Crimson Valley Blog
17Mar/110

10 Gardening Tips for the Spring Lawn and Landscape

pink flowering crabapple in the spring landscapeSpring is an exciting and beautiful time of year. The birds are chirping, the days get longer, and spring blooms and lush green plants will soon consume the landscape. One complaint may be that the melting snow, spring showers and winter debris can leave our landscapes kind of a mess. Here are 10 great tips to get your spring landscaping off to a great start, most of us are anxious to get out and into the garden. Follow these tips and you will have a healthier lawn and landscape this growing season.

26Nov/100

Plants with Great Winter Interest

Winter is a beautiful time of year. We have lost the lush green lawns and the bright leaves have fallen but there can still be beauty in the texture, structure and color of our gardens. Check out some of the plants that provide great winter interest. Evaluate your landscape this winter and start planning your spring outdoor projects. You will definitely want to make sure to include some of these plants in your landscape design.

5Aug/100

Composting

organic waste decomposing in compost bin

image courtesy of squawkfox.com

Home composting is a great way to recycle kitchen and garden waste. Compost (also referred to as humus) is the dark, earthy, soil-like material resulting from the natural decomposition of organic matter. It is nutrient rich and great for conditioning the soil for houseplants, container gardens and the landscape, not to mention a fantastic substitute for commercial fertilizers. Composting at home is not only a rewarding landscape asset it is vital to reducing the large amount of waste sent to the dump. Did you know? According to the EPA, kitchen and garden waste makes up about 26% of the total U.S. municipal garbage sent off to the landfills and nearly 1/3 is compostable materials. Unfortunately, the waste does not break down nearly as well as it would in a home compost system. In order to decompose, the correct amount of air circulation, moisture and the proper ratio of “green” vs. “brown” materials are necessary for success. View a more detailed list of compostable materials below and read on to learn more about how and what to compost.

8Jul/100

Plant a Cut Flower Garden

cutting garden bouquet

image courtesy of joenesgarden.com

Cut flower gardens; also referred to as cutting gardens are planting beds grown primarily for harvesting foliage, flowers and seed heads to make beautiful bouquets and flower arrangements to bring a piece of the outdoor landscape to the indoors. Select a nice location alongside a garage or at the back of your property. If there isn’t a space available to designate specifically for cut flowers, plant a variety of cut flowers throughout your vegetable garden or landscape. You will continuously cut the flowers and foliage to make bouquets, which makes a veggie garden a great space to incorporate your cutting garden. Some herbs with colorful foliage are very aromatic and make beautiful additions to garden bouquets.