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Landscaping software includes 3-D models
Landscaping can be intimidating for the uninitiated do-it-yourselfer, but expensive if you contract it out. Turn to software from Better Homes and Gardens for a little help. “Landscaping and Deck Designer” includes 3D models to help you design and visualize your outdoor living area and what it could become. The program includes a library of 4,000 items to help design that deck or patio, and more than 1,000 plants to pump up the perimeter. Detailed information about the plants, including hardiness zones and which flora is deer-resistant, helps you visualize your gardens. You can even add your own photos to get a realistic view of the finished plan. Cost is about $60.
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Planting your own crop
If your tomato and squash plants look a little worse for wear after a few killer hailstorms, it’s hard to think about this year’s harvest. But don’t worry, Colorado’s petulant weather will pass and with a little loving care, the plants will flourish and be bountiful. “Kitchen Garden A to Z: Growing, Harvesting, Buying Storing,” by Mike McGrath, photographed by Gordon Smith (Harry Abrams, $45) can help you plan for the inevitable plethora of veggies. McGrath, host of the public radio show “You Bet Your Garden,” tells you how to grow, store and even buy fresh produce throughout the year. And the photographs turn everyday vegetables into high art.
TIP
TIP
Don’t plant too deep
Before you add topsoil or mulch to your flower bed, consider this: Most perennials grow at a particular level in relation to the soil surface, many with the crown (the juncture of roots and above-ground growth) even with the surface. Others grow from rhizomes or tubers that should be close to the surface (such as bearded iris) or a certain depth below (such as peonies, 2 inches deep). If you raise the surface of the bed without adjusting the plants, they will be unhappy (peonies won’t bloom if too deep) or smothered.
– Knight Ridder Newspapers
Note to readers: This is the final section of GROW for the season. We hope you’ve learned a few things and garnered much inspiration. For occasional gardening features, read Sunday’s Style section. Have a wonderful growing year.
Note to Readers: This is the final section of GROW for the season. We hope you’ve learned a few things and garnered much inspiration. Have a wonderful growing year.
