BRUSH TO LUSH

Michael Holigan: Welcome to Your New House. Do you have a backyard you've always wanted to turn into a lush paradise. Well, you don't want to miss today's show. We'll show you how to take the brush and turn it into a lush landscape.

Al Carrell: Not only that, but we've got the latest landscape software package that can help you to plan that lush backyard, and do it right.

M.H.: And planning is where it all begins. So let's get started turning brush to lush. There's a season for everything. A time to plant and a time to set back and enjoy the beauty you've brought to your yard. But having a beautiful landscape doesn't mean you have to be working out in the yard every spare moment, unless, of course, that's what you enjoy. In fact, for the best, long lasting results, you probably don't even want to start outdoors.

Gene Freeman: You always want to start with your design and make sure you get everything on paper, how you want to do it, so you can phase it in. Or you can do it all at one time. But that certainly allows us to put everything to scale, figure out precisely what materials will be needed, what the proper spacing will be for those individual plants and then actually implement the design itself.

M.H.: You don't need to be a landscape architect, but you do need to sketch out the area where you'll be working. The house, fences, and any existing trees and shrubs. And then you're ready to make your plans, taking three important items into consideration. The light level. Observe the changes in sunlight and shade that occur though out the day. How much space are you going to be working with? You need at least a rough estimate to know how many plants to buy and how much ground preparation material you'll need. And finally, you need to decide on the look you want. That's probably the most fun part, but remember to keep in mind how much time you want to spend working out in your yard. Today we're putting in a very low maintenance backyard landscape. But as we go through the steps also keep in mind that you don't have to do everything at once. You can do one area at a time. Gene, when you're building some flower beds, what kind of soil should you use?

G.F.: We'll come back in here and use a back to earth compost, it's got a lot of nutrients, our humus, some peat moss and some acidic soil mixed in in different areas for different types of plants.

M.H.: How much did you add? How much depth do you really need for the plants?

G.F.: Well, for your seasonal flowers, like right here, we'll come back in and at least prep the soil 4 to 6 inches, but the shrubberies, like I'm planting here, we'll go back in at least 8 to 12 inches here.

M.H.: On the shrubs themselves, do you just cover up the ball, or do you above the ball, or below the ball? Do you let some of it be exposed or what?

G.F.: Different plants, you want to keep the ball and the roots itself, the top of the ball, exposed at least an inch to 2 inches for good drainage.

M.H.: When you're designing your landscape, plan to put your taller trees and shrubs towards the back of the beds. From those taller plants, begin to layer your landscaping down from back to front, adding smaller shrubs or other medium sized plants, then some ground cover, and finally, flowers that will add seasonal color. On the seasonal stuff, how often do we change that out really?

G.F.: We'll change that out twice a year and that will be sufficient. If you have more of a curb appeal and you're trying to keep up a sharper image, you go three or four changes a year.

M.H.: What do you do on spacing, like on these ferns? You've got them about a foot apart.

G.F.: The ferns we're planting now are one gallon size, so we'll go ahead and put them out about their finished spacing. Generally, ferns require about a foot to 18 inches apart.

M.H.: How about on these Hostas that you're putting in?

G.F.: Hostas are a little bit smaller plant. We'll come back in and space those a little closer.

M.H.: How about here on the stone, instead of using border between it, you've got dirt. What's going to happen here?

G.F.: This is a dry-laid patio look. We're going to come back in and incorporate some Dwarf Mondo Grass.

M.H.: Okay. Let's put some in.

G.F.: Sure, it'll be great. The Dwarf Mondo Grass is just a great plant to use in this type of application. We can come back in and incorporate through the joints to give it a nice, soft, natural look here. Just kind of plant it in here like this and prep it all together. It's very low maintenance, is one of the good aspects of the Dwarf Mondo, simply because it doesn't grow any taller than what you see here in this 4 inch pot. It also stays lush and green year round like this and it's pretty pleasant when you walk through it.

M.H.: Gene, you've told us a lot of the do's of building a flower bed, how about the don'ts. What should we watch our for, what mistakes do you see?

G.F.: One of the more common things that we see is people not knowing the plant material itself and they'll put a sun loving plant maybe in full shade or a shade loving plant in full sun, so the plant certainly can't do very well. And then even more importantly, maybe not prepping the soil well for the area, the right type of plant, whether it's an acidic loving plant, whether it just needs some good compost and peat moss mixed in through those areas. And then also, planting a plant too low. More plants will die just from over watering due to poor drainage.

M.H.: Planting seasons vary dramatically from region to region, but it is usually a good idea to plant new trees in the fall. That way they have a chance to get their root systems well established before the hot, dry weather comes around next summer. And finally, ask the experts at a nearby nursery or your county Ag extension service what type of trees and plants are going to do best in your area. With good planning, some good observations of existing conditions and a little advice from local experts, you'll be transforming your yard from brush to lush in no time.

Episode 34 1996 - 97 Season

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