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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1983)
Gresham Outlook, Today Magazine, Sandy Post April 20-21, 1983 — 9 Good advice can help landscaping by MARK ROTHMAN of The Outlook staff $6,000 and $15,000. The end result is guaranteed to be professional, but many people are interested in a less expensive alternative. The very cheapest alternative is for the homeowner to design and install everything on his own. John Greenaway, who teaches landscap ing courses at M t Hood Community College and who was grounds superintendent there for eight years, says people with enough tim e and energy should consider the do-it- yourself approach. “ I think most individuals are capable of producing a good landscape on their own,” he says. As in any do-it-yourself project, though, amateurs make a lot of mistakes. D rak e’s 7 Dee's Nursery president Drake Snodgrass says the most common mistakes include planting plants too close together, not pro viding adequate drainage, and “ putting the right plants in the wrong places.” Mistakes such as these could be easily avoided by getting some form of profes Proper landscaping creates a pleasing outdoor environment for your fam ily, a suitable surrounding for your house, and a source of pride for the homeowner Most people would like such a landscape — few know how to attain it. The easiest and fastest way to get an a t tractive landscape is by hiring a profes sional to design and construct it. The telephone book lists more than a dozen East County landscape contractors, who w ill make your lawn a showp'ace — for a substantial fee. M ark Hadley, general manager of Soter Companies, Inc., a Gresham landscaping firm , estimates the cost of a total landscap ing job at between 90 cents and $2.25 per square foot This would include designing, grading and site preparation, retaining walls and concrete work, lawn and plant in stallation, and professional consultation. For a standard 7,000 square foot yard, the total cost would be somewhere between Wet winters mean shrubs need more care A particularly wet winter, such as the one w e’ve just e x p e rie n c e d , can le a v e evergreen shrubs in the home landscape looking a bit yellow around the edges. Yellowed or washed-out looking evergreen shrubs are in need of some fer t i li z e r to green them up again, notes Ray McNeilan, a Gresham gardening ex pert A f e r t i l i z e r h ig h in nitrogen, such as a 12-4-8 combination, can put the green back in evergreen s h ru b s an d w i l l h e lp elim inate stunted growth. Apply it a t the rate of one pound or two cups per 100 square feet. Another cause of pale w a s h e d -o u t ev e rg re e n s h ru b s , is la c k of magnesium, which is needed by the plant for chlorophyll building. Chlorophyll gives plants their green color. If the shrub is in soil low in magnesium, epsom salts or a f e r t i l i z e r c o n ta in in g magnesium sulfate applied at Y« cup per 10 square fett w ill help. E p s o m s a lts c a n be sprinkled on the surface and watered in or can be dissolv ed in w ater and applied with a sprinkler can. 130 hours to complete. He believes the best way to go about it is in stages. By working slowly and conscientiously on weekends and evenings, he estimates a homeowner could complete an average installation in two to three months. F or someone with lim ited tim e, land scapers can be hired to do only limited aspects of the total job, much the way con tractors build a house shell, leaving the finish work to the owner. Since site preparation can be the most im portant and physically difficult stage of in stallation. Hadley suggests homeowners consider hiring professionals to do it. “ I think it's a real good route to go,” he says. "Proper site and soil preparation is as important as a solid foundation is on a house. When that is done correctly, the owner can concentrate on choosing and in stalling the proper plants. ” No m atter what approach is used, though, experts agree the tim e for landscaping work is now. For further infbrmation on the sub ject, visit your local library. sional advice on design Snodgrass says 7 Dee's has landscape architects who w ill pro duce a full set of blueprinted plans for a pro perty for about $400 for an average lot. The nursery also provides a free advisory service for its customers. Simply bring in a site plan or photographs and 7 Dee's sales people w ill help with ideas and advice on possible plans. Although the salespeople are experienced in many phases of landscaping, Snodgrass points out they are not profes sional landscape architects and their advice w ill not be as complete as that given on pro fessional designs. Soter's Hadley provides an intermediate advisory service. F or $30 an hour he will visit a property and advise the homeowner on its potentials and pitfalls. “ A one-hour visit with a follow-up letter can save so meone days of study and reference w ork,” Hadley says. People planning to do their own landscape installation should be prepared to spend a lot of tim e on the project. Snodgrass says the average installation can take as long as Don't be afraid to attack weeds Extension grass, tansy ragw ort, poison oak and blackberries. However, this m ay not always be the most practical solution. Where weed problems are widespread in the home la n d s c a p e , w id e s p r e a d c o n tro l measures may be needed. Each weed control chemical, or her bicide, is unique in that it is more effec tive in controlling certain weeds and it must be applied at the right tim e for best results. I f help in identifying weed is needed, contact the local office of the OSU Extension Service, McNeilan sug gests. Some herbicides that are recom mended for control of these weeds are 2.4D a m in e , d ic a m b a (B a n v e l), a m itro le T (A m itro l-T or C ytro l) dichlobenil (Casoron) and glyphosate (Roundup). “ I f you must use chemical weed con trols in the home landscape, identify the w ted before you begin spraying,” suggests Ray M cNeilan of Gresham, an Weeds that may be a persistent pro blem in the home landscape include fie ld bindweed (m o rn in g g lo r y ), Canada thistle, horsetail rush, quack When possible, it's best to handle landscape weed problems the old- fashioned way — grab a hoe, roll up your sleeves and physically remove the weed from the yard or garden. 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