Tags: The tropically faint of heart may want to defer to another article, or adversely, read with an open mind. For they are about to experience a visual and educational awakening when it comes to proper placement of palm trees within a yard. Here are some tips on properly spacing the planting of palm trees within your own yard. Now, I have nothing against palm trees. In the home we own, we just happen to be struggling with the decision a previous owner made to plant 7 towering Queen Palms in a small backyard space. Were in not for the fact that we peer out our first floor windows at nothing but tree trunks, rather than beautiful tree foliage, I would not be writing this article. However, it is not just our struggle from which these tips come about, but the hundreds if not thousands of current and future palm tree purchasers and planters who will fail to understand the growth habits and space needs of some of the larger varieties. Or, a similar hundreds if not more thousands who know the growth habits, but insist that lining up palm tress like dominoes along each side of their driveway is a good thing. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding to plant palm trees in your landscape scheme, some for aesthetic reasons, and others for prevention purposes: Never plant too close to the house: It would seem common sense, but you cannot imagine how many homeowners I have encountered that are paying the physical price for planting a younger palm that eventually grew in to a tropical monster and is now devouring the roof edges and damaging the house. Know the growth rate and mature size of the palm you consider purchasing. We had to have two in the front of our house removed for that very reason, as did our next door neighbor. Both previous owners must have had tropical fever back then. Try not to go overboard: In the same way we find lovers of certain colors going to extremes in both the garden or within the home, it is not uncommon to find some palm tree lovers trying to justify why they should be able to place one anywhere they can find a space. Wrong! Unless you are planting a palm tree grove for resale purposes, too much of any one thing is just that, too much. Mix it Up: Okay, so you still want to plant palms in your landscape scheme. Very well, let us look at a way of complimenting those palms rather than making them the ruling greenery of the yard. Using the famous rule of 3s, try planting 3 palms if it is in the budget; and, rather than planting in an evenly spaced cluster, position them for a visually pleasing arrangement that will enable you to compliment the surrounding plantable ground nearby with tropical and perhaps Mediterranean style foliage. Adding color to the mix is what will bring everything to vivid life. Visit a local knowledgeable nursery for varieties of annuals and perennials with similar and complimentary foliage and colors that will share the landscaping with those palms. These were just a few key things to keep in mind when selecting palm trees for your landscaping that will prevent tropical sorrow down the road years from now. Happy landscaping!
Posts Tagged ‘Landscaping’
Landscaping Tips-Why Lining up Palm Trees So Close Limits your Landscaping Options
January 24th, 2010 
Dustin 
Making Your Desert Landscaping Look Great
January 20th, 2010 Dustin If you have a desert landscape there are many things that you can still do to transform it into something you can be proud of. Make sure you research about flowers and plants to see what can survive in the conditions that you are faced with. Not everyone has the pleasure of having great land for their landscaping project and therefore it can be a lot harder for them. It could be that your land is like a desert where the plant growth is very rare and there is hardly any green grass. When the land is not looking very promising, it can be hard to imagine it looking good at all. The good news for people with land like this is that there are actually things that can be done in order to make it look better. What Can You Do For Your Desert Landscaping Project To Make It Look Better? To start with you will need to do quite a bit of planning. Because the land is not the best and the climate may be difficult, it does need a lot of thought. You need to have some idea on what look you want to achieve too and then see if it is at all possible to achieve this. To get some inspiration and ideas try searching around on the internet and look in magazines. The hardest thing you will be faced with is coming up with a design that will suit your landscape. However, because the land is more awkward you should not let it stop you from finding a great design to transform your garden completely. You will need to bear in mind about what space is available and also you need to consider your budget too. Adding Extra Rocks and Other Features to Your Landscaping Project? Your desert landscape may have big boulders or rocks scattered everywhere so you may want to replace them with something else. You may want to try using colored rocks which give out a bit of extra charm and they can look extremely good too. They can come in many different shapes and sizes to give a great combination. In order to help soften the rocks up, you can always add original desert plants around them. You may not be aware of this but it is actually possible to have a garden in a desert landscape. You will need to do research on what plants and flowers will survive and grow in the climate you are in though. To make the garden look impressive it is a good idea to put the lower plants at the front and the higher ones at the back. With the desert being quite dry and hot, a water feature would also come in quite handy and it tends to look extremely classy as well as adding charm. It is a fun and creative way to make your desert landscape look completely different to how it was before. So, if you have a desert landscape that needs something doing to it, use a bit of creativity and do some research in order to transform it. Do not let the climate and heat stop you from enjoying your landscape as it can be overlooked.
Planning for Desert Landscaping
December 31st, 2009 Dustin If you live in a dry and arid climate then your desert landscaping is going to take a little more planning than some other parts of the country. desert landscaping will have to work with a plan that includes only plants and trees that can survive with much less water than some other plants. There is no point in planting something if it can not sustain itself afterwards. So take some time with your desert landscaping plan and make sure that you have done everything suited to the climate. You could spend the money to get better irrigation put in but the money will be great and the time will be all consuming. It is much simpler for your desert landscaping plan to just include plants that will thrive even in the hot sun all day. What makes using desert landscaping friendly plants so great is that not only will these plants do well even in the hot sun they will also be able to thrive in poor quality soil. This is a much needed quality because places that have so much sun tend to have poor soil as well. So in essence you are killing two birds with one stone as they say. Here are some wonderful plants that you can use in your desert landscaping:Longwood Blue bluebeardThis is a shrub, it is deciduous and it will grow back each and every spring. It will always come back healthy and happy and this makes it perfect for desert landscaping. It is not a tiny shrub, it will grow to be anywhere between 3 and 4 feet high with a width of about 2 feet. This is a lovely plant to use in your desert landscaping as it is not only beautiful with its pretty blue flower clusters and silver foliage, it is also very fragrant. Autumn JoyThis is a wonderful perennial that you can plant for your desert landscaping. With this choice you will have great leaves in pretty whorls. These leaves can be any number of different colors and can be bought to go with any desert landscaping design. This plant is the ultimate for desert landscaping because it can grow in rock gardens with ease. This lovely desert landscaping plant also has a unique and interesting flower unlike any other I have ever seen. These small flowers grow in clusters and they can be a few different colors and shades. The most common are yellow, orange and red and pink. If you plant these in your garden you will have butterflies around all of the time and they make for lovely entertainment on their own.
A Beautiful Desert Landscaping Is Possible
December 28th, 2009 Dustin Contrary to the popular misconception of the lack of green life in the desert, an enjoyable desert landscaping is possible. After all, the desert is like any other habitat on Earth, and it holds a large and interesting array of green life, and you can take it to your backyard!Desert landscaping is hot right now because is a great way to make a garden easy to maintain and to save water as well. You can make just part of your garden landscaping as a desert, or you can convert all your landscaping into xeriscape. Xeriscape?Xeriscaping: the fancy word for desert landscapingXeriscape is the discipline of creating a garden landscape with desert plants, using minimal amounts of water. Xeriscaping has many advantages, being the most interesting that it’s eco-friendly. Since desert plants need low amounts of water, you’ll be enjoying your beautiful landscape all year round without using the much-needed water for human drinking. Most places in our country suffer from droughts from time to time, thus leading to water consumption bans or regulations. The downside, however, is that desert plants grow slowly. One solution is to use rocks for decoration, to fill it, at least for s short time. You can use mulch, pebbles or even lava rocks. You can sketch a basic design and include the rocks in it. Rocks and pebbles have a lot of creative potential. Another option is to buy older or bigger plants, especially if you lack patience. What to plant?Cacti are the most popular and versatile plant in desert landscaping. When shopping for cacti for your desert landscaping you will find a large variety, both in size as in shapes and colors. You will be surprised when you learn that there are cacti several feet tall and others small as a couple of inches. Flowers are not uncommon in cacti, and the variety is also large, though they don’t bloom for a long time. One exception is the prickly pear, named after its fruit. This cactus produces a beautiful yellow flower in summertime. Of course, you also plant other type of desert plants such as aloes, periwinkles and several types of heathers. Make a visit to your local gardening store for further information on what type of plants you can add to your desert landscaping project. Another good source of information is your local botanical museum or park, where you can see the plants and cacti from different parts of the world. Desert landscaping is a fast growing landscaping idea, and it’s going to become more popular in a few years.
Desert Landscaping – 2 Tips For Amateurs
December 23rd, 2009 Dustin Perhaps when most people think of the desert, they only think of broiling hot days, cacti, and dry heat. In truth, many deserts are located in high terrain and the hottest of days can actually turn into cool nights. Many deserts also experience cold winters that can include snow, and desert landscaping often reflects this.
1. Desert Landscaping: The Hot And Cold
Because the desert can experience such a range of temperature changes, desert landscaping needs to be hardy enough to tolerate heat as well as cold. Evergreen shrubs and trees survive well in high terrain deserts, because they withstand the heat and tolerate cold. Many cactus plants are also cold hardy. This surprises many people, because they think of cactus as hot area plants.
If you have a home in the desert and want to do some desert landscaping around your house the best place to buy your plants is from a local nursery. Often big box garden retailers have their plants ordered by someone in their regional office. This person often doesn’t understand the complexities of desert weather and orders plants that might not do well in your yard. Ordering plants from a local nursery or choosing landscaping that is locally grown ensures that you will get plants that will thrive and grow in your desert landscaping.
2. Desert Landscaping: Water With Care
If you stick to plants that are native to the area in which you live, watering your yard shouldn’t be an issue. However, if you want to grow flowers, vegetables, or other plants that don’t normally grow in the desert, you need to make sure that you provide a source of water to your desert landscaping. Before you design your desert yard, check with your local authorities to make sure that there are no watering restrictions in your city or county. Once you have established how much water you want to spare on your yard each month, come up with a watering plan. Do you want to water by hand? The easiest way to water your lawn and garden is with a timed sprinkler system. If you plant grass set your timer to go off in the early morning hours, so that the water can seep into your ground before the sun rises and causes it to evaporate. Choose a drip irrigation system to water your shrubs and ground covers and you will see minimal waste.
If you want to cut back on the amount of watering your desert landscaping requires, fill your yard with gravel or rocks instead of grass. This low maintenance alternative to grass looks attractive in a desert setting. One caveat to rocks is that light colored gravel will reflect the sun’s heat, causing your yard to seem even hotter each afternoon.