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Rooftop gardens is a method of gardening we are starting to hear more and more about. And not only in your typical high rise city, like Chicago’s City Hall who’s gardens on the roof are open to the public by appointment. The gardens were built as part of an EPA study and initiative to combat the urban heat island effect and to improve urban air quality.

There is also, London’s secret treasure, Kensington Gardens,  a protected historic preservation site. These rooftop gardens were created on top of what was a department store in 1932 to give shoppers a scenic resting spot.

Whether it is a green quiet getaway or a garden for raising your own food you can grow if your structure can support the garden’s weight. The sky is the limit, get it? The sky… roof top… growing toward the light… ooooooh okay, but just LOOK at what some are doing!!

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Rooftop Gardens

Vertically Vegetated Buildings

Chic City Gardens

Whoever says you can’t “kill two birds with one stone” when becoming more energy efficient is absolutely wrong! There are ways to cut down on your home’s energy expenses while adding beautiful landscapes to the yard and, in turn, likely increasing your home’s value.

A well designed landscape will:

• Cut your summer and winter energy costs dramatically
• Protect your home from winter wind and summer sun
• Reduce consumption of water, pesticides, and fuel for landscaping and lawn maintenance
• Help control noise and air pollution

By planting trees in optimal locations, you can save up to 25% of your home’s energy consumption for heating and cooling, which ends up being anywhere from $100 to $250 annually. In less than 8 years, you will have likely earned back whatever price you put into landscaping the lawn to begin with. And, as stated above, you are realistically raising the value of your home in the process.

“Shading and evapotranspiration (the process by which a plant actively moves and releases water vapor) from trees can reduce surrounding air temperature as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit.” In addition, the temperature directly underneath the tree may be reduced by as much as 25 degrees Fahrenheit. As well as all of that, the cost of summer air condition bills can be decreased by as much as 15% to 50% with the aid of properly located landscaping.

Depending on what part of the United States you are located in, wind chill factor may be an issue during the winter. As you know, this can drastically drop the temperature by numerous degrees. By adding trees and fences as a windbreak, you can shield your home from the biting wind. When the freezing cold wind hits the walls and windows of your house, it decreases the temperature inside, causing more heat to be needed to offset this temperature reduction. With these landscape additions, you can counteract the negative results of this cold air and prevent having to run the heater as high or as often.

Landscaping Strategies by Region

Temperature

• Maximize warming effects of the sun in the winter
• Maximize shade during the summer
• Deflect winter winds away from buildings
• Funnel summer breezes toward the home

Hot-Arid

• Provide shade to cool roofs, walls and windows
• Allow summer winds to access naturally cooled homes
• Block or deflect winds away from air conditioned homes

Hot-Humid

• Channel summer breezes toward the home
• Maximize summer shade with trees that still allow penetration of low angle winter sun
• Avoid locating planting beds close to the home if they require frequent watering

Cool

• Use dense windbreaks to protect the home from cold winter winds
• Allow the winter sun to reach south facing windows
• Shade south and west windows and walls from the direct summer sun, if summer overheating is a problem

Now that the fall season is upon us and you’ve done all the damage control you can from summer’s unfriendly effects, what can you do for your lawn now that will keep it healthy and beautiful?

Lawn maintenance is key for the month of November, the focus should be on sprucing up your lawn and doing any necessary leaf cleanup from October’s leaf shedding.

Lawn Spruce Up

Last minute compost As recommended for September and October, it is a good idea to spread a layer of compost over your lawn. You can patch up and reseed bare spots by adding a layer of compost and spreading the same type of seeds you have in the area. The next steps include covering the layer of compost and seeds with an even spread of straw while watering the area consistently, which will allow the grass enough time to germinate before extremely cold temperatures occur. Just because winter is right around the corner doesn’t mean you can stop watering your lawn. Your lawn still needs some water action before the cold season settles in.

Cutting grass During the fall and winter, lawn experts recommend cutting your grass a little higher than usual in order to maintain a deeper root system, which contributes to a healthier lawn. Before you mow your lawn next time, raise the deck height of your mower to a height of at least two inches for warm season grasses and about three to four inches for cool-season grasses. In the more densely shaded areas of your lawn, you should allow the grass to reach an even taller height.

Avoid walking on new lawns New lawns can be very sensitive, especially if they are not carefully monitored to avoid being trampled and stepped on. New grass blades can be damaged so much that they may not be able to survive. Give your new grass every opportunity to grow by keeping people, especially children, off the lawn. Also, even if the lawn becomes iced over, avoid walking on it.

Leaf Clean-Up

The more trees you have on your lawn, the more fallen leaves you’ll have. It’s important not to dismiss fallen leaves and instead to take quick action to remove them, as they can disturb your turf grass, especially recently seeded lawns. Removing leaves quickly will also decrease the chance of insect and lawn disease problems since leaving leaves on your lawn can cause them to become matted down from rain and moisture, and is more prone to developing insect problems and lawn diseases.

To remove leaves from your lawn, a rake or leaf blower both work well. Be careful not to pull up any tender grass blades while using a rake. A bamboo rake can be useful because it does less damage than a plastic or steel rake. If you want to be extra careful with grass blades, a leaf blower will help, although you may want to make sure any and all new seeds have germinated and won’t be blown away by the leaf blower.

To avoid both the rake and blower, you have another option with the mulching mower, which can shred leaves into tiny pieces that decompose in the lawn while adding organic matter and nutrients back to the soil. Don’t let the name fool you, as the mulching mower does not actually make mulch, but leaves behind compost instead. The mulching mower can be quite beneficial since it leaves compost in the lawn directly as opposed to the trouble of creating a separate compost pile and using that to spread over the lawn.

Fran Phalin is a homeowner and writer on things that work. She has used ABC Pest & Lawn services for lawn care and maintenance and to treat lawn disease! Fran lives and works in Austin, TX. Find out more about ABC Pest & Lawn at http://www.abcpest.com
Also check out Organic Gardening for all Seasons for more information on fall gardening

Most people think about their backyard garden as a place to provide them peace and quiet, a place to relax after a busy day, or maybe a place to draw closer to God. Whether you rise early, to enjoy your garden before heading off to work, or come home from work and retreat to your garden to unwind, a serenity garden can help to induce a state of calmness.

A serenity garden does take some planning, and some care. There is no real format in how this type of garden should be structured. You need to think about what serenity means to you. The design of the garden should reflect your ideas on peace and tranquility. It can include your favorite colors, and comforting landscapes. You may want to jot your ideas on paper, to get an idea of what you want before you start planting the garden. Some common themes for a serenity garden are relaxation, spiritual themes, and memorial themes. You’ll want to locate the garden away from loud noises and strong odors. It should be in a location that will help promote tranquility.

When you start creating the garden, you should add features that reflect the theme. If you want a memorial theme, for example, you may want to add items that reflect a loved one who has passed on. If you want relaxation, a gazebo and/or furniture for lounging would be appropriate. Consider also the plants that you want in the garden. Varying shades of green fit in well with a relaxation garden, with touches of color from various flowers. Just be sure to provide a place to sit and relax, and enjoy your garden.

Rocks are another element that can be incorporated into a serenity garden. Rocks of varying sizes can be used to build walls or footpaths in the garden, as well as edging for a footpath. Or large rocks can be placed here and there throughout the garden to provide accents, and a contrast to the plants.

Wind chimes can add a gentle, relaxing sound to your garden. A waterfall or fountain will also add to the ambience of the garden. If you desire, you can also add speakers and an outdoor sound system to play music while you relax.

If you plan on using your garden after dark, you’ll want to think about illumination. Tiki torches or candles provide a gentle, flickering light. Just be sure the flames are a safe distance from any tree branches or anything flammable. Low voltage or solar lights can also be used to light a pathway, or to highlight certain features of the garden at night.

A garden is ever changing. Season to season, year to year, you’ll see the garden growing and changing. Your garden will continue to grow with you as you make changes to the garden, and as the garden makes changes to you. Whatever the size of the garden, from a small apartment balcony to a large backyard, you can create your own personal retreat, where you can relax, and find your peace and serenity.

Visit http://www.garden-style-decor.com for more tips on gardening and resources for garden decor.

Article Source: http://www.organicgardenarticles.com

Many of us enjoy the sounds of birds singing and chirping in our gardens or yards. Not only are birds beautiful to look at, they also provide many with a real appreciation of nature. There are clearly many benefits associated with attracting birds to the landscape, however in order to experience these benefits, we first need to attract the birds to our gardens! It is quite easy to attract birds to your property by following a few simple design principles, and by choosing plants for your landscape that naturally attract birds.

Birdfeeders are old staples for those who wish to see birds in their yards. When using feeders, they should be placed conveniently, and they should also be large enough to hold two to three days worth of food. Placing birdfeeders in various parts of the garden can be a great help in attracting more birds into your landscape. However, the birdfeeders should serve as supplements to the various plants in your yard that provide food and shelter to encourage the birds to think of your garden or yard as home.

The first thing to remember when designing a landscape to attract birds is that your design should provide shelter to protect birds from the elements or from predators. Evergreens are great in this role, as they often provide plenty of space for a bird to disappear crawl into, but they are very difficult for predators to penetrate. Additionally, they can be thick enough to provide adequate shelter against the elements. Evergreen trees and bushes, moreover, can look both attractive and appropriate with just about any home. They are also fairly hardy and easy to take care of. In general the type of plants that provide good shelter to birds include other woody plants. Features like decks and birdhouses also provide great places for birds to shelter.

The next thing that should be done in designing your landscape to attract birds is to provide plants that offer a consistent food supply. These plantings should offer a great deal of food, and produce enough food to meet the bird’s needs, with the help or addition of birdfeeders. In addition, there should be a variety of plants that offer seeds and fruits at various times so that the food supply lasts for an extended period of time. Holly plants (if you use blue holly, you will need both a blue boy and a blue girl in order for there to be any berries), crabapple trees, sunflowers, and other plants that produce berries and seed are excellent choices. Many of these plants are very attractive and can be made to look good in any design, alongside being an excellent source of food for our winged friends.

Another landscape principle to keep in mind while selecting plants that attract birds is to select plants that attract insects. Most scented flowers attract insects, and this means that your yard will attract birds that eat insects. Not only are there many beautiful flowers, like the roses, that attract insects, but these also in turn smell very pleasant. You can have a fragrant garden or yard, as well as one that is really attractive to the birds. Among your choices for insect-attracting flowers, choose some that bloom during the spring migration periods. Then you will be sure to get birds on their way through town, headed north.

Finally, there are landscape features that are not plant-related. These features, other than birdfeeders and birdhouses, can also mean the difference between a garden or yard bursting with birdsong and one that is depressingly quiet. These features are water features. Birds like to have places where they can bathe and drink. There is no need for a big water feature; a small birdbath or basin is often more than sufficient. Birds do prefer moving water, so small features that circulate water, or even water in gently sloping basins or troughs can be very attractive to birds.

It does not need to cost a lot of extra money to attract birds to your landscape. There are plenty of discount stores that offer greaat birdhouses, feeders, and water features at low costs.

Birds do not require anything really special. For the most, part you just need to keep them in mind if you want them to be part of your landscape. Much of the time attractive plants and features that you would have been likely to have purchased anyway can be incorporated to make your landscape more pleasing to the ear.

Article Source: Organic Garden Articles

Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Garden Care. You can read more of his articles at Garden Care and Landscaping