Monthly Archives: January 2011

Winter Gardening Myths Explained

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You’ve probably heard a lot of winter gardening information that may or may not be true, so we were excited to see ShelterPop had posted the truth about common winter gardening myths. Here’s some help for clearing up some of the most common misconceptions:

  • Putting mulch around your plants doesn’t keep them warm, but actually helps maintain a regular temperature to keep them from suffering from freeze-thaw cycles.
  • Plants can be watered in the wintertime, especially for roof gardens. Just water in the morning on a sunny day that reaches temps higher than 40 degrees.
  • There really are winter flowers, and your winter garden can be just as beautiful as it is during the spring. You can take advantage of evergreens, pretty grasses and interesting texture.

Learn more about these myths and why they’re not true by heading over to ShelterPop. Contact Phase One Landscapes in the Denver area for help with you winter gardening needs.

Image: Marie Viljoen via ShelterPop

Pretty and Practical Garden Paths

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All gardens need paths so people have a space to walk through or around them. Although some people end up with unplanned and haphazard walkways, you can have a beautiful and well-thought-out path leading through your landscaping to make it all the more useful and enjoyable. Just look at these pretty and practical paths from Phase One Landscapes’ portfolio for inspiration for you own garden walkway.

This red mortared flagstone path stylishly connects the outdoor living space to the front of the home.

Here’s another option. These buff flagstone squares provide a simple yet effective way to meander through the garden.

This pathway uses red flagstone pieces for garden access, tying in nicely with the bricks and mulch.

And this buff flagstone offers a more formal path from the outdoor living space to the front of the home.

Do you want a beautiful outdoor path for your Denver-area landscape? Contact Phase One Landscapes at 303-750-6060 for help.

South Africa’s Most Stunning Botanical Garden

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Do you remember the Mexico City botanical garden story we posted about last week? Well, we came across another great botanical garden we couldn’t wait to share, this time beautifying South Africa.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden lies at the base of Table Mountain, giving it an excellent location full of beautiful views. In fact, it’s said to be the prettiest of South Africa’s gardens, and its sights appeal to everyone—botanists and novices alike. From ShelterPop:

“Down below in the gardens, plants indigenous not only to the Cape Peninsula, but to the whole country are planted in specific sections. Kirstenbosch was in fact the first botanic garden in the world to devote itself to the indigenous flora of a country when it was founded in 1913.”

You can check out all the stunning pictures here. To follow all of Phase One Landscape’s updates on interesting landscapes, industry trends and going green, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @PhaseOneLands.

Photos: Marie Viljoen via ShelterPop

Sustainable Landscape Guidelines Released

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Since Phase One Landscapes is interested in eco-friendly practices, we were glad to see that the New York City Parks Department and the Design Trust for Public Space have come up with sustainable guidelines for New York City Parks. They recently released the “High Performance Landscape Guidelines: 21st Century Parks for NYC,” which goes over design, construction and maintenance techniques for sustainable parks, according to Landscape Online. From the article:

“The parks we are creating now will connect the many people who design, build, and take care of New York City’s open spaces so that every park is attractive and sustainable,” explained Adrian Benepe, NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner.

Though New York usually conjures images of busy city streets, the city actually has more than “29,000 acres of parkland.” We’re glad it’s focusing on sustainable landscape practices for the space. You can learn more about the guidelines here.

Follow all of our go green updates, industry trends and helpful landscaping tips by subscribing to the blog. Just enter your email address in the box on the right side of the page.

Image found here

Botanical Garden Livens Area Around Mexico City Library

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This is a neat story! As we were browsing the web, we came across this Inhabitat post about a new addition to Mexico City: a facility that’s not only the public library, but also a botanical garden. The formerly barren site is now home to a lush Mexico City landmark. Biblioteca Vasconcelos was built with sustainability in mind, taking advantage of daylighting while sporting a green roof as well. Adding to the educational aspect of the library, the outdoor botanical garden also aims to educate visitors. This garden area expands over more than 26,000 square meters and contains just short of 170 tree, shrub and herbaceous plant species. But a picture is worth 1,000 words, so take a look:

Follow all of Phase One Landscape’s featured projects, green design updates, landscape industry trends, gardening tips and more by subscribing to our blog. Simply enter your email address in the box on the right side of the page.

Photos: Yoshihiro Koitani via Inhabitat

Enjoy an Outdoor Fireplace

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Outdoor living is becoming increasingly popular these days, but freezing temperatures here in the Denver, Colorado, area make it harder to enjoy being outside. Not to worry. Outdoor fireplaces are adding stunning focal points in landscape design while warming up homeowners so they can enjoy the outdoors every season. Just check out these outdoor fireplaces from Phase One Landscapes’ portfolio to see how we can extend your living space:

This is a stucco fireplace accented with stone and tile, making it a beautiful centerpiece in the outdoor living area.

This is a buff stone gas firepit, where family and friends can gather around.

And here’s another pretty outdoor fireplace design, this time made of buff flagstone.

This is a particularly unique fireplace surrounded by concrete that forms the hearth and cantilevered chimney at the Steamplant in Lowry.

Do you want to incorporate an outdoor fireplace in your own backyard? Contact Phase One Landscapes at (303) 750-6060 for help.

Common Plants Dangerous to Dogs & Cats

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dog with flower

Certain plants & flowers can be toxic to your pets.

Plants make beautiful decorations both inside and outside of our homes. But did you know that certain common household plants can be poisonous to our pets? Some plants are toxic to both cats and dogs; here’s a list of a few of those dangerous plants, courtesy of Shine.

•    Amaryllis flowers are toxic to both cats and dogs. The bulbs of these plants contain the most toxins, although the entire plant can cause such symptoms as diarrhea, hypersalivation, vomiting, abdominal pain, and depression.

•    Like amaryllis flowers, daffodils are toxic to both dogs and cats, but their bulbs are the most toxic part. Daffodils can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and salivation, but if a large amount of the plant is ingested, your pet can experience such symptoms as low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, and convulsions.

•    It may seem harmless for your cat or dog to chow down on your tomato plants, but this isn’t the case. Tomato plants can cause a variety of symptoms, including drowsiness, hypersalivation, severe gastrointestinal upset, inappetence, and diarrhea.

Image courtesy of julebule via Flickr

Plants Perfect for a Winter Garden

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If you don’t want to wait until spring to see some colorful blooms again, not to worry: there are pretty perennials and shrubs perfect for your winter landscaping, too. In fact, HGTV.com recently posted a helpful slideshow of Plants That Flower in Winter. Here are just a couple to whet your appetite and show you that they do exist:

Daphnes’ flowers are fragrant and beautiful in the wintertime.

And the Christmas rose comes in a multitude of colors, from white to rose to light green.

You can check out the whole slideshow over at HGTV.com. Contact Phase One Landscapes for help with your winter landscaping needs.

Photos via HGTV.com