Spring cleaning does not have to result in more discards in the landfill. Find ways to reuse or recycle items in the garden. Some plant societies, garden clubs and master gardener groups may be willing to reuse some or all of those plant pots that have collected in your shed over the years. Old chairs, sleds and sentimental items can be used as artwork, focal points and planters in the landscape. And if these additions don’t fit into your landscape design, they may be the perfect item for friends, family and other gardeners. Check for recycling groups in your area before adding them to the trash.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Plant Trees!
Are you looking for cost-effective yet eye-pleasing ways to lower your energy bills? Planting trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and hedges could be the answer. In fact,
Landscaping may be your best long-term investment for reducing heating and
cooling costs, while also bringing other improvements to your community.
A well-designed landscape will:
• Cut your summer and winter energy
costs dramatically.
• Protect your home from winter wind
and summer sun.
• Reduce consumption of water, pesticides, and fuel for landscaping and
lawn maintenance.
• Help control noise and air pollution.
This publication covers landscaping tips to save money year-round; ways that landscaping helps the environment; important climate, site, and design considerations;
Landscape planning; and tree and shrub selection. You can get additional information on regionally appropriate species from your local nursery and landscaping
experts.
Landscaping Saves Money Year-Round Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25%
of a household’s energy consumption for heating and cooling. Computer models devised by the U.S. Department of Energy predict that the proper placement of only
three trees will save an average household between $100 and $250 in energy costs annually. On average, a well designed landscape provides enough energy
savings to return your initial investment in less than 8 years. An 8-foot
(2.4-meter) deciduous.
Landscape Vision is learning a great deal by visiting HOUSE LOGIC
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011
2011 Best Planting Dates
Every Gardener Must Check This Out. The Old Farmers Almanac has created this amazing chart of planting dates. It's based on where you live. Landscape Vision thinks you will really find this useful.
2011 Best Planting Dates
Once you've learned when to plant use our software to design your perfect landscape!
Landscaping for Curb Appeal
A beautiful yard is a head-turner, no doubt about it. The good news is that even if you can’t tell a tulip from a turnip at the garden center, you can still create eye-catching curb appeal by paying attention to the basics of good landscaping. Ignoring your yard—or doing something that’s out of character with the neighborhood—can jeopardize the assessed value of your home.
“We have several categories for design and appeal,“ says Frank Lucco, a real estate agent and professional appraiser in Houston. “That’s where we make those adjustments. Poorly maintained landscaping can be as much as a 5 or 10% deduction.”
“We have several categories for design and appeal,“ says Frank Lucco, a real estate agent and professional appraiser in Houston. “That’s where we make those adjustments. Poorly maintained landscaping can be as much as a 5 or 10% deduction.”
Appraisers are quick to praise the allure of a well-tended lawn and good-looking landscaping when it comes time to sell your home, but most do not assign any specific increase in monetary value for upkeep.
“Landscaping is going to add to the appeal of the property and it may sell quicker, but it’s hard to determine value,” says John Bredemeyer, president of Omaha-based Realcorp. “You have to have a number to compensate someone if you drove into their tree and killed it, but is it really market value? Probably not.”
Nevertheless, most professionals agree that curb appeal and a well-maintained appearance prevent your property from losing value. Here are the top suggestions from real estate agents, appraisers, and landscape designers for boosting the curb appeal of your yard:
“Landscaping is going to add to the appeal of the property and it may sell quicker, but it’s hard to determine value,” says John Bredemeyer, president of Omaha-based Realcorp. “You have to have a number to compensate someone if you drove into their tree and killed it, but is it really market value? Probably not.”
Nevertheless, most professionals agree that curb appeal and a well-maintained appearance prevent your property from losing value. Here are the top suggestions from real estate agents, appraisers, and landscape designers for boosting the curb appeal of your yard:
Green up the grass
If your house has a front yard, make sure it‘s neat and green. You don’t want bare spots, sprawling weeds, or an untrimmed appearance.
“It’s so simple to go to Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it,” says Mitch Kalamian, a landscape designer in Huntinginton Beach, Calif. “It will green up.”
If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. According to the National Gardening Association, the average cost of sod is 15 to 35 cents per sq. ft. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30% to 50% to the total cost of the project.
Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses. Turf grasses are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn area.
“It’s so simple to go to Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it,” says Mitch Kalamian, a landscape designer in Huntinginton Beach, Calif. “It will green up.”
If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. According to the National Gardening Association, the average cost of sod is 15 to 35 cents per sq. ft. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30% to 50% to the total cost of the project.
Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses. Turf grasses are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn area.
Add colorful planting beds
Flower beds add color and help enliven otherwise plain areas, such as along driveways and the edges of walkways. In general, annual flowers are a bit cheaper but must be replaced every year. Perennials cost a bit more but come back annually and usually get larger or spread with each growing season.
If you’re not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they’ll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area. Also, they‘ll be inexpensive because they’re in season, says Peter Mezitt, president of Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, Mass. Try pansies in the summer, and asters and mums in the fall to add vibrant color. “That’s what we do around the entrance to our garden center,” Mezitt says.
Valerie Torelli, a California REALTOR® who dresses up her clients’ yards to sell their houses faster and for more money, says that in her market, she can put in a bed of colorful annuals and bark, as well as cutting down overgrown shrubs, for less than $500. “We can buy gorgeous plants for $3.99 to $15.99,” she says.
If you’re not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they’ll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area. Also, they‘ll be inexpensive because they’re in season, says Peter Mezitt, president of Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, Mass. Try pansies in the summer, and asters and mums in the fall to add vibrant color. “That’s what we do around the entrance to our garden center,” Mezitt says.
Valerie Torelli, a California REALTOR® who dresses up her clients’ yards to sell their houses faster and for more money, says that in her market, she can put in a bed of colorful annuals and bark, as well as cutting down overgrown shrubs, for less than $500. “We can buy gorgeous plants for $3.99 to $15.99,” she says.
Add landscape lighting
For homeowners who have made a sizeable investment in landscaping, it makes sense to think about adding another 10% to 15% to the bill for professional lighting. “You can’t see landscaping after dark,“ says Brandon Stephens, vice president of marketing for a landscape lighting firm in Lubbock, Texas, “and buyers are not always looking at houses on a Saturday afternoon.”
The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you‘re doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs.
The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you‘re doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs.
Plant a tree
The value of mature trees is particularly difficult to determine. Lucco says that in his market, mature trees contribute as much as 10% of a $100,000 property’s overall value. In addition, a properly placed shade tree can shave as much as $32 a year on your energy bills. Expect to pay $50 to $100 for a young, 6- to 7-foot deciduous tree.
You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property’s trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator. For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, Ga., would add $70 to the property value this year, according to the calculator.
Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry writes extensively about housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications. While a fair hand at remodeling, she is hopeless as a gardener. As a result, her landscaping is made up of plants that thrive on neglect.
You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property’s trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator. For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, Ga., would add $70 to the property value this year, according to the calculator.
Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry writes extensively about housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications. While a fair hand at remodeling, she is hopeless as a gardener. As a result, her landscaping is made up of plants that thrive on neglect.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/landscaping-curb-appeal/#ixzz1G7OBaJFx
6 Mounths of "Flower Power" With Shrubs. by David Beaulieu
Many flowering shrubs attract birds with their berries and provide brilliant fall foliage. But flowering shrubs are perhaps at their best when blooming, during which time they can stand alone as specimens and serve as focal points in a landscape design. It is the splendor of their blooms that I focus on in these pictures of flowering shrubs. The flowering shrubs I have chosen for this photo gallery run the gamut from early-spring bloomers to those that flower in late summer.
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Many flowering shrubs attract birds with their berries and provide brilliant fall foliage. But flowering shrubs are perhaps at their best when blooming, during which time they can stand alone as specimens and serve as focal points in a landscape design. It is the splendor of their blooms that I focus on in these pictures of flowering shrubs. The flowering shrubs I have chosen for this photo gallery run the gamut from early-spring bloomers to those that flower in late summer.
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