Softscape, Soft Landscape It refers to Soil preparation, irrigation, plantings, and lighting. Whatever planting scheme you prefer: Mediterranean, tropical, formal, Japanese, or drought tolerant periscope, we want it to thrive so we don't hold back on the appropriate fertilizers and amendments. The extra work we put into these areas of the installation will bring you many years of low maintenance enjoyment. Lawn, Making The Lawn The lawn acts as a canvas in making the garden with the house or some object as the main focal point. All other feature of the garden comes within the lawn. We level the area and fill it up with mixture of garden earth and manure in the ratio of 3:1 (3 parts of earth and 1 part of manure) to a depth of 6". Water the area and leave it for a week. This is done to allow the weeds present in the lawn to come up. After a week we remove all the weeds. We are now ready to plant the lawn. The most important method is as follows; Dibbling Method - Only shade grass and G2 grass can be used to make this method. Toughing Method - Other than shade grass and G2 grass all other types are used in this method. Core aerifying should be done when lawns are Aktifly growing, with early to mid fall an ideal time. Removing 15 to 20 cores per square foot of lawn is suggested; this usually requires more than one pass over the lawn. Make passes perpendicular to each other. Cores should remain on the surface and be allowed to air dry. These cores act as topdressing which helps degrade thatch. Additional topdressing material could be added after core aerifying if desired. Trace Garden The first and foremost thing that has to be considered in making a terrace garden is to ascertain whether the terrace can take the load of the garden. Secondly, there has to be sufficient drainage holes and the slope of the terrace should be such that water is not allowed to accumulate anywhere on the terrace. The third and the most important thing is the waterproofing of the terrace. Perfect waterproofing is necessary to prevent the leakage of water for a very long time. Let us now start making a terrace garden step by step Step 1 : Making a layout plan : Layout of the garden should have a proper balance of lawn, shrubs, ground covers and small trees. Though not a necessity, other features like, a water body, rock garden, gazebo and some artifacts too can be incorporated into the garden. Step 2 : Selecting the plants : The selection of plants should have a fibrous root system. A plant with a tap root system has the potential of growing through the terrace and endangering the life of the building. Step 3 : Preparing the growing media : The growing medium should be such that it will not add undue weight to the building. Soil rite or peat moss is a very light and excellent growing medium for terrace garden. However because of its cost it is best to prepare a growing medium with a mixture of garden earth, manure and soil rite or peat moss. Step 4 : Laying brickbats : After having taken care of the above factors, you are now ready to make a terrace garden. First, spreading a layer of brickbats (totally burnt bricks) of approx. 2" - 4" evenly on the terrace. The brickbats are used to facilitate the drainage of water. Only the totally burnt bricks have to be used. This is because the pieces of normal bricks get reduced to mud after some years and defy the very purpose of facilitating drainage. Corrugated sheets too can be used simultaneously to facilitate better drainage. The corrugated sheets should be placed at 3' distance and should be placed in such a way so as to lead the water to the drainage holes. Step 5 : Spreading net lawn : Spreading net lawn (wire mesh) over the bricks. This will prevent the garden earth and manure from getting into the gaps in between the brickbats. Step 6 : Constructing drainage chambers : If the terrace is quite big (more than 500 sq. ft.) then we construct drainage chambers at various places on the terrace with pipes leading to the main drainage holes. This is done to prevent water from stagnating on the surface of the garden in case of heavy rain. The drainage chambers should be constructed in such a manner that when the final garden is done it will get covered by the lawn and not be noticeable by everyone. Step 7 : Spreading the growing media and plant : Spreading a mixture of garden earth, manure and soil rite or peat moss to the desired level. Carrying out the planting as per your layout. Kinds Of Plants : A garden is a place where a number of plants are planted in a specific manner for the purpose of aesthetic beauty. Just by planting some plants and lawn one cannot make a garden look beautiful. Making a garden requires some amount of plant knowledge and the ability to arrange the plants aesthetically. An attrAktif garden should have the following features: Tha Lawns Seasonals Shrubs and Hedges Trees Ground Covers Rock Garden and Other Artifacts Creepers and Climbers : If you wish to employ a garden creator, it is best to look out for one who has had a reasonable amount of experience in making a garden and one who has trained staff. The reputed agencies too can give you a lot of trouble by not adhering to the specifications that are to be followed in making the garden. It is best to spend some extra money and have a good garden made rather than be fooled by the enormously low amount quoted by some garden contractors. Jemi Housing is a Plant Health Care Specialist offering specialized care for your garden. We can however create your dream garden in the following way. Drawing out a landscaping plan for your garden by an expert in drawing. A rough sketch will do. A number of factors will have to be considered in making a landscape plan, such as the topography, the location of the house or building, whether the area is in a sunny or a shady location, the amount of land available in making a garden, the availability of water, the time that you can spend in maintaining the garden and the amount of money that you are willing to shell out in making the garden. Finally the plants you prefer. Planting Shrubs and Hedges : Shrubs and hedges are plants the growth of which is intended for not more than 3”. Besides their beauty they act as a demarcation line for the garden. The hedges can be given various shapes as well. The color and the flowering pattern of the shrubs should be well exploited to get a well-designed garden. Depending upon the fertility of the existing land, we dig a trench of 1' - 2' depth and 1' - 2' wide. Then fill the trench with a mixture of garden earth and manure in the ratio of 2:1 and plant the shrubs as per the layout design. Again depending upon the growth pattern of the shrubs, plant them at a distance of 1' - 2' from one another. Planting Of Ground Covers : Ground covers are plants that are used primarily to cover any gaps in between the shrubs and hedges. They do not grow more than 6" tall. Then we prepare the planting bed by excavating to a depth of 1' and filling with mixture of garden earth and manure in the ratio of 2:1. Plant the plant at a distance of 9" to 1' from one another. Creepers and Climbers : These do not need any explanation. We know they are used to provide a screen to the boundary wall or are used to cover up the wall with greens. Arches too can be made out of these. Plant the creepers and climbers at a distance of 1.5' from one another by providing a filling of garden earth and manure in the ratio of 2: 1 to a depth of 1'. Seasonals The seasonal plants have a beauty of their own. All gardens should have an area demarcated for planting seasonals. Seasonals are plants which grown in a particular season and wither away thereafter. The beauty of the garden increases four folds when the seasonals are in full bloom. Moreover the garden will have a different look with each season. Trees : Besides providing shade during the summer, the trees also have very attrAktif foliage and flowers. They should however not be planted very close in such a manner that they block the rays of the sun from reaching the lawn, shrubs and ground covers. Hence we dig trenches of 3' x 3' x 3' at intervals of 10' from one another. Fill it with mixture of garden earth and manure in the ratio of 2:1 and plant the tree saplings. Support the saplings with stakes so that wind does not disturb them. Rock Gardens, Pathways, Water Bodies, Artifacts Etc. : Though not an essentiality in the garden, their presence certainly adds to the way that a garden appears. They should definitely be added where the garden area is quite big. Editor : Bengi Demirkan - L.A.- University of Greenwich/LONDON