There’s a new garden in town. It is (mostly) easy to install, looks good
year-round, requires almost no maintenance and has a terrifically upbeat impact
on the environment. No wonder rain gardens are such a great new gardening trend!

Storm water runoff can be a big problem in summer during heavy thunderstorms.
As the water rushes across roofs and driveways, it picks up oil and other
pollutants. Municipal storm water treatment plants often can’t handle the
deluge of water, and in many locations the untreated water ends up in natural
waterways. The EPA estimates as much as 70 percent of the pollution in our
streams, rivers, and lakes is carried there by storm water! By taking
responsibility for the rainwater that falls on your own roof and driveway, you’ll
be helping to protect our rivers, streams and lakes from stormwater pollution.

To reduce the excess water runoff, many towns are encouraging businesses and
homeowners to install rain gardens in their yards. Rain gardens are specially
constructed gardens located in low areas of a yard where storm water can collect.
The idea is to have the water naturally funnel to this garden. The rain garden
collects water runoff and stores and filters it until it can be slowly
absorbed by the soil. Rather than rushing off into a storm sewer or a local
waterway, the rainwater can collect in a garden where it will be naturally
filtered by plants and soil.

Installing a rain garden is easy.

You simply dig a shallow depression in your yard and plant it with native
grasses and wildflowers; things that are easy to grow and maintain in your area.

What makes a garden a rain garden?
First, the garden will be designed with a low
spot in the middle to collect and absorb rain water and snow melt. This depression
can range from a few inches in a small garden, to an excavated trough that’s
several feet deep. Second, rain gardens are usually located where they’ll catch
the runoff from impermeable surfaces like sidewalks and driveways, or from gutters
and roof valleys. Third, rain gardens are usually planted with native wildflowers
and grasses that will thrive in tough growing conditions. Finally, rain gardens
are designed to channel heavy rains to another rain garden or to another part of
the garden.

Your rain garden should be located at least 10 feet from the house. The garden’s
size and location depends on the yard. The ideal situation would
be to locate the garden in a natural depression. You also can funnel water
from downspouts on gutters into the garden. The soil should be well drained
so the water doesn’t sit in the garden for more than two days. A special
“rain garden” soil mix of 50 to 60 percent sand, 20 to 30 percent topsoil,
and 20 to 30 percent compost is recommended. You can dig this mixture into
the soil to depth of 2 feet before planting.

Once you’ve identified the new garden’s location, remove the sod and dig a
shallow depression approximately 6-inches deep. Slope the sides gradually from the
outside edge to the deepest area. Use the soil that you remove to build up a
slightly raised area on the lowest side of the garden. This berm will help contain
the stormwater and allow it to percolate slowly through the rain garden.

If your rain garden is no more than about 6-inches deep, stormwater will usually
be absorbed within a one- to seven-day period. Because mosquitoes require seven
to 10 days to lay and hatch their eggs, this will help you avoid mosquito problems.

Your downspout or sump pump outlet should be directed toward your rain garden
depression. This can be accomplished by a natural slope, by digging a shallow swale,
or by piping the runoff directly to the garden through a buried 4″ diameter
plastic drain tile.

Plant Selection… The final touch.

The most difficult part of building a rain garden (if it can even be called that)
can be plant selection. Plants need to be tough enough to withstand periodic flooding,
yet attractive enough to look good in the garden. Deep-rooted, low-care native
plants, such as asters, and tough non-natives, such as daylilies, are best. If
properly designed, the rain garden can consist of a blend of attractive shrubs,
perennials, trees, and ground covers. Planting strips of grass around the
garden and using mulch also can help filter the water.

New plants should be watered every other day for the first two weeks or so.
Once they are well established, your garden should thrive without additional watering.
Fertilizers will not be necessary, and only minimal weeding will be needed after
the first summer of growth.

Our goal at Garden Simply is to make your organic garden work sustainable; be more productive, and ultimately more fun!
Jodi Reichenberger provides education about enhancing you and your family’s health through good eating, organic gardening techniques, organic gardening tips, and an all around
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Different kinds of gardens require different kinds of garden tools. Hardware stores mostly cater for a wide range of tools, but there are shops that specialize in the more expensive kind of garden tool that shouts quality. Wherever you decide to shop, here are a few pointers to advise you.

Do you have small garden or a large one? A small garden will not require the same large equipment that would be of use in an extensive one. A ride-on mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn. Another point to consider is who does most of the gardening? Some tools are too heavy for use by women.

When you buy secateurs make sure the blade always stays sharp to avoid damaging the plant. Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, models with tension control and with sizes that best fit your hands. Secateurs usually cost around $50 - $130.

Hedge trimmers or shears are handy - but only if you have a hedge, or plan on growing one. Some hedge trimmers have curved blades to stop branches from sliding out when cut.

Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and breaking up lumps of soil. The cheaper ones are often not strong enough for heavy soil, so go for sturdiness instead of price. Forks usually cost around $30 - $100.

A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move around dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharpened for clean and efficient cutting will cause the least amount of damage to plants. These are a basic garden necessity and usually cost from $30 - $50.

A pruning saw is used for pruning trees and larger shrubs, while secateurs are for plants like roses. Pruning saws have a narrow curved blade that fits between stems or branches and easily and cuts them as you pull the saw backwards. They are approximately $27- $55.

A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly as the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.

A rake is also a basic requirement for the garden. The strong rake with the flat head and sharp metal prongs is used for smoothing a garden bed and getting out the last of the bumps and weeds. The plastic rake is used to gather leaves and grass clippings only.

Gardening tools don’t have to be expensive you should check out on line stores as well ass flea markets and garage sales.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Garden Facts also Garden Decor and Landscape Trees Landscaping and Gardening with information and products.

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We all know that the pieces never fall into place quite as expected. In fact, when doing a landscape the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. Designing landscapes can make or break a homes over all aspect. Having pleasant outdoor surroundings can be the first step to inner peace and tranquility. Landscaping plays a very important role to make a home warm, welcoming and relaxing.

Landscaping is an art of nurturing an environment where the essential elements; the land, trees, plants, stones and water co-exist in harmony. Here are several landscaping ideas that if used cleverly can give your house an inviting and interesting look as you approach the entrance from the street or driveway. When building a home people give little thought on landscaping.

Beautiful landscape need not be designer made. It has to be shaped by you, just as your children and your pets are molded and shaped by you. After all it is your private living space and should reflect your personality. All you need is a little bit of imagination, a little bit of innovation and a little bit of inspiration.

Sometimes it is hard for the clients to understand this because most of them think that building a landscape is just a snap of a finger. They don’t know the importance of the equipments and their uses in building a landscape, maintaining the landscape area clean and pleasant to the eye. Much about yard maintenance involves cutting vegetation, in one form or another.

Your lawn will always need landscaping year-round, and it does matter if its spring or fall.

For your convenience I’ve gather up some of the hottest landscaping equipments for you to make cutting easier.

1. Electric Chain Saw it is more convenient to have an electric chain saw. All you have to do is plug it and go. All electric landscaping equipment starts up easily to. There is no need for tugging a starter rope like a gas chain saw has. It is also easy to yield once you begin the cutting.

2. Pruning Tools easily cut thick tree branches. Clicks and moves to the next setting, providing ever-increasing pressure as you cut. This is more advisable for those people who have a hand ailment.

3. Hedges Trimmers make for inexpensive and lightweight landscaping equipment.

4. String Trimmers are lightweight automatic string release makes it easy to use. No cord or messy gas to deal with when using electric string trimmers.

5. Eliminator spreads top soil, and removes vegetation and sod. Also Prepares a final finish, does wide-ranging grading.

6. Front Mount Scarifier allows easy removal of material and rips asphalt and hard-packed earth or gravel.

7. Grade-Lite can be used as a box blade and a grader or by locking the end plates forward.

8. Grade Master Smoothes surfaces, sifts soil to remove large chunks and rocks, and can carry small loads of dirt to fill low area.

9. HD Grader a versatile landscaping and ground preparation attachment.

10. Preparator The perforated bucket floor that allows dirt to sift through, for tilling, fluffing, and grooming soil. A rotating drum carries rocks and debris into its bucket while leaving soil ready for planting.

11. Tree Spade completely transplants trees and shrubbery, digs holes for incoming trees.

The landscaping ideas give you choices of looks and the means to achieve them, even if it is one piece at a time. With these ideas you can add creative dimension to your landscape and you will find the best equipment to be used in maintaining your yard.

The author operates a website landscape-secrets.com which is all about landscaping and landscaping software

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