In the recent year the look of the backyard and garden area has been changing. There is more of an emphasis on extending the home living space into the backyard and making better use of whatever outdoor space is available, even what would be considered a “postage stamp” garden area.
photo credit: brewbooks

Larger backyards are also being broken up into outdoor rooms by designing the backyard into areas that have their own use or activity. These open rooms are then designed to flow together to create an overall backyard. A secret garden, kitchen room, children’s fort play area, and a water feature area are only a few rooms that are being created for.

Plants are still part of this new outdoor living space but home gardeners are shifting to different garden styles. They are selecting plants that remind them of exotic places or a vacation destination that may be out of their reach at the time.

Sophisticated contemporary designs are also in this year. Gigantic planters planted with bold plants, trees and pampas grass are focal points in the backyard and use of strong lines and angles fill out the landscape.

Gardeners are focusing more on foliage and less on flowers. The ease of ornamental grasses has doubled there used in landscape design. And they are being accented by easy to care for flowers with vibrant colors such as reds, oranges and yellows

Gardens are also being created smaller with better planning for space and use. This trend had to do with creating gardens with less work and also creating space for the return of victory gardens and recession gardens. Many of the most successful small space gardens are combining ornamental plants with vegetables and fruits. Petite annuals, perennials, shrubs and garden produce make combining these plants successful.

And finally “green gardening” techniques are a main concern when designing the backyard. This includes planning the backyard around recycled building materials, recycled garden décor, and the use of no chemicals or softer pesticides. Controlling the amount of water used in the backyard is also important as is creating garden designs using solar lighting.

With the changes in gardening and design even the city dweller or renter should be able to create there our backyard oasis, even if it’s only the size of a postage stamp. It amazing how beautiful and relaxing these small space garden areas can be.

The Backyard Oasis, which is a site for The Gardener’s Rake is have a week long  Small Backyard Design Week starting April 19, 2009.

Stop by the Backyard Oasis for unique backyard garden design ideas that will focus on small space design, garden rooms, combining indoor and outdoor space and many other creative gardening ideas.

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© Denise for The Gardener's Rake, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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photo credit: quinn.anya

Another area that is often overlooked is looking in you own backyard for what’s green and growing naturally. You will be surprised how many natural herbs and other foraged items you can gather. Wild onions, wild carrots, and strawberries are only a few. You can also make you own tea blends that have twice the flavor of store bought teas.

There are many wild edible herbs that grow in your yard. I use dandelion in the spring and also harvest cattails, both of which I have a large supply. You may also have elderberry bushes, wild raspberries or blackberries too. It’s time to take a good look at your yard, evaluate what you have and plan for the future.

One of the easiest steps is to add a garden. This will give you fresh produce this season. You can also look for berry bushes to buy, which will produce quickly. Adding fruit trees and other fruit bushes will take a few years before you see results.

To plan for the future make a plan of your yard or land. If you replace older shrubs with berry bushes and other fruit bearing shrubs you will add to the environment and save on the cost of food at the same time. When removing older bushes see if anyone might like them. Community centers, parks and schools might be able to transplant them and renew their vitality.
photo credit: sociotard

You will want to dig up the area a where the bushes were and add compost to enrich the soil. It’s also wise to split any berry bushes and fruit bushes up on the property. By planting bushes in full sun and in partial sun beds you can eliminate some of the natural pests. Just be sure to keep feeding the bushes and garden areas compost and you will have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in no time.

As your garden and berry bushes begin to produce swap extra produce with your friend and neighbors. Growing you own fresh produce means healthier food for you family and less of a strain on government farms that run large farm equipment. You also know the produce will not be polluted with strong chemicals.

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Green Gardening is the new “garden term.” But what does it really mean and why is green gardening important? And how does it differ from organic gardening?
photo credit: The Shane H

Gardening has a valuable purpose of supplying food and growing plants of all varieties help the environment. But gardening, even done properly, manipulates nature and changes the environment. If gardening is poorly planned it can cause erosion. Heavy chemical use in the garden can harm plants, animals, and the soil and water. It also will lead to weaker plants.

The easiest way to explain green gardening is when the gardener works more with nature. Is has the same principles as organic gardening but with green gardening you try to match plants more with location and often use no dig methods to protect the soils structure. The less you disturb your soil and backyard garden area the greener your garden will be. Here are a few steps that will help you keep your garden environmentally friendly.

The best principal of Green Gardening is “to Keep it Simple”

Selecting your garden site

Your garden needs to be located in an area that receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight and that has adequate drainage. You also need to check the soil and add nutrients if needed. A poor soil creates sickly plants, which leads to more insects and plant disease.

It’s also important to select plants for your garden that will grow in the climate that you live in. If you want a tropical plant but it will not grow in your garden climate consider having it in a container and on the patio or indoors. You will also want to plant sun loving plants in the sun and shade loving plants near buildings or trees for best results and healthy plants. Plants that are grown in the wrong area and poor soil will require more time to keep them healthy.

Know your soil.

Have your soil tested so that you understand what it is made of and what it needs to grow healthy plants and drain well. You can purchase soil-testing kits at most garden centers. You can improve your soil by adding nutrients, compost and by using the no-dig or lasagna gardening methods.

Stronger synthetic fertilizers will improve the soil quicker but they hurt the soil and nature Organic soils building methods take longer but build a better soil that will only improve over the years.

Annual flowers or vegetables exhaust the soil nutrients faster than other plants so you will need supplemental feeding during the growing season. Again you can find natural organic fertilizers but natural methods are preferred for green gardening and over extended time.

Organic matter, compost, and mulch will all add nutrients to your soil and build your soil from year to year. And side dressing your gardens adds the extra boost during the growing season for your flowers and vegetables.

My soil is a heavy clay base. I always keep mulch on my ground and work it in at the end of every growing season. This practice alone has dramatically improved my soil and drainage.

I also have used no chemicals on my land in at least 12 years. I live too close to a creek to take the chance of any chemical working into the creek, plus I don’t like chemicals on food, plants or my land.

If you do have an insect problem there are many natural insect controls and natural home insect sprays you can try.

Green gardening is friendlier to your yard, garden, pets and family. It’s also a healthier way to live. If we all try at least one green gardening idea we can help our communities and our world.

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There are two suggestions here for homemade plant food. Homemade plant food is easier on the environment and your produce is safer to consume. With many gardeners practicing green gardening these plant foods are great, Plus the cost is easier on the budget.
photo credit: pdugmore2001

1. A friend of mine uses this plant food recipe in his garden and says it is the best plant food there is. I haven’t tried it myself but he always has a great garden!

HOMEMADE PLANT FOOD MIX

In a gallon jug of tepid water place:

1 teaspoon Epsom salts
1 teaspoon saltpeter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon ammonia

This is a complete plant food and should be used only once every 4 to 6 weeks. Too much will harm and weaken the plant. It can be stored and saved.

2. I myself use a manure tea blend and it works well. As with all plant foods and fertilizer too much can be as bad as not enough. Experimenting and taking notes on results will help you decide how much your garden needs.

 MANURE TEA

Take one coffee can and fill it with any manure. (I suggest, cow, horse, chicken or rabbit manure) Place the manure in a piece of cloth and tie to close. Add the cloth bag to a 5 gallon bucket of water and let it brew for a few days. It will be ready to use. I usually water this manure tea down by one half. So use a ten gallon bucket and fill half way up with water then add the manure tea.

NOTE: For indoor plants I only use a few table sppons of the manure in a pint of water.

Homemade plant foods are better for most plants. There is less of a tendency for the plants to get burned or hurt from a natural plant food

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photo credit: Barefoot In Florida

For environmental reasons, don’t use newspaper with colored ink. The ink leaches strong chemicals into the ground.

To Make a NewsPaper Pot

I find a tin can the size of the pot I want. Soup cans work well for small transplants and coffee cans work for bigger transplants. Fold several layers of newspaper together and fold in half. Fold one more time if you are making a small pot. I place the folded newspaper on the can with a small amout hanging over the bottom of the can. Wrap the paper around the can and temporarily hold it in place with masking tape. (You can also fold the paper end into the other end so you don’t have to use tape. This is a little tricky the first time you do it)

I don’t like to use tape because if I plant the pot in the ground it does not break down as well. I solve this by removing the tape. You can also purchase biodegradable tape.

I will then fold the  paper that hangs over the bottom  of the can down and tape in place. Pull the can out and you have a pot! It may need a few adjustments and tweeks to stand straight and firm. You are now ready to plant!

Most of my pots are made to place transplants into the ground so I don’t like to use tape. I may use it at first to hold the pot together. I also have used string to hold the pot together.

When getting ready to place the pot into the ground remove any tape or string. I also loosen the bottom of the pot a little to make sure the roots will quickly enter the soil.

Using this methods I do not have to disturb plant roots, a practice that shocks the plants and slows their growth down for a week or so.

I also use newspaper pots to repot transplants such as tomatoes, peppers, gourds and cucumbers into bigger pots so that the roots can spread and grow but I can control the climate temperatures.

My tomato and gourd plants are often two foot tall before I set them out and by using paper pots they do not suffer any transplanting shock.

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