Susan's Lawn Gardens

Susan’s Lawn Gardens is pleased to feature this article from today’s guest author, TED GUARNERO. He is an expert on seaside landscaping, so we feel very comfortable recommending his work to our visitors.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary: How Does a Seaside Garden Grow?!!

by Ted Guarnero

Living near the sea or in a coastal region may exemplify your dream lifestyle, but it’s no doubt that the harsh and particular conditions of the sea-side landscape make it hard for things to grow. But, plant growth is certainly not impossible – you’ll just want to know what grows best in the land of salt and sea before you embark on your landscaping plans. You’ll also want to pay particular attention to layout, and hardscape elements that can really help pull your landscape design together.

You’ll first need to determine what type or types of soil’s you’re dealing with. If it’s predominately sand than you’ll have to accept that you’ll be limited to what you can plant and grow – unless you’re industrious enough to want to lay yards, and yards of top soil. Remember that even though certain plants will grow in sandy soils you’ll have to be on top of watering like never before.

In sandier soils some plants to investigate include: bearberry, yucca, memorial rose, trumpet vine, fragrant sumac, beach plum, rose rugosa, Austrian pine and tamarisk. One recommendation might be to do an image search of these plants on the internet – you can then start to get a visual picture of what you like. Begin by building a folder that you can use as a resource when you’re ready to purchase and plant.

When you do begin planting, try not to plant everything at once. Experiment, and try some species to see how they adjust and grow. You’ll start to get a good idea of what has potential to thrive in your soil and in your environment. In all cases, you’ll always want to work with the elements and not against them. This is key to making your seaside landscaping a success. You really can’t fight with the ocean… so “go with the flow” is a good rule for a seaside “green thumb”.

Another good tip is to explore your neighborhood and to make a list of what you like and what grows well. Talk to your neighbors and discover their seaside gardening trials and tribulations. Consult books and ask specialists before you purchase your plants.

Generally plants that have a silvery gray color like Russian Sage and lambs ear are able to better tolerate sea spray and wind.

If you have an area further away from the elements of sand, sea, and wind, you can move into some more colorful choices like hydrangeas, Montauk daisies, and butterfly bush. These plants are still quite hardy and can tolerate some exposure, but they shouldn’t be planted right on the shoreline.

Here are some other suggestions for hardy seaside plants to discover and explore in your landscaping plans:

Ceanothus: This evergreen sports attractive blue flowers and does best in rather dry soil.

Cypress: Very suitable as a wind-break or privacy screen.

Pines: Good evergreens for screening or wind-break options. Can be cultivated or left to grow willy nilly.

Mugho Pines: These are well adapted to salt water areas and they offer a unique texture to your garden.

Arbutus Unedo: The broad evergreen leaves of this tree make for an attractive textural element. The tree will also flower and be followed by a decorative fruit reminiscent of strawberries- hence its common name, “strawberry tree”.

Azalea Mollis: This is a deciduous azalea that requires some protection from direct salt spray. It blooms brilliant flowers in white, pinks, and in many different shades of red. This is a lovely spring time color addition to any seaside garden.

English Lavender: This is one of the hardiest and most widely planted species. It has fragrant light to dark purple blooms and comes in many varieties.

Rockrose: This is a shrub that boasts showy spring to summer flowers in white or lavender.

Once you’ve chosen some plants and an area to landscape, you can begin to think about adding hardscape elements. Meandering stone or crushed sea shell pathways, well placed river rocks, sandstone, or granite, an arbor built of drift wood, a glass ball- these sorts of additions will tie in your landscaping and help to create height, dimension and texture. Think about placing a bench somewhere to take advantage of a beautiful view. You might even add some silver bells and cockle shells… This is where you can let your inner artist explore.

Take your time, have patience, educate yourself on all the seaside garden possibilities and you’ll be sure to create a lovely haven by the sea.

Illustrated Properties is a Jupiter FL real estate company with professional, effective services to help you succeed in the local market. Visit TedSoldIt.com for information on neighborhoods and home listings, and to get in touch with an expert Jupiter FL Real Estate agent.

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Susan’s Lawn Gardens is pleased to feature this article from today’s guest author, TOM B GEE. He is an expert on garden sheds, so we feel very comfortable recommending his work to our visitors.

Cheap Garden Sheds – What Are Your Requirements?
By Tom B Gee

When you think of a garden shed, you most likely visualize a wooden box-shaped construction situated at the end of somebody’s backyard, filled with all sorts of household paraphernalia and gardening tools. For some, their shed offers a place to do some DIY that is not appropriate for indoors; for others, their shed provides a silence location for them just to sit down and think. Although, these are the most conventional uses and designs, there are lots of other variations of the traditional shed that can be purchased and sheds can be made from a variety of materials and come in a whole range of distinct shapes and sizes. Additionally, sheds come in several price ranges and you don’t have to break the bank to find something appropriate to your needs. Some can be small open-sided with tin-roofs and others can be big wood-framed sheds with shingled roofs.

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Susan’s Lawn Gardens is pleased to feature this article from today’s guest author, JOSH GRAY. He is an expert gardener, so we feel very comfortable recommending his work to our visitors.

Summer Lawn Care Tips
By Josh Gray

Summer is just around the corner, and your lawn could probably use a little maintenance before the summer season of backyard BBQs and swimming in the pool. So what are you doing now to get your lawn ready? Lawn care is often feared as a difficult and time intensive process, but with a few guidelines and tips, you can easily have a healthy green lawn in time for the first backyard party of the season.

First of all, if you can spare a minute of your time, don’t hire a lawn care “specialist” or professional landscaper. Buying your own lawn care products is cheap and easy, with hundreds of vendors offering products online and in Do-It-Yourself stores.

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Susan’s Lawn Gardens is pleased to feature this article from today’s guest author, LINDA J. BRUTON. She is an expert on lawns, so we feel very comfortable recommending her work to our visitors.

Fertilizers – What you Need to Feed Your Lawn
By Linda J Bruton

Just like humans need food, water and shelter to survive, lawns depend on certain elements to live, sixteen to be exact. Most of these elements are already found naturally in the environment, but several others need to be added to your lawn. Adding fertilizer with these three elements, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, does the job.

Before you run out to the store to purchase a complete fertilizer, or, one that contains all three, it is important to understand why your lawn’s livelihood depends on it.

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