LANDSCAPING FOR LOW MAINTENANCE

 

LOW-MAINTENANCE GARDENING TECHNIQUES SAVE YOU TIME

Using low-maintenance landscaping techniques can reduce much of your yard work. Mowing, weeding, watering, and pruning can be overwhelming, even for those who love to garden. Here are a few tips:

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS

• A shrub that grows to 6 feet tall will require regular pruning if planted under a window that is three feet above the ground. There are many dwarf varieties of trees and shrubs that are ideal for small areas and may never need pruning.
• Native plants are always a good choice for the landscape because they adapt to surroundings more easily than exotic species. Grouping plants that have the same cultural needs will save time when watering and fertilizing.
• Keep the planting beds narrow for easy access to interior plants; design them with long, sweeping curves so that the mower can reach the edge, eliminating hand trimming.

MULCH, MULCH, MULCH

A thick layer of organic mulch around plants will help to control weeds, conserve soil moisture, and add nutrients to the soil. Popular organic mulches are tree bark, shredded leaves, pine needles, and plant wastes such as cocoa shells. (If you have any pets, please note that cocoa mulch contains theobromine, which is lethal for dogs and cats.) If weeds are a serious problem, lay down several layers of newspaper before mulching.

KEEP THE LAWN AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE

• Some lawn alternatives are large areas of ground covers or wildflowers, mulched beds, in addition to decks and patios.
• Proper lawn care will save you work because a healthy lawn is less likely to be bothered by weeds, insects, and diseases. Keep the grass tall; let it grow to three or four inches and then mow off one-third. High grass shades out weeds and won’t dry out as quickly as closely cropped turf.
• Water infrequently but deeply to encourage deep rooting.

We hope that these ideas will help make it easier for you to maintain your landscape—as well as your sanity.

Grass is one of the easiest landscape plants to grow, and certainly creates a beautiful ground cover. When you plant grass, you will need certain things to keep it thriving, besides the ground to grow it.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Determine the life zone in which you live. Your climate will dictate when you have to feed and water your lawn. You can find your life zone by going to the Backyard Gardener website and looking up your coldest nighttime temperatures during the winter. For example, if your winter nights get to -46F or colder, you live in Zone 1. If they seldom freeze, you live in Zone 11
   • 2
     Determine your soil types by asking at your local nursery or home improvement store. If your soils are sandy, you will need to water the lawn much more frequently than if you have heavy clay soils. If you are going to need to water your lawn frequently, you might consider an irrigation system. You will also need more nutrients for your lawn if your soil is sand, because nutrients in the soil leach out more quickly than in heavier soils.
   • Creating new possibilites and transforming them into reality
   • 3
   • Go to your local garden shop, home improvement store, or nursery, and ask them to recommend the types of food for your lawn based on your soil types and natural rainfall. If you have children or pets who use your lawn, you might opt for using organic fertilizers for your lawn that will not hurt your kids or pets.
   • 4
     Research the right lawn mowers for your yard. If you have a large lawn, you might want a riding lawn mower. If it's small, you might be able to use a push mower. If you want to minimize your carbon footprint, you'll be happy to know that there are lawn mowers on the market now that pollute little and use much less energy than the older versions.
   • 5
   • Use the edger around sidewalks or places where you don't want to get too close with the lawn mower. Lawn mower blades are sturdy, but hitting a brick or concrete with them is not a good idea.
   • 6
     Learn when it is time to dethatch your lawn. This is a process where you rake up the thatch (the thick layer of lawn clippings that gather around the bottom of the grass shoots), and aerate the lawn. All plants need oxygen, both above and below the root zone. Dethatching and aerating helps keep your lawn healthy over time. You can do this manually in a small lawn, or mechanically on a larger lawn. You can rent things to dethatch from an equipment store or farm and garden store.

 

"Algo tem de estar muito mal neste país para que 65 por cento dos portugueses defendam a prisão perpétua e 26 por cento concordem com a pena capital".

"Algo tem de estar muito mal neste país para que 65 por cento dos portugueses defendam a prisão perpétua e 26 por cento concordem com a pena capital".

A Vale D’el Rei – Actividades Imobiliárias e Turísticas, S.A. foi adquirida pela FDO – Investimentos e Participações, SGPS, S.A. no ano de 2005.

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Cerca de 40 pessoas participaram no evento "Carbono Neutro 2008", realizado no passado dia 8, onde foram plantados 150 sobreiros .

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Cerca de 40 pessoas participaram no evento "Carbono Neutro 2008", realizado no passado dia 8, onde foram plantados 150 sobreiros como medida de compensação das emissões de dióxido de carbono (CO2) da Solar One em 2008, em Barrigões, localidade de Salir, no concelho de Loulé. “O evento foi um sucesso, tanto na empenho e rapidez da plantação, como no ambiente de descontracção geral e boa disposição atingido. As crianças trouxeram recordações das brincadeiras na água de um riacho que existia perto da propriedade” diz fonte da Solar One em comunicado.