Rock Garden Designs

Rock Garden Idea 1
Visualize this - a lovely rock garden which does not have a hint of artificial element in it. What do you need for that? Well, an idea would be to make the best possible use of yards which are naturally rocky and uneven. They can be modified using stone logs and stumps as main elements instead of removing them. Isolated boulders on the other hand can act as ornaments and containers. You can have wood steps resting on the pebbles, path lined by rocks, plants and boulders. Ferns, spruce and evergreens are great for a rock garden.


Rock Garden Idea 2
This idea is great if you are looking out for either river rock garden designs or small rock garden designs. Consider constructing a dry river bed through the rock garden. That can be done with the help of smooth round stones, whichever is easily available in your area. It can work out well for a a number of rock garden designs, especially for smaller ones, as less landscaping is required as opposed to others. Further, having a dry river bed layout can give a feel of the river and act as a natural guiding path through the garden.


Rock Garden Idea 3
A rock garden revolving around a waterfall will add an entirely different dimension to the garden. The good part is that you have an option whether to make it with or without a pond. The varieties which come without ponds circulate water sans a large basin. The sound and visual effect can be achieved with a waterfall. Squirrels, birds and other wildlife can further enhance the whole set up of rock garden designs. Read more on flower garden lay out designs and ideas.



Rock Garden Idea 4
Talk about Japanese rock garden designs and zen rock garden designs, water and bridges are a very significant aspects of these two. If you are thinking of a Japanese style or zen style rock garden, a bridge is a must to add to the design involving island and a pond. A bridge doesn't have to be a conventional one, it can even be done with the help of slabs of stone. Neat and meandering pathways are another crucial aspect of a Japanese rock garden design.

Rock Garden Idea 5
Normally, you would want to create the garden directly on the ground. But if you want to have one of those different rock garden designs, a garden designed to fit a large enough trough can be as good as a conventional rock garden. The same type of alpines can be used as you would in a regular rock garden. Stone walls are another good option to give the garden a vertical appearance. The empty spaces can be filled with soil and perennials.

Vegetable Garden Design

There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than serving vegetables at dinner that you have grown in your own garden. If you live in a sprawling house and have a little space in your front yard or back yard, you can easily utilize this space for growing vegetables. For those of you who live in apartments and are constrained for space, you can have your own little vegetable garden that grows in window boxes or even containers. Here we will discuss about different vegetable garden design and how you can choose one that is just right for your house. Read more on vegetable gardens.

Home Vegetable Garden Design

When you are planning for a vegetable garden, you need to keep in mind that the location that you choose should have enough space and should receive plenty of sunlight. Vegetables flourish well in sunlight and they require good drainage too. If you have some space in your backyard, you can plan a backyard vegetable garden design that has small paths in between plots of different vegetables. This way you can maintain the vegetables and this allows for easier harvesting. Traditionally vegetables are planted in long rows, which are a good option for planting corns and beans but you can definitely go for some variations and create a different vegetable garden layout.

For easy accessibility you can create a vegetable garden design layout by making raised beds instead of the traditional rows. The advantage of having raised beds is that it provides for better drainage and it looks neater and more compact. Nothing spoils the beauty of a vegetable garden more than unkempt plants and a profusion of weeds growing haphazardly along with the vegetables. You can plan to make a three foot wide raised bed with the soil being about 8 to 12 inches above the ground level. When you are deciding on the kinds of plants that you are planning to grow, remember that there are some combinations of plants that do not work well together. Potatoes and broccoli inhibit the growth of tomatoes in a garden and onions do not grow well with beans.

Another very good vegetable garden design that works very well is to plant a combination of flowers and vegetables. This combination looks visually appealing and is best for vegetable gardens that are planted in the front yard. You can plant taller varieties of flowers like lavender or azaleas to make a beautiful decorative border next to a row of lettuce of cabbages. To give a rustic country feeling to your garden you can plant some climbing roses on the fences that surround the garden. This design element has a very whimsical and ethereal look and the play of colors of different flowers makes an interesting contrast to the more utilitarian vegetables.

Biointensive Gardening

Biointensive gardening is an advanced form of organic gardening, that aims to rebuild and maintain soil fertility through nutrient cycling. It is a commercially viable technique, that aims at diversified cropping and bio bed preparation on small plots of land, with maximum yield. Biointensive gardening involves harvesting of diverse range of crop varieties, that are less susceptible to pest outbreaks.



Biointensive Gardening Plan

Biointensive methods or organic gardening was first attempted by ancient Greeks, Chinese, Mayans and the Europeans. It was further propagated by Alan Chadwick, who utilized Biodynamic and French intensive methods for organic farming. Today, biointensive gardening has gained world wide popularity due to its benefits. to start biointensive gardening, you need to focus on the various methodologies of this farming technique and different organic gardening tips. The plans should comprise of the following gradations

• Raised Bed - Double Dug
• Composting
• Companion Planting
• Intensive Planting
• Carbon Farming
• Open Pollinated Seeds
• Carbon Farming
• Calorie Farming
• Rotational Cropping
• Whole-System Farming Method

Biointensive Gardening Techniques

Biointensive gardening employs organic fertilizers and natural pest control materials. Before starting, make a list of fruits or vegetables you want to grow at your garden. Go for indigenous crops, like tomato, pipino, kamote, spinach, egg plant, jack fruit, corn, papaya, sigarilyas, jute, beans, lemon grass, etc.

1. Once you have selected the types of crops you want to grow, design the layout of the plot. It should be focused on maximum utilization of soil and empty spaces. Align in rectangular shape and set in the direction of maximum exposure to sunlight. Click here to know the gardening basics.
2. Clear the soil from weeds, thatch, grass clippings, garden wastes, bushes, etc. Now spread the compost, organic or animal manure on the top of the soil bed. This spreading should not be more than 3 inches thick. Now follow the double digging technique to prepare the soil bed. You can also sprinkle earthworms for a better fertile bed. This process is known as vermicomposting or worm composting. Read more on raised bed gardening.
3. Do not plant the seeds immediately after shoveling. Wait for 3-4 days and then plant the seeds. Follow the instructions written on the seed pack and water them accordingly. You might also like to know about the gardening tools employed.
4. Observe the plants carefully when they start germinating. Check if they are infected by any diseases. Ensure that they are growing perfectly healthy. Prune the diseased leaves or spray organic pesticides, only if required.
5. You can also plant leguminous crops in between the plants for maximum nitrogen fixation. These plants have nitrogen fixing bacteria in their root nodules, that establishes a symbiotic relationship between plants. This technique is also utilized in crop rotation.
   

Container Flower Gardening

Apartment style constructions have replaced the sprawling yards that most older constructions flaunted. This is just one of the many prices we are paying for modernization and industrialization. Nevertheless, the green thumb has always used ingenuity to pursue the hobby that adds quality to the environment and reduces pollutant exposure. Container gardening, as the name amply suggests, refers to the growing of plants in discarded or special containers.



Container Flower Gardening

Container flower gardening refers exclusively to the growing of flowering plants in containers. You could used chipped china, glass or metal bottles and even cheese or canned-food tins for the indulgence. You can grow alyssums, marigolds, begonias, coleus, browallias, geraniums, impatiens and latanas in containers. Container flower gardening gives you the liberty to spruce up the living room and other guest-centric areas of the home, such as the lobby and guest-room, when and as required.

There are a number of online and offline resources dedicated to the art of container flower gardening that supply you with containers of various sizes and special garden tools. The containers, either bought or generated from the kitchen, could be sorted to suit a preplanned theme. You could pick from a color scheme or a size theme and accordingly assimilate the containers into a stand or tray.
Among the many varieties of flowering plants popularly chosen for container flower gardening are:

• Periwinkles
• Pansies
• Nasturtiums
• Petunias
• Snapdragons
• Thunbergias
• Salvias
• Zinnias
• Sanvitalias

The art of container flower gardening involves the identification of:

• A suitable area in the home that can accommodate one or many of the containers set aside for the garden.
• Plastic, metallic or ceramic pots or containers.
• Planting mediums that drain rapidly, but only after retaining sufficient root moisture.
• Soil-less mixes that keep the flowering plant free from soil- borne diseases and most essentially, weeds.
• A stand or tray to ensure daily relocation of the plants for their vital supply of direct sunlight.

Basic Landscape Design

Designing planting beds can be a bit overwhelming if one does not know a lot about plants, their habits, sizes etc. When getting ready to design a bed, do some research first. Hit some local nurseries and check out lots of plants. Read the tags and ask questions.



You will need the dimensions of the bed you are creating. A mix of evergreen (plants that do not lose their leaves) and deciduous (plants that lose their leaves in the winter) shrubs. Adding in some perennials or grasses will add color and interest. Plantings should have symmetry and balance. It is most visually pleasing to plant in odd numbers and carry the plants across the bed. Planting one shrub here and another there makes for a mis-mash. Our eye relates well to symmetry and reads naturally from side to side. however, carrying one or two varieties from one bed to the next will create a natural, visual flow.

Foundation Planting: Planting beds along the foundation of the house will give your home a manicured look. Tall shrubs on the corners of the house will anchor the house to the ground and soften the hard lines. An ornamental tree planted can add color and interest. Be sure to check how large an ornamental tree will grow and plant accordingly.

Creating island beds: Island beds are a great way to add dimension to the yard. Plantings in an island should add visual interest, yet not block the rest of the landscape.

Having a drawing will be a huge help in planning your landscape. If you are not an artist, it doesn't matter. A sketch with dimensions will be of great assistance when you are at the nursery picking out shrubs. It can be shown to the nursery salesperson and they can offer suggestions as to how many plants to buy, spacing, etc.

Use a hose or spray paint to shape beds before cutting them out. This will give you flexibility to change the shape before making it permanent. When getting ready to plant your shrubs, trees, etc. place everything first, take several steps back and look at the layout.

Small Backyard Landscaping Ideas

It is interesting to note, that every new idea, is a culmination of several other ideas. This is a rule that works well for any creative field, that includes these backyard landscaping ideas for small yards.

• Designing any area, open or closed, begins with planning. Planning gives you a chance to explore different options, before finally choosing one that suits you. Step into your backyard, and visualize it, the way you would like it. Refer to a few magazines for some help.
• Ensure that the ideas you have visualized can be maintained well. This depends on the time you have at hand, the kind of weather that prevails in your area, and the kind of small backyard landscaping ideas you have chosen.
• An interesting way to jazz up your backyard, is to create a small pathway, which needn't necessarily be straight, and lay the pavers or tiles in a diagonal manner. This gives the illusion of spaciousness, and also helps achieve an interesting flooring pattern.
• Try to include a small seating arrangement that can be your perfect getaway at any time you need it. If the space permits, you can even string up a hammock in your backyard. It is not necessary to have the usual tables and chairs for seating. A swing, or a seating created by retaining walls, or a small rock garden is a unique way to fulfill your seating requirements. You may also create an area that is stepped up from the rest of the backyard, and incorporate your seating arrangement there, by throwing some colorful cushions on the floor, and making it a unique seating arrangement. Tempting, isn't it?
• If you have the space, try to plant trees in the corners of your garden, surrounded by smaller shrubs. This creates an interesting focal point in the garden. Highlight it further by planting flower beds around it, by trying out various flower bed ideas. Your garden could begin in that corner, and spread out into the rest of the space.
• If you have a patio, an interesting way to incorporate plants into the landscape is to have hanging planters at different levels. The variety in levels, along with an interesting mix of plants, creates the ultimate visual appeal for a small backyard. Moreover, break free of the mundane terracotta pots, and try some new materials such as stainless steel or ceramic pots, to enhance the aesthetics of the backyard. You can also experiment with different container shapes, such as long rectangular containers, or round containers.
• Do not clutter your backyard with too many plants or furniture. Also, to create the illusion of space in a small backyard, try to have a small patch of mowed grass, that is untouched by furniture, or flowers, or plants. A patch of green is not only visually appealing, but also soothes the senses.
• Among the small backyard landscaping ideas, the presence of a water feature in the backyard should not be forgotten. Though it is not essential, it adds the perfect finishing touch to your backyard. As is the case with grass, even the presence of a water feature, particularly with running water, calms the mind and appeals to the senses.
• Remember to incorporate appropriate landscape lighting in your backyard landscape design. While the mornings are taken care of, for a relaxing evening, having the right kind of light is necessary. Do not opt for very bright lights, instead place dim lamps along the walls surrounding your backyard for the right effect.