Landscaping

Arbors Add Function to the Yard or Garden

Arbors date back to early Egyptian and Roman gardens and were used throughout Europe by the late 16th century. The term arbor, or arbour, is an English word, believed to be derived from the Old French herbere or Anglo-French herbe, meaning herb or grass.

Residential applications of an arbor, or arbour, is considered a freestanding structure that serves as an entrance to a part of a yard or garden. It can also act as a small shelter for a bench or seating area, often with plants climbing or vining up and overhead.

Arbors include two or four posts with a simple slatted roof (often arched, but not always). The sides of an arbor can be open over covered with lattice or trellis work for a more enclosed effect and to help vines better attach.

An arbor can be bought, made from a kit, a do-it-yourself project, or can be custom-built by a carpenter or contractor.

Trumpet Vine (Campsis) perennial

 

Anyone from beginners to longtime gardners can grow this easy vine, which produces bold red and orange flowers during the summer. You’ll love this vine for its punchy blooms, which attract hummingbirds, and it’s versatility (it can grow in sun, shade, and survive hot, cold, and even drought conditions).

Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) perennial

 

Throughout this perennial’s long bloom time, from mid-June through September, its trumpet-shaped blossoms can perfume your entire garden. Coral honeysuckle will twine around anything in its path, scaling a 10- to 15-foot trellis in a single season, and attract hummingbirds as well.

Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) annual

A night-blooming species of morning glory, this plant features fragrant white flowers that open from sundown to sunup, midsummer to early autumn—you can literally watch them unfurl at dusk. While the vine reaches heights of more than 15 feet, you’ll want to sow several to achieve the lush effect above. Same way with morning glories which are in the same family.

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) perennial

If you need a quick cover, call on Virginia Creeper, a fast-growing vine that clings to walls and other surfaces. Its leaves turn brilliant colors in the fall. Keep this in check so it does not get away from you.

Clematis (Clematis viticella) perennial

Large-flowered clematis grow in many colors, this lovely vine produces brilliantly colored blooms.

Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) perennial

The next two are my favorites, A very vigorous clematis, this vine doesn’t just grow tall (up to 20 feet in a few months); it also grows wide, ensuring full coverage. Consider its tiny white flowers, which bloom in late summer and early fall, a bonus. Oh, and did we mention that the plant tolerates most soil and sun conditions?

Hops (Humulus lupulus) perennial

Best known as a key beer ingredient, the hop vine brings good taste to a garden, too. In mid to late summer, its large leaves are joined by chartreuse cones (borne only on female plants) that deliver as much drama as any flower. Plus, this baby can climb 12 inches per day, topping out at around 30 feet.

DIY Projects

Exterior Window Treatments

Window Boxes

Putting up exterior window treatments such as shutters and window boxes can beautify your home while adding some practical benefits. On top of curb appeal (both through flowers and paint colors), awnings and closable shutters can help keep the house cool and shield windows from the elements.

Shutters

Shutters can be functional, especially if you live in a high storm area. But decorative shutters are a quick and inexpensive way to dress up your exterior windows. You can buy premade shutters in a variety of materials at your local home improvement store, or you can easily DIY them as well!

Awnings

Awnings typically manage to work double-duty, adding curb appeal while also filtering the sunlight that comes into your home and protecting your windows from the elements. Traditional cloth awnings come in a variety of sizes and styles, but a wood awning is striking!

Molding and Trim

If you’re still using wood exterior trim boards on your houses, then you know the deal. They’re lightweight and inexpensive, but, like a tuna sandwich, wood does not last long when exposed to the blazing sun and water. A smart alternative is composite molding and trim. While they may look like wood, these products will last until the cows come home. Composite trim may be wood/plastic, cellular PVC, vinyl, or polyurethane. They differ in weight and appearance, but they all boast better weather-resistant qualities than most wood exterior trim products.

Lawns

What is Thatch?

Thatch is a layer of decomposed and partially decomposed organic matter located between the soil and green turf grass vegetation. When the bottom portion of the thatch becomes mixed with soil (for example, by earthworms) and is in the process of being broken down by soil microbes it forms a distinct layer called “mat”; an organic layer of greater decomposition. Degradation of thatch into mat is desirable since mat can hold more water and nutrients and as a result has better properties compared to thatch.

Identifying a thatch layer in your lawn is easily done by removing a piece of sod with a shovel and examining the cross section from the base of the turf plants to the soil surface. That is where the thatch and mat will be if it exists. There should be a definite layer, not a few loosely oriented old dead leaves about to be broken down.

Beneficial Qualities of Thatch

The resilient nature of thatch absorbs shock from traffic, yet the surface remains unaltered. In addition, thatch and mat resiliency tends to increase turfgrass wear tolerance caused by the compressive and shearing forces of traffic. It also provides a cushioning effect that helps reduce injuries during outdoor sports and recreation.

Thatch provides an insulating effect near the soil surface, thus protecting the turfgrass growing point (“crown”) from temperature extremes and serves as a barrier between soil and atmosphere that helps to reduce water loss due to evaporation from soil.

A modest layer of thatch has many large pores that allow water to drain readily as well as provide exchange of gases between soil and atmosphere. Thatch also has very small pores that retain water that is available for uptake by turfgrass roots.

Thatch is derived mostly from crown, sheath and stem tissue. The cell walls in these tissues are relatively high in lignin, important in tissue rigidity. Leaves, on the other hand, have lower concentrations of lignin and degrade more rapidly, thus contributing less to thatch development. Returned clippings contribute little to thatch when proper mowing frequency is followed; that is, not removing more than 1/3 of the leaf height at any mowing.

Problems from Excess Thatch

If thatch becomes excessive it is an indication that the turf is “out of balance”; that is, the rate of organic matter accumulation is greater than the rate of degradation. This is often due to factors that cause excessive turf growth like high annual nitrogen rates or high irrigation, or conditions that negatively impact the environment that works to decompose thatch, such as soil microorganisms that help degrade thatch, compacted soils, and persistent wet conditions. Thatch is considered excessive when the thickness is greater than one-half inch in home lawns.

Several problems may occur when thatch becomes excessive. For example, crowns may be elevated above the soil surface in the thatch layer, which is a poor medium for growth. Thatch is hard to re-wet when dry. This may lead to localized dry spots in which precipitation or irrigation runs off rather than infiltrates into the soil, where water is needed especially at high elevation levels. Excess thatch also provides an excellent home for certain turfgrass insect pests and fungal pathogens. Turf with an excessive thatch layer may be prone to scalping since mowing equipment wheels sink into the turf.

Resolving Excess Thatch Problems

To remediate thatch problems, discovering the cause or causes of excess thatch is important. As indicated before, the turf is “out of balance”. Consideration should be given to reducing nitrogen, watering “infrequently and deeply”, improving drainage, maintaining proper mowing height and frequency, and careful use of pesticides. Some turfgrass species/cultivars tend to be heavier thatch producers like fescues vs bluegrass, so renovating or reestablishing lawns with turfgrasses that produce less thatch may be beneficial.

Relative thatching tendency of cool-season turfgrasses:

Thatch reduction by mechanical methods is best performed by hollow tine core aeration followed by redistribution of soil cores into the turf. This promotes biological degradation of thatch by soil microorganisms. Core cultivation or dethatching is best done when followed by several weeks of good turf growing conditions. Target dates are generally around Memorial Day in spring and Labor Day in fall.

Dethatching using a power rake or vertical mower is a secondary alternative, but care should be taken to use the proper equipment that has blades spaced at least two or more inches apart to avoid injury to turfgrass crowns. Dethatching by vertical mowing can create a great deal of debris that must be disposed of or composted.

If a thatch layer has gotten out of control (greater than 1 inch) it is unrealistic to think it can be effectively reduced by one coring or one vertical mowing. The remedy may require spring plus late season coring and vertical mowing until it is under control.

Thatch formation to a problematic depth does not happen overnight. It happens over a few years and depends on the grass type, how the turf is managed, and some unique site conditions that might work against thatch decomposition in the turf/soil system.