Dog Community

Let's share gardening secrets/ideas!

Posted : 5/2/2008 9:33:24 AM

My yard is freighteningly scary. It is big. In the front we have some myrtle, with flowers mixed in with it. A rose bush area. Some azaelia bushes, a lilac tree. And then the two gigantic pine trees. In the back there are flowers, weeds, plants, bamboo (a whole "forest" of it), and more weeds, mostly on a big hill...then the woods behind that.

We just can not control this yard. We have cleared a small section of the side yard and put up a cheap fence for the dogs a few years ago. But the yard is so overwhelming and we can't afford to have someone come in to deal with it. So, our project for this year is to clear out more of the front yard, so at least that will look nice! We would like to dig up the myrtle on one side of the front yard and just leave small patches of garden where the flowers that we really like are. Then I would like to just lay some cedar chips instead of grass because the pine trees would prevent most grass from growing there anyway. (I'll have to post some pics)

Yesterday on my radio station the topic was gardening secrets and one guy called in and said he uses newspaper instead of that plastic stuff to keep weeds from growing. Has anyone ever tried this? I think I might, but want to see what everyone thinks. But I have a lot of digging work ahead of me and I'd like to get to it before the weather gets too hot! Hmm

So lets share some of your ideas for keeping your yard weed free and looking nice.

l.michelle

Posted : 5/2/2008 10:00:50 AM

I watered my office plant here with some propel and some water and it looked like it was on steriods! it grew so awesome!

georgie4682

Posted : 5/2/2008 10:24:48 AM

OK here are some pics to help clarify what I'm talking about:

This is the front yard to the right of my house with the big pine trees, where I'm talking about doing some work:

And this is the left side, which is much easier to tame, but we still get tons of weeds mixed in with the roses and the strawberries that grow there:

l.michelle
I watered my office plant here with some propel and some water and it looked like it was on steriods! it grew so awesome!

That is interesting, I should try that with a house plant to experiment!

cakana

Posted : 5/2/2008 10:35:50 AM

I use a pre-emergent weed killer starting about this time of year in my garden area. It's just granules that you sprinkle around and then lightly water. I usually apply it in spring and then several weeks later. It's not very expensive and it works great. I bought a huge bag at Target and I think it was about $15.00 but should be enough for 2 applications. I have heard that newspaper works too though. Actually anything that blocks the sunlight will keep the weeds from sprouting and the newspaper breaks down in the soil over time, so that's also good.

Truley

Posted : 5/2/2008 10:40:27 AM

I can answer the newspaper question. I too use it to keep weeds down in the veggie garden, it help the soil a bit and is cheap and easy.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 5/2/2008 12:45:18 PM

I do better with things in pots than I do with things planted in the ground. I had a drip system to all the pots installed last fall and TADA! They're still alive and coming back. I have two big 1/2 whiskey barrels waiting for hanging bougainvilla now that I know there's stuff in a can (Cloud Cover) that you can spray on them to keep them from freezing. Little tiny christmas lights strung in the plants will do the same thing, but these plants are on the fence side (no electricity in the fence) and I don't think running an electric cord across a pool would be the smartest move to make.

Joyce

boneyjean

Posted : 5/2/2008 8:42:48 PM

fuzzy_dogs_mom
now that I know there's stuff in a can (Cloud Cover) that you can spray on them to keep them from freezing.

I am going to have to check this out! I HATE bringing my plants in in the winter and this year I ended up planting most of them in the ground...all but my hibiscus.

Hubby and I had a similiar issue but with bushes as opposed to ground cover. It was probably a lot easier to dig out all the bushes than it will be with ground cover that is spreading. My advice is to go ahead and invest in the proper tools that you will need if you don't plan to hire someone to do it for you. It will make the job much easier and you will use the tools again in the future for maintenance. We actually bought a pretty nice hedger so hubby could trim the bushes here and we have a ton. It cost us much less than it would have to pay someone to do it and now he has it for next year too. Plus, as soon as he got a new power tool, he was more than excited to go out and get the job done.

I would also go to a local nursery, not Lowe's or Home Depot, but an actual nursery. Talk to them about methods for getting rid of the stuff you don't want. You can also talk to them about what will live with very little sun. We have a large live oak that only gives filtered light a few hours of the day and now have a flower bed under it with actual blooming flowers. It took some research but was so worth it!

huskymom

Posted : 5/2/2008 9:15:10 PM

Do you think you could use newspaper under sand for patio stones as well? I have tons of newspaper and that would cut out a few bucks of my cost...

erica1989

Posted : 5/2/2008 9:19:39 PM

I wish I could garden... it sounds like it could be fun - unfortunatly... I kill anything green. I can't even keep a house plant alive for more than a week... Tongue Tied I would say at this point...I'm lucky to still have my fish!

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 5/3/2008 2:34:24 AM

boneyjean

I would also go to a local nursery, not Lowe's or Home Depot, but an actual nursery.

Excellent advice! Lowes and Home Depot have amazing nursery sections, but you really have to know what you're doing yourself and what you need because the chances of finding anyone there that can be of any real help is zippo. The Home Depot nearest me is getting more and more like Wal-Mart every day in the "help" department.

Joyce

georgie4682

Posted : 5/3/2008 7:13:01 AM

erica1989
I wish I could garden... it sounds like it could be fun - unfortunatly... I kill anything green. I can't even keep a house plant alive for more than a week... I would say at this point...I'm lucky to still have my fish!

Well, then maybe you could come to my house and kill everything I don't want! Wink

I really just want a nice yard with a nice lawn...like the people with the beagles across the street from us. It's just a dream...my yard will take years to get to that point.

georgie4682

Posted : 5/3/2008 7:14:34 AM

boneyjean
I would also go to a local nursery, not Lowe's or Home Depot, but an actual nursery. Talk to them about methods for getting rid of the stuff you don't want. You can also talk to them about what will live with very little sun. We have a large live oak that only gives filtered light a few hours of the day and now have a flower bed under it with actual blooming flowers. It took some research but was so worth it!

Good idea. I never thought of that. And we do have a nursery pretty close to us too. I will have to go talk to those people. Thanks!