A Rustic Garden Blog

As a professional landscape architect, I do much more than decide what shrubbery goes where. I also do a lot of work with architectural elements. Backyard gardens can include a number of architectural structures, including gazebos, bridges, and walkways. My favorite element to add to a backyard garden oasis is an outdoor water fountain.

Outdoor garden fountains come in so many sizes, shapes and styles. From bamboo fountains in a minimalist feng shui garden to modern block fountains, there is always space for a beautiful, soothing water feature. The last job I completed, the owner chose a gorgeous stone finish wall fountain that really tied together the old-world garden feel we were going for. My next job is for an eco-conscious family, and I can’t wait to pitch a solar powered fountain to them.

Dog owners have all experienced a time when their pups came in from outside and got their muddy paw prints all over the floors and furniture. The real hassle isn’t so much the look of having muddy paw prints in your house, but removing them! Getting out the spray bottle and a rag or worse, the carpet shampooer, can be a real pain and is quite time consuming. Dogs can’t help when their feet are dirty, so offer them a helping hand!

Having a throw braided rug outdoor or mats at your front and back doors can also help a lot, but it’s important they’re carpeted to absorb some of the dirt from your dog’s feet. The standard weave rug just won’t do it, but a carpeted rug will help keep your dog’s feet clean even if it’s just been a short trip outside.

Morning glories are the prettiest flowers in your garden. True to their name they open up in the morning, and then they pucker up later in the day. You will want to make sure that your morning glories are placed in well drained soil. They do not flourish in poor soil.

A nice place to see morning glories are on decorative wooden ladders. You can typically see morning glories on lattices but choosing a different style can create character to your garden. There are so many vibrant colors that you can choose from when picking out morning glories. They really do make your garden stand out.

Having fresh herbs is not only delicious but cost effective as well. The prices of food seem to rise and fall. It can be pretty expensive to continually purchase herbs every week. There is a way around spending money on buying fresh herbs.

Creating window box planters for your home herbs are a great way to save money and have the smell of fresh herbs in your home. Purchasing a package of seeds is only 47 cents. You can create your own planters for your windows. It is a pretty cost effective way to have fresh herbs for your recipes.

Spring time is the best season of the year. This is the time when the nurseries have all their beautiful hanging baskets for sale. It is so exciting to drive down the neighborhoods and look at all the different choices of baskets that everyone has chosen. You can really see peoples personalities come out.

When I decided to purchase my first hanging basket I was nervous on how to hang it. It was a pretty nice size pot. The owner of the nursery suggested wrought iron hanging baskets. He informed me that they are incredibly sturdy and easy to clean. It gave a nice accent to the fuchsia colored pansies and butter colored dancing ladies. That is what makes spring so fantastic.

Most people are very organized and extremely precise when it comes to the way there house looks. This is especially true when you talk about the landscaping of gardens. Themes can play a huge part in the design of the landscaping for a yard. You want to have your yard looking the best that it can.

Country themes are becoming quit the popularity around yards. I find it very inviting and welcoming to see country benches in the front yard. A country décor has a very natural design to it. It gives a little extra touch in the decorating aspect of the yard.

If you’re up for a home repair challenge, then you can attempt to fix your own iron gate. Start by inspecting the gate, looking particularly at hinges, connections, and pickets which are vulnerable to rust. Remove the rusted sections (this may require the use of a cutting torch) and broken hinges.

Re-weld new hinges to the iron gate, using a carpenter’s level to make sure the gate will swing open and shut effectively. Cut out damaged pickets and replace them with new ones, cut to length. Slightly bent pickets can be straightened using a heavy mallet. Finally, lightly sand the new pieces of the gate and apply primer and paint to help blend the new with the old.

Wrought iron fencing is a beautiful way to enclose your yard. Even though the material is tough, it does require some maintenance. Start my rinsing off your iron fence with a garden hose. This will knock off any loose dirt and debris. Rust and chipped paint flakes should be removed with a wire brush.

Rusted areas should also be cleansed with dish detergent and water (dish detergent won’t interact with the rusted material). You can choose to towel dry your iron fencing, or allow it to dry naturally. Oil based primer and rust-proof paint should be applied to touch up rusted areas; make sure the paint color matches the other rails. Finally, fix bent sections of the iron fencing and oil any creaky gate hinges.

A Rustic Garden has decided to take the PLUNGE. We are now offering 6′ tall connecting metal fencing. Our hoop and spear design will now be available in the taller sections to help our customers with their special needs. Wild deer are menace to many, causing so much damage to their tress, scrubs and landscaping. 6′ fencing is a great height for swimming pool surrounds. Keeping your children and animals safe will be easy with our handmade fence.

Our wrought iron fence is make right here in middle Illinois in a machine shop. Our craftsman are busy building a forms to help with the constructing process. Each hoop will be hand bent so 12′ lengths of solid steel are being cut and ready for the process. The parts are then gathered and assembled on the second form to be welded together.

This 6′ tall fence will need more support so a 3rd horizontal bar will be added. The 1.5″ posts will have the coordinating cast iron finial. Watch for more pictures as we complete this new fencing product.

In January I found the best product to line window boxes and wrought iron planters. This heavy green material is slow to absorb water so the moisture will collect near the roots of your planting longer. After soaking up the excess water will drain  away leaving the perfect balance of water and oxygen needed for beautiful flowering plants.

Click on this link to see our video explaining how to use this planter liner. Moisture Mat Planter Liner  

You know it is not perfect… you will still need a good fertilizer. I like using granular time released fertilizers like Osmocote in addition to the boost you get with Miracle Grow type liquid fertilizers. Gardening is so much fun!