How to Plan an Organic
Landscape
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An organic garden isn't
necessarily quirky or
devoted to any one thing,
like vegetables. Incorporate
food plants into your
landscape while maintaining
strong design principles.
Devise an elegant landscape
plan that's simple to
maintain with organic
practices.
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Steps: |
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1. |
Draw the site on graph
paper: buildings and plants,
sunlight and drainage. Take
photos and arrange a
panorama of present
conditions. Decide what to
keep and what to change.
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2. |
Use colored highlighters to
designate public, utility,
private and problem areas on
your drawing. Mark highly
visible areas (front yard,
entertaining garden) pink
for public. Locate the
utility areas (trash can
corrals, storage sheds,
above-ground meters) and
color them yellow. Denote
private sitting areas in
blue and mark problems such
as impossible-to-remove
rocks and poor drainage in
green. |
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3. |
Plan to spend half your
budget - of both money and
initial time - on the public
areas, to create welcoming
but low-maintenance
plantings. Draw in beds to
feature evergreen ground
covers, reliable flowering
shrubs and a small lawn.
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4. |
Locate any truly lousy views
- neighboring properties,
garbage cans, utility boxes
- and lose them organically.
Consider making a trellis or pergola for roses
or grapes if fast-growing
blueberries and blackberries
aren't enough. |
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5. |
Create a desirable view as
the focal point of the
private garden - right out
the back door usually works
- and make it a diverse
garden of food and flower.
Plan fruit trees for shade
here and as a backdrop to
your herb and perennial
flowers. |
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6. |
Provide room for a garden
center to make caring for
the landscape easier. Build
a potting shed or add a
covered area to an existing
storage building. Remember
to leave room for compost
bins. |
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7. |
Add a water feature and bird
feeding center to encourage
beneficial insects and
winged visitors. Plan a
diverse garden full of
flowers, herbs and
vegetables for the same
reasons. |
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Tips: |
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Add seasonal color spots and
perennial bulbs to public
area plantings when time and
budget permit. |
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Tackle the worst problem
areas first - drainage, tree
roots - especially if fixing
them later will mean digging
up your precious organic
soil. |
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Build planting beds and
mulch them even if you
cannot plant right away -
organic soil only gets
better with time.
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Diverse plantings encourage
beneficial insects and
reduce the need for
pesticides. Add compost
bins, and make public areas
low-maintenance.
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