Landscaping Fabric

A few weeks ago I shared some gardening tips.  I'm new at this and don't have a whole lot of experience with nature.  Growing up in Brooklyn NY the closest thing we came to growing anything was a potted cactus in my room.  Let's just say this is a huge leap for me.  


To start of I had a complete makeover of my front yard.  Before it was covered by giant overgrown hideous bushes (which had spider webs inside), concrete path leading to nowhere and i'm guessing years of neglect.  Needless to say weeds were welcome there and thriving.

After a lot of hard work and a few pounds lost via sweating my front yard is completely reformed.

I accidentally forgot to use landscaping fabric on one side, but  according to expert advice from the Reader's Digest it is not needed since weeds will tend to grow on top of it.  Well it's been a few weeks and here are the results.  You be the judge :)

and forgetting to do so here...yikes!

Gardening Do's and Don'ts

Spring is here and that means flowers flowers flowers...oh and allergies (hang in there guys).  Before you start the mulching and weeding read on for some helpful tips that your landscaper won't tell you.  Revised by me as originally read in the Reader's Digest.

1. Axe the mower bag - the grass clippings will become food for earthworms and other icky things that will help make your lawn green and healthy.


2. The red mulch everyone loves (including myself) happens to contain arsenic and other chemicals which are harmful to children and pets and can potentially contaminate the soil.
- I really was going to buy the red mulch because I thought it looked nice and would've created a nice contrast between all the plants.  On to Plan B, less attractive but much safer cedar mulch!


3. No more bagging your leaves!!! No way you say...well apparently there is a way.  If you go over them with the mower and leave them on the lawn as the leaves are breaking down they limit weeds from coming back up.


4. Plant your favorite flowers in groups of odd numbers and repeat the groupings throughout to create a unifying effect.


5. According to Reader's Digest laying down weed fabric is a waste of money and time in the long term since weeds are going to grow on top of it. Hmmm i don't know what to think because every DIY gardening show i have ever seen always always always! used the fabric before planting.  So i'm going to do a little experiment.  I will plant one side of my house using the gardening fabric and the other side without.  Will report back on the results...


6. Most lawn fertilizers have about 30% nitrogen which is way too much.  Instead look for fertilizer with time releasing water insoluble nitrogen and use it only twice a year.


7. Infrequent watering encourages roots to grow deeper to find groundwater, creating a stronger plant.

Happy Gardening!!!

Beautify your garden with these accessories: