Monthly Archives: August 2010

Latest Lawn-Care Trend Means Giving Grass a Dye Job

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Have you ever taken a look at a sprawling, pristinely green lawn and thought to yourself, “Man, that grass almost looks like it could be fake!”? Well you’ll be surprised to hear that there’s a good chance that it was! Okay perhaps it wasn’t exactly fake, but with all the trendy “lawn-dyeing” technologies out there, there’s a possibility that the greenest of green grasses aren’t always that way naturally. While Phase One Landscapes doesn’t use this technology, we’re always interested in learning about new trends in law care. A story from Good Morning America explains the grass-greening technology that’s got folks jumping for joy.

Click here for the full article.

Don’t Let the Sun Set on Summer Just Yet!

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Our series of gardening tips from Martha Stewart’s 60 Days of Summer has come to an end. Phase One Landscapes hopes these tips and product features have inspired you to include some new elements in own summer garden.  To wrap things up, we so appropriately suggest you consider planting some Summer Sunset dahlias in your yard. This pretty addition is sure to stretch the season out just a wee bit longer.

Happy gardening, everyone!

Dahlia Summer Sunset

From late summer to early fall, ‘Summer Sunset’ dahlia produces striking flowers above bright-green foliage.

Tiki Torch Anchors

Decking your yard with tiki torches is an inexpensive, festive way to bring island style home — and to light up the night without electricity.

Soil-Saving Plant Screen


The metal and plastic screens that help keep mosquitoes and other warm-weather pests out of the house this time of year can also prevent soil from washing out of planters during rain or irrigation. Unroll a piece of lightweight screening and set your flowerpot on top. Cut the screen to fit, working around the pot’s bottom with scissors (for plastic screens) or tin snips (for the metal kind). Fit the screen inside the pot to cover the drain holes, and then add soil.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart

Share Our Posts with Your Social Network and Spread the Word!

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If you’re looking for a simpler way to share Phase One Landscapes‘ posts without having to copy and paste its links every time, then listen up. There’s now a feature at the bottom of every one of our blog posts that allows you to quickly and simply share it with over 200 social networking sites! Follow the 5 steps below and you’re good to go!

1. Click on the title of the post you wish to share.
2. At the bottom of the post click on or hover your mouse over the share box.
3. Scroll down until you find the application you want to share through, or type in the name in the search box and click the icon.
4. Enter your user name and password for the site.
5. Click enter or send (depending on the site) and you’ve shared our post.

And there you have it!

The Bells and Whistles of Gardens: Platforms and Edgings

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Inspired by Martha Stewart’s 60 Days of Summer, Phase One Landscapes is continuing last week’s garden tips series through the month of August. Write to us and let us know of some fun gardening tips of your own! We’d love to hear what works for you and what doesn’t and we’d also love to see some of your great garden photos.

In the meantime, here are a few more of our favorites from Stewart’s 60 Great Ideas for the Garden:

Plant Platform

To create an attractive multipurpose garden shelf, lay a sturdy weathered board between the tops of two large pots. Use the surface as a staging area for plants on their way to the garden, to showcase smaller specimens that might get overlooked on the ground, or to provide a spot where houseplants can get fresh air and sunlight in the summer.

Clematis

A classic garden climber, this clematis bears a profusion of single, creamy white flowers with brown tipped centers from midsummer to fall.

Willow Branch Edging

Flexible and strong, willow edging is a traditional English garden border whose form is naturally in line with its function.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart

60 Great Gardening Ideas!

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Inspired by Martha Stewart’s 60 Days of Summer, Phase One Landscapes is continuing last week’s garden tips series through the month of August. Write to us and let us know of some fun gardening tips of your own! We’d love to hear what works for you and what doesn’t and we’d also love to see some of your great garden photos.

In the meantime, here are a few of our favorites from Stewart’s 60 Great Ideas for the Garden:

Bright Exposure

A fragrant, disease-resistant ‘New Dawn’ rose climbs the latticework that screens the east-facing porch ell of this garden. Tony Bielaczyc, the deputy gardening editor at Martha Stewart Living, took advantage of this bright exposure to stock the border with sun-loving flowers.

Sonorous Ceramic Water Feature

Greet guests with the tranquil sound of falling water in a pump-fitted urn with a motor that moves the water underground.

Create a Place to Relax

Hollyhocks reach for the roof of landscape designer Judy Tomkins’s home. The screened porch is surrounded by beds of blue and white delphiniums mixed with white cimicifuga. A rustic bench makes an ideal resting spot.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart

How to Throw a Gorgeous Garden Party

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While it is in fact the season with perfect outdoor weather and beautiful flowers abloom, springtime isn’t the only time of year that you can throw a fabulous garden party. Autumn is also a great time for a backyard soiree depending on where you live and how comfortable the temperatures are outside. The reason being is because air is usually less dense than that of the heavy, sweltering summers and plenty of the spores of allergy- aggravating flowers are at bay. So while there’s still time and — before the cold snap sets into place — break out those dinner sets and start planning that perfect autumn garden party! Below are some fun tips we came across from House Beautiful‘s tablesetting queen Sue Fisher King that will help you narrow down the essentials that you’ll need!

"Go all out for color!," says tablesetting queen Sue Fisher King. "It makes the table come alive. To me, white says, so what?" "Napkins should be cotton or linen. You can't wipe your mouth on something that feels like a rug or upholstery." "One water and one wine glass is plenty. Don't be fussy." "Keep it loose. Leave beautiful serving pieces on the table."

Click here to see the full list of tablesetting tips from House Beautiful.

Tea Time for Your Plants?

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If you’ve been involved with a gardening or landscaping project in any capacity over the last century, you’re probably well aware of the benefits that compost can have on soil and subsequent foliage; it’s a natural pesticide and is useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation and wetland construction.

But there’s an interesting new method of plant care that you may be less familiar with–and it doesn’t involve saving your dinner scraps in a bin for days and days. It’s the practice of concocting manure “tea” to “serve” to your lawn. Yes, you heard right! Tea time FOR the garden, not in it. You basically make a teabag using a burlap sack, fill it with manure, “steep” it in a bucket of water for a few days, and “serve” it to your lawn by either pouring it on the soil or spraying it directly on the plants. Sounds simple enough, eh?

Read all about the process in details and learn about the numerous effects that this tea can have on your lawn in this story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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The Majesty of the University of Colorado at Boulder

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As we revel in the final weeks of summer and approach the fall, back-to-school season is in full swing. School supplies litter the isles of most stores and dorm furniture and accessories fill the shopping carts of many young men and women who are preparing to enter into the college world for the first time. Phase One Landscapes would like to take a moment to recognize one of Colorado’s own college campuses that’s become notable for their exquisite landscapes and backdrop: The University of Colorado at Boulder.

The view from Macky Auditorium looking south

University of Colorado at Boulder

A Room with a View

Autumn on Campus

First Snow

Winter on Campus

Hallett Residence Hall

Photo Credit: University of Colorado

To receive regular news and tips from Phase One Landscapes, be sure to subscribe to our blog by submitting your e-mail address in the top right-hand corner of the homepage. Don’t forget to confirm your subscription!

Beautify your Backyard on a Budget

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If you need to give your backyard a face lift, but money is a little tight, there’s no need to worry. Southern Living has some ideas from Kentucky garden designer, Jon Carloftis. Carloftis bought an older house in Lexington and decided to save money by transforming existing structures instead of starting from scratch. Here’s how he did it:

  • Carloftis began by diving the yard into several smaller spaces, which creates a more welcoming, useful and bigger feel. The idea here is to bring the indoors out and the outdoors in.
  • Instead of removing the asphalt of an unused section of the driveway, Carloftis choose to cover it with a layer of mixed pea gravel and create a courtyard. Shrubs and flowers were placed to make a border for an outdoor living room. The cast-iron fire pit is a great place for entertaining guests, even in cooler weather.
  • The old garage walls and French doors below just didn’t work together, so Carloftis added brackets to the front and put a piece of wood on top of them. This supported the fiberglass planters he installed, along with pretty flowers in them, created the perfect solution.
  • Next, Carloftis transformed the old garage into a potting shed to store plants and gardening supplies in. Braces were put in to support the sagging walls. He also painted the floor asphalt white.
  • The secret lawn is a place in Carloftis’ yard used to be open to his neighbors, but now it’s a secret hideaway. How did he do it? An inexpensive privacy fence was added to the perimeter. Then, trees, shrubs and perennials were planted in front of the fence.
  • The screened porch was rarely used, so Carloftis renovated it into a glassed-in bedroom. Carloftis explained that fiberglass was chosen because it never splits and can be painted or stained.
  • The living green gate is perhaps the most unique feature this yard. A galvanized horse trough was filled with soil and planted with arborvitaes. A wooded brace was built for the bottom and an old piano dolly was attached to easily open and close the gate.

To see the rest of the photos of this transformation, visit the Southern Living site.

Photo credit: Van Chaplin via Southern Living.