PLANT CARE

Regardless of whether the area has been a garden previously or an area of questionable quality, the preparation should be the same. It begins with an analysis of the existing soil, which will determine the soil's type and the amount of fertilizer, limestone and organic matter required to bring the soil up to the optimum level. Be sure the site has proper drainage.

When an area is selected for planting, it should be cleared of unwanted vegetation, sticks, roots, and large stones. Fertilizer, lime and any other materials the soil test indicates is required, should be spread evenly on the ground. The soil is then dug up and turned over by shovel or rototilled into the top 12 inches. Soil preparation encourages deep roots and strong growth and has an ample supply of nutrients, moisture, and air.

Once the soil is properly prepared, the edge of the bed can be laid out with a garden hose, string, or other method. Then the bed is finely edged with a spade or edging tool.

Planting

The planting of shrubs, annuals and perennials should be done in the spring from the time the soil is dry enough to be worked until late May or July if irrigation is available. After the summer heat is over, perennial planting can resume until mid-October. In colder regions, planting perennials later than this may not give the roots enough time to grow into the soil and will result in heaving from frost. Spring bulbs however, can be planted until there is frost in the ground.

All holes should first be dug a little larger than the root ball. A handheld auger is desirable for planting large numbers. Potted plants should be watered just before transplanting. Any bare root plants should be soaked in water or liquid fertilizer for a couple of minutes prior to planting. The roots of small tender plants should not be exposed to sunlight or drying wind for more than 30 seconds. Remove any plastic, metal, or clay pots. Papier-mâché, peat, or other organic containers do not have to be removed but it is recommended. Immediately after planting, the plants should be watered twice and then again every two days for two weeks. Thereafter, watering should be done deeply and once a week by rain or irrigation. One inch of rain or irrigation water should be applied weekly. Water the soil; do not water the leaves. A soaker hose is the best way to water around the leaves and directly on the soil.

Tree Planting

According to the latest research, trees do best if planted in a large planting area that is wide but not deep, where the soil is loose and suited for root growth. The planting area should be 5 times the diameter of the planting ball. A rototiller or shovel should be used to loosen and mix the soil in the entire area to a depth of about 12 inches. In the center of the prepared area, dig a shallow hole to set the tree. The hole should allow the root ball to sit on solid ground rather than in loose soil.

Once the site is prepared, the tree is set in the hole. It should be removed from its container, and all rope, wire, and artificial burlap should be removed from the ball. Natural burlap should be loosened, rolled back from the top, and down the sides of the ball. Water will settle the soil and remove air pockets better than compacting the soil with feet. After the filling is completed, rake a 4-inch dike to form a saucer around the circumference of the root ball. The saucer will catch water and prevent runoff for a short time after planting.

Mulching

Mulching in a shrub or flower bed can be done prior to planting if the mulch is pushed aside and spread back after planting. Other professionals prefer to add mulch after planting. This technique also keeps the mulch away from the plant stems, which can cause the plant to rot. A fine-textured mulch looks best in flower beds and areas of high visibility while coarse mulch, such as wood chips, is good for trees and shrubs.

·    A good mulch should do the following:

·    Pull the design together with harmony

·    Suppress weeds

·    Provide color and texture to the landscape

·    Enhance the root development of all the plants

·    Add organic matter and nutrients to the soil through decomposition

·    Improve water-holding capacity

·    Prevent water evaporation

·    Moderate soil moisture

·    Improve earthworm and soil insect growth, which moves organic matter into the soil

·    Improve aeration

·    Encourage more root development into mulch and soil

Mulch should be applied to a settled depth of 3 inches for trees and shrubs, 1 inch for perennials, and 2 inches for annuals. Plastic is not a good mulch because it reduces soil oxygen and moisture and causes severe damage to plants after three years.

Pruning

When many trees and shrubs are being transplanted, only 4 or 5 percent of the roots are taken along. Excessive pruning to compensate for the root loss is considered harmful because the plant's ability to make food in its leaves is reduced. It is better to keep the roots well watered and growing than to remove the leaves from the plant.

Before planting, check over the plant to remove all sucker growth and all dead, broken, damaged, or weak branches and roots. All girdling roots on trees should also be removed. Two or three years after planting the trees, determine the desired shape of the plant by pruning to correct structural weakness, removing the lower branches if necessary, and prune to a single leader and the ideal shape and branching habit that is characteristic of the tree. Studies have proven that pruning young trees is better for the tree: the wounds are smaller, and properly pruned young trees need less pruning as the trees get older.

TREES          

Planting a tree can enhance almost any urban site. Trees add beauty while improving the air quality, reducing pollution and dust, and increasing the property value.  This Landscape Architect specifies only the best trees for use in an urban area.

Before a tree is planted, the site must be carefully evaluated to determine the site's limitations and then matching a tree, which will do well in those conditions. The tree should also be selected for low maintenance. They should be pest and disease resistant. They should not need frequent pruning. The fruits or seeds should be eaten by birds or otherwise not be a problem. They should be able to tolerate storms and not break apart or require cabling and they should be able to adapt to the local climate. Trees can also be used to provide shade for the perennial garden.

SHRUBS

Shrubs are the most often overlooked plant in the urban landscape. They provide the background or screen to the garden. They are seldom used for their own beauty and landscape value. Seldom does one find a shrub garden in the city.

Yet shrubs can provide a very valuable contribution to the urban landscape. They are usually taller than most perennials so they can be accents for a perennial garden. Their blooms are often competitive with annuals for making showy displays in the garden. Larger shrubs can easily be used in place of small trees to provide shade for smaller plants. Most shrubs provide some winter interest from something as simple as nice branches to persistent fruits or evergreen leaves. Every garden should have some shrubs, especially since they require less maintenance than perennials or annuals. Although they might require more pruning than a tree, they are easier to prune. The beauty and value of urban landscape shrubs are an asset to every garden.

This Landscape Architect specifies only the best shrubs to use in an urban situation. The selected shrubs flower for 2 weeks or more, have at least two seasons of interest, are low maintenance, have no pest problems, and tolerate city conditions and drought.

VINES

Vines are another part of the urban landscape that are often over-looked. Most people think you need a trellis or an arbor before considering a vine. However, vines do very well growing up a brick wall on the house; on a dead tree; or climbing up an ugly utility pole (with the utility's permission of course). Vines can be used to provide screening or background to the perennial garden. An outdoor swing or front porch surrounded by fragrant vines provides a very romantic setting. Clematis is a favorite to climb the mailbox post or front walk light post throughout suburbia. Planting a trumpet vine is the single most effective way to encourage hummingbirds to your garden.

The care of vines is no different than the care required of perennials or shrubs. Some vines come back from the ground every year while most start to grow where they stopped the previous season. Vines provide year round interest, especially during their blooming period.

This Landscape Architect has prepared a list of the best vines for urban situations.

PERENNIALS

Landscape professionals are always looking for the perfect perennial. Perfect perennials have a long blooming season; they are tolerant to most pests and diseases; they are adaptable to a wide range of soils and climates; they are readily available in the nursery trade; they require little maintenance, fertilizer, staking or deadheading; and they provide year round garden interest. Perfect perennials also need to be drought tolerant in case there is no rain or irrigation. They must also look good throughout the growing season. Unfortunately, there is presently, no such thing as a perfect perennial, but this Landscape Architect has developed a list of plants that come very close.

Perennials are a valuable asset to any garden and do well in combination with other perennials as well as with annuals, ornamental grasses, bulbs and shrubs. Perennials are also well adapted to tolerating degrees of sun or shade. A few perennials such as Hemerocallis do best in full sun, but many will provide acceptable bloom in the shade. Shade loving perennials, such as Hostas, by contrast, will do very well in the shade, but need sun if they are to bloom or have enhanced leaf color, especially among the gold and white variegated leaves. Most perennials do best in partial shade that is a mix of sun for up to half a day and shade for some of the day.

Perennials require proper soil preparation for peak performance. The soil should be deep, rich in compost and fertilizer, well aerated, and moist. The perennial garden will be enhanced with mulch to keep the soil moist, cool, and low in weed growth.  Perennials do need to be divided every 2 to 10 years depending on the variety. Division keeps the plants young and vigorous plus it provides an opportunity to improve the garden soil with compost and fertilizer.

For more information on Hostas, be sure to visit: http://perfectperennials.tripod.com

 ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

Ornamental Grasses are being used in the landscape because they are tolerant to drought, they resist most diseases and insect pests, and they need very little care such as fertilizer or pesticides. Ornamental grasses come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, colors and texture in their foliage and their flowers or seed heads. The ornamental grasses also change color from summer green, variegated, or red to a beautiful fall and winter color which can vary from tan, to yellow, to brown. Most of the seed heads will also provide a great deal of winter interest.

When the grasses are being planted, the soil should be carefully and properly prepared. If time doesn't permit and the ornamental grasses have to be planted in the fall, they should be thoroughly watered and heavily mulched with woodchips or shredded bark. Attention should be given to checking the grasses in the spring for survival and that the plants have not heaved out of the ground. If they are planted in the spring, watering and weed control will be necessary during the entire first season. The soil must be kept moist so a good root system can develop. Once the roots and the plant are established, supplemental watering will not be necessary except during a severe drought. Mulch is no longer necessary after the grass is established unless it will keep weeds under control.

The only annual maintenance requirement is the removal of last year's foliage in the early spring, before the new grass blades appear, but after the last major frosts. The foliage can be removed with clippers or weed whips.

The division of ornamental grasses can be a difficult process and should be done in early spring. The clump of grass should be dug up and the dead leaves from the previous season cut back. A knife is then used to cut the clump and separate the plant crowns into smaller clumps. The clumps are then planted in another setting or in the original location but with more space between the clumps and improved soil.

Ornamental grasses can be used very dramatically in the landscape. Tall grasses can provide shade and screening to the garden background. Their use as a screen is effective because they promote interest as well as block the view. The short grasses make good ground covers. The medium sized grasses make excellent specimens or accents within the shrub or perennial garden. The accents should be a single plant or in combination with other grasses. Ornamental grasses are very effective in the fall and winter and the designer should place them where the fall and winter views will be appreciated.

Ornamental Grasses remind us of the prairie where the wind blows free, so using grasses in any garden landscape adds a sense of freedom to the design. Grasses blend into a formal design as easily as they do in an informal setting. Their billowing plumes or flowers provide a sense of action to a static design. They add excitement when planted along a stream or beside a pond.

The best ornamental grasses to use in an urban situation have been selected by this Landscape Architect.

FERNS

Any urban landscape that contains deep shade can be improved with the planting of ferns. Ferns will grow regardless of the light requirements as long as the garden soil is rich in compost, deep, and moist. Ferns do not need much fertilizer and require very little maintenance. They are excellent companions to most shade tolerant annuals and perennials and are often used to provide contrasting texture and color. Most of the ferns spread slowly and will eventually become a ground cover of lacy fronds that are beautiful throughout the four seasons of the garden landscape. Ferns are finally becoming recognized by the nursery trade and increasing in popularity by gardeners.

Some ferns have edible fiddleheads while others can grace a floral arrangement. Some have spectacular autumn color while others are evergreen and still others provide a nice cool green throughout the summer. Ferns can be used as focal points or accent plants as well as background and ground cover plants. Some do well in dry sites while others look best beside a babbling brook.

Based on this Landscape Architect's experience, the best ferns to use in an urban landscape have been determined.

ANNUALS

Annuals do very well in the urban landscape. Although they have to be replaced every year, annuals provide continuous blooms from the time they are mature until frost. Annuals in southern climates without frost will bloom all through the winter.

The key to continuous blooming begins with good, improved garden soil, weekly watering, fertilizer and deadheading. Most annuals prefer well-drained soil and sites with maximum sunshine. During annual bed preparation, a well-rounded granular fertilizer such as 10-10-10 can be mixed into the soil along with the compost and other needed supplements. The fertilizer is immediately available to the plant and will be useful for half the season. A fertilizer high in phosphorus such as 5-10-5 should be scratched into the top two inches of soil about half way through the season to help the plants continue their prolific blooms until frost. If the granular fertilizer is not applied during bed preparation, a liquid treatment should be applied at two, then four, then six, and finally, an eight-week interval from the time of planting.

Watering the annual display garden is best done by rain or overhead sprinklers. At least 1" of rain or irrigation is needed every week throughout the growing season. Irrigation is best done if activated overnight and the inch of water is applied only once a week. If time or weather conditions require, a second application of water can be applied mid-way between the weekly watering. Frequent watering or watering by hand does not allow the water to penetrate deeply into the soil.

Deadheading is the process of removing the spent flowers so: 1.) Seed is not produced, which saps the plant's strength, 2.) The plant continues producing more flowers, and 3.) The plant looks better.

When choosing annuals, the color selection is critical to good garden design. Complimentary colors such as white, and any pastel are very common in landscape designs. Contrasting color combinations such as: orange and blue; red and green; or yellow and violet work well if one color is dominate and the other color is used as an accent. Also look at sun versus shade and use light colored annuals in shady areas.

Theme colors can be used throughout the garden. Although 3 or 4 colors can be used, one color should be repeated to develop the theme. The theme color can be a variety of plants with the same color all through the garden, or the theme can be a row of one variety planted along the garden's edge.

Colorful annuals can also be used to develop focal points. If the garden is to contain mixed plants, 3 or 5 colorful annuals can be located at a focal point. These annuals should be surrounded with a contrasting color or texture to emphasize its focal importance.

Today's annuals come in more colors than ever before. For example, Impatiens, which used to come in 4 basic colors, now come in more than 20 designer colors. Annuals are effective in the garden, in containers or in places where nothing else will grow.

This Landscape Architect has selected the best annuals to use in an urban location.

SPRING BULBS

Spring bulbs are very effective at announcing to the world that winter is over and the outdoor seasons are about to begin. Spring bulbs produce an immediate flower that endures unpredictable weather for several weeks. After the blooms have finished, young perennials or annuals that take over the space once dominated by the spring bulbs easily hide the foliage.

Bulbs do not need a lot of care. Although they are spring flowers, they need to be planted in the fall. It is usually recommended that the bulbs be planted to a depth three times the bulb diameter. For example, a 2" wide tulip bulb should be planted in a 6" to 8" deep hole. Planting the bulbs too shallow will result in the bulb divided into several flower-less bulbs. The soil should be the typical, improved garden soil. Many garden experts recommend that bone meal or other bulb fertilizer be added to the bottom of the hole before planting. Fertilizer can also be scratched into the soil as a top dressing in the fall of subsequent years.

Bulbs will return every year with proper care as well as using long-lived varieties. Proper care consists of removing the faded flowers so seeds are not produced, and letting the leaves yellow before they are removed. The leaves supply essential nutrients, which are stored in the bulb. Bulbs of narcissus and tulips will need to be dug up and divided every 5 - 8 years. This provides an opportunity to improve the soil and produce new clumps of bulbs.

One tip that is very effective in enhancing the existing garden is to recycle the potted spring bulbs frequently sold in garden centers for Easter. After the Easter display is finished, the potted plant can be set into a desirable location in the garden. When the potted plant's leaves have faded, remove the bulbs from the pot and plant them at the proper depth, right where they were formerly sitting in the pot.

Spring bulbs should be planted in 3 to 5 to 7 bulb clumps of the same cultivar. They look best set in clumps in the garden or around the base of a tree. They should be planted with a non-aggressive ground cover or between clumps of perennials. Narcissus are very effective with daylilies because as the Narcissus leaves start to fade, the daylily leaves will take their place. Crocus are very effective when planted in the same location as tulips.

The best spring bulbs to use in an urban situation have been selected by this Landscape Architect.

TURF CARE PROGRAM

Better looking turf can be obtained while using less water and fertilizer, as well as fewer herbicides, insecticides and fungicides by keeping the grass healthier and following the program described below.

GRASS SEED If the turf areas are being redone or being filled in with new seed; use a blend of grass seed that contains some new varieties of ryegrass and fescue. Some of these new varieties require little water, are disease resistant and are not bothered by insects such as chinch bugs.

FERTILIZER The best fertilizer to use is a 20-10-10 product that has a 50% organic content. The organic base will provide a slow release of nutrients not typical of liquid and inexpensive fertilizers. This type of fertilizer provides a long period of effectiveness. It should be applied at the rate recommended on the bag at least three times a year. The first application should be between May 15 and June 15 to prolong the rapid spring growth. The second application should be during September to encourage root growth. The final application should be a double dose in mid-November to keep the grass green well into the fall. Over fertilizing will promote excessive growth and turf disease, while under fertilizing will encourage weed growth and complaints from the public.

LIME To keep the grass growing well, the soil chemistry should be kept in balance. A soil test provides that information. Lime is applied according to the test results and the soil laboratory's recommendations.

BROADLEAF WEED CONTROL The best way to control dandelions and other common weeds is to keep the grass healthy. If there are lots of weeds or areas of unhealthy grass, use a weed and feed type of fertilizer/weed control once instead of the May - June fertilizer application. After this single treatment or if there are only a few weeds in the lawn, use a liquid weed killer in spray bottles and according to the label instructions for spot treating the biggest weeds. With this approach, a major weed control is only necessary every five years or so. Repeated applications of herbicide several times a year, year after year, weakens the grass plants and adds unnecessary herbicide to the environment.

CRABGRASS WEED CONTROL Any pre-emergent crabgrass control can be used, but use it only if crabgrass was a major problem the previous summer. This material should be applied at the same time the Forsythia are in bloom. Again, if the grass is healthy, crabgrass should not be a problem or concern.

AERATION Thatch is a layer of dead roots growing on unhealthy lawns. This thatch layer will prevent nutrients and water from reaching the healthy grass roots. Instead of removing the thatch with a thatching machine every spring, use an aerator three times a year, spring, summer and late fall. Aerating loosens the compact soil, allows the soil and grass roots to breathe and lets moisture and fertilizer penetrate deeper. This practice in combination with these other recommendations, prevent thatch from becoming a problem.

MOWING When mowing the turf areas, it should be done so that no more than one-third the grass blade is removed. For example, in the spring the mower should be set at 2" high. The grass should be mowed before the grass blades reach 3" long. During hot, dry periods, the mower height should be raised to 3" to provide shade for the grass roots and reduce stress on a weaken plant. When mowing the grass, leave the clippings on the ground. They will quickly fall between the live grass plants and rapidly decompose, which returns nutrients back to the soil. Grass clippings do not contribute to a thatch problem.

WATER The ideal amount of water for turf is one inch per week. If it rains a half an inch for example, then only a second half an inch is required by irrigation. In those areas where the grass is allowed to turn brown, the public should be informed that it is deliberate and that the grass is not harmed but is only in a dormant state. In actually, only ball fields and highly visible parks and flower beds should be irrigated. To compromise between lush green lawns and dry brown lawns, while conserving water, begin watering only when the grass develops a slightly purplish color.

This program will need to be strictly followed on ball fields where healthy turf is important for the safety of the players. The program can be a little less important where grass only needs to look good from a passing automobile.