Posted by SteveA
Jeff Gillman, co-author of How the Government Got in Your Backyard, explains the book’s nonpartisan approach and what his real agenda is (warning: he wants to make you think!).
Posted by SteveA
Jeff Gillman, co-author of How the Government Got in Your Backyard, explains the book’s nonpartisan approach and what his real agenda is (warning: he wants to make you think!).
Yep, the title says it all. I really have lettuce growing among the weeds in one of my garden beds. I planted it in the fall and despite a few nights of subzero temperatures and several cumulative inches of snow over the course of winter it’s still there! The lettuce is small, barely even 3 inches wide but it’s there! It’s the reddish purple leaves you see hiding among the chickweed and henbit. I’ll bet you want to know what lettuce can withstand that kind of cold and snow here in Tennessee?
I won’t keep it a secret. It’s an heirloom lettuce called Rouge D’Hiver that I bought from Baker Creek. Rouge D’Hiver heirloom lettuce seems to be extremely cold tolerant. I suspect if I had gotten around to putting a cold frame over this bed I would have been munching on backyard garden lettuce all winter. Once the warmer weather hits and the lettuce starts to grow I’ll have some early harvests from the vegetable garden!
Originally written by Dave @ The Home Garden
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When it comes to flower gardens, my philosophy has always been this: Simpler is better.
I have seen grandiose gardens with manicured shrubbery, flowers from all over the world that are bigger than my house.
The question I always have when I exit one of those Hanging Gardens of Babylon is this: How much is too much? Is your garden an intimate place where you go for quiet meditation or an expanse that you obsess about and host garden walks in every year?
My garden décor is relatively small and simple. I have three small children, and I need the bulk of my backyard for things like swing sets and sand boxes. The garden area is my place of Zen. When the walls are closing in on me or the world is just too hectic, I like to head out and do a little weeding or just take in the colors.
I can’t imagine going out for hours each day and obsessing over every little detail or making sure that I was keeping up with the Joneses. I remember one day I was out and about when a friend asked if I wanted to see his, I believed he called it, “International Garden.”
So he opens up his back door, and suddenly, I am in a freaking rainforest. Plants 6–8 feet high from all over the world and covering every square inch of the backyard. Every inch except for those in the goldfish pond and waterfall.
I was overwhelmed by it all… and not in a good way. He must spend hours out there each day pruning and weeding to keep everything from being overtaken. When it was all over and I left, I swore I would never make a garden even half that size.
For him, the garden was a matter of status and pride. He wanted to bring people in and see it and then go tell their friends. It wasn’t a place of Zen. It was a place of cluttered flora.
My garden is the perfect size for me, because I don’t need people coming over or having it take over my life. His garden was the perfect size for him. I guess if I had to suggest the proper size of the garden for a person, I would say this: Don’t make a garden bigger than your own head.
Image Source: flickr.com/photos/left-hand/2578131633
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When you put a pool in your back yard, it already looks nice. The truth is, you don’t have to do very much to it to make it look nice. As long as you keep it clean, having a pool makes your backyard look great! However, you can do much more to make it look even better so that when people come over, their jaws drop. The best thing that you can do to better spruce up your pool is to add some swimming pool landscaping.
Swimming pool landscaping makes your backyard look like a spot straight out of paradise. Whenever you have a pool party or just have a few guests over for drinks, they will undoubtedly remark on your swimming-pool landscaping. That’s because not only does your backyard look great because you have a pool, the landscaping makes it look so much better.
Swimming-pool landscaping doesn’t just have to mean putting a bunch of flowers in the ground. Swimming pool landscaping can include a deck, trees, flowers and much more. You can find a pool landscaping business to do the landscaping for you or you can do it yourself. You’ll definitely save money doing your swimming pool landscaping yourself, all that money in labor can quickly add up, and many gardening stores will sell you everything you need to make your backyard and pool look great.
Plan Your Landscaping Before You Break Ground
If you are going to do the pool landscaping yourself, you should first do your homework and know what you’re doing. You can’t just plant a bunch of flowers and tell everyone it’s landscaping. Your landscaping should be planned out so that you don’t get overcrowding, too much spacing or, worse, you don’t want an ugly yard.
Ask plenty of questions from those in the know or do an internet search to educate yourself as much as possible in the correct way to apply pool landscaping. You can make patters and get complicated with it or you can go simple, it all depends on what you want to do and how much you can afford. Ask around, shop around for the best deals and you can get the best looking backyard in the neighborhood.
Swimming pool landscaping will truly make a difference in how your backyard and your pool looks.
A wealth of information about this type of landscaping can be found through a number of locations:
10 time-saving tips to give your backyard a head start on spring
(ARA) – Aaaah, autumn. The kids are headed back to school, the leaves are turning, and a chill is in the air. If you’re like most homeowners, fall also means an opportunity to spruce up your yard and cut down on the work you’ll need to do when the weather turns warm again.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned landscape professional or somebody who just wants their yard to look as good as it can with as little work as possible, everyone can benefit from backyard fall cleanup, says Michael Miller, president of Minnesota-based backyard tool manufacturer Hound Dog Products. “A little bit of work in the fall will really pay off when spring rolls around,” he says.
Miller offers 10 tips that the professionals use to ensure a successful backyard fall cleanup effort – and to get a head start on next year’s growing season.
Old Man Winter may be on his way, but with a little work now, you can lay the groundwork for a happy, healthy backyard that’s ready to thrive next season. For more backyard tips, visit www.hound-dog.com .
A home backyard is a personnel and private space. The landscaping solution that will finally dwell in this space greatly depends on many factors.
Let’s see these factors one by one. I am not giving you an exact blueprint here but the information mentioned here will be a great starting point if you are planning to go for landscaping of your home backyard.
Gardening in the home backyard can be fun if you consider these few factors before starting out.
1) North direction..
One of the major factors in landscaping. Why? because the direction will decide how much direct sunlight the plants in the garden will receive. To illustrate this point have a look at the two images below.
This is cross section of home building which also shows the backyard area. Because of the sunlight coming from front side of the home, more than 50% of the backyard remains in shade that the building structure casts on the floor area.
On the other hand this building receives sunlight from behind so almost all the backyard area receives direct sunlight throughout the day.
So in both these cases the selection of plants and their maintenance will greatly differ from each other.
2) Nature of soil
This is very crucial for plant growth. It is a good idea to study the nature of soil before planting even a single tree or bush in your garden
3) Area of backyard as compared to area of the home building.
It is very important to note that any landscaping space when associated with your home is largely dependant of the architectural structure. What exactly do I mean here? Let’s see an example.
The area of the backyard will differ depending upon the function of the backyard. While designing the backyard look for following points.
What’s the use of this area? Is it a play area for children? if yes will it have a baby swimming pool (if the area permits), will it have a semi-open tent like structure, how many people will occupy this space at a maximum?
So human activity will greatly affect the landscaping design.
SECT Landscaping
Pressure Washing
Seasonal Clean Up
Junk Removal
Lawn Care 
Mulch Install 
Roof/Gutter Cleaning
