“This show will help businesses get their name out there and add to their customer database and it will help homeowners gain ideas for fresh new looks and give them ideas on how to add value back into their home,” said Event Coordinator, Ashley Alonso.
We are looking for vendors with produce, flowers, nurseries, stone, any yard décor, outdoor kitchens, pools, hot tubs, concrete, etc., anything to improve or add character to your yard.

“We still have space available and we are always looking for new vendors,” said Alonso. “If you know of anyone interested in participating in this show tell them to contact us. Sites start at $45 and are approximately 12’x12’.”

A vendor application, waiver, and the rules and regulations for this event are available online at ptcrecreation.org under Spring Yard and Garden Show or you may visit the Recreation Administration Office at 191 McIntosh Trail.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Ashley Alonso at 770-631-2542 or .

Annual Spring Yard and Garden Show coming, seeks vendors is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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The beauty of walkways comes from the aesthetic mix of both the materials used and the shapes they and the walkway’s path take. Just as color can make them match or clash with the overall ambiance of your garden, their shape can either cut through the design or flow with it beautifully.

There are a variety of materials to make walkways from, each with its own design elements and functional properties. Interlocking concrete blocks and cobble-stone style bricks are the most popular choices. A bed of either heavy sand or small-pebbled gravel is usually laid and then the interlocking bricks are hammered into place using a wooden or rubber mallet. Bricks are laid in a similar fashion, being pressed together and tamped into place to firmly set them. This “floating” foundation allows the ground to heave with frost or moisture without dislocating the pathway.

Walkways are so integral to the design of a well-made garden than they are usually planned right from the beginning sketches and drawings before work even begins. Elements like bordering flowerbeds, concrete or rock edges, or bark strips are common walkway enhancers, defining the path’s edges for the eye.

Well-made walkways will have a slope or “crown” to them (a hump in the middle) that allows water to drain off so that it does not puddle on the walkway. This makes the walkway safer to traverse, cleaner, and keeps puddles from forming for mosquitoes to congregate in. The bricks and stones used are usually well-textured so that they have a good frictional quality to give a good grip when walking on them, minimizing slipping and dangerous falls.

Other common elements that are included in walkways are casual seating areas (benches, platforms, etc.), handrails for bridges or raised areas, or lighting elements for nighttime ambiance, and perhaps a great pool background to enhance the whole area. Other additions such as bird baths, feeders, squirrel hutches, pet-friendly plants, and other additions can make lively animals move in and around the walkway to give great entertainment and life to the gardens around the walkway.

The Beauty Of Walkways is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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The folks in the Southwest part of our country get to enjoy the beauty and ease of gardening with desert landscaping plants.  They need little water, are hardy and also easy to transplant. They come in many interesting types, some with beautiful blossoms and others with unique shapes.

The various varieties of the cacti, with their sharp thorns, have been used as a fence to ward off predatory animals and other uninvited guests.  They can also be used to protect a vegetable from animals that enjoy stealing your prized tomatoes.  The short and stout "Barrel Cactus" would be very uninviting.

A desert landscape can be very striking but there may be areas of the yard that are in the shade all day and will require the use of landscape shade plants.  By visiting your local garden shop you will find the many varieties that do will in your particular climate.

There are numerous desert landscaping plants to pick from.  We have provided names and descriptions of just a few of the many desert landscaping and landscape shade plants.  You can ask your local nursery for advice of what does exceptionally well in your area.

The Opuntia Robusta, this is a very, very impressive plant. Commonly called "Dinner Plate Cactus" due to the huge size the round and flat leaves can grow to. We sometimes get these growing upwards of 16 inches across!

Desert Spoon: This particular plant does best in arid climates and was at one time, used for fiber and food by Native Americans.  The plant will grow between five and eight feet high and depending on the exact species, some will produce a bloom topped with red, long plumes that complement the gray green foliage.

Golden Barrel: This desert plant has beautiful gold flowers with gold colored foliage.  At maturity, the plant will reach about four feet high and three feet in diameter.

Landscape Shade Plants for the Desert

Astilbes: These plants have wonderful, plume like flowers of red, pink, and white that will bloom for a long time.  As a perennial, the flower will grow back year after year while growing perfectly in a shaded area.

The hosta plant is another great shade plant.  The large variety available range from some with variegated leaves, solid green, gold or bluish green.  They are perennials, returning each year larger than the last.

Liriope Spicata: Another excellent shade plant, this one appears like grass, which is why it is more often referred to as border grass.  The flowers are spiked in shape and while in bloom the color changes from white to purple then in the fall, a dark berry grows.

The Foxglove which is better known as a day lily grows well both in the sun and shade.  It will produce unusual looking flowers of different colors depending on the species.  The Foxglove is a poisonous plant so it should be kept out of reach of children and pets.

Find additional information on outdoor landscaping visit Landscape Architect Designer

Easy Care Types of Desert Landscaping Plants is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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A little landscaping has to be done in order for your garden to look sharp. The same goes when you landscape around a patio awning so there is always something new to show to your guests.

Both hard and soft materials will be used. The soft ones are namely the plants, the shrubs and the trees. They can be placed on the exterior perimeter of the patio while you use hard materials such as brick, concrete, rock, stone and tiles inside.

So you have an idea what plants to buy later on, it is best to check the condition of the soil since this will determine what type of flowers will survive these conditions.

As a rule of thumb for landscaping around a patio, start working on the insides of the patio then make your way outwards.

When choosing an area for the patio, make sure that this will be done on a flat area of land. Once you have found it, you must first build forms to be able to add height to the patio perimeter. This is important to achieve the foundational support you will need later on. This work should be completed evenly up to the doorway.

To prevent any incidents of tripping, you should smoothen the edges and make sure that there are no nails sticking out from the sides of the patio.

Once the forms have been completed for the patio, this is the time that you can add curves by using a bender board made from plastic so it can be moved very easily. To keep these in place, you will have to add stakes every 12 to 18 inches.

When it is ready, this is time that you put the stones in. These should be placed one by one so everything will fit nicely into place.

Once the patio is complete, adding flowers, gnomes, or shrubs to make it all look more colorful and eye catching. You can use one color or mix this with several. The important thing is that it looks good.

Those who don’t want to plant flowers around the patio can still add color by using potted plants. These pots can be purchased with various designs and colors from the store.  The advantage of using this is that you can move them to different locations and during the winter, they can be placed indoors then brought out again during the spring.

For something to stand out all throughout the season, you may choose plants that bloom during different times of the year. Don’t forget to consider the amount of sun that is required for each of them.

You should also get plants of different heights so there is a smooth transition from the patio all the way up to the house. If you’re on a tight budget, it would be adviseable to buy the smaller ones as they are less expensive. It will just some time before they mature unlike the older plants that are almost ready to bloom.

For decoration purposes to your patio, look to adding lattice patio covers.

Landscaping around the patio is no different than fixing one section of the house. Once you have a plan, it will be very easy to implement. If you are not happy, don’t be afraid to make some changes so it will look better than it did before.

Creating Space Around A Patio is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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If you want to put up wood fence on your property, you’ll have to decide on a fence design which suits your home and your property. In suburban Boston, you can put up really any kind of fence you want; though the stockade picket fence is the most popular. Also common in suburban areas is 6′ cedar privacy fencing. Both of these fences are more commonly seen with newer construction. Older colonial homes, on the other hand, are better suited by more traditional fencing ? as are newer homes which emulate their look.

In Boston, fence decisions are dependent on the opinions of the owner. The brownstones seen in many neighborhoods often have low picket fences to delineate property lines while keeping the feeling of a tight knit community (a trademark of many Boston neighborhoods) intact. In backyard Boston wood fencing, though, you’ll see both the low picket fencing common to the front of homes as well as tall basketweave privacy fences which can create a private space even in the most densely populated of urban areas.

Based on homeowners who have located Boston wood fence contractors to build their fencing, we can give you a good idea of how much you’ll pay to have a wood fence built. In the Boston area, the cost for most wood fence installation by contractors we work with is somewhere between $1,000 and $4,000, with $2,500 being the average cost with materials and labor. The job generally took a speedy two weeks, with four weeks being the slowest and eight days the fastest. Naturally, the longer the job takes, the more expensive it will tend to be.

So what does all of this mean to you as a homeowner in the Grater Boston area? It’s pretty good news, as it happens. Boston wood fencing prices are consistent across the board in this area, so if you find a good contractor to build you fence and know what to ask for; you’ll get a good value for your money ? and a good wood fence. And what should you ask for? Wood which can stand up to the hot, humid summer and cold, wet winters of New England, with all of its Nor’easters and offshore storms. Cedar is the best wood to use; its natural oils repel moisture, making it a good choice for the tough weather of the Boston area.

If you want a cedar fence to stay looking its best and protected from weather damage, you should treat it every five to ten years; a small price to pay for a wood fence which looks great and will last. If you don’t use cedar, pressure treated lumber is the next best option. Be certain to sustain it if you want it to last for a long time however. Lastly, always do your research into any wood fence contractor you’re thinking of using and evaluate their track record. It may take a little of your time, but it’s well worth it for a fence which will hold up over the long run.

Ready to save a ton on cedar fencing in Massachusetts? Watch my new video review revealing exactly how I saved $1442.17 on a cedar fence with the best-rated Boston fence company.

Cedar Fencing in Massachusetts – A Insider’s Guide by Alan Bates is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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So if you live in the city but want somewhere private to cool down what are the options?

Well you could build your own roof garden as a starter. The following comes from synthetic grass blog which rather neatly summarises it as follows.

Although there are examples from the earlier part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960’s that the use of roof gardens began to literally grow upwards. As well as having an amenity value, a roof garden offers substantial environmental benefits – for instance:

1. It can lower the temperature above a building, often substantially. Basically a city can raise the atmospheric temperature by reflecting sunlight – a phenomenon sometimes referred to as ‘the urban heat island effect’. Having a roof garden helps counteract this.
2. Insulation – a roof garden can help keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter, so fuel bills are reduced.
3. Wildlife – even on high rise apartment blocks a green garden can provide a stopover for tired birds and attract insects with plants.

So you can see that not only can you keep cool but you can also help the environment and wildlife.

The article goes on to describe 2 ways to prepare a roof garden

The “Heavyweight” Route
This involves layers of waterproof membrane, constructing drainage channels if needed and then laying natural turf over the top. Of course, you could venture into hydroponics to try and minimise the weight and there are special soil mixtures available to help but basically you are looking at a lot of weight , a lot of installation work and possibly even strengthening the roof.

and

The "Lightweight" Route
Use planter pots, tubs and bedding to carry your plants and lay synthetic grass. This way you will have less maintenance and the whole project will be easier to construct. Not only that, but all the worries about how you compost grass cuttings 10 stories up won’t even cross your mind!

So next time you are in the City wondering how to keep cool, look up and see the roof gardens above your head!

Being green in the City – make a roof garden is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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One of the best investments you can make in your home is adding a few attractive outdoor landscaping ideas.  This can be done by hiring someone or using your own imagination.

Using a home computer to pre-plan landscaping ideas with landscape design software is one way to help the do-it-yourself type.  With this software inter-changing different layouts can be easily done until finding the best one to suit the individual needs.

If you prefer not to use landscaping software try searching online. The internet is a good resource to search for outdoor landscaping ideas. Using the internet can give you some insight and perspective on other completed projects to use on your own project.

Utilizing the online resources to find out what plants do well in your area and how large they will grow are practical things to discover before beginning a landscape makeover. The internet can help in locating the best place to purchase materials at the most economical price.

Keeping Costs Down

Knowing how much you have to spend helps in the decision making process.  Larger, more developed plants can cost more.  Is a swimming pool or large waterfall in the budget?  Knowing ahead of time, within a few dollars, what the landscaping project will ultimately cost is also important.

Before you start your home landscaping project, look into hiring a company to help locate any underground utilities such as gas lines or electric lines that may be running through your project area. This is very important if you plan to do a lot of excavation. It may be much more expensive to repair a broken plumbing or electrical line than properly planning ahead to avoid this situation. It also could become dangerous to hit a live electrical line unexpectedly with a backhoe or shovel.

If hiring a professional they have to check on local city ordinances to see what exactly is allowed.  If your are doing it yourself you will have to check on zoning laws before beginning your project. A lot of heartache and inconvenience can be avoided by doing a little research ahead of time with the proper authorities.

So if you want to upgrade your yard with some improvements take time to consider the different landscaping ideas. Finding the right idea is not that difficult with all the resources available and you may find something that you like more than what you had had in mind. Some of the best projects can be found online or in magazines or even seen on television. Careful planning and proper landscaping can help improve the overall look of your home.

Find more info on outdoor landscaping visit Making a Japanese Garden

Use Landscape Design Software To Implement You Outdoor Landscaping Ideas is a post from: Popular Garden and Landscape

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1. Outdoor Landscaping Ideas For The Yard
2. Landscaping Ideas For Improving Your Yard and Garden