding plants you find for sale can safely be planted outdoors in beds, boxes, or containers.

The pros recommend treating tulips as annuals with the exception of species tulips. Painful as it may be, yank those tulips up, compost them, and plan to plant the bed anew in the fall.

If you long for a hanging basket filled with blossoms, compare prices on different-size plants. It may be more economical to buy several small plants and combine them yourself rather than pay for one large plant. Starting this month, keep hanging plants such as fuchsias well watered and out of direct sun, or their leaves will burn.

Plants that bloom now include balloon flower; Canterbury bells; clematis; coreopsis; delphiniums; English, painted, and Shasta daisies; foxgloves; Oriental poppies; and sweet William.

If you're growing June-bearing strawberries, pinch off all the flowers that bloom the first spring after planting. If not allowed to bear fruit, they will spend their food reserves on developing healthy roots.

Encourage young fruit trees to develop strong limbs and a wider crotch angle by weighing down the branches with clothespins.

Thin fruit trees by leaving 1 fruit approximately every 6 to 12 inches along the branches or 1 fruit per cluster. The higher the leaf-to-fruit ratio, the sweeter the fruit. A standard apple tree should have about 40 leaves for each fruit. Dwarf apples, which usually produce a ration of 1 fruit to about 25 leaves, will yield better-quality fruit when thinned.
Stop cutting asparagus when the yield decreases and the spears diminish in size. Top-dress the bed with compost or well-rotted manure.


Stake tomatoes or build cages around them.

Plant beets and carrots for a late-fall crop.

As the days grow warmer, yank up lettuce that begins to bolt and toss it on your compost pile. Plant another crop of beans in its place.

Thin crowded plantings of lettuce, carrots, beets, and herbs. Give them a good watering when the job is finished to help the roots of remaining plants recover from any damage your pulling may have inflicted.

Religiously patrol your basil plantings and remove all the clusters of flower buds that form at the stem ends the minute you see them forming. This will encourage nice bushy plants and a continuing supply of leaves.

Place beer-filled plastic tubs or saucers in the garden, set level with the soil, to lure slugs to a drunken death. (Studies show they prefer imported beer.) Or place a few old boards in the garden and turn them over every morning to find slugs as they sleep. Dispose of them by dropping them into soapy water or crushing them with a brick.

Mulch around trees to create a safe zone where your mower won't go. Nicking a tree trunk can seriously damage even a well-established tree.

Mow your lawn according to the needs of the grass, not the calendar -- for example, every Saturday. Grasses thicken and provide better cover when regularly clipped at the proper height. Adjust your lawn mower blades to cut the grass at 2 or 3 inches rather than at 1 1/2 inches.

Prune rhododendrons after they flower. On young and old plants, snap off spent flower stalks by bending them over until they break away from their stems. Be careful not to damage growth buds at the base of each flower stalk.


Don't trim iris leaves into scallops or fan shapes after the flowers fade. Leaves carry on photosynthesis and develop nourishment for next year's growth. Cut off brown tips and remove the flowering stalk down to the rhizome. If you're dividing irises, cut the leaves back by about half just before you move them.

If you're growing plants outdoors in containers, don't use a soilless potting mix. Be sure it contains at least half soil. Or make your own blend for window boxes and patio containers by mixing one part compost, one part garden soil, and one part builder's sand.

When shopping at a nursery, don't buy a tree or shrub with a damaged root ball. Inspect it carefully to make sure it is uniform, not crushed, and a good size. For every inch of the trunk, the ball should be seven to eight inches in diameter.

Unless you're working your way through knee-high grass, don't remove those grass clippings from the lawn. Leave them where they fall to filter down to the soil, decompose, and recycle nutrients into the roots.

Provided by our friends at "The Old Farmers Almanac"