When I started my career I thought landscape fabric, or weed fabric, was a wonderful invention. The magic cloth ensures a weed free landscape for years. Or does it?
Should I Use Landscape Fabric or Weed Fabric?
Landscape Fabric is a nuisance that creates more work for you and an unhealthy landscape.
What happens when mulch starts to break down? How does it mix with the soil?
It doesn’t!
Grass and weed roots under weed fabric are impossible to get out without removing the fabric. The weeds grow through the fabric and stick to it. Plant roots stick to weed fabric too. Every time I have to rip out landscape fabric I curse it.
Grass roots got under this landscape fabric making removal impossible without removing the fabric. I had to hack at this fabric with a shovel to remove it.
When deciding whether to use landscape fabric just say, “No.” It’s not worth the frustration.
This landscape is a welcoming entry to the pool scape . The plants provide interest in all seasons and low maintenance requirements. By mixing plants from the old landscape in the new we transition from old to new seamlessly.
Trumbull CT Landscape Designers John Holden offers landscape design services in Trumbull CT, Newtown CT and Shelton CT.
If you are looking for Trumbull CT Landscapers we offer garden maintenance services. When you are ready to take your landscape to the next level give me a call.
I drive through neighborhoods daily and see trees mulched improperly. People want to do the best for their trees and apply the “More is better” principal with disastrous results.
Trees that have been over mulched dry out quicker in hot summer months and are prone to disease and attacks by rodents. Mulching a tree like a volcano also doesn’t look natural.
If your trees have mulch that looks like a volcano the best thing you can do is remove the excess. There should only be 2-3″ of mulch around a tree with a minimum of 6″ of space between the mulch and the trunk of the tree.
Be gentle when removing mulch. You don’t want to damage the tree with your shovel. Use your hands to remove mulch near the trunk and large roots. Cleanly cut roots with sharp pruning shears to help them heal more quickly.
A drip edge is a trench filled with gravel that prevents mud from splashing against your home. You install it where water drips off the roof. I also use a drip edge when the grade next to the house is the same level as the siding.
Install the drip edge one foot from the siding when controlling a grade and a little outside the drip line of a home when controlling splashing water.
If your grade is level with the siding install a drip edge level with the mulch. Leave a 1-2″ gap from the top of the edging to keep mulch from touching the siding.
I removed mulch touching the siding before installing the drip edge. You can see where the mulch touching the siding blocked the painters.
Use commercial grade metal edging for drip edges. No rolled plastic from a box store. It comes in 1/8″ and 3/16″ widths that are 4″ tall and 10′ or 16′ long. This is heavy-duty stuff. If you have tight curves go with the thinner metal. There are fitting available for the edging for corners and splices to make the job look more professional.
Fill your trench with a minimum of 1″ diameter gravel. Gravel smaller than 1″ blows out of the trench when cleaning up leaves. The gravel also blocks sunlight and preventing weeds.
A stick cut the distance you want from the house is the best tool for measuring.Draw a line on the stick to control the depth of your trench. Avoid over excavating your trench. You want soil there to hold the edging.
You have to be creative with existing plants when installing a drip edge.
I use gravel with earthy tones that blends with the landscape. A river stone with rounded edges works nicely too. The choice is yours.
I don’t use weed fabric under the gravel. Weed fabric traps sediment and the gravel will soon be sprouting weeds. Not using fabric also makes the stone easier to remove should the need arise.
You don’t have to use metal edging to create a drip edge.
Apply black spray paint where you cut the edging to prevent rust. I use a Milwaukee Portaband to cut edging. A hacksaw, some elbow grease and a lot of patience works just as well.
Time spent installing a drip edge will keep you from having to replace siding, or worse, down the road.
Today, while walking in Trumbull, CT I saved a Yoshino Cherry choking to death. As a horticulturist, I did what I’ve been trained to do. I took my knife, bent down and removed the obstruction.
The synthetic twine around this root will cut off the flow of nutrients to the rest of the tree.Carefully cutting the twine. Point the blade away from the bark to avoid injuring to the tree.The tree can breathe after cutting the synthetic twine.I discovered this tree years ago in the last stages of death. It had synthetic twine embedded into the trunk.
As the tree roots expand the twine cuts the flow of nutrients eventually choking the tree to death. This tree would have died a slow and agonizing death.
I gave the Yoshino Cherry a chance to live. A chance to brighten people’s spring with blooms and summer with shade.
Please carefully remove all twine, synthetic or natural, from around the trunk and roots when planting trees.
This morning I woke to an inch of sleet and snow on the ground. The thermometer read 27 degrees and the wind was whipping. Naturally, the first thing I did was grab my camera and run outside.
Snow brings out the best in plants. It adds interest, creates contrast, and reminds every one of the winter holidays. Below are some photos I took laying prone on an old comforter. Anything for my art!
Lenten Rose will shrug off the snow and keep blooming. It enjoys the snow.The thick fleshy foliage of Sedum protects it from the snow.
Three important tips on how to mulch your landscape.
Never apply mulch deeper than 3 inches. If the mulch in your landscape is over three inches you must remove some. Mulch over three inches prevents air, water and nutrients from reaching your trees and shrubs.
Never touch mulch to the base of trees and shrubs. Leave a gap from six inches to a foot around trees and shrubs. If mulch is in contact with the bark of trees and shrubs it keeps it moist and encourages insects and disease.
Before re-applying mulch turn your existing mulch. Over time mulch can become compacted and matted down. By cultivating your mulch you loosen it up so air and nutrients can make it through. My favorite tool to cultivate mulch is the Garden Weasel.
Please remember the these tips when planning how to mulch your landscape.
I often see landscapes built like a fortress. A tall and stark stone wall blocks the grounds. The formidable wall tells visitors to stay away and “Don’t tread on me.”
Stone walls keep the eye from moving through the landscape. They say look at me and nothing else. They are a blazing neon sign saying “Closed.”
I make sure the stone walls I design fit into the landscape.
You can plant weeping plants on top of walls to soften them. Especially if the wall is over three feet tall.
In the photo above a blue rug juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltoni’) gently weeps over the wall. Without the junipers it would be a stark, cold and imposing feature.
Before starting construction consider if the wall is really necessary and how you can lower its impact.
