Mulching Importance
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A mulch is any material applied to the soil surface for protection or improvement of the area covered. Mulching is really nature idea. Nature produces large quantities of mulch all the time with fallen leaves, needles, twigs, pieces of bark, spent flower blossoms, fallen fruit and other organic material. When applied correctly, mulch has the following beneficial effects on plants and soil: o Mulches prevent loss of water from the soil by evaporation. o Mulches reduce the growth of weeds, when the mulch material itself is weed-free and applied deeply enough to prevent weed germination or to smother existing weeds.o Mulches keep the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, thus maintaining a more even soil temperature. |
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o Organic mulches can improve the soil structure. As the mulch decays, the material becomes topsoil. Decaying mulch also adds nutrients to the soil.
o Mulches prevent crusting of the soil surface, thus improving the absorption and movement of water into the soil.
o Mulches prevent the trunks of trees and shrubs from damage by lawn equipment.
o Mulches help prevent soil compaction.
o Mulches can add to the beauty of the landscape by providing a cover of uniform color and interesting texture to the surface.
o Mulched plants have more roots than plants that are not mulched, because mulched plants will produce additional roots in the mulch that surrounds them.
A Guide to Successful Pruning
| Shrubs, like most plants, come in all many of shapes and sizes. Depending on a shrub's individual growth habit, and the tastes of the individual gardener pruning will be approached in a varied manner. |  |
Growth Habit
Understanding the natural "habit" or shape of shrubs will help you determine how to prune them. All shoots grow outward from their tips. Whenever tips are removed, lower buds are stimulated to grow. Buds are located at nodes, where leaves are attached to twigs and branches. Each node produces from one to three buds, depending on shrub species.
Shrubs with cane habits include forsythia and nandina. These shrubs spread by sending up erect new branches, called canes, from their base. Tree-like shrubs have woodier, finely divided branches. Witch hazel and rhododendron are examples of shrubs with tree-like habits.
A Brief Overview of Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:
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Landscaping is both science and art, and requires good observation and design skills. A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction, and blends them accordingly.
Thales, an early Greek philosopher known for his view that "all is water," spent a considerable time thinking about the nature and scope of landscaping. Some of his students believed that in order for human activity to be considered landscaping, it must be directed toward modifying the physical features of the land itself, including the cultivation and/or manipulation of plants or other flora. Thales rejected this notion, arguing that any aspect of the material world affecting our visual perception of the land was a proper subject for landscaping. Both Plato and Aristotle praised Thales' analysis as a model for philosophy. In the early 20th century, British philosopher G.E. Moore cited Thales' reasoning as one of the few historical examples of how philosophical inquiry has led to genuine human understanding and progress.
Philosophers in the 17th century debated whether visual beauty was a necessary goal of landscaping. With the advent of the positivists by the early 20th century, however, most western philosophers had rejected the notion of an objective esthetic standard for any form of art, including landscaping. Practitioners since the mid-20th century have experimented with jarring visual panoramas that are now generally accepted, at least in western societies, as falling within the scope of landscaping.
For more information on Landscaping contact Yorkshire Garden Center.