How well does your soil drain?

The 1st step in Landscaping Plants planting preparation is knowing your soil and how well it will drain.  An easy way to gauge how well your soil drains is to dig a square hole about 1 foot deep and wide, fill it with water, and allow it to drain completely.  Immediately refill the hole with water and place a ruler in it to measure the water’s depth.  After 15 minutes, measure how much the water has fallen.  Multiply this by 4 to calculate how much the water will drain in one hour.  An hourly drop of less than an inch indicates poor drainage.  In well drained soil, the drop in water level well be 3-6 inches per hour.  Knowing your drainage will help us recognize the steps we should to in amending your beds before installing your plantings.

Landscaping Plants : The right plant, right place

Placing the right plant in the right place will give it nearly ideal growing conditions.  The plant will establish roots quickly, growing and bulking up.  They then will be able to withstand attacks by insects and disease.  Plants placed in the wrong place will have a compromised immune system. By investing more time before planting , you will invest less time having the softscaping maintained.

In the right place, tall plants can act as a privacy screen or stage for a vivid backdrop for other plants.  In the wrong place they could be an eyesore.  In the same regard, plants which are too small may be dwarfed by the surrounding softscape or hardscape and not be seen.

Horizon Landscapes works with you on selecting the right landscaping plants for edgings of walkways, for the best color combinations of leaf and flowers, and to outsmart the wildlife which may be deer or rabbits. In the long run you will be saved the aggravation by working with a professional landscaper like Horizon Landscapes.