Filled in Swimming Pool
A few weeks after completion.
2. Let’s talk a little about timing for a project.
What’s the best time of year to do the work ?
Work in most planting zones above zone 7 is a year round event.
In England , for example, there is usually only a heavy frost during the months of January /February – this is not always the case but often the only time when the ground doesn’t thaw.
Why is this important ?
Two main reasons we will discuss later, Concrete and Mortar work should only be carried out on a rising thermometer that has already reached 2 degrees above freezing point.
The other is , if you attempt to plant a frozen potted plant or root balled tree it will more than likely never break into leaf.
The best time of the year to commence work is therefore invariably the Spring when nature is attempting to start anew from a period of dormancy.
From a contracting point of view it is a very busy time, and often if you want to be “booked” in you would need to order the works way back in September or maybe commence the process even earlier, as some years we have been ‘booked’ for 12 months or more.
Things to consider are ;
Carrying out major earth moving or excavation work in periods of heavy rainfall – the resultant mess takes ages to clear up and it’s really quite difficult to obtain a good finish to hardworks.
Once plants have started to grow, ( buds opening) they require more attention to keep alive and to establish.
Plants generally have a dormant season between November to March – unless you are in much warmer climates.
Rootballed plants require heavy equipment to move and place on site, they look more established, but seldom grow as quickly as bareroot examples, so sometimes it is worth considering a mixture of both if you are in a region that has bareroot material available – they are also much cheaper.
Planting bulbs is best carried out in September/October.
Annuals should only be planted after the last Spring frosts.
It will take between 3 – 5 years depending on conditions and how well you maintain your project for it to start looking it’s best.
Irrigation definitely helps with establishing a landscape, today you have a number of efficient methods to use, it’s worth investigating which would be best for you at the budget stage.
Collecting rainwater and reusing is a serious consideration 1 inch ( 25mm) of rainfall on an area of 1 sq ft ( 300mm sq) is over .5 gallon ( 2 ltrs)..that’s 600 gallons from a roof of say 1000 sq ft.
Helpful Snippet – we often created a drainage system with a built in pop up irrigation system in the same trenches, as about 58% of surface water tends to run off or be wasted, we found we were able to harvest about 25% of the rainfall and irrigation water in this way.
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