Ivydene Gardens Garden Design: |
Garden Design Pages Private Garden Design Introduction. Garden Design Site Map with Parallel Thinking not
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Rock ParticlesAll soils except peat are mineral soils formed from rock particles. They have been ground out of the rocks on the planet’s surface by the relentless action of rain, wind and frost. The size and shape of the particles vary according to the parent rock and the weather action, so that different types of soil are formed: clay, silt, sand and chalk. Each type of soil has different qualities of aeration, drainage and nutrient holding capacity. HumusThe product of decayed and decaying plants and animals, humus or ‘organic matter’ is the magic ingredient which gives fertility to the soil. Humus improves the structure of the soil, making it dark brown and crumbly. It holds moisture without impeding drainage and is home to a wide range of bacteria and other micro-organisms that help the gardener by breaking down organic matter to release plant nutrients. Earthworms thrive in humus-rich soils, and their movement through the soil aids drainage and aeration.
WaterEntering the soil by precipitation (rain and snowfall), by absorption upwards from the underground water table and by seepage from rivers, lakes and ponds, water is lost from the soil through natural drainage, through evaporation and through plants taking it up through their roots. Plants need access to water for their food-making process of photosynthesis. AirPlants breathe through their roots, using the air trapped between the particles of rock and humus. Without air soil becomes waterlogged, suffocating plant roots. The living organisms in the soil, on which plants depend, also need air. Acid and Alkaline SoilSoil with a high lime or chalk content is alkaline (7.5-9). When lime is not present, it is neutral or acid(5.5-6.5). Peat is acid, as are most clay soils. Acidity and alkalinity is measured in terms of the soil’s pH.
Types of Soil
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Glossary for Page Humus The chemically complex organic residue of decayed vegetable matter in soil. Also often used to describe partly decayed matter such as leaf mould or compost. Manure Bulky organic and plant waste, generally from herbivorous animals such as horses. Compost 1) A potting medium comprising a mixture of loam, sand, peat, leaf mould, or other ingredients. 2) an organic material, rich in humus, formed by decomposed plant remains, and other organic matter, used as a soil improver or mulch. Leaf mould Fibrous, flaky material derived from decomposed leaves, used as an ingredient in potting media and as a soil improver. pH A measure of alkalinity or acidity, used horticulturally to refer to soils. The scale measures from 1 to 14; pH 7 is neutral, above 7 is alkaline, and below 7 acid . Acid (of soil) With a pH value of less than 7. Any substance that breaks down in water to leave a sour corrosive solution. Acid soil is the chemical opposite of alkaline soil. Alkaline (of soil) With a pH value of more than 7. An alkali is a mineral salt that occurs in dry or arid soils. Alkaline is used to describe such soils. The term comes from chemistry, where an alkali forms a soluble base or solution of a base (a base being a chemical compound). Loam A term used for soil of medium texture, often easily worked, that contains more or less equal parts of sand, silt, and clay, and is usually rich in humus. If the proportion of one ingredient is high, the term may be qualified as silt loam, clay loam, or sandy loam. |
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Site design and content copyright ©December 2006. Page structure amended October 2012. Garden Design Summary added to each page April 2017. Chris Garnons-Williams. DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site. |
The 3 rows below provide a Garden Design Work-flow Diagram indicating which pages in this site help with each respective section:- |
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When you buy a house, you would not paint your toilet in a Gaugin Style with many colours without thinking that you wanted Magnolia paint colour in the rest of the house, because it would look out of place. This design process hopefully persuades you to think as carefully about your use and enjoyment of the garden as you do about your lounge, kitchen and bedroom and prepare plans that will be acceptable to the whole family. The most important design consideration is who and how long per week is maintenance on the garden going to be done. One hour-garden by Joanna Smith book helps in this part of the design process. |
If you decide that you would like to redesign all or only a part of your garden then ----->
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It might be useful to read the following pages in this Design Topic: This page followed by these:- | |
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You may decide to simply add more plants to your existing beds like plants to Rock Gardens using | |
Then, you can decide on the Garden Style that you wish to use in your garden, so these pages in this Design Topic may help: The Design Itself Additional Garden Design Concepts have been written using the beds at Wisley to provide examples:- Using the Mixed Border, Jubilee Rose Garden and Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden in the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden at Wisley for examples, I am still creating The Mixed Borders Garden Design Topic . The Mixed Borders Garden Design topic may help you in planning your garden, especially if you decide to show your garden to the public - i.e Make plant labels visible in your garden to aid your own plant sales. as well as from | |
In choosing your style, there are other considerations to take into account like If you suffer from hay fever, then bee-pollinated plants and very little grass would be useful | |
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Then, view these Garden Design Pages in this order or any order you want
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choosing 1 of these different Plant selection Methods:-
1. Choose a plant from 1 of 53 flower colours in the Colour Wheel Gallery.
2. Choose a plant from 1 of 12 flower colours in each month of the year from 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery.
3. Choose a plant from 1 of 6 flower colours per month for each type of plant:- Aquatic
4. Choose a plant from its Flower Shape:- Shape, Form
5. Choose a plant from its foliage:- Bamboo
6. There are 6 Plant Selection Levels including Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers in
7. Your chosen Garden Style then changes your Plant Selection Process:- Garden Style I have moved on in March 2016 to create the Garden Style and the other design galleries for the New Plant Selection Process number 7. |
Bee-Pollinated Plants information in this website using the Bee-Pollinated Bloom in Month Colour Wheel Gallery:- Besides the plants in the
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THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 15,000:-
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when I do not have my own or ones from mail-order nursery photos , then from March 2016, if you want to start from the uppermost design levels through to your choice of cultivated and wildflower plants to change your Plant Selection Process then use the following galleries:-
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There are other pages on Plants which bloom in each month of the year in this website:-
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