With a frame, the moss or plant has a base to grow around, and it will also serve as a guide for you so you know how much and where to trim. If you have a pond or land in your yard, this Nessie Topiary would be a cute touch. This sea monster frame is available in two sizes: mossed or unmossed.

Adding unique topiary frames in with your landscaping will give your yard more character. Maintaining the topiary can also be a fun family activity that you won’t have to work too hard on.

These underground supports achieve the same ends while facilitating in fertilizing and watering. You drive them into the earth around the root ball of the tree, right after you’ve planted it. The stabilizers can stay in the ground indefinitely, supporting your fruit trees throughout the years. Alternatively, you can remove the Tomahawk once your tree is old enough to take care of itself, and you can reuse the supports.

Some of the features include:

• Holes for fertilizer and water
• Invisible (below-ground) support
• No danger of tree girdling
• Made from long-lasting, heavy-gauge tubular steel
• Notches for guying in extreme wind

From Border Concepts

The Intelligent Sprinkler Controller is equipped with an internal barometer, which can detect the pressure changes. As a result, it can tell 12 hours before it’s supposed to rain. Once it detects that rain is coming your way, it will automatically postpone the scheduled watering. The LCD screen makes it easy, so you can schedule the sprinkler to run on certain days and even times. It will turn on whenever you have scheduled it as long as the weather is permitting.

This gadget requires a 9-volt batter, and its dimensions are 6 1/3”H x 6 3/4”L x 4 1/3”W. Now your landscaping is less likely to get over watered.

So what can be put in a compost bin? Well, almost any food scraps (except meat, bones and fatty foods like cheese if you don’t want to create odors that attract pests) and waste from your yard such as grass clippings and leaves can be added. Instead of putting these items in the trash can, put them in a compost bin instead. Day after day the materials in the bin will start breaking down. Eventually the material can be used as compost, which can be applied to gardens and flowerbeds. After the harsh winter, you can replenish the soil so your landscaping flourishes.

Stemming the tree roots is an easy way to keep a tree’s branches away from your home and your neighbor’s home. This pruning process is called pollarding. It’s a simple procedure that stops the root balls of trees from growing. All you need to do is cut the branches back from the trunk.

You will end up with straight trees that have thin branches at the top. You can use the excess wood to build a fence or provide your home with renewable heating. A pollard tree looks well manicured, and it might save you from costly repairs in the future, especially if you’re in an area that commonly gets strong winds or large amounts of snow.

The suggested plants below are considered evergreens, but they behave a little bit differently than evergreen trees. Although they grow all season, they will turn shades of red and purple instead of staying green.

There are several species of abelia (abelias), and these plants can go well into the winter with their red and bronze coloring. The bearberry (arctostaphylos uva-ursi) has glossy leaves and turns a deep red to purple. Heather (calluna vulgaris) as well as Heath (erica) can be red, orange or yellow, so these plants can give you some variation.

Some other plants you might want to consider include the creeping grape holly (mahonia repens), wandflower (galax urceolata) and the wintercreeper (euonymus fortunei).

After a few light or hard frosts, your annuals will eventually blacken, which is a sign that they need removed. However, impatients and begonias should be removed before the first frost, because they become so slimy. To remove annuals, pull out the plants by the roots or clip the stems as close as you can to the ground.

In late fall or early winter, you can cut down your perennials. Make sure you wait for the weather to become consistent, because you don’t want the plants to use up their stored energy and bloom during the mild part of an early winter. Another tip is to cut them so there is at least 3 inches of stem above the ground.

One last order of business for your landscaping is to rake up most of the leaves so they don’t smother your ground covers. You can leave a few leaves, because they will eventually break down and enrich the soil.

Vinyl liners prevent the pond water from dissipating into the soil, but it has to be installed carefully so that it won’t tear. Roots and rocks that remain after excavation need to be removed, because these can cause rips and tears, but after the liner is set in the ground, how can you hide it?

Piling stones around the edges of the pond help to form a border, and this is an attractive and easy way to hide the liner. To do this, you will need to dig out a shelf that starts just below the water line. Or you can plant ground covering plnats and tall grasses.

The day before you plan to divide the plants, water the ground thoroughly so it will be easier to uproot them. You can also cut the plant down if it has too much top growth. Another thing to keep in mind is that plants are pretty resilient. If you’re unable to gently loosen the clumps and roots, just cut them apart.

To increase the plant’s chances of survival, replant it as soon as possible, because you don’t want the roots to dry out. If there are any dead parts, remove them before returning the plant to the ground. Lastly, don’t forget to hydrate them.

It can take years for wood to weather, but using the right products can significantly short this process. If you want the wood to look naturally aged, try using bleaching oils and stains for six months. However, this option is risky, because the chemicals can kill your plants so you have to be cautious. An alternative is to apply a semi-transparent stain with a gray or white pigment.

Stone and brick can immediately appear aged if it has moss or lichens growing on it, but it helps if the wall is somewhat shaded. If you have a small amount of moss already growing, apply a thin layer of yogurt or buttermilk onto the surface of the wall to encourage more growth.