|
Home / Home / Gardening
Grass and Other Ground Cover Selections For Your Lawn
By:Hege Crowton
When you select seed for your lawn, the main consideration is the exposure to sun and shade your grounds afford. Most commercial blends are adapted to full sun or medium shade.
A special blend should be used where there is less than three or four hours of sun-light a day, as under trees, or where soils are dry and poor. In general, heavy grass seed is most free from chaff an dist most economical in the long run, while a cheaper, lighter seed germinates less rapidly.
Kentucky bluegrass is considered the best lawn grass, but there are years when it is in short supply, and it has the disadvantage of needing a resting period in midsummer and, also, of soiling light-coloured clothes. It does form a thick turf and it will grow in alkaline or slightly acid soil, resisting weeds to an extent.
For putting-green lawns for a small area on a terrace or in a garden, bent grasses are used. Colonial bent is widely used in mixtures, thriving as it does under less favourable conditions than those required by creeping bent or velvet bent. The bent grasses are low-growing, fast-spreading grasses, needing frequent mowing and top-dress.
Redtop combines well with Kentucky bluegrass because it rests in fall after the bluegrass has recovered, and it does not stain. Chewings fescue is a fine-textured shade grass.
Maturing late in the season, the various fescues resist midsummer drought, grow well in acid soil and fight weeds.
For new lawns, rye grass, a perennial, is a tough, quick-growing grass which helps keep out weeds until the lawn is under way. Bermuda grass is used in the South and the Southwest, where soil is sandy.
Whether or not clover is to be used with these grasses is a personal matter. With its white flower and its tendency to grow in patches, it spoils the continuity of the turf, but, on the other hand, it will grow in poor soil, edging out weeds that might grow in these areas.
A mixture of grasses gives better satisfaction than a single species as a rule, because the various grasses are active in development at different seasons. Mixtures stand up against disease and disorders that will attack one grass and leave another alone.
Other Ground Cover
In many cases cover other than grass is desirable. Foundation plantings, banks, shady places, all often require other cover. Good covers are dependable, inexpensive and not weedy.
For open sunny areas, banks, or where a large, high cover is wanted, wild trailing rose with its white blossom is most popular; it makes a thick mat of foliage 2 feet off the ground.
Also in sunny places, various forms of juniper (e.g., creeping juniper, which is long, low and spreading; Waukegan juniper, blue-grey except in winter, when it is purple, and Sergeant juniper, a dense green type) form a mat 8 to 20 feet high. All are attractive either pruned or in a natural state.
For deep or light shade, there are evergreen vines such as the Baltic ivy and pachysandra, periwinkle with its blue-and-white spring flowers, and plumb ago which has brilliant blue flowers in the fall.
English ivy is good for the shady north side of buildings. For soil too sandy for shrubs there is Scotch broom, which bears yellow blooms. Other covers include hay-scented fern, sandwort, lily of the valley, maiden pink, winter creeper thyme and phlox.
Suggestions are often made for cover which can take the place of grass for lawn, but such covers are usually much more difficult to maintain than grass, even though it is claimed they do not require mowing.
Among them are chamomile, a flowering perennial used in medieval times for turf, and while fragrant and soft, untidy and weak; sandwort, which has rather fleshy leaves with a smooth surface.
Sandwort grows 1 inch long and must be kept mowed to remove the seed stalks. Pearlwort, which has to be watered freely, is only practical in a hot, humid climate; it is a haven for grubs, moths, beetles and sow bugs.
Dicondra, a low-creeping herb used on the West Coast for cover, is considered a weed by many, and while easy to grow, does not stand up well against abuse.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: landscaping, trees, plants, gardening, home, articles, ads, content, websites, sites, crowsites, ezinecrow
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Hege Crowton is an established expert copywriter.
She is known for doing in-depth research before writing her articles.
www.Ispjv.com
www.Submitcontent.com
Copyright 2005 GardeningContent.com
|
|
| Top Gardening Articles |
- 1). Mulching Benefits / Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types By : Francis Kilkelly
Mulching is the practice of placing a loose surface onto the surface of soil in your flower or vegetable garden in order to protect, insulate and beautify the area. This loose covering is called a mulch and it can be either of an organic or inorganic variety. Examples of mulches include compost, stone and grass clippings. Every gardener should understand the many benefits of mulching the soil in their garden.
|
- 2). Beautiful Calla Lilies By : William Berg
The Calla Lilies are plants belonging to the Zantedeschia genus in the Araceae family. The genus contains seven plant species and they are all commonly referred to as Calla Lillies. Some of them have other common names as well. Zantedeschia aethiopica is also known as giant white arum lily and common arum lily. Zantedeschia albomaculata is sometimes sold as spotted arum lily, and Zantedeschia rehmannii is known as the pink arum lily.
|
|
|
|
|
- 5). Problem Free Patios, Paving And Paths By : James Kilkelly
If you are thinking of creating a patio, courtyard or path within your garden, then I have some helpful information for you.
Where to place a path
Have a good look at your garden, even if you are just viewing from the comfort of your kitchen, this may give you an idea of where paths should be placed. Viewing a curved pathway, particularly one that wraps behind a border will entice the viewer to exit the house and follow the path to discover what lies at its end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 9). Getting to the top with flagpoles By : Tom
Are you in search of the most up-to-date help regarding flagpoles. When you are looking for excellent information about flagpoles, it will be eas
|
|
|
| New Gardening Articles |
|
|
|
|
- 3). Making Your First Garden By : Joe Bella
The first thing in garden making is the selection of a spot. Without a choice, it means simply doing the best one can with conditions. With space limited it resolves itself into no garden, or a box garden. Surely a box garden is better than nothing at all.
|
|
|
- 5). Dream Home Gardening By : Anna Woodward
Home gardening is tricky business. Do you ever wonder how you can get your garden to look like those in popular home-and-garden magazines?
|
- 6). How To Make Sure Your Wildflowers Survive In Your Home Garden By : Gregg Hall
If you have ever taken a walk in the woods you may have seen all the beautiful flowers that can be found right in nature. Did you think to yourself, I wonder what these would look like in my yard? If you have wondered this same thing, here are a few tips for you to make sure your flowers will survive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
