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Jamie Pal Lushmountain Landscape and Design: Posted on Tuesday, March 01, 2011 9:49 PM
Why Xeriscape? If you want your garden to give you the maximum enjoyment and value for your expenditure of time and money,xeriscapingis the answer!Xeri(rhymes with terra) is the Greek word for dry. Xeriscaping is gardening with your natural environmental conditions rather than fighting against them. BENEFITS OF XERISCAPE - Enhances the value of your home with an attractive and water conserving landscape.
- Reduces water use- depending on the design and the plants used, water use can be reduced by over 50%.
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Jamie Pal Lush Mountian Landscape and Design: Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2011 10:13 PM
The Seven Principles of Xeriscape PLANNING & DESIGN To begin, think about how you would like to use your property and what features it could have. For example, would you like a patio, a big shade tree, a butterfly garden, or a vegetable garden? Where do you need pathways? How much sun is there in different areas? Are there views you want to frame or things you want to hide? Next, you can make a scale drawing of your property, house and any plants or features that you want to keep. Then try out your ideas using overlays of tracing paper. |
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Jamie Pal Lush Mountain Landscape and Design-Kelowna landscaping: Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 3:52 PM
Drought tolerant plants have certain structures that help the intake of water by developing deeper tap roots like the Scots pine or the ability uptake water from limited moisture in soil. Plants that can conserve water during drought times by closing the stomata in the leaf, such as a Green Ash, survive longer then plants that don't (trembling aspen). Plants with small thick leaves hold moisture better. Leaves that have hairs or scales reflect the light, these hairs are called "Trichomes" and often give the plant a silver appearance. |
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Jamie Pal Lush Mountain Landscape and Design: Posted on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 1:52 PM
Peat moss improves soil aeration and helps hold more nutrients and water into the soil. Peat moss is also acidic and is a great additive for acid-loving plants. The acidity can help neutralize the Okanagan alkaline soils in the short term. To avoid all of this work look at xeriscape planting and local plants, these plants require less work and will do well in the long run. The cost of incorporating larger quantities of peat moss can also be expensive. Topsoil is usually the easiest organic amendment but will vary from place to place. |
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Jamie Pal Lush Mountain Landscape and deisgn: Posted on Sunday, February 13, 2011 9:44 PM
One of the best organic amendments to planting beds is compost. Compost becomes humus a dark crumbly sweet smelling material from composition. Compost needs oxygen otherwise you will get a horrible smell. The fastest way to create compost is to frequently turn it with a pitchfork or a cement mixer type of composter. Another great additive is manure and should be aged at least one year, if it is fresh there will be high ammonia and salts. The ammonia and salts will burn and desiccate planting. |
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Jamie Pal Lush Mountain Landscape and Design: Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011 9:30 PM
Organic soil amendments improve drainage to the soil, increase aeration, and add nutrient and water holding capacity. All organic matter will be broken down by microbial action and will work faster in warm moist soil. As the decomposition occurs the release of nutrients takes place and humus forms (humic acid). Humus in soil holds potassium, calcium, magnesium by making it readily available and helps it bond better with the soil thus less leaching takes place. Humus will hold twice as much water as clay therefore the addition of organic material to a soil is not only crucial for the nutrient component but also will benefit plants greatly in a hot dry climate. |
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Jamie Pal: Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011 3:48 PM
Xeriscape is important in the Okanagan and one element that is often over looked is the soil. Soil is the basic concept of xeriscape which helps absorb and hold water as well as reduces the frequency of watering. When preparing a new bed for planting a xeriscape garden should be amended at least 18" for proper healthy root growth. In my next blog I will discuss proper soil amendments. "Dirt is what's tracked onto your kitchen floor. Soil is what plants grow it." |
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