This page is where I first
began creating this site. It is sort of a "hodge podge" of
thoughts and ideas, as I had no inkling at the time what I
would do with it. The site has evolved considerably since
then, and I"m not sure exactly where it fits in, but I
still like it. I think of it as sort of a "introduction"
page.
THE FLOWER
LADY
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HORTICULTURAL ARTIST Plants are my palette and the Earth is my canvas.Mother Nature is my mentor. |
Landscapes, to me, are works of art. Nature provides countless colors, shapes, and textures. Mother Nature does the hard work, but together she and I can create some beautiful places. So can you, if you learn to work with Mother Nature, rather than against her.
In my job I deal with many landscapes on many properties. I see the same mistakes made repeatedly, often even by profesional landscape architects.
I hope through this site to enlighten some people about these common mistakes, and hopefully to allow some plants to live a better life, and help people understand and enjoy them more.
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The Lord God planted a
garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he
had formed.
15. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to tend and keep it. Just think,
God planted the first garden; and man's very first duty was
to care for it.I guess that makes gardening the real
"world's oldest profession"!! |
It's easy to select and plant a few
plants and make it look good when you plant it. Time is
the test of a good landscape. It should improve with age.
Know your plants and give them plenty of room to reach
their mature size. Better to look a little sparse at first
than to have an overgrown mess in a few years.If you have
to trim any of your plants more than once or twice a year,
you have the wrong plant in the wrong place.
Keep in mind when you are shaping your
plants or your bed areas that Mother Nature doesn't do
squares or perfectly straight lines. Plants do not grow
square,
and look very unnatural and amatuerish if you try to
make them that way. Curved bed edges look much more natural
than straight lines or square corners.
Plants are living things with genes
and hormones that tell them how they are meant to grow. If
you try to make them something other than their natural
size and shape the plant may live but will never look its
best. There are many factors to consider in selecting
plants. Soil, light, drainge, and hardiness should all be
considered. If you do a little homework before you select
your plants it will be time well spent.
KEEP IT NATURAL!!
It's never a good idea to use
unnatural material such as plastic in your landscape. The
black plastic that some people use to block weeds also
blocks air flow to the roots. It does much more harm than
good.The plastic or metal edging that has become popular
recently is the ugliest, most useless and unnatural thing
I've seen lately; Partialy because it is rarely properly
installed. The best bed edges are "shovel edged",simply cut
with a shovel. If you feel you must use something to defne
your bed edges, make it something natural like rocks or
wood. Landscape timbers work well except that they
encourage those "straight lines" that Mother Nature doesn't
use. I've seen some great edges done with short vertical
pieces of wood. Use your imagination- but keep it natural,
Please.
By far the easiest way to add plants to your landscape is to buy them. If you are one of those very patient people who enjoy growing plants from seed here's a link you'll love:
Most people don't realize how much damage they can do by
improperly trimming thier plants. For example a 6 ft.
japanese maple, carefully pruned, may be worth $500 or
more. With one wrong snip you can make it almost
worthless!! One snip can change the whole growth
structure!
Although some plants can withstand shearing better than others, shearing a shrub or a tree will also alter the natural growth pattern, and will cause the plant to put out many new shoots, causing it to need trimming more often. Constant shearing causes unrepairable damage to the plant.
I often have people ask me to cut a nice large shrub
or small tree down to 2-3 feet tall for "safety". (So
no one can hide behind it.) There's a better way!
Remove the bottom braches up to 4-5 feet and keep the
height. This looks much better, saves the plant, and
no one can hide behind a narrow trunk. This is called
"tree-forming" or "raising". Think before you butcher
a good plant!
It is truly amazing how God created
nature to care for itself. Trees drop their leaves, and
mulch themselves. Bees transfer pollen; Birds scatter
seeds. Man can surely not improve on nature. We can do the
job of the birds and the bees, and create new varieties.
We can put the plants where we want, but God created
nature's original plan, and it works quite well. Man can do
many things, but he cannot improve on Mother Nature.
Here are links to some nice sites:
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People often ask me how I make plants grow so well. |
For the very best collection of links to information on pruning, flowers, trees, and many hother landscape and gardening goodies that I have found, check out:
I often encounter trees which have
been killed or permanently damaged by "Girdling". "Girdling
is when a wire, or rope has been tied around a tree untill
the tree has grown around it, so that it is inside the
bark. It is much like strangling, and at best the tree is
permanently weakened at that point.This is often caused by
improper staking, or simply leaving the stakng wires on too
long.Most of the time staking is not neccessary. In the
rare case that it is, be sure to do it properly and remove
the stakes and wire after a year at most.Never leave
anything tied or wrapped around your tree. It can be
fatal!
The varigated type of "monkey grass" is commonly refered to as "varigated liriope". There is no such thing as varigated liriope. The plant is "Ophiopogon", the same family as Mondo grass (the short monkey grass.). The varigated variety is "Ophipogon jaburan vittata". It is not liriope.
