Uses for Natural Sand in Landscaping

Are you planning a project that will require sand? There are many landscaping and home improvement projects that use sand as a material. From creating a play area for the kids to paving a patio with natural stone, sand can be a useful material for your home projects. However, it is important to choose the right sand for your projects. Here are some of the landscaping and other home projects that may require sand and the right sand to buy for the best results.

  • Sand is perfect for helping stabilize pavers and fill the cracks between the stones. It can be poured before the pavers are lain, then swept into cracks to keep pavers in place and reduce weed growth. Granite dust is a good choice for this type of project.
  • Leveling lawns. There are types of grasses that require leveling with the use of sand. Some grasses that benefit from river sand leveling include Zoyzia, Bermuda and Centipede.
  • Sand boxes and playgrounds. For a sand box or sand for around swing sets and slides, white beach sand is preferable. You will want white sand that has been screened to remove impurities.
  • River sand can be used to help improve drainage in soils and gardens.
  • Masonry. Masonry uses sand to create mortar and cement; natural sand can have advantages to manufactured varieties due to the smooth exteriors of granules.

While manufactured sand can have its benefits for some applications, natural sand can be a wise choice for your home projects. If you need sand for a project, visit your local landscape supplier that offers natural sand options.

Posted on behalf of:
Green Brothers Earth Works
680 Franklin Rd, SE
Marietta, GA 30067
(770) 590-8220

Does Your Landscape Supplier Have Everything You Need?

Yard work and gardening can be some of the most rewarding work you can do around the home. How enjoyable that work will be is largely dependent on accessibility of the supplies you need.

A landscape supplier should be able to help you find the right sod or mulch for your landscape, and have it in stock for you. A real bonus is one that will deliver everything to your door. Landscaping supplies can be bulky, and the bigger jobs aren’t going to fit in the average SUV, so you should definitely find a supplier who delivers.

Not everything in your yard can be green and lush, sadly. Some of it has to be paved over for vehicle and foot traffic. Does your local landscape supply company also provide paving materials? What sort of materials fit your application and architectural style? Stone, brick or concrete? Are you planning to install a flagstone patio? Make sure you’ve got a good selection to choose from to complete your project, and expert help in making your selection.

Your choice of sod for the lawn is important too. The amount of traffic, sun, and water your lawn will get has a lot of influence on which kind of sod you’ll need to use on your landscape for a healthy lawn. A supplier in your area will know which works best, and have it in stock.

Find a local landscape supply company who can advise you on what materials are best for your landscape. Expert guidance in choosing the right supplies will save you time and money, and let you spend more of both enjoying and improving your outdoor paradise.

Posted on behalf of:
Green Brothers Earth Works
680 Franklin Rd, SE
Marietta, GA 30067
(770) 590-8220

What Type of Soil is Best for Your Project?

The success of any landscaping project that includes live plants most often depends on the soil used. Compare Top Soil, Bio Mix, and Flower Mix.

Know Your Soil – For Great Gardening Results

Experienced farmers and landscapers know one important thing about planting anything: the composition of the soil is paramount to success. Before you can determine the proper amount of moisture, the most compatible climate for plants or specific fertilizers, it’s essential to start with the study of your soil. There are several types of soils. Some are not ideal for gardens. With a little knowledge, it is possible to turn difficult soil situations into a productive soil medium.

Identify Your Soil

Three widely used soils are:

•            Topsoil, is a clean soil that has been sifted to remove rocks, twigs, and other debris.

•            Bio Mix, is most often used in retention ponds or ditches to filter the oils and other petroleum contaminants from streets and asphalt driveways so these contaminants do not reach the rivers and streams.

•            Flower Mix, normally utilize a composition of 50 percent top soil, 25 percent Nutra-Mulch, and another 25 percent granite sand to create a rich natural mix for your favorite flowers.

Each soil type is found in a variety of climates and growing zones. In the U.S. there are a dozen growing zones. Each zone has different composition due to regional climate. In order to determine the best soil for your project, you need to identify your growing zone.

What Type of Soil is best for planting a Young Fruit Tree?

When you purchase a young fruit tree from your local gardener, ask what type of soil is best to ensure the young fruit tree isn’t subjected to shock. Young fruit trees are already “balled” with soil needed for planting. You might need to add a top soil & peat mix to the bed where the tree will be planted.

What Type of Soil is best for planting a Flower Garden?

The type of soil best for planting a flower garden depends entirely on the species of flowers to be grown, but most do best in a flower mix. Azaleas and rhododendron, for example, prefer a more acidic soil. Roses do well in peaty soil. Discuss the soil you plan to use with an expert at the gardening center or an expert landscaper.

What Type of Soil is best for planting a Vegetable Garden?

As with a flower garden, the species of vegetables to be planted determine the type of soil. Potatoes, carrots, celery and tomatoes prefer slightly sandy soil. Asparagus, peppers, and squash do best in peaty soil.

Posted on behalf of:
Green Brothers Earth Works
680 Franklin Rd, SE
Marietta, GA 30067
(770) 590-8220

What to Look for When Buying Gardening Soil

Is your front yard drab compared to the rest of the neighborhood? A garden is a simple way to liven up your yard without those tacky tiki torches and plastic flamingos. 

When starting a garden you should do a little research or consult a professional on what flowers, fruits, or vegetables grow best in your climate. Once you have made your choices, finding the right soil to grow your soon-to-be-beauties is next. Some plants grow best in soil, some in mulch, and some in mixtures of various planting materials. 

Flowers grow differently than most fruits and vegetables so if you plan on doing both, keep in mind they probably have different soil requirements. It is important to find out what works best for your plants so they receive adequate nutrients and water. Planting materials range from mulch to sand and soil to gravel, and finding the right one for your gardening masterpiece can be difficult. Flowers require lots of nutrients so using a soil with added nutrients or nutrient-absorbing properties is ideal. As for fruits and veggies, if they grow well in your climate, then they probably will grow well in your topsoil, but this is not always the case. Of course if you want to see them thrive then putting them in a soil mixture might jumpstart their growth. 

Landscape supply professionals can help point you in the right direction if you are unsure about your dirty decisions. It is also important to check if any of your plants require certain sunlight or shading and plant them accordingly. Landscaping and gardening professionals can help you pull everything together to make your garden the talk of the neighborhood!

Posted on behalf of:
Green Brothers Earth Works
680 Franklin Rd, SE
Marietta, GA 30067
(770) 590-8220

What Is Topsoil, Anyway?

When shopping at your local landscape supply store, one of the most common items you will encounter is a wide variety of soils. It can be daunting for the new gardener to determine which soil is best for different gardening applications. Among all the varieties of dirt and fertilizer available, you will undoubtedly see many types of topsoil. You may be wondering what topsoil is, and how it’s used in landscaping design. Here are basics about topsoil, and how to choose the best one for your project. 

Topsoil 101

In a nutshell, topsoil is healthy soil which is free from rocks, sticks and other debris. As the name states, this soil is used to cover the top of gardens and planting areas. It can also be used in planters, for seeding lawns and in a vast array of landscaping projects. However, there are different types and levels of quality which you should look for in topsoil, depending on how you intend for it to be used. 

  • Mix – Topsoil comes in a variety of mixes which are used for different applications. For garden planting, a mixed topsoil can provide the best attributes for fostering growth in large areas. For potting plants or small enclosed flower beds, you may want to go with mixes specifically designed for planters or potting, designed for plants with minor depth.
  • Quality – Picking a good quality topsoil can be difficult if you are new to gardening. For use in planting, you want a dark, rich soil that is heavy in nutrients. Talk to your local landscape supply store experts to find the topsoil with the best ingredients and pH balance for your project. 

Topsoil is one of the most important aspects of new planting, and vital to maintaining the health of your plants. It can add nutrients to old, depleted soil and give new plants or seed the right environment to grow. Before buying topsoil, talk to your landscape expert to ensure you get the right variety for your needs.

Posted on behalf of Clayton Hulen, Green Brothers Earth Works

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Finding a Reliable Landscape Supplier

Taking on a home landscaping project can be a big task. Depending on the size you may want to think about hiring a landscaper to ensure that you end up with a professionally executed and visually pleasing landscape. However, if you only have some minor improvement to make or have the skills yourself to complete the project, one of the most important things you need to do is find a reliable landscape materials supplier. 

Whether you need natual flagstone, pavers, engineered modular blocks, sand, gravel, or other landscaping materials, high quality materials are the key to a great looking landscape and really will make a difference. The visual appearance of quality materials will cause an instant impact on friends and family seeing your new yard for the first time.   In addition, high quality landscaping materials will last longer and save you money in the long run. Finding a reliable landscape supplier is important and can be difficult to do.

First of all it is always a good idea to ask friends, family members and colleagues whether they or anyone they know have recently used any landcape materials suppliers that they can recommend. If not, your best option is to use the Internet. Most landscape materials suppliers these days, large or small will have their own website. Check out how professional it seems, the materials and services that they offer and whether they have any customer reviews or testimonials for you to read. 

Once you have found a supplier in your area, you can either phone and ask for quotes and more information or look for additional suppliers so that you can compare quotes. Remember that high quality landscape materials make a difference and  the cheapest is not always the best.

Using Quality Landscaping Materials

Using top quality materials for your landscaping projects can make all the difference between an amateur and professional result. Quality materials will transform the exterior of your home into somewhere that you want to spend as much of your time as possible and will leave friends and family impressed time and time again. Whether you want to update your existing landscape design or give your home a complete transformation, nothing will provide a greater impact than using  high quality stone, gravel, mulch and other landscaping materials to give a great design a great execution. 

Using quality stone and gravel for built up areas such as an outdoor kitchen, to edge a swimming pool or for steps can be visually stunning. Using  top quality for less obvious materials such as soil and mulch can provide you with benefits that go further than the visual effects. These kinds of materials are required to act as a kind of base or foundation for the rest of your landscaping work. Using only the best quality landscaping materials can help to prolong the life of your landcape features and keep everything looking great for years. Going for cheaper versions of these items may be appealing to your wallet at first but you will gradually need to replace things and using cheap, lesser quality materials will cost you in the long run. 

Researching types of landscapng materials that are going to work best in your home has never been easier thanks to the use of the Internet. Most landscape supply companies now have their own websites that not only show you what they have to offer but also provide tips and advice on designing and carrying out your own landscaping project.