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Rock Gardens

Creating And Maintaining Your Rock Garden

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If you plan to give a new look to your garden, then it may be the right time to convert your existing garden into a small rock garden.

If you have some part of your land or the present existing garden with attractive and natural rock formations and a slope, then that can make it the perfect location for a rock garden. If you are keen to change the existing layout into a small rock garden, what you simply need is some topsoil and some rocks to start with.

A rock garden however, is not simply creating a mound out of earth soil and putting in rocks around it. It has to be done artistically with landscaping in mind and due care has to be taken to selection of plants and arranging a drainage for water to flow out.

The best place to create a rock garden would generally be a sloping area, where it becomes easier for the surface water to flow out. This is because the mountain growing plants that could be used for your rock garden does not grow well in water bound soil.

Running water is the natural habitat for these plants to grow well. The soil areas for such a rock garden setting are required to be gritty rather than well composted, so that the plants can get a natural environment to grow. If there is no slope available, you may excavate some area and then place stones at the bottom.

Place some large rocks to protrude above the garden surface and your garden setting is ready. You may arrange some more stones around the big rock. Fill up the space between the rocks with smaller stones as well as gritty soil, which can easily drain. If you mix a bit of sand with topsoil, it can help to drain water to a substantial extent.

Though limestone is the best to construct such a garden, even granite or the local stone can also be beneficial and advantageous. You can fill up the pockets between the rocks with composted soil and then place the plants in it.

You may even carve out a running stream with flexible plastic or polythene, with about 1″ of flexible piping and a water pump. You may have a small pool at the base and keep pumping back the water to the top of the stream.

This helps to a continuous flow of water in the running stream of the rock garden and helps plants to flourish. There are any numbers of plants that you may choose from. There are some low growing plants of perennial nature like balloon flowers, English daisies, forget me not, phlox etc, which can be attractively arranged.

You may use plants like summer blooming heaths, herbs and annuals like sweet alyssum, lobelia, blue eyed grass that can make the rock garden colorful for the rest of the season.

Great care should be taken of the rock garden, as much as you would do for the potted plants. You may occasionally add some manure or compost to give the plants freshness and the thought to see them grow well even in the poor soil.

Clipping off the dead stems and foliage and reducing the size of plants that have become too large for the space are some things that you need to do regularly. It is important to check regularly for insects and diseases and take measures to pesticide them. Some care also need to be taken, before the first winter in the cold climates.

If you have the right space and chic ideas to create a rock garden, go ahead and do it right away.

Gardening Advice

Build And Maintain An Eco-Friendly Backyard Garden

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We all love to hang out at our backyard garden. It is the perfect place to party with friends and family. Arrange a barbecue session or wine tasting party. It works out well in the backyard garden.

However, with the fear of global warming, we need to make efforts to build an eco-friendly backyard garden. You do not need a professional help to create a best garden for you and your family. A bit of knowledge and passion can help you build and maintain an eco-friendly backyard garden.

Remember, the cleaner the garden the better fresh air you will breathe. Trees and grass are known to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. So, if you want a healthy atmosphere, you need to create an eco-friendly backyard garden. The green thick grass also prevents soil erosion. To make the most from nature, you need a good plan to design your backyard garden. You can plan a certain area for lawn, and then build a pond and create conditions that will envisage a healthy garden.

When you think of maintaining a lawn, make sure you get rid of the excessive weeds and insects. Use pesticides that will keep the worms at bay and fertilize the grass five to six times a year. For other plants use quality pesticides and fertilizers to ensure proper growth and protection.

You need to use chemicals that are not harmful for the plants and flowers. You can also choose to go for organic gardening. You can grow vegetables and fruits in your backyard. Use only natural ways of vegetation.

To give your plants the best freshness, you can create compost at home. Use kitchen waste to prepare compost. This serves as a natural fertilizer for your garden plants. Use nature friendly pest control. To keep your children safe and healthy, you can go for organic pesticides that will keep diseases and worms at bay. Keep your pond clean and algae free. When using algae treatment spray, make sure it is animal-friendly, as you don’t want to kill the birds that flock at the pond that come to drink water.

Let the pond be free of debris and leaves and let the fish breathe freely. The birds gathering in the garden will keep it free of insects and other worms. Arranging the plants well and choosing the right plants for your garden would help them to live well. When you install a fountain in your garden, you need to clean it well from time to time. Pump out all the dirt that can get stuck in the filter pipe.

This will attract more birds to drink water and help you to keep your backyard garden eco-friendly. Understanding nature and taking care to maintain it, will help you to preserve the natural beauty of your garden.

Building a backyard garden that aligns well with nature will bring in lots of change in the atmosphere. This will help you breathe fresh air throughout and keep you healthy as well. Imagine with all the backyards turning environmental friendly, it would make a world of difference. Thus, it is rightly said, ‘cleanliness begins at home’.

If you care to clean and maintain your eco-friendly backyard garden, it’s sure to make mother earth proud of you.