Planning a Water-Smart Landscape

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink – or even water your plants! We remain a society of visual importance that finds value in care and beauty, hence, why we love our landscapes! However, the recent drought and water restrictions have made maintaining our precious plants, trees and flowers a bit of a challenge. The following are a few, simple tips you can employ to ensure a long, happy, and healthy life for your landscape:

Tip #1 – The Importance of Mulching
Applying mulch, whether its bark or pine straw, to the base of your plants is a great way to retain moisture. This layer of protection prevents fast water evaporation, erosion and even deters weed growth. The most successful mulches are those with a fine texture (like pine straw) because they interlock to form a protective barrier against the elements.

Tip #2 – Eliminate the “Needy” Areas
Turf represents the most “needy” area of your landscape in terms of water application. Why? We are constantly fertilizing, cutting and growing it. By diminishing these areas of your yard and planting trees and shrubs instead, you will save on water costs.

Tip #3 – Establish Plants at Install
Upon installation of your any plants and trees, it’s important to water them thoroughly and deeply. This is accomplished by saturating the soil over a period of weeks after install (watering for 10-15 minutes every other day). This activates deep root growth into the soil, where there is more water for the plant to drink. Plants with shallow roots dry out quickly, and will look wilted in a short time after watering.

Boxwood Cottonseed Meal Recipe

Now is the time of year to feed your beloved Boxwoods. Follow to recipe below to give your shrubs a boost for Spring!

• 8 cups organic cottonseed meal (6-2-1)
• 8 cups composted cow manure
• ½ cup of Epsom salt

Mix thoroughly together in a large tub or pot, depending on what you have on hand.
Feed the boxwoods in early March with organic cottonseed meal, using 1 cup for boxwoods up to 3 feet across and 2 cups for boxwoods measuring 5 feet across. You can adjust the amount based on the size of your boxwood. Six weeks later, sprinkle 2 cups of the Eve’s Recipe mixture around large boxwoods and 1 cup around small boxwoods.

In early June, you can give them another boost by applying 10-10-10 fertilizer, available in your local nursery, around the drip line of each shrub.