Looking to add visual interest to you garden  A vegetable garden will add a surprising visual affect as well as home grown food!

Vibrant vegetables are the hottest trend in gardening this year.  Not only do you get fresh, homegrown produce but the visual impact on your garden is gorgeous.

To achieve the best vegetable garden you need six or more hours of sun.  Water your vegetable garden regularly as vegetables thrive on sun and water.

Heirloom tomatoes are as stasy as they are decorative.  These tomatoes are easy to start from seed and you can grow them in containers or flower beds.  The visual impact of the heirloom tomato will add a glimpse of whimsy to your gardening plan.

Another attractive and delicious plant is black kale which can easily grow into November.

For an  added visual interest add edgers of amazing lettuce such as Dazzle to your containers or flower beds.  Top off the group with a basil such as Purple Ruffles for a flashy gathering adding color and good taste.

Picture this…..You come home after a hard day.  You need a few minutes to unwind.  You grab a drink and a snack and go to sit on the sofa and watch some mindless tv.  Then you remember, you have this gorgeous backyard, a virtual backyard retreat!

You head outside with your refreshments, go to lie down on the recliner and ….oh no…there is your neighbor being “neighborly”, there goes your 5 minutes of peace and quite and unwinding.

A great addition to a backyard retreat is some privacy.  Privacy can be added in many ways simply and inexpensively.  Here are a few ways to get the privacy in your backyard to make it your special place….a place to get quietly away or invite people in for a great time.

1) Shrubs can be planted together closely in rows and pruned to form dense outdoor privacy screens.

2) Another option for outdoor privacy screens is planting shrubs more loosely to form borders that also shelter your backyard from prying eyes.

3) Build a fence for privacy, keep in mind form and function.

4) Lattice fences are effective not only for hiding eyesores on your property, but also as outdoor privacy screens

5)Hedge plants may serve the practical function of affording a property some privacy or security.

There you have it…pick your privacy and enjoy!

Decks, we love the ideas of creating ”rooms” in our backyard but the dilemna is how to attain the look we want.

Decks are an easy way of creating “rooms”.  Different sized decks at different levels and heights break a flat, boring backyard into different levels and looks.

Decks can be built with different materials depending on the look you want to achieve and the maintenance and time you are able to put into the deck. The most common deck materials are Natural Wood, engineered wood and viny.

There are so many ways to make a simple deck look luxurious and inviting.  Add potted plants, outdoor furniture and lighting for mood.  Candles can add ambiance as well as windchimes and music.

Have fun and get creative when planning your deck.  You can easily build a simple deck and then have fun decorating.

Ontario has banned the use of pesticides in your garden and on your lawn. Now the challenge to the homeowner is to control those garden pests the organic way.  Here are some tips for controlling garden pests organically.

1) Animals such as Raccoons, Skunks and Rabbits can be quite annoying when they decide to “love” your landscaping.  Creating a fence barrier will help keep them out but it is not foolproof.  Raccoons are attracted to water, they love pools,tubs, and ponds. Make sure your garbage is tightly closed so as not to attract these animals.  At night, if possible cover all water features.

2) Bugs, bugs, bugs!  Lavender is a plant that has natural “built in” pest control.   lavender will protect roses from aphids and radish will protect carrots from pests in the vegetable garden.

3) Weeds, now these can be very annoying.  Weeds pop up all over your lawn until you lawn turns from lush green to a sea of yellow flowers.  To rid your garden beds of weeds hand digging and hoeing works well.  Covering your soil with two to three inches of mulch will not only help to prevent weed seeds from germinating, but it will increase moisture retention, reduce erosion and provide a beautiful finished look to your garden as well.

Weeds in the lawn are best crowded out by over seeding in the spring and fall. Feed your lawn four times throughout the growing season to promote deeper root growth and more efficient use of available water.

And there you have it!  The organic way to control weeds and garden pests.

Spring and summer of 2010 has proven to be interesting in the gardening world.  Pesticides have become illegal and gardeners are looking for new ways to control pests and cut down on the larger areas that attract pests and weeds.

Here are a few gardening trends:

1) Labor intense turf grass is giving way to trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers.

2) Chlorine swimming pools are giving way to salt water swimming pools

3) Asphalt driveways  contribute to storm water pollution so now the trend is  Porous paving surfaces.

4) Pressure-treated wood used in fences, decks, picnic tables and many play structures. These pressure treated woods are slowly being replaced by Redwood and cedar. These woods do not have to be treated; there are also many non-wood alternatives to consider, including plastic and metal. The revival of dry stone walls is a charming and durable alternative to fencing.

Before landscaping your front entrance you need make sure that the end result will achieve:

Simplicity is the key to any landscaping project yet there are many flowers to choose from. Begin by analyzing the amount of sun your front porch gets and choose plants that can tolerate that amount of sun or shade. Pick two or three anchor plants to repeat throughout the porch landscape. Create landscape unity by reusing the plants and color scheme. Avoid clutter and don’t place plants too close together.

Remember, it is always a good idea to have a professional landscape your front.  Located in the GTA? Call Rainbow Landscaping for a free consultation!

Have you ever wanted to give your garden some added punch but didn’t know where to start?

Here are a few tips from the landscape professionals:

Add bold contrast to your garden, not to mention wild color with animated exotic plants. For a floral pop in your garden think Cannas such as the Canna Pretoria which has bright green and yellow striped leaves with a gorgeous orange flower.  Blue is your color of choice?  Try adding to your garden the unique Tibouchina Urvilleana princess flower which has a deep cobalt blue color…stunning addition to just about any garden

Remember to take a chance, you can really never go wrong. If you see a gorgeous plant that you love find a place in your garden and watch it add that extra “pop” that makes you smile every time you look at it.

Live in the GTA and thinking of landscaping you home? Give Rainbow Landscaping a call to set up a free consultation today

So you have decided to invest in your home and there is no better investment than a beautiful and inviting walkway ….a path leading to your home, inviting, appealing and gorgeous!

When planning your walkway there are a few key elements to keep in mind.  From the design aspect think about shape and width.  From the construction aspect think about materials.

Walkways can either be straight or curvy. You can determine which is right for you by looking to see where and what the walkway is connecting to.  For example, if your walkway is on the short side and the main reason for this particular walkway is to connect the street to the front door, then the walkway is probably going to be straight.

When you are deciding on the width of the walkway take into consideration the walkways importance.  If it is a front walkway leading to your front door a width of 4 feet is usually the way to go.  Before deciding this, look around.  If you have the room, if your property and home is on the grander size then a wider walkway will probably look and feel better.   Fit your walkway to the scale of your surroundings.