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Landscape lighting can be both useful and ornamental. From the safety standpoint, landscape lighting can illuminate paths, alert you of movement near your home and make it easier to see whatever you might need to see in the dark.

But landscape lighting can also be decorative, as when it is used to highlight plants that you want to be able to see in the twilight or dark. The right landscape lighting can make or break your nighttime garden. You’ll never be able to see those beautiful moonflowers you planted if you don’t have some good lighting.

Lighting Structures

Landscape lighting basically encompasses two things: lighting on your home or other structures and lighting in the garden itself. We don’t often think of buildings, walls, and other solid structures like storage sheds as part of the landscape, but when it comes to lighting they can play a valuable role.

Lights mounted on the house usually serve the purpose of illuminating a door or letting you know if an intruder might be nearby, but those same high-powered halogen and incandescent security lights can be pointed at the garden to give a glow to anything you want to highlight. The advantage of mounting your landscape lighting on the house is that you can tap into the home’s power without having to install a long extension cord or some other means of getting power to the garden.

Use a lamp mounted on the corner of your home to show off a tree that looks great in all seasons, or mount a light on the wall behind your rose bushes so your friends can admire them, even when they come over after dark.

Traditional Lighting

The more traditional form of landscape lighting involves decorative lights that are often shaped like lanterns and used to light a path or highlight the best parts of the garden. Because of the problems (both logistical and in terms of safety) involved in running electricity to the garden, the best choice for this sort of landscape lighting is solar or battery-powered lights.

Solar Power

Solar-powered lights are getting a lot better, both in terms of their looks and the amount of light they emit (though I have some friends with the most pathetic solar-powered “security” light on the planet. It wouldn’t scare a fly away). Some of these look as good as other lamps with less sustainable power sources, and they often have highly efficient batteries and solar panels to help soak up as much sun as possible. Many now used LED lights that are very bright, and there are no bulbs to burn out. These are ideal for landscape lighting, especially along a path that gets a lot of sun during the day. If your sun situation is less than ideal, battery powered lights could be an option. There are not as many models that are strictly battery powered, because solar LEDs have become so popular. A cool option in battery powered landscape lighting is the firefly light, which is sort of like a battery powered Christmas light. These little lights sparkle like fireflies and are fun accent lighting for a party, but not very practical for everyday use.

Spotlights

Spotlights, which can be individual lights on pedestals or spotlights buried in the ground or mounted to a wall, can be an excellent addition to your landscape lighting. These lights can highlight your favorite plant or flowerbed, showing off the great work you have done on your yard even when the sun isn’t out. In-ground lights can be wired right into your existing electrical. If you aren’t comfortable doing the work yourself, an electrician can help. A light shining up on a beautiful tree like a Japanese maple, redbud or dogwood, can make a huge impression on anyone who visits your yard after dark.When choosing where to put your landscape lighting, consider the plants that you like the most and might want to accent. Look at any paths (or places where you might build paths) that could use some illumination. What parts of your yard of you use when it’s dark? A little bit of added landscape lighting can make a big difference in terms of the look of your yard and can make it safer for you and your family as well.

landscape lighting

Filed under Landscape Lighting by landscapeliving.

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Having a tree planting ceremony can be a great way to recognize an important event such as the birth of a child, a marriage or some other significant point in your life. When I got married a co-worker gave me a “marriage tree,” a little evergreen tree that still lives in a pot but was nonetheless “planted” to mark the historic occasion.

If you want to do a tree planting, whether to mark a special occasion or just because you’d like more trees on your property, it’s important to do it the right way for the optimum happiness of your tree.

Why would you want to plant trees around your home? Well, for one thing, they make it cheaper to cool in the summer because they provide shade. They can block the wind, provide a place to put a swing or hammock, clean the air around your home and increase your home’s value.

But that doesn’t mean you should go around planting any old tree that catches your fancy. Different trees serve different purposes and will grow better in different conditions. The most important thing is to know what you want out of the tree and make sure you are selecting a tree that is native to your area.

Things To Consider

When you are thinking about tree planting, here are some of the things you should consider:

Where do I want to plant my tree? Close to the house or in an open space?
What other features are nearby? Is the area very dry or wet?
How big do I want the tree to get? If you’re looking for shade, you’ll want a tall tree, but if you want to plant it close to the house, you’ll need something smaller that won’t interfere with your foundation.
Do I want an evergreen or something that changes color (and loses leaves) in the fall?
Do I want a fruit tree? A flowering tree?
What is the ultimate purpose of this tree planting: a screen, shade, conservation, ornamentation, providing a habitat for wildlife?

Once you have answered all these questions, you can research trees on the Internet, in books and at your local nurseries to determine the best tree for your situation. Now it’s tree planting time!

There are three different ways you might purchase your tree: bare-root, balled and burlapped, or container grown. Container grown means just that—you buy it in a container and the roots are covered with dirt. Bare-root means the roots are exposed and there is no dirt involved, while balled and burlapped (or B&B) plants are usually grown at a nursery or tree farm, dug out of the ground and the roots wrapped in burlap.

Container grown plants usually transplant most successfully. Bare root plants are the smallest and also the most inexpensive. B&B trees can be very large and are often quite hardy because they have been given a chance to regenerate their roots in the burlap after they have been dug from the ground. Bare root trees need to be planted in the dormant season (usually early spring) for most success, while other tree planting can be done almost any time of year.

Before You Do Anything

Before you do any tree planting, contact your utility companies and make sure there are no utilities buried when you plan to dig. Generally you’ll want to dig a hole about twice as wide and just a little shallower than the root ball of the tree you are planting, but if there are different instructions that come with your tree, follow those.

Rough up the sides of the hole so the roots can penetrate easily. If you have a container grown tree, remove it from the pot and gently loosen the root ball, cutting some of the roots if they are growing in circles around the outside of the soil ball. A B&B tree needs to have the burlap cut, but it does not have to be completely removed, since it is biodegradable. If there is any plastic around the burlap bag, remove it. Trim long roots and arrange them in the hole so they are growing down and out.

When you place the roots in the hole, the point where the tree trunk ends and the roots begin (known as the root ball) should be a half-inch to an inch above the ground. For bare root plants, just spread the roots around on a mound of soil in the bottom of your hole. Make sure you don’t plant the tree too deeply. Press down the soil gently as you refill the hole around the tree, and water well to remove air pockets and settle the soil around the roots.

When your tree planting is done, make a little trench around the tree at what is known as the drip line, which is basically the area around the tree that mirrors the size and shape of the top of the tree. The drip line can be quite large on an established tree. Water well in this area to help the roots get established.

You might also want to mulch around your tree. A three-foot circle of mulch is not uncommon and will help hold moisture in, which will make the tree much happier. If your tree is very small or the area you planted it in is very windy, you might want to stake the tree. Just like you stake your tomato plants, a stake for a tree helps it grow up big, strong and straight. The tree should be able to move in the wind but the stake should keep it from being knocked over.

Care For Your Tree

Once your tree is established, it will require little care. For the first couple of years you will want to watch the water level; if the tree’s leaves are drooping, give it some extra water. Your new tree likely won’t need pruning for many years, unless you would like to trim away some low branches to give more clearance underneath. Use pruning shears for small limbs, and a pruning saw for larger limbs. If you aren’t sure how to prune properly, hire a professional.

Tree planting is a lot of fun and provides your yard, your family and your planet with a host of benefits. What are you waiting for?

tree planting

Filed under Tree Planting by landscapeliving.

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Master gardener grows along with her gardening - Valley City Times Record
11 Jul 2006 at 7:10pm

Valley City Times RecordMaster gardener grows along with her gardening
Valley City Times Record, ND - 2 hours ago
… When she first got married and had children, she didn?t do all that much gardening. … Gardening has rubbed off on her daughter who lives in Wisconsin. …
Late bloomer hooked on serious gardening Valley City Times Record
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Gardening Which? - Which?
11 Jul 2006 at 11:00am

Gardening Which?
Which?, UK - 10 hours ago
You will receive the next issue of Gardening Which? absolutely free. … You don't need to do anything if you wish to continue with Gardening Which? …

Gardening Tips From OSU Extension: These Ornamentals Can Be Much … - Medfor…
11 Jul 2006 at 7:51am

Gardening Tips From OSU Extension: These Ornamentals Can Be Much …
MedfordNews.com, OR - 13 hours ago
… months. But in gardening as in life, be careful what you wish for. … friend. Look up new plants on the web or in gardening references. …

Late bloomer hooked on serious gardening (Valley City Times Record)
11 Jul 2006 at 12:59pm
Kathy Jacobson, owner of Bloom ?N Crafts Floral, admits she?s a ?late bloomer.? She said she didn?t really become interested in gardening until about eight years ago, even though she has been in the flower business for about 25 years.

Gardening series planned at BHE (Kewanee Star Courier)
11 Jul 2006 at 9:44am
Summer is here and it is time for the University of Illinois Extension summer gardening series. These three programs will be in the Conference Center at Black Hawk East College.

Jennifer Brennan, gardening expert with Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, talks abo…
11 Jul 2006 at 6:49am
Jennifer Brennan, gardening expert with Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, talks about perennial maintenance and protecting plants from pesky wildlife. She also answers viewer questions.

Filed under Rose Bushes by landscapeliving.

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