1 / 41

Lazy Landscaping

Lazy Landscaping. Created by: University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener-Anoka County Eva Knudsen. What Can We Do? To Do Less. Cultural Practices: What you do or don’t do makes a difference Plant Selection: the right plant for the right place and for you

ophrah
Download Presentation

Lazy Landscaping

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Lazy Landscaping • Created by: University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener-Anoka County • Eva Knudsen

  2. What Can We Do? To Do Less • Cultural Practices: What you do or don’t do makes a difference • Plant Selection: the right plant for the right place and for you • Plant Placement: What works best for you and the plant “The gardener in him sold out to the nature-conservationist”

  3. Visit Your Garden Regularly

  4. Stop Treating Your Soil Like Dirt Compost improves moisture retention and fertility of soil Minerals 45% Air 25% Water 25% Organic matter 2-5%

  5. Composting • Does not requires elaborate, expensive structures • Does not need to be turned • Does not have to smell • Materials do not need to be added in exact proportions • Do not require special chemical starters or activators Compost bins provided by Anoka County

  6. Watering Irrigation can lead to problems when performed incorrectly • Water early in the morning • Install a watering system -With a timer and moisture indicator • Use soaker hoses or drip emitters when possible

  7. Mulch • Suppresses weed growth • Maintains soil moisture • Stabilizes soil temperatures • Prevents spread of soil-borne diseases • Prevents soil compaction • Improves landscape appearance • Increase soil fertility (depending on mulch used) • Reduces bark injuries on trunks

  8. Organic Mulch • Wood chips • Shredded bark • Pine needles • Cocoa bean hulls • Straw • Leaves • Grass clippings

  9. Inorganic Mulch • Rock • Landscape fabric • Newspaper • Plastic • Shredded Tires

  10. Living Mulches Hen and Chicks variegated bishop’s weed Woodland Phlox Lamium

  11. Mowing • Leave clippings on the lawn • Keep blade sharp • Keep grass about 3” tall • Low maintenance grass mixes only need to be mowed 2-4 times per year!!!!

  12. PesticidesThere is no such thing as a weed-free or insect-free lawn • Routine chemicals are not necessary • Avoid broad spectrum insecticides • Know the difference between annual and perennial weeds • Use edging around gardens

  13. Fertilizers Routine chemicals aren‘t necessary Know the right time to apply Some plants can do the job

  14. Pruning • Prune only when necessary • Choose plants that need minimal pruning or can be pruned at times when you are least busy • Pruning produces tender, succulent growth, which bugs prefer Pagoda DogwoodCornus alternifolia

  15. In the Garden Bleeding Heart Dicentra spectabilis Wild ColumbineAquilegia canadensis • Don’t walk where you plant • Let some flowers go to seed for volunteers next season • Leave some volunteers to create more diversity • Let some herbs and vegetables bolt (flower) • In fall, leave some plants and all roots in the soil

  16. Selecting The “Right” Plant • Select plants suited to your region, soil conditions and microclimate  • Know each plant's ultimate height and spread at maturity • Observe plants in your area or at the arboretum Lead Plant Amorphacanescens

  17. Plants With Deeper Roots Kentucky Blue Brass Little Blue Stem Switch Grass Big Blue Stem Lead Plant Compass Plant Liatris

  18. Go Native • Easier and cheaper to maintain • Fewer pest and disease problems • Require less supplemental watering Pearly EverlastingAnaphalismargaritacea New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae) American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

  19. Use Grasses Dixie skipper Atrytonopsishianna Little bluestem Andropogon (Schizachyrium)scoparius • Bottlebrush • Hystrix patula • Prairie Dropseed • Sporobolus heterolepis • Indian Grass • Sorghastrum nutans

  20. What Trees and Shrubs Can Do For You • Improve air, thermal and acoustic environments • Enhance occupant comfort and health • Contribute to overall quality of life Kentucky Coffee Tree Gymnocladus dioica • Kentucky Coffee tree American Linden or Basswood Tilia americana

  21. Trees What you should know • Mature size • Soil Preferences • What is going to happen under them? • What is going to happen around them? • Particular habits • The species and cultivars

  22. Trees What you should know • Mature size • Soil Preferences • What is going to happen under them? • What is going to happen around them? • Particular habits • The species and cultivars

  23. Oaks Willows Catalpa Maples Crabapples Mulberry Fruit trees “Messy” Trees Catalpa Catalpa speciosa Common Mulberry Morus alba tatarica) Weeping Willow Salix alba tristis

  24. Firs Blue Beech Honeylocust (thornless or fruitless) Tamarack Crabapple (fruitless or persistent fruit) Ironwood Spruce Pine Cottonwood (cottonless) Japanese tree lilac Littleleaf linden Arborvitae “Cleaner” Trees Tamarack Larix laricina

  25. Prairifire Crabapple(Malus sp. "Prairifire") Small Trees Red-spotted Purple Limenitisarthemis Serviceberries Amelanchier spp. Japanese Tree Lilac Syringa reticulata Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata American Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana

  26. Evergreens • Exposer to wind on hilltops or on western walls can cause stress by cold and drought • Position as winter protection for delicate plants or wind breaks • Know the growth habit of the cultivar (varieties) • Know the mature size of plant

  27. Shrubs Things you should know: • Mature size • If they “sucker” • When they bloom • Soil preferences • Light preferences • The species and cultivar • False spirea • Sorbariasorbifolia • Lilac Miss KimSyringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ Common Lilac. Syringa vulgaris

  28. Site Conditions That Can Stress Plants • Winter winds • Hot, dry, southern exposures • Roads, driveways, or sidewalks • Foot traffic • Other plants

  29. Under Trees

  30. Under Trees • Reduced light levels • Limited moisture and nutrient availability • Tree species with finer foliage and more open canopies let more light through than more densely foliaged species • Use perennial species to keep soil disturbance to a minimum • Use smaller transplants so holes don’t need to be large

  31. Group Plants According To Their Water Needs Hydrozone

  32. Group Plants by Their Maintenance Needs Blanket Flower GaillardiaGrandiflora Coleus Solenostemonscutellarioides

  33. Group Plants According to Light Needs Prickly Pear Cactus opuntiacymochila Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaematriphyllum • Wild ginger • Asarum canadense Yucca spp.

  34. Containers • May need more watering • Use polymers to help hold water • Slow release fertilizer pellets or potting soil containing fertilizer helps

  35. Make Things Easy • Place gardens according to your needs • Plant only what you can maintain • When do you go on vacation? Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle

  36. Make Things Easy • Get kids involved • Invest in ergonomic tools • Get a good wagon or wheelbarrow • Get something to carry your tools in

  37. Low Maintenance Lawns Most lawn mixes grow best in full sunlight or very light shade

  38. Routine Maintenance • Once established water only during periods of hot, dry weather • Fertilize sparingly, if at all. When necessary, use a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in early spring • Mow to 4 in. when seed heads develop (end of spring) then monthly to 4 in. or simply leave it alone • Remove leaves in the fall • Try a small patch as a trial first, for 1 or 2 growing seasons

  39. UofM Extension Links • Choosing Landscape Evergreens • Native Trees for Landscape Use • Trees, Shrubs & Vines For Minnesota Landscapes • Effects of De-icers on Trees & Shrubs • Pruning Shrubs • Tough Trees and Shrubs for tough sites Dropmore scarlet honeysuckle Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet’

  40. Useful Links: • http://www.extension.umn.edu/gardeninfo/ • http://www.BlueThumb.org • http://www.sustland.umn.edu/ • http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues • http://plantselector.dot.state.mn.us/ • http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/ • http://www.for-wild.org/ • http://www.northerngardening.com/ • http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/nr/index.html

More Related