Water Features!

Water features are becoming an incredibly popular addition to a beautiful residential landscape.  Each design is unique and custom for the backyard.  My company has done dozens and dozens and I'd like to share a little information about water features in this blog post.

There are two types of water features:  those with ponds, and those without ponds ("pondless").  Advantages to having a pond are enjoying fish, lily pads, etc.  But, they are more difficult to maintain.  Pondless systems have no standing water and no potential for a child to fall into the water.

This pond is a few feet deep in some areas.  This picture shows only one half of the pond -- missing is a bridge that goes over the middle.  There is one main small water fall that diverges into two streams.  Beautiful greenery surrounds the water feature.

This is an example of a "pondless" water feature.  There is no pond at the end of the large stream.  This is a bigger than average water feature with lots of cascading water falls.

My company has been using Aquascape water feature products for over 15 years.  

Click HERE for more information about "pondless" water features.  

There are great videos about water features, too.  Find them HERE.

This pond we did not construct, but it looks great in the yard and it's a "pondless" system!

I hope you've enjoyed this post!  Let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to cover or if you have any questions about what I've covered so far in my blog!

First Planting Job This Summer

My landscaping company manages a large commercial account in Spanish Fork called ModusLink.  Today we went down there to plant summer annuals in a 10' x 16' x 18' triangle bed area near their guest entrance.  Before planting, we added some planting soil and mixed it in with the existing soil.  After planting, we sprinkled around some fertilizer to give the plants a little boost.  The picture above will serve as a "before" shot and in a few weeks we'll post the "after" shot to show you how it turns out!

My very favorite part of landscaping is adding color to a landscape by planting summer annuals.  In my 30 years of experience, I've learned a lot about flower planting, sun exposure, color arrangements, and how to make a flower bed look great.

Here's a list of what I used in this job:
3 - Coleus (each a different variety): 4" cup
2 - Potato Vines: 4" cup
3 - Delphiniums (they were already there)
12 - 'Wilhelm Languth' Geraniums (with variegated leaf): 4" cup
1 - flat of 'Victoria Blue' Salvia
1 - flat of 'Ice Crystals' white Alyssum
1 - flat of Profusion (mixed) Zinnias
24 - 'Bubblegum' (Proven Winner) Petunias: 4" cup

What summer annuals do you like to plant?
Have you planted them already?
If you have any questions for me, place them in the comments box below!

Let's talk summer annuals!

The secret of great summer flowerbeds is exposure -- the right plants in the right locations.  For example, you don't want to put petunias on a north exposure because they'll never get enough sun to grow!  Different colors and different textures are the key to a beautiful flower garden!  The red plant is Coleus - there are many varieties that will take full sun.

Planting close together gives you a nice full look.  Mixing colors makes things look more natural than rows of the same color. These were probably planted 12" apart to give this nice full look.

Plants pictured: Spikey blue plant (Victoria Blue Salvia); Purple plant on the left is another version of Coleus; pink in middle right is a miniature petunia; yellow in bottom left is another small zinnia.

Correct watering and fertilization of the flowers is very important.  Never water daily -- longer watering with more time space in between is best -- even in July and August (hottest months here in Utah).  Flower beds should at most be watered 3 times a week.  Also, dead-heading old blooms makes new blooms come out.  This needs to be done at least weekly, but if you have the time, do it daily.

Plants pictured: Magenta colored plant (Verbena); light green (potato plants); tall red (coleus); orange in the front right (baby zinnias)