10 Keys for Successful Landscaping
1. We Live in a High Alpine Desert. This one simple fact drives everything when it comes to landscaping your yard: We have poor soil, lots of sun, plenty of wind, very little rain, early and late season snowstorms, and a lot of critters that look at the plants in your yard as fine dining. Thus, you must be planful in creating your landscape and select plants that will grow, indeed thrive, under these conditions. (Fortunately, you have plenty of excellent options, as you will find when you stop by Brady's West and browse around.)
2. Plants Have a Will to Live. But they always appreciate a little help from their friends. Nature has given plants, like people, the ability to find ways to survive. But, just like people, sometimes plants, especially those we transplant in our yards, can't make it on their own, and they need support--someone to take care of them. This point is especially true in the period before a plant's root system has become established. You can help your plants capitalize on their will to live by giving them what the need to survive in terms of optimal soil quality, essential watering, and the right amount of sunlight.
3. Nourish Your Soil. Let's face it, here in Chaffee County and surrounding areas, we have pretty lousy soil--it does not have much organic matter, which plants need to live. Thus, if we want things to grow--and grow well--in our yards, we must amend the soil with organic supplements such as compost, manure, and peat moss.
4. Water, Water, Water. All plants, even drought-tolerant ones, need water to live, especially before their root systems become established. This means that for the first 30 days after planting, you should water daily. Then, depending on the type of plant, you can gradually cut back on watering. With our climate’s low humidity and high winds, plants can dry out very quickly. Plants, especially conifers, even need watering during the winter. Keep this point in mind: Rain and sprinklers may be sufficient for watering lawns, but not for trees and shrubs, which require more water.
5. Discourage Unwanted Dinner Guests. To our furry friends, a newly planted garden looks like a delicious smorgasbord, so it is always a good idea to do everything in your power to discourage these critters from dropping by your place for dinner. Deer are especially pesky, particularly if you've planted something in the yard that is new to their territory--they are voracious samplers of new foods--even those that they are not supposed to like! Bucks are particularly fond of young, supple trees and shrubs against which they will rub their antlers, which will damage, sometimes fatally, these plants. Our advice is to spray all new plantings with a deer repellent as soon as they are planted, and put up deer fencing around your trees and shrubs.
6. Start Simple. Do-It-Yourself landscapers always wonder where to start--they often ask themselves, "What do I do first?" Our advice is to think first about focal points--larger objects be they trees, shrubs, or even boulders. What in your yard to you want to be the one thing that first catches the eye? What sorts of prominent features can you place in your yard as its central features? Where around your house or on property do you want to show case these features? Once you've decided the answers to these questions, it is relatively easy to select smaller trees, shrubs, and hardscape features to accent the more prominent features in your yard. You will be surprised how much your thinking about your yard will change once you've installed your focal points. So, go slow, select and strategically place your larger trees and shrubs where you want them, and then select and install your smaller plants.
7. Opt for Variety. The most beautifully landscaped yards tend to be highly diverse in not only showcasing different kinds of plants, but also in terms of the size, shapes, colors, and textures of those plants. So, when you think about what you want your landscape to look like, plan for variety. Mix things up! Plant trees of different heights and leaf and bloom colors. Accent these with a variety of shrubs of different sizes and shapes. Add in some perennials and annuals, again of different heights and colors to feature even more variety. Consider, too, mixing up texture--think here in terms of planting both deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs, or trees with different bark patterns. Consider adding in roses or other barbed shrubs. The old adage that "variety is the spice of life," is especially true for creating gorgeous landscapes!
8. Be Patient. Creating a beautifully landscaped yard takes time. Although a professional landscape crew can install an entire yard complete with sod, trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals in a day or two, it is going to take a few years before your yard grows into itself, so to speak. Most trees and shrubs take about 2-3 years to fully establish their root systems, and that means that you are going to have to consistently attend to their watering and care needs over this time frame. And it takes a lot longer than that for most trees and shrubs to reach their mature sizes. Thus, your yard will always be a work in progress, and as you will find, there is always something to tinker with out in the yard--putting in a new tree or shrub to fill a hole, moving perennials around until you find a perfect spot for them, and so on. As one of our customers remarked recently, "I am in the 10th year of a 3-year landscape plan."
9. Feed Your Plants Twice a Year. Key to any plant's growth and survival is nutrition. All plants need more than water to mature into the beautiful tree, shrub, or flower they seek to become. This is why fertilizing twice a year is so important to a plant's health. Fertilize in the spring (early May) to promote root and leaf growth and again in the early fall (early September) to promote root growth. Although you might be tempted to fertilize your trees and shrubs as soon as they are planted, don't. Allow your newly planted trees and shrubs to winter over and their root systems to "harden" before applying fertilizer to them--fertilizing right after planting can damage the tree or shrub's root system.
10. All Pots are Dirt-Free Zones. A lot of our customers want to accent the areas around their homes with colorful flowers planted in pots. This is a great idea because potted plants add plenty of visual appeal to yards and provide a lot of personal enjoyment. To get your potted plants off to a healthy start and to keep them growing and looking great all summer long, be sure to plant them in an enriched soil and NOT just regular topsoil. Topsoil just doesn't have the nutrients flowers need to flourish over time. Actually, this advice holds for any type of potted plant--houseplants, vegetables, herbs.