Winter is the perfect time of year for gardeners to assess their yardscape. We all take pictures, or we should, when our gardens are in bloom and looking their best. A good planning tool is a picture of the garden area when it's not at its best. That time is likely now, in the dead of winter.
Those beautiful native ferns that are lush and that fill in all the nooks and crannies of the landscape are now brown and shriveled. The hydrangeas, the crepe myrtles, and the other summer-blooming plants are stark sticks, not particularly attractive. Just look around and you'll see many other examples.
Therefore, it is a perfect time to consider alternate plantings, additional plantings, or perhaps rearrangement of existing plantings to improve your garden picture all year long.
Also, get in your car or walk the neighborhood, taking a camera, to find examples of good plantings that look good all year round. Then plan ways to incorporate those into your own landscape.
This spring, when the urge to work in the garden comes upon you, you will have a plan.
Mary Claire Rowe, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
The colder months when you cannot do much outdoors offer an excellent opportunity for making some landscape plans, especially if you have a new home or want to redo your current place.
Using a copy of your lot plan, make a drawing of the house and other structures. Draw in the existing trees, shrubs, and flowerbeds, driveway, and walks. Locate and mark water, sewer, gas lines, and any other items that may become a problem or could be damaged. Note the usual wind direction and where the sun is relative to the placement of the house.
If a fence is to be constructed, do it first. You may decide to use shrubs as a fence or as a part of the fence. Use the lot or site plan to locate your flower plantings or your plan for a small garden for herbs or vegetables. Do you want to camouflage or hide parts of the yard or house? You may want to change the elevation of a portion of the property. If changing the yard elevation, check with the planning department for any permits needed.
Now for the fun and work of turning the plan into the yard you want. Lay out the edges of the flowerbeds to increase the curb appeal of the house. Build up the flowerbeds with the compost from your compost area. (Composting is the best way to aid your plants, your yard, and yourself. Choose a location that offers easy access and is partially isolated for the composting bins.) Select the plants that are adapted to your part of the state. Adapted plants will require less attention and will thrive best. With attention now to plant selection, you will increase the value of the property and reduce your yard workload. It is better to enjoy the yard and plantings rather than not have the time because of the high maintenance. Choose plants that do not require large amounts of water. We homeowners expend about 60% of our water use on the yard.
Plant the trees to aid in reducing the heat load of the house. Shade for the hot part of the day will also help some plants. Evergreen trees can form a windbreak and be useful even in the winter. Shrubs, even rose bushes, may work as a border to restrict the view into your yard and home.
Plan the construction to be completed in stages. This way, you can enjoy the changes, and your friends will be impressed with your ability and gardening savvy.
Andy Andrews, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Choosing a good garden spot is important for performance of your choice of plants. There are several important factors one should consider before picking a site. Soil, sunlight, and a water source for your garden are major factors in choosing a site.
Always have your soil tested. In testing your soil one will determine the pH, and what soil supplements are needed. Decide if your soil type is a clay or sandy soil. This will determine how your site will drain. If the soil is clay, pelletized expanded shale will help break it up. If the soil is sandy, then add a large amount of compost and peat. Drainage is a major factor a gardener should consider for a garden site.
Sunlight is an important factor in considering the proper site. Track the morning sun as well as the midday sunlight. Check if you have a tree that shades the sunlight, in the morning, midday, and evening light. Often sun-loving daffodils can be planted in a shady spot because they bloom before the trees leaf out. Determine if the site is shady, partial shade or full sun; this is important for selecting your plants.
Consider the trees, and vegetation surrounding your site, because all will be sharing the water for your garden site. Try to group same water need plants in the same bed. Watering a garden site is vital during hotter months of the summer. Vegetable or ornamental gardens need water, but consider method type and time to water for your crop's needs. Watering in the morning with soaker hoses is usually a wise choice. A good layer of mulch and weed control will help your crop in the need for water and nutrients from the soil. Determine your environment needs for your crop, but never over water the crop. Always conserve water.
Victor Long, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Whether you're starting from scratch or redoing only part of your yard, you will get the best results if you work out a plan in advance. Keep a notebook or folder from the time you start thinking about your "new" yard until the job is finished. Jot down ideas as they come to you, take pictures or write about yards and/or planting that you see, and cut pictures and articles that you like from magazines. Visit nurseries in your area to get lists of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, groundcovers, etc. that grow well in your area. If you are considering using stone or other hardscape, find the materials that you like and get information that will help you. Study, ask questions, and, if necessary, get help from professionals.
When collecting your materials, consider the style of your house, as well as your living style. Find things that will complement both. You probably do not want plants and shrubs that work well with a Tudor style house when your house is contemporary. Also, you will need to decide if you want a low maintenance or high maintenance yard.
Analyze your site. What type soil do you have - sandy, clay, or loam? Should drainage be improved? Which sites are sunny, shady, or both, and at what times of the day? Are there prevailing winds to consider? Which views are desirable?
Divide your area into three categories. The public space is between your home and the street. This will include the sidewalks and driveway. The private area might include a patio, a playground, the barbecue, a pool, and other family-activity places, as well as different garden plots. The service area is where you will store trash cans, garden tools, etc. You might want to block a direct view of this area by planting a tall hedge, building a fence, or having a vine-covered trellis.
As you are working on ideas, draw up an overall plan of your yard as it is now. Measure the exterior perimeter of your house, your boundaries, the sidewalks and driveway, and other permanent structures. Sketch these to scale on graph paper (1/4"=1') Indicate existing trees and shrubs with circles. Show the existing wind pattern(s) and the sun's path with arrows. Put in the water, electricity, gas, and cable lines, etc. so you will not be planning anything that will damage them. (Or if the utility company needs to replace or repair them, it can be done with minimum damage to your plantings, walks, patio, etc.). On your house, draw in the windows and the doors so you can plan for views from most of them.
Once you have made decisions on what you think you want to do, use tracing paper on top of the drawing of your yard to draw in permanent structures that you might want to add. Allow enough space for walkways, terraces or patios. If your first drawing does not work, throw it away and start over. If you work with pencil, it can be erased to change items. Study your plan as you work. Once you have settled on the permanent items, start drawing in trees, shrubs, flowers, and garden areas. Don't try to squeeze too much into a small area. (Be sure to indicate mature dimensions of shrubs and trees.) Try to visualize what they will look like from different directions, including from the windows and the doors, as well as from the street, if they are in the public area.
Hopefully, as you work on this, you will be able to plan "just" what you want the finished project to be. Then you can start the real work.
Becky Hamilton, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
There are some very important factors you should take into consideration when planning a garden of any kind. Make careful observations of the area to be planted in order to answer questions such as these:
Once you've answered these questions, visit a reputable nursery and ask for help and advice in choosing proper plants for you garden. After all, you will be paying good money for landscaping which - if done properly - will enhance your home and add great value to your property.
* For thorough information on your soil, pick up a soil testing kit from the Smith County Extension Office, Room 116 of the Cotton Belt Building, 1517 W. Front Street in Tyler. You'll get an analysis of your soil and advice on how to improve it.
Dee Bishop, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Strategic landscaping can help your energy conservation efforts. A mature shade tree, for example, can equal 10,000 BTUs of cooling as it absorbs solar radiation. The west side of the house will benefit the most from shading since it takes the brunt of the hot afternoon sun.
Trees that shed their leaves in the fall are especially "solar friendly." They cool the house in summer, then let the sun shine through bare branches to warm it in winter. A tree with a broad canopy will give the most shade but be sure to consider factors like utility lines and other space limitations. Sometimes columnar trees like Bradford pears are more practical.
Vines are often used for shading in the hot climates of the Mediterranean and Latin America. Bougainvillea, roses, clematis, honeysuckle, trumpet vines and jasmine are some of the choices seen draped over the top of windows. Train one or more vines up the side of the window then drape them across the top of the sash. Prune as needed and let the runners develop lateral branches to increase shading.
Some plants provide shade in summer, then die back completely, are annual castor beans and sunflowers, as well as tall cannas, which come back each year and usually multiply over time. Stands of these type plants will shade the windows and sides of your house. A shade tree, once established, can cool the roof, too. A good strategy would be to plant a shade tree for the long term and use these shorter-term fixes to fill in while the shade tree develops.
Rosemary Moyers, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Whether your new garden is a success or not will depend on your soil preparation. This is one of the basics of gardening that you cannot skip whether planting transplants or sowing seed.
First, take a soil test and send it to the laboratory to find what you will need to add for a healthy soil. If you do not know how to do this, call your county Extension agent or check with a Master Gardener.
Second, spray existing grass and weeds with an herbicide containing glyphosate (eg. Roundup). To kill grass, the grass must be actively growing. Always follow label directions. After these die, you will want to remove as much of the dead grass and weeds, along with their roots, as possible.
Then, dig to a depth of 8 to 10 inches to break up the soil completely. If you are making a large bed, you might want to use a rototiller. Go over the area several times until the soil is broken into small fragments. As you are tilling, remove any debris, weeds, rocks, etc. you find.
The next step will be to add a 4 to 6 inch layer of compost, shredded bark, peat moss, or other organic material to the top of your tilled soil. The organic material will aerate the plant roots and help to save water by absorbing and holding moisture. If you have clay soil, it is suggested that you add expanded shale to the bed to make the soil more porous. In addition to the organic materials, add the nutrients suggested in the lab report. These might be nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, etc. Work all of these amendments into the loosened soil, with tiller or shovel. If possible let the soil rest for one to two weeks, this will give the amendments time to start working and the soil a chance to settle.
Before planting, rake and smooth the soil. Once the soil is smooth, it is ready for your seeds or plants. With all this preparation they should grow as you want.
Becky Hamilton, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
I get very excited thinking about my garden and landscaping possibilities. I visualize all those gorgeous gardens, the ones I see in full bloom in all my books and magazines, growing in my own yard, but then reality sets in.
I'm notorious for buying plants, shrubs and even trees, on whims, and then wandering around my yard looking for spots to plant them. My husband is positive it's my intension to create an obstacle course for him to mow around.
So, the importance of actually planning your landscape or garden, BEFORE you start planting, is very important. Taking the time to plan will give you an idea of where you will place all your beautiful plants, and how they will flow together to create a beautiful space in your yard.
You can begin by doing a simple drawing yourself, or, do an elaborate detailed sketch, or you can even hire a landscape professional to help you. However you decide to plan your landscape and garden, just be sure you do.
Keep lists of the plants you would like to incorporate, their growing conditions, how large they can or will get and when they bloom. Doing some research on the needs of the plants will be beneficial. This will keep you from planting a sun loving plant that requires minimal watering next to a shade lover that demands it be kept wet. Also, keep in mind sun, wind and rain exposure, as well as the slopes in the area.
You'll also want to decide how much time you plan on putting into caring for your garden. Do you love to prune, trim, fertilize, and weed? Or, are you more the "plant 'em and let 'em go" type? Do you want a formal garden, or something very free form and natural? Will you be doing all the work yourself, or hiring some help? All these are important factors when deciding on your plans and plants.
Make sure you're not planting large trees under power lines, or near your water line. Knowing where the overhead and underground utilities are located is a good idea.
Remember, the right plant in the right place. Most plants grow up and out. If you are not sure about the growth habit of a plant, ask the plant merchant, or contact the county extension office.
Deb Fletcher, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
