If you are looking for your ivy to do more than just cover up fences, walls, etc. you should look into vines that create shade for your property.  Such shade providers include grape vines, Virgina creepers, silver vine and Dutchman’s pipe vines.  If you are looking for vines which add some beauty and elegance to your garden you may want to consider vines which bloom with magnificent flowers such as wisteria with its white and purple flowers, clematis vines, or for real garden colors the Chinese Trumpet creeper which has large scarlet red flowers.

Not only do vines cover walls and such but they can also cover the ground which you are having trouble growing grass on.  These vines you need to consistenly maintain, but the maintenance is much more pleasurable than bald spots on your lawn.  Such vines include the periwinkle, the pachysandra, moneywort and evergreen.

For example there are over 5,000 kinds of roses in the United States alone.  In 2008, a variety of new roses were unveiled such as the following: the imposter rose which is also known as a star rose.  This star rose is dark shaded rose pink petals with an even darker star shaped print which grows as the flower matures with a golden interior which gives it its superstar appeal.  A new red rose was released called the Ruby Ruby which is a passionately red rose.  The Coffee Bean rose is another rose which is a brownish red colored rose, the Wing Ding rose which is a deep red with a pale yellow interior, the Jacob’s Ladder rose which is a multi color rose and the Winner’s Circle which is a crimson colored rose with vibrant orange accents.

Any one of these roses can make a fine addition to your classy garden.  Nevertheless you need to be wise while picking roses.  You should buy healthy stalks with green stems and moist roots.  You can also pick between bush roses and climbers to add to your garden which are the most popular types of rose additions to gardens in the United States.  Depending on your gardening needs one of these could be perfect for your garden.

However, if you have a large garden, you may want to consider purchasing a large fountain as a smaller one may look odd.  But if you have an intimate spot in your backyard that you live to use as your personal getaway to read or to think, then a smaller fountain may fit your needs for that extra serene touch.  If you have a greenhouse or an indoor patio, you can also purchase indoor fountains so that you can have the same serenity inside and outside.

If you are looking to make an elegant statement, you may want to consider a pond fountain.  With these pond fountains the water can be sprayed in different directions and at different heights.  There are even come that work with different types of lighting to give it an even more majestic look at night.  These pond fountains do take a little more work to set up but are well worth the benefits.

You can say even more with your fountain by adding a garden border around it.  Some fountains do not have lights so if you want your serene fountain to shine at night you can also place garden lights around it for a superb atmosphere.

• First you need to prepare the ground.  Use a leaf blower, shovel or rake to get out all of the loose pebbles, stone, leaves debris or anything else that may be lingering in the pot hole.
• After you have removed everything, examine your pothole.  You may notice that there are some weak sides of the pothole that are just barely hanging on.  Get them out of there by breaking them off and removing that pothole debris.  This will avoid future potholes in the same area and make it a much stronger hole.
• Then take some gravel that you may have lying at home or bought at a store and begin to fill the hole.  Be sure not to fill the hole entirely.  You should leave about three inches from the top of the driveway down into the hole.  Use a tamping tool to get all of the gravel in place, tamped down.
• You should then fill the rest of the hole with soil and even make a smaller mound of soil that exceeds the top layer of the driveway.
• Pour water onto the soil and with your tamper tool, tamp down the soil.  You may need to repeat this process once or a few times until the hole is covered with soil and meets the tops of the driveway.
• Soil can be replaced with matching in the case you have a gravel driveway.  Instead of placing water you can just rake over it until the gravel of the pothole meets the original gravel.
• You can then use the pressure of your car to pack in the gravel and soil of the pothole to make sure you did a great job.

You want to plant one type of flower such as the tulip and when its blooming period ends to then have another type of flower such as the canna lily ready to plant to replace the tulips.  If you are really going full out this year then you should take a look at your yard and create flower bed patterns.  These patterns can involve a range of shapes and different uses of flowers and colors.  However many people like to keep it simple because it could turn into a wild array of flowers.  Therefore, many people border their ward and their walkways with flowers of their choice.

In this specific border, you should be aware that you will need to set up a background for your border which may consist of tall screening plants or shrubs depending on the height of the background that you want to achieve.  Upfront you will want to plant simple flowers such as pansies or dwarf marigolds in wider borders.  With more narrow types of borders you can plant more vibrant flowers in the center of the border to attract more attention to the area of your yard.

Once you have bought or found your rocks.  You need to put them in an elegant arrangement so that it does not look like a rock pile.  You can experiment with different patterns and different rocks.  You should also try to design something on paper so that you have an idea of at least how to start your rock garden and to see what you like and what you do not like.  Once you have established the perfect pattern you can start to incorporate the moss.

Although this may seem easy it is actually rather difficult for moss to grow anywhere and at a fast pace.  Therefore, here are some key tips to growing moss more efficiently and at a faster rate:

• Moss grows likes to grow in shady areas in the cracks that the rocks provide.  There fore to get started make sure there is some shady area in your rock garden.
• To make the moss grow faster, create a mixture or porcelain clay, water, undiluted fish emulsion and shredded moss.
• Spread this mixture on the rocks where you want moss to grow and also in the cracks and crevices. 
• If there are moist or damp areas these are also ideal for moss to grow.
• This will take about a month until you see results.

Use these moss tips when creating your fun rock garden at home today.

If you are not quite sure on where to start take a look at your garden.  Which parts would you like to be accentuated?  Which areas do you want shown lit up at night?  DO you have a rock garden?  Do you have a garden fountain?  Many like to light the sides of driveways and walkways.  In this manner if you have a border garden you will not only be showing off your walkway but your garden too.   Once you can establish what you want to be highlighted then you can advance in the process of lighting your garden.

When one talks about landscape lighting there are various types to choose from.  Below you will find the most common:

• Ground Lights – lights placed in the ground to light the way, great for walkways.
• Up Lights – the light shines upwards, great for accentuating fountains.
• Down Lights – are placed above your garden and shine down on a particular area, great for lighting sitting areas.
• Backlights- Are placed behind a certain object to shed light on it, perfect for statues
• Spotlights- focus the light on one particular area or object in your garden.

With one of these five particular lighting patterns you will be able to light up any part of your garden that you want and how you want to light it.

Turn those boulders, rocks and pebbles into more than just a wild pile in your backyard.  You can turn them into an exquisite rock garden.  Create a fun design and align the variety of rocks that you have up in this rock garden.  If you have a special feature in your yard you can build your rock garden around it so that it highlights and brings out the area.  If you are desperate for the color that tulips, roses and pansies give off, then paint your rocks to make them more vibrant and to add that color that you have always desired. 

Add cacti to your garden for that real desert feel.  There are a variety that may even be indigenous to your area so it would be great to incorporate this type of plant into your garden.  It will give your garden enough green to be called a garden.  You can also consider succulents.  Then because of the dry surroundings you should consider a water fountain or some other type of water feature to offset the dryness and to add serenity to this desert garden area. 

You can then add some lights for a night time appeal.  These lights can highlight all of your favorite features in your desert garden.

The next step in planting roses is to have an organic based fertilizing ground which is the best environment for roses to grow.  Such an environment includes having peat moss to keep the moisture down in the roots of the plants and not frying out from the sun and temperature, compost, commercial manure and leaf mold.  These will all help for your rose plant to adapt and grow in your garden. 

You should plan to plant your rose garden in the fall yet if you are worried about the winter then you can also plant in the spring even though fall is the best rose growing season.  Once you find the most healthy roses make sure that the roots are kept moist from the nursery to your home.  If it is a long drive keep them moisturized with some water or a wet towel.  Once you get home be ready to plant because you should plant them immediately.  The holes for roses should be wide enough so that the roots have enough space to grow and do not crowd or intertwine between plants.  The bud of the rose should be right below the rose surface.

There are some key tools when it comes to maintaining your garden.  Such tools include a lawnmower, leaf blowers and lawn blowers, cultivators, garden trimmers and a spading fork.  If you are new to maintaining your lawn then you should get very up close and personal with these tools because they will be your best friends when it comes to gardening and maintaining that Steppford Lawn. 

Your lawnmower will be in charge of maintaining the length of your grass.  The last thing you want is foot high grass growing uncontrollably.  You can cut it about every week.  There are three main types of lawnmowers, manual lawnmowers, electrical lawnmowers and gasoline run lawn mowers.  Before you can plant your garden, you need to make sure that it is cultivated.  Many times the soil is compact and hard.  With the help of the cultivator you won’t have these problems.

Leaf blowers are great to have because they clear all of the fall leaves off of the ground.  This is ideal because before winter starts these leaves can actually harm your lawn for next season.  Use your leaf blowers to relieve yourself from starting next year’s gardening season with problems.  Trimmers are great for fine touches when it comes to your shrubs and bushes.  A spading fork is also handy as is helps to dig with more ease than an average shovel.  You will be able to separate plants, lift plants and turn the soil after cultivating it.