New homeowner questions
 

Hi all,

I am a new homeowner of a single family home. I used to live in a
townhome that basically had no landscaping what so ever. No grass, no
flower garden.

Can anyone recommend any books of lawn care, taking care of a flower
garden? And anything else that is necessary.

I have no cluse what kind of grass is in my yard, but at a glance it
is very narrow. There are some dandilions growing and I tried some of
that Scott's Fertilizer with Plus 2. I am hoping that works. I have
one area that is brown but I think it may need aerating.

I will probably have more questions but this will be enough for now.

Thanks,

Bill

P.S. I live in the Wilmington, DE area.

The Garden Primer
Barbara Damrosch
ISBN: 0-89480-316-6 Workman Publishing
16.95 new
probably find a used one cheap- try aaabooksearch.com

On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 10:26:42 -0400, Bill Davis Jr wrote:

Can anyone recommend any books of lawn care, taking care of a flower
garden? And anything else that is necessary.

I'm fond of Rodale's Chemical-Free Yard and Garden (in a number of
editions, all of them good, and you can pick up a used copy for under
$5). The language is clear, and I like the emphasis on working with
the soil you have, choosing disease resistant and pest resistant varieties,
and proper watering and growing techniques. Even if you choose to garden
via non-organic methods, you can learn a lot that will help you
have a decent looking lawn and gardens without unduly increasing your
workload.

My #1 tip for lawn care? Learn to mow properly for the species of
grass in your lawn. That'll save you a ton of time, effort, pesticide,
and renovations. Most folks mow too short, letting it grow fairly long
between mowings. That way guarantees weed problems.

My #1 tip for gardening in general? Your local master gardeners,
state extension service, or botanical gardens will probably have lists
of species and cultivars (varieties) of plants that do especially well
in your area, and plants that are problems in your area. A very famous
landscape architect, Capability Brown, once advised "figure out what
you can grow, then grow lots of it"... pretty good advice.
Many extension bulletins are available on the web... e.g.:
http://ag.udel.edu/extension/information/hg/index.html
http://www.hgic.umd.edu/

My #1 tip for planting shrubs and trees? Even though they look fairly
pathetic when they're planted, they're going to grow up to be sizeable
plants. Make sure you plan enough room for them to grow into. And if
you don't believe me, I'd be happy to have you stop by this summer... I've
got about 4 20 ft arborvitae the previous owners of our house planted within
a couple of feet of the house -- they all need to come out, and then I
get to replace the damaged siding. Fun jobs like that convince you
to plan ahead when planting. g

Kay

On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 10:26:42 -0400, Bill Davis Jr wrote:
one area that is brown but I think it may need aerating.

Just for grins, take a sharp, flat spade and lift a section of
sod in the brown area, and compare it to a piece from a green area.
My guess is you may find larvae (grubs) in the brown area's soil.

Kay

Thank you for the replies.

I will look into each suggestion given.

Bill

"Bill Davis Jr" wrote in message
...
There are some dandilions growing and I tried some of
that Scott's Fertilizer with Plus 2. I am hoping that works.

A hand held sprayer of weed-b-gon is all you need for a few dandelions. Just
spray each weed. That will be much better than broadcasting herbicides all
over your yard. Cut long, especially during hot weather, and don't forget
the fall fertilizer application.

Bob