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.
Oregon State University
home gardening agent.
) 1 P ROSES • FRUIT TREES • J I F ROSES •
Evergreen and other or
namental shrubs such as ar-
b o rv ita e , c a m e llias , and
rhododendrons w ill grow
much better through the
summ er if they are put into
strong healthy condition
soon.
FRUIT TREES •
The labels on all these herbicides list
the kinds of weed the chemical should
be used on, M cNeilan says.
Also,
rem em ber that theold saying, “ If a lit
tle is good, more is better,” isn’t true
where herbicides are concerned.
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