Lawn Maintenance

One of the keys to having a great garden is to have a wonderful lawn. The great thing about maintaining your lawn is that it can be one of the easier parts of your garden to maintain. Here's a couple of gardening tips I have encountered over the years to maintain your lawn.

First off keep the mower high; you only want to cut off the top third of the grass each time you cut. This will keep the grass strong and will help prevent pests and weeds. And do water all the time. Most people love to over water their lawns. This is why in Florida every year we have to be put on drought restrictions it seams. Ok not really but I'm trying to make a point. Just water when you are getting dry spells, once a week is enough. Water thoroughly though so there is about an inch of water hits the ground. Use a rain gauge to monitor how much water has accumulated it'll make your life easier.

Now for a couple easier ways to maintain your lawn. Leave your grass clippings on the ground. There is no need to be raking up those pesky grass clippings. Just let them decompose in to the ground and they will help fertilize your lawn throughout the year. Speaking of fertilizer do not go crazy on it. Your lawn starts depending on higher amounts of fertilizer as you over feed it over the years. Get your favorite companies slow release fertilizer, make sure it is high in nitrogen and feed it twice a year. When I lived up north I would feed right before winter started and then again at the end of summer each year. Living in south Flora has be feeding in January and then in September. It varies from region. But two feedings a year is all that is necessary.

One pain for you northerners is going to be fall each year. I know it seems like an easier to wait for all your leaves to fall and rake them in one day. This is only going to hurt your lawn; your grass needs all the sunlight it can get. Your lawn is really getting to hibernate for the winter and it needs to store up its food for the spring. This will help make sure your lawn is greener earlier ever year. For another gardening tip look over my compost post from earlier this month.

By Peter B Moore

A quick an easy tip from http://www.southfloridagardening.co.cc/wordpress/.

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Opulent Spring Bloom Queen

The beauty of spring is enriched with these big, beautiful flowers.

Professional designers will often find a spot for the Snowball Viburnum (Viburnum opulus) in almost any landscape they work on. This large shrub has many points of interest. Beginning with the white ball-type flowers up to 5 inches across. Flowering so thickly, the plant will look like a late spring snow bank.

The foliage of the Snowball Bush offers good textural interest.

All plants are attractive in flower, but those that have outstanding leaves can heighten the any landscape design. The foliage of this Viburnum resembles three-lobed maple leaves. The coloring will be rich, attractive green over the summer months. As cooler weather arrives in fall, each leaf will turn to sun kissed gold.

For a long-lived shrub where height is needed, this is an excellent plant.

The Chinese Snowball Bush is not only attractive; you will find it very easy to grow. This Viburnum will adapt to a wide variety of soils and growing conditions. These shrubs are quite drought tolerant once established and mature to 8-10 feet tall and wide. You will get the best flowering results when planting this bush in full sun, though it tolerates quite a bit of shade. Viburnums grown in a mostly shady situation will not flower at all.

The Snowball Viburnum works well with many other plants in your landscaping.

To establish a really dazzling early season display, you can pair this beautiful shrub up with almost any other same time bloomer. Consider creating a planting that also features Encore Azaleas and some low growing purple leaved shrubs such as Crimson Pygmy Barberry. To really heighten the beauty of such a landscape planting, add a few perennials to extend the beauty through the season.

You will love the changing beauty of this deciduous shrub in your yard.

The hummingbirds will be most delighted with your choice in plants and feed on the blossoms. Once spent, the flowers of Snowball Bush produce brilliant red berries as a bonus color point. Birds are attracted to the berries as a source of food.
It's hard to find a landscape plant with so many benefits to offer your yard.

Now you can easily understand why a professional designer will seek out the right spot to include this shrub in almost every yard. The Snowball Bush Viburnum is wonderful as a tall specimen plant or planted as a hedge. It grows rapidly and will fill to offer warm season privacy where it many be needed.

By Justin French and null

Additional information and resources may be found at http://www.BrighterBlooms.com

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Choosing the Right Vase For Your Cut Flowers

After you have received a bouquet of cut flowers for a Valentines Day delivery, you should put them in water right away so that they will last longer. If you take care of your flowers, they can last for up to two weeks while you enjoy their beauty. One of the first things that you need to do is to choose the right vase for your cut flowers.

If you do not have a vase and you receive a bouquet of flowers as a gift, stick them in a glass of water and then head out to the store to get the perfect vase for your Valentines Day flower delivery.

You will want the vase to be big enough to keep all of the flowers comfortably, but snug enough to keep them together. It is not just the width of the flower vase that you have to be concerned with. You need to also consider the height of the vase.

The ideal height for a vase is half of the height of the flowers. If you have a flower delivery, you can take a tape measure and measure from the bottom of the stem to the top and then choose a vase accordingly. If you have a dozen long stemmed roses in your Valentines Day flower delivery, therefore, you need a larger vase than if you have short stemmed roses.

The width of the vase that you choose should comfortably fit the flowers. If you put a dozen long stemmed roses in a large vase that is made for a much bigger flower arrangement, the roses will scatter to the sides and the arrangement will not look right. You will want a tall but slender vase in the case of receiving a dozen long stemmed roses.

Bear in mind the amount of flowers that you have and how they will fit into the vase as well as the height of the flowers before you pick a vase for your cut flowers. After you receive a flower delivery, if the flowers come with a container, you should keep the container so that it can be used for future flower deliveries. Many people do not have to go out to the store to get a vase when they receive fresh flowers for Valentines Day because they have accumulated flower containers and vases from years gone by and can just use one of them. The right vase for your Valentines Day flowers depends on the size of the flowers and the bouquet.

By Bill Brennan

What you just learned about flowers is just the beginning. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at Los Angeles Flower Delivery.

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