Water & Fire
Water & Fire
Fascinating Elements for your Living Space and Patio
Water and fire are two elements that can really highlight the personalized creativity and style of your garden or patio. Water features create a soothing and serene atmosphere for your outdoor sanctuary perfect for reflection and relaxation. Fire features, on the other hand, not only keep us warm on those cool Colorado nights, but they can become a social beacon for your family night or evening get-togethers. Combine both of these powerful elements for an even more dazzling spark to your garden or outdoor living space.
Water
Water features can be the pinnacle of relaxation and serenity in your garden and outdoor living space. The soft sound of trickling and bubbling water can complement a quiet day in the garden perfectly. Or you can include a large waterfall near the pond to help drown out neighborhood noise. Consider the addition of a small pond or water trough to accent your garden or small space. Use oxygenating plants to accent your pond, while keeping it healthy, oxygenators provide oxygen and absorb the nutrients and elements that would support algae. Some oxygenating plants add a nice touch of color with above-water blooms, like common water-crowfoots or pygmy water lilies. Consider using wood-barrels for a rustic look, or a sleek ceramic or tin trough for a modern or minimalist touch. For a modern look, be sure to keep the design simple and sleek, so limit the variety of plants you use to compliment your feature and use those with bold shapes. The horsetail, simultaneously primitive-looking and elegant, can be a nice compliment to tall and sleek water features.
To capture the soothing sound of flowing water, introduce a fountain to your garden or patio design. Fountains with recirculating pumps create beautiful ambiance as water trickles through stones or out of bamboo shoots. Sunken fountains blend in nicely with surrounding elements and create a bit of mystery when surrounded by small plants. Fountains are the perfect way to infuse a small space with a burst of creativity and elegance.
Fire
Your fire feature can be the center point of your outdoor living space whether you are roasting marshmallows with the kids on a warm Summer evening, or if you’re illuminating and warming-up your patio dinner party. Before adding this spectacular element to your garden or patio, consider how you’d like to use it. Will you add small fire urns to accent the boundary of your deck or patio, or will you create a social hub with the addition of an outdoor fireplace? You can also decide between a portable hearth or chiminea, or a permanent feature such as a wood-burning fireplace or gas powered fire-pit. Permanent features can be used as stylistic elements year round, for example consider using fire-blasted stone to compose your chimney and mantle for an Italian Rustica look. Extend the arms of the mantle to create a designated dining area, complete with pizza oven and counter space. Stucco is another common and inexpensive material to use for your fire feature, a style often found at its peak in the southern regions of the state.
Water & Fire
Combine both sensual elements to create a complimentary scenic landscape. Fused together, fire/water pots, or fountains with fire features create a special dazzle in the host garden or living space. Fire/water hybrid features can be a fantastic centerpiece to a sleek, modern scape, or can be used as walk-way accents through a lush, enchanted garden.
Sources:
Better Homes and Gardens – http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/patio/designs/patio-ideas/ & www.bhg.com/home-improvement/porch/outdoor-rooms/designing-for-outdoor-living/ & http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/patio/designs/patio-ideas/
HGTv – http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/water-features-for-the-garden/pictures/index.html
HIGH CRAFT Builders :http://www.highcraft.net/kitchen-remodeling/its-time-to-plan-outdoor-living-spaces.html
FineGardening – http://www.finegardening.com/item/9427/fireplace
ELA – http://www.elaoutdoorliving.com/fire-features.htm
Extended Living Spaces – http://www.extendedlivingspaces.com/fire-features.php
Outdoor Living for the Entertainer!
Get Out and Live!
After enduring the long Colorado cold spell brought on by Old Man Winter, there’s nothing like enjoying your backyard retreat in the pleasant Spring sun! Now is the perfect time to transform your yard or deck into the ultimate outdoor destination.
When planning your outdoor living space consider how you would be using the area. Design your family fun space around a built-in gas grill and chiller with stone pathways to the perfect grassy picnic area. Or host evening get-togethers at your marble-top island under the covered patio. Plus, great add-ons can boost your property value as a homeowner as well!
Extend your living space outside and enjoy the fresh air year-round. It is always nice to use existing patio space and decks when possible, so try to consider how you can expand upon an area already accessible. Transform your space with an appealing and long-lasting patio. Use interlocking pavers, creative flagstone or stamped and stained concrete to create a good, low maintenance floor base. Or keep the pleasant natural look with a weather-resistant deck using materials such as recycled composite planks or finish with a weather-resistant sealant. Both weather-resistant decks and stone floors require little maintenance and maintain their structural integrity through Colorado weather. 
Select great plant life and features to create the perfect outdoor atmosphere. An in-ground fire pit or a gas-powered fireplace can be the perfect modern touch for a cozy environment, adding ambiance and warmth to cool Colorado nights. Nearby, install a beautiful granite or marble counter top island with a built in gas-grill and mini-fridge perfect for entertaining guests and relaxing at the end of your day. Outdoor lighting is an ideal way to illuminate your covered patio in the evenings. Using solar-powered lighting or energy-efficient bulbs conserve energy and keep the cost down.
Add a touch of color and life to your space by planting shade-loving flowers and shrubs around and within your patio area. Line your covered patio or deck with beautiful Hostas, Brunneras, and Caladiums during the Spring and Summer months. Keep color all year long with flowers such as Impatients and Begonias growing alongside your shaded retreat. It is a good idea to plant foundational shrubs as a lush backdrop for your plants all year round – we recommend evergreen shrubs such Norway Spruce , Bird’s Nest Spruce, or Daphne, Carol Mackie.
Most importantly, be sure you make the space yours! There is nothing more rewarding than going home and being drawn to your perfect outdoor living space.
Contact Personal Touch Gardening and Landscape for more great outdoor living ideas, or to help design, install, and maintain the outdoor space of your dreams!
Sources:
High Craft Builders – http://www.highcraft.net/kitchen-remodeling/its-time-to-plan-outdoor-living-spaces.html
Better Homes and Gardens – http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/patio/designs/patio-ideas/ & www.bhg.com/home-improvement/porch/outdoor-rooms/designing-for-outdoor-living/
Bring Your Plants to Life this Spring with Winter Pruning!
Promote Beautiful Growth this Spring with Winter Pruning!
You may not know it, but most trees, shrubs, and vines should be pruned during the late winter to facilitate fantastic spring and summer growth! Pruning these plants in the late winter has three general advantages; the pruning wounds heal and seal faster since you’re pruning just prior to new spring growth, pruning during this period minimizes your chances of disease, pests and cold damage, and lastly, it is much easier to see the shape, health, and integrity of the shrubs and trees without all of the foliage getting in the way.
Before you start taking off branches and foliage make sure you are using the proper tools to do so and that they are in good clean condition. Hand pruners are suitable for branches and shrub limbs less than one-half an inch thick in diameter. If the branch is one to one and a half inches in diameter you will want to consider using something similar to a limb lopper. Please contact Personal Touch Gardening to cut and prune your larger trees.
Late winter is the best time to prune deciduous trees and large shrubs because the coldest part of the season has passed and the chance of cold damage to your pruned cuts is significantly less. Prune to shape your plants and to rid the plants of dead, damaged, crossing, and overgrown limbs. Be sure to prune off limbs that have succumbed to winter damage as well. Limbs with winter damage, or winterkill, have shriveled or darkened bark and buds that remain lifeless as others swell.
Trees
You never want to prune off more than 1/3 of the tree’s canopy and canopy limbs during one season and make sure that you’re not pruning off too much live wood. Prune apple trees, including Crabapples, Mountain Ash, Hawthorns, as well as American Elms in late winter to avoid disease. Spring or summer pruning increases chances for infection and spread of the bacterial disease fireblight, and fall or early winter pruning is more likely to result in drying and die-back at pruning sites. Trees such as Elm, Maple, Walnut and Birch do bleed sap when pruned in late winter to early spring. Although not necessarily detrimental to your trees, bleeding is reduced if these tree species are pruned in the fall. However, pruning cuts heal much more slowly in the fall than in any other season.
Shrubs
You’ll want to prune spring-flowering shrubs, such as Forsythia and Winter Jasmine, right after their blossoms fade. Spring flowering shrubs set there buds right after they bloom, so there is a short window of pruning time. Prune your Honey Locusts while they are still dormant in the late winter to avoid stem cankers and other diseases. Green and late flowering shrubs such as Butterfly Bush, Elderberry, Japanese Spireas, Smoke Bushes, and St. John’s Wort can be pruned from late winter to early spring since they are susceptible to winterkill and pruning these shrubs can promote a lot of growth if the weather is warm, so the later in the winter is best. More resistant shrubs such as Gooseberry and Currant can also be pruned anytime during winter because their stems are rarely damaged by the winter cold.
Contact Personal Touch Gardening to take care of your winter and early spring pruning!
Sources: Fine Gardening – http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/maintenance-pruning.aspx?nterms=74872 & http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/trees-winter-pruning.aspx, & http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/forcing-branches.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_ content=20120123-15tips&utm_campaign=fine-gardening-eletter
Plantalk Colorado by Colorado State University – http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1730.html & http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1724.html
University of Minnesota - http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg0628.html
Brighten Your Home in the Winter with Fantastic Forced Blooms!
Brighten Your Home in the Winter!
Get the beauty of spring in winter with these bloom forcing tips! Force blooms on your favorite tree branches or bulbs to add color to a muted winter space.
Forcing Branch Blooms
Many blooming trees and shrubs set their flower buds during the previous growing season so that they can experience a period of cold dormancy during the winter before they bloom. After about six weeks of cold and dry temperatures, the buds need to experience warm temperatures and moisture for two to three weeks to come out of dormancy and bloom beautifully. Generally in late January and early February most outdoor trees and shrubs are ready for warmth and forcing.
When selecting branches from trees and shrubs, look for those that are ½ inch in diameter or less with higher concentrations of plump flower buds. Try to take your branch cuttings when the temperature outside is at or above 40°, this enables the cuttings to transition from the cold weather to your warm cozy home much better. Following package instructions, add a floral preservative to warm water and add your cuttings once you have trimmed the stems at a steep angle above the original cut. Display your arrangement of branches and cuttings away from direct sunlight and away from any direct heat source. Rather, try to recreate a cool, moist environment characteristic of early spring. Watch the charming flower buds open and bloom for up to three to four weeks in a vase. Take great forced bloom cuttings from Crab Apple trees, Cherry trees, Forsythias, Quince & Weigela, as well as Red Maples, and Willows in mid to late February.
Forcing Bulb Blooms
Similar to most trees and shrubs, flowering bulbs also need to experience a cold dormancy through the winter before they bloom. The bulbs generally need to be planted in 
the fall to offer enough time for spring or late winter forced blooms. Planting your bulbs in a pot makes transportation to and from the outdoors a bit easier. When you plant your bulbs, make sure the sides of the bulbs are not touching each other or the sides of the pot and cover the bulbs with soil leaving the tops of the tips visible. Keep the potted bulbs in the cold winter weather or in a cold place for 11-15 weeks for the planted bulbs to experience their cold dormant period. When you bring them in from the cold, water them thoroughly and keep them in a cool place for a few days to facilitate a nice healthy transition. Once they are experiencing the warmth and moisture of your home, you will see new healthy growth and blooms within two to three weeks. Good bulbs to use for forced blooming include Tulips such as Monte Carlo, Oxford, Aladdin, or Maytime; Hyacinths such as Pink Pearl, Hollyhock, or Amethyst; Daffodils such as Carlton, Geranium, or Jetfire; Crocuses such as Remembrance, Giant Yellow, Peter Pan, or Joan d’Arc; and Irises such as Dwarf Irises. Tulips, Crocuses, and Irises generally require 15 weeks of cold dormancy before forcing blooms.
For more information on forced blooms and to discuss other gardening tips and tactics, contact Personal Touch Gardening!
Sources: TipNut – http://tipnut.com/forcing-bulbs/,
Are You Winter Watering? Keeping Your Garden at its Best During Colorado’s Cold Months.
Are you winter watering? Many homeowners forget this important step to keep a healthy landscape, a mistake that could mean the worst for your plants!
With Colorado’s dry and arid climate it is crucial to provide supplemental water to your trees, shrubs, lawns, and beds during the winter, especially when there is little or no snow cover. The lack of moisture can cause damag
e to the root systems which can result in health problems or even plant death.
Most plants only need watered one to two times per month in the winter season. Only water when the soil and air temperatures are at least 40° with no snow cover on the ground. Be sure to water at mid-day to ensure water has time to soak into the soil before possible freezing in the evening. Always remember to disconnect and drain your hose to prevent freezing damage – do not use your sprinkler unless advised otherwise by your gardener or landscaper.
Perennial beds and herbaceous ground covers are more vulnerable to ground freezing and thawing, creating cracks which expose the root systems to more severe drying. Winter watering and mulching help to curb dehydration, fill the ground cracks, and prevent plant damage.
Don’t forget about your lawns! Areas that are exposed to wind and/or southwest winter-sunlight dry out more rapidly than those in the shade, especially your young sod and seed lawns. Winter water your lawns to prevent root damage and to boost your Spring and Summer success!
One more tip in keeping those more delicate plants healthy is using WILT-PRUF Plant Protector. It guards against moisture loss and protects valuable shrubs from winter kill, drought and winds that will pull all the moisture out of the plant. WILT-PRUF acts as a protective coating, holding in moisture on plant foliage and stems, substantially reducing water loss during winter months. This should be applied monthly for those more delicate plants.
Contact Personal Touch Gardening for assistance on all your landscape needs during the winter months or for more information on winter watering. Happy growing!
Sources: Colorado State University – http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07211.html, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1751.html, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1706.htmlhttp://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Garden/wintwatr.htm
City of Boulder – http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3856&Itemid=1470#FALL
Garden Centers of Colorado – http://www.gardencentersofcolorado.org/pdfs/care_sheets/Winter_Watering_In_CO.pdf
Creative Outdoor Fall Decor
Fall Time
When decorating a porch for fall, use bales of straw or hay as a base. Visit your local garden center or major craft supply retailer for bales of various sizes. IF you don’t have the time Personal Touch Gardening would be happy to help. Please contact us for prices and other decorating ideas !!
Consider setting up a display that welcomes guests to the home. Place bales of hay or straw on both sides of the walkway that lead up to the porch. Stack bales of various sizes on the porch beginning with the largest. Purchase scarecrows that can be posed, and sit one on each side of the porch entrance on the bales. Create a welcome sign on a post, and place it through one of the bales. Wrap one of the scarecrow’s arms around the sign post, and surround it with pumpkins and gourds of various sizes, patterns, and shapes. Add a faux raven or two for an interesting fall display that is sure to impress.
Selecting and Planting Bulbs
Selecting and Planting Bulbs
- Pick your bulbs carefully. You want firm bulbs, not mushy or moldy. The firmer the better.
- Another great tip is to make sure you have the right kind of soil for the bulbs you will be planting. Some require soil, some are happier in sandy conditions, or like my Paperwhites, it is recommended to plant them in pebbles outdoors. When you have chosen your bulb, be it any variety of Amaryllis, Tulip, Lily, Buttercup, or Iris; make sure you make their new home happy.
- Now, make sure their happy home is indeed happy so they can sleep the winter away and wake refreshed in the spring. Make sure you set your soil with fertilizers. If your soil doesn’t already have some in it, then place some in the hole prior to placement of the bulb. Make sure there is proper drainage if you live in wet areas. You don’t want your bulb to get moldy and unhappy, or you may not see the beauty it can be for spring.
- Always plant the bulb pointy side up. The pointy side is the stem, not the roots. (Again, I did this wrong, and my Paperwhites had issues.) Depending on the bulb, will depend on how deep you plant them. Always read the package for details on your new little friend(s).
- Don’t be shy when picking a nice spot for the planting of your beautiful garden. Keep in mind the placement of any trees in your yard that might either give shade or full sun when leafless in the spring. This might benefit your bulbs when they come out for the few weeks a year.
- After you plant them, give them some water. This will not only give them something to start their new happy lives with, but it will also help remove any air pockets that formed during planting. If you are having an unusually dry winter, then you may need to water them again.
- If you have rodent issues in your flowerbeds, daffodils are the best to plant. Rodents, and many other animals, don’t care for them.
- I have also learned, that if you find a bulb or three that you forgot to plant, and it is already the middle of winter, do not wait for the next year. Plant them right away. Plants are living things and need the ground and proper attention to thrive. (Yes, I have guilt… poor Paperwhites.) The bulbs need the cool temperatures to start the biochemical process in them to properly grow and bloom in the warmer spring season.
- One last tip for you. If you don’t know what color splashes you would like or where to plant them, take a picture of your garden in the spring and use it for reference in the fall. This will help you plan out how beautiful your garden can become in the spring.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2047227/tips_for_planting_fall_bulbs.html?cat=32
Fall Garden Preparations
Here is some wise information presented by :
By Marilyn Christensen, Colorado Master GardenerSM, and Carl Wilson, Horticulturist, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County
The restrictions on lawn watering and other outside water use in many communities in the Front Range this fall add a new twist to garden chores this season. Because water affects almost every garden practice, consider fall cleanup in a new light and check on specific landscape watering restrictions from your water provider. Here are some tips on fall garden preparations.
Perennial flowers
There have always been two schools of thought on when to cut back perennial flowers. One school likes to cut back perennial foliage in the fall after it has been killed by a freeze. The second school has counseled delaying pruning untilspring to let the dead foliage form its own mulch for the winter.
If you have watered perennials sparingly until now and are unwilling or unable to water perennials this fall and winter given your particular situation, the “let them stand” approach is the one for you. Self-mulching will conserve moisture, as will not opening stems with pruning cuts. As an added benefit, a garden filled with plants provides food and shelter for birds. You can cut back the dead foliage when you do the spring clean up.
Mulch
If you do choose to cut back perennials, applying a thick winter mulch will be useful. Wait until the plants are completely dormant and the ground is frozen. A 4 to 6-inch layer of mulch will protect perennials from the winter freeze-thaw cycle that opens cracks in the soil and can expose roots to drying. Evergreen boughs placed over perennials provide added protection. Alternate boughs to lock them together to keep from blowing away.
Make compost to enrich soils
The advantage of enriching soils with compost to retain moisture became quite evident during this summer of drought. Fill your compost bins with fallen leaves, grass clippings, and other vegetable and perennial plants cleaned out of the garden. Be sure to hand water the leaf mix this fall to keep the compost process going. Although the compost will not be finished until spring, the value of adding compost to the soil around growing plants when water is scarce cannot be overemphasized.
Hand water trees and shrubs
Providing adequate moisture for trees and shrubs is important for plant health this fall and winter. Excessive soil drying can cause some roots to die; the following year this causes winter-killed branches and twigs to appear on trees and shrubs. Moisture loss from evergreen tree needles exposed to drying winter winds is another reason to monitor soil moisture.
Hand water trees and shrubs one to two times per month when there is no snow cover and depending on precipitation. Water under the branches within the dripline of the tree. Apply ten gallons of water for each inch of trunk diameter. Measure the tree’s trunk at about knee height. Water when temperatures are above 40 degrees during the day and never after sunset or when the ground is frozen. Provide a 4-inch blanket of mulch for trees and shrubs, leaving a six-inch space between the mulch and tree trunk. Hand watering trees and shrubs this fall will likely cause lawns to continue to grow underneath. Spot mowing under trees will be needed even though water restrictions that ban lawn watering will cause grass growth to slow in the rest of the yard.
Fertilizing lawns
If you haven’t fertilized your lawn yet this fall, go ahead and do so. Where restrictions prevent you from watering, you will see benefits next spring instead of this fall, unless timely fall precipitation moves the fertilizer into the soil for you.
Tree wrap
As in any year, apply a tree wrap to young and thin-barked trees. This prevents sunscald damage to the bark on the southwest sides of trees when the winter sun is low on the horizon. Apply tree wrap in November and remove it in March.
Spring bulbs
When planting bulbs this fall, keep in mind the necessity for hand watering. Bulbs require a moist, cool period to start root growth during the winter before they send up blooms next spring. This will avoid “bud blast,” or dry buds that produce no flowers, next spring.
Drip irrigation care
The fall water restrictions in many Front Range cities allow the use of drip irrigation systems in addition to hand watering. When the weather turns cold and temperatures are just above freezing, drain the water from main lines and feeder tubing. If ice does freeze in the lines, it will stress the plastic tubing and can pop the emitters off the lines. To drain, locate the lowest point in the system, open the end cap, and let the water run out.
With extra attention to winter watering and mulching, your landscape plants should emerge from winter healthy and beautiful next spring.
Fall Gardenening Tips
We are approaching the end of gardening season, though at this time of year, there are many things that still need to be done in the garden. This is the time of year for us to reflect on how the gardens did, what went wrong, and how we can improve the design to continue to have beautiful thriving plants.
Here are a few tips on garden re-design: 
- Learn from last year’s mistakes. We can walk through your garden areas and determine what is working and what is not. It might be that what is not working is the types of plants, the soil, the sun to shade ratio for the plants or the attraction factor.
- Now that we have reviewed what is working and what is not working, we can consider what plants will thrive in that particular garden bed.
- Make sure to mulch those garden beds! Mulch helps retain water and keeps the weeds to a minimum.
- The fall is the best time for planting spring bulbs. If the bulbs are not planted in the fall, there will be no flowers in the spring. What is better than seeing those beautiful, bright flowers giving us an early glimpse at spring.
- In the redesign of your garden space, we can add interesting forms, texture and perennials with colorful foliage. No plant will bloom continuously all season, but great foliage adds interesting beauty to any garden.
In the fall, we can be seen out in the garden, digging out plants. You might wonder what the heck we are up to. Certain bulbs need dividing in order to maintain a healthy, flowering stand. If we leave the bulbs crowding each other, they are much less likely to produce high quantity and quality flowers. Iris, day-lilies, grasses and perennials should be divided in September or October. Care must be taken when digging up bulbs to prevent damage to the bulbs. If your bulbs are planted among trees, shrubs or other perennials, it might be better to replace them every 3 to 5 years instead of separating them. This will minimize damage to the roots of the nearby plants. When we divide bulbs and tubers, we carefully remove any side bulbs from the main bulb, then replant all the bulbs with the correct spacing. Dividing bulbs is also good for making more plantings of your favorite color or plant.
To divide, follow these instructions:
- Spring Bulbs, (tulips, daffodils) Irises are divided after they bloom in the spring. Before dividing irises, remove any dead foliage and standing flower stalks. Because irises form dense clumps, you need to dig up the entire clump before dividing. Divide the clump into smaller sections. Replant some of the irises in the same spot, then plant the rest in other places in your yard. Be sure to water well after replanting to ensure they settle nicely into the soil again. There is no need to divide spring bulbs such as tulips in Colorado because they will last about 5 years, then they need to be replaced.
- Corms (crocosmia, gladiolus) renew themselves each growing season by producing a new corm and sometimes small cormels on top of the old corm. To divide, separate healthy new corms and any cormels from the old corms.
- Tubers (day-lily, Peony) increase in size and in their number of growing points as they age, but most of them don’t form separate tubers. To divide, cut a large tuber into two or more sections, making sure each has a growing point.
- Rhizomes (iris) produce new plants from growth points along the sides. To divide, break the sections apart at the natural divisions between them. Make sure each division has at least one growing point.
