When we want to make it easier for ourselves to create a lawn, many of us purchase ready-made grass mixtures. So I did, too, burning with the idea to reproduce a Moorish lawn on my site. Moreover, on the bags with mixtures of herbs, photographs with charming variegated flowering lawns promised to create a cozy picturesque corner wildlife with such lovely meadow and wildflowers for us ...
The first year after planting, the lawn behaved almost like in the picture, but it was less colorful, and to be completely honest, it was completely faded. On the next year it looked like an ordinary, unkempt, weedy patch of a forgotten garden.
The second attempt was equally unsuccessful. I think that many landscape design enthusiasts are familiar with these "cute features" of the Moorish lawn.
And so conclusions from my experiences. First, ready-made mixtures must be bought carefully. In our conditions, many flowers from imported grass mixtures of the Mauritanian lawn do not have time to bloom in full force or to acquire mature seeds, which is an indispensable condition for the reproduction of the lawn. Secondly, if you sow such a lawn on fertile soil, then the weeds conquer all the delights of the Moorish lawn.
And yet I managed to achieve the picturesqueness of the capricious lawn! This happened thanks to the famous landscape designer Irina Konstantinovna Barysheva - I made a grass mixture for the Mauritanian lawn according to her recommendations. I now call this option "Moorish for the Moscow region" or "Moorish a la rus" and will gladly share the secrets of the motley lawn.
First option:
Second option:
Third option:
You can do it differently: assemble it yourself seeds of favorite plants in natural meadows... It can be seeds of chamomile, coupir, St. John's wort, sweet clover, bluebells, scabbard, adonis, veronica, chicory, hawk, goldenrod. Look well and behave on meadows Sivets lugovaya, Zopnik tuberous, annual bluegrass, Chisinau field, Potentilla, bedstraw, adonis, rank.
It is better to sow them before winter in a mixture with clover and fescue. Only then will the nature of the lawn naturally change. After all, its decorativeness will depend on the selection of plants: will it be "truly Moorish" or just a herb meadow.
Later, I tried to add my favorite meadow flowers to the mixture, but I tried to be careful. So, combining and making up various herbal mixtures, you can unexpectedly create that natural beauty that we value so much in the garden, as well as set the right mood with a certain selection of colors.
Having rummaged in books and magazines, I found information that there is a composition trampling-resistant wildflowers: cornflower, korostavnik, meadow sage, sprawling bell, buttercup, sainfoin, and firecracker. But it's better to spare them and just admire them. And it is more convenient to walk, play and lie on a regular lawn.
I think that in our climate, large plantain, creeping clover, bird knotweed, bluegrass are resistant to mechanical stress. True, if you create a meadow only from these plants, it will be a very poor and not too decorative plant community.
The most motley and powerful meadows grow on dry and scarce soils: weeds do not fatten there, and delicate wildflowers are very comfortable. You can also create a decorative lawn in damp, damp or shady areas - you just need to choose the right plants.
For example, in damp areas, a highlander snake or cancerous necks ( Poligonum bistorta), meadow geranium ( Geranium pratense) and swimsuit ( Trollius). And for a spring lawn, daisies and spring primroses are good.
It is also recommended to apply sand after the autumn mowing. You can add poppy seeds, chamomile, cornflower in a mixture with sand, if suddenly powerful and rapidly growing cereals take over. This has to be done almost every fall, but fortunately, overseeding is not necessary for most wildflowers.
The first haircut after sowing is best done 1-2 months after sowing, and then cut only in the fall. The haircut is high.
It is advisable to water such a clearing less often - the "richest" lawns are formed only on dry, scarce soils, and in the lower layer of meadow grasses the humidity is always higher. It is recommended to use a sprayer - a strong jet from a hose will break fragile plants. It is necessary to fertilize a forb meadow very rarely so as not to breed weeds.
Curly lawn created using a curly haircut. The grass is cut in sections of different heights (6 cm and 3 cm) with different patterns. You just need to remember that it is quite difficult to achieve an excellent result at once. Patience, patience, patience again and ... your lawn will turn into lace! But it cannot be started, the haircut must be regular. With the right perseverance, you can turn your lawn into a work of art. I have seen a lawn whose curly haircut resembled the patterns of the famous parterre flower beds of André Le Nôtre.
Tatiana Parshenko
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During a long winter you sometimes forget how beautiful it is in summer. Therefore, I really want to create a paradise on my personal plot, blooming all season.
Not all gardeners know that not only flower beds, shrubs and trees, but also lawns near the house can bloom! This is exactly what the Moorish lawn is. Photos of landscapes already implemented by other gardeners will help you create your own flowering meadow.
To whom the monotonous greenery of the usual seems boring, and his obligatory weekly haircut is tiresome, will like the idea of a blooming version. You can create on your site a piece of meadow blooming from early spring to late autumn. This task is not as difficult as it seems. But you have to work on it.
Advantages of a blooming lawn:
Flaws:
Start by preparing the soil. You need to dig it up, remove the roots of perennial weeds, apply complex mineral fertilizers or organic matter, carefully level the surface with a rake.
Sowing is carried out before winter or at the beginning of May on a calm day. The soil should not be dry, as well as waterlogged. 10 g of seed is enough for 1 m². To evenly distribute it and exclude thickening of the plantings, add sand in a 1: 1 ratio.
Embed the seeds shallowly into the soil with a rake. Compact the soil with a water roller. You can eliminate this operation by sprinkling the seeds with a layer of peat 1.5 cm thick or covering them with spunbond. Then the seeds will not be blown away by the wind and birds will not peck them. The entire area must be well watered so that the water penetrates 10 cm into the soil.
Some care rules are required
Important! Please note that many perennials will bloom only in the second year. Then you will enjoy a real Moorish lawn and make nice pictures for your collection!
As this type of lawn grows in popularity, garden centers are replete with packaging solutions to suit all tastes. Take your favorite pack and study its composition. Choose the mix based on the environmental conditions you are willing to provide.
There are mixtures for:
Often, a flowering lawn is sown along a fence or a small island is organized against the background of an ordinary lawn, where it creates a beautiful contrast. Also, a small cheerful clearing can be an accent around the group. decorative trees, benches, recreation areas, baths.
The mixture is always based on cereal grasses in the amount of 85-90%.
The most common are:
Pasture ryegrass
Meadow bluegrass
Polevitsa
Timofeevka
Other lawn grasses can be selected. They are complemented by seeds of flowering annuals and perennial plants in the amount of 5-15% of the total volume of the mixture. It is possible to increase their number to 20%, but it is more difficult to care for such a meadow.
Pay attention to the following suitable plants:
Oriental poppy and samoseyka poppy
Lupine of different varieties
Field cornflower of different colors
Annual flax (blue) and large-flowered flax
Kosmeya
Chamomile (any kind)
Echinacea
, daisy and other flowers.
Important! All representatives of the flora should be unpretentious, frost-hardy, drought-resistant, and annual crops successfully propagated by self-sowing.
When putting together your own mix, you will be sure that no one else has such a blooming carpet! For example, for spring flowering, be sure to plant early flowering bulbous plants: muscari, crocuses, tulips, daffodils. When they have faded, it is time for grasses and wildflowers.
In conclusion, we note that the history of this type of lawn dates back to the 7th century. It was popular in the Moorish and Arab states, located at that time in parts of northern Africa and Spain. They were used to decorate luxurious palace gardens and parks.
Check out some more photos of attractive landscapes.
You will definitely be able to have a beautiful and bright Moorish lawn! Photos of such a lawn in the landscape will inspire you to create your own unique version to the delight of yourself, guests and others!
Of course, a traditional lawn should only be grass, but if you're not overly concerned with tradition, you might want to decorate your lawn with bulbous or meadow flowers. If your garden is large enough, you can divide it into two zones: a traditional-formal one with a real velvet, well-groomed lawn, and a more natural and relaxed one with taller flowers and grass.
Bulbous flowers such as crocuses or hazel grouses (Fritillaria meleagris) can decorate your lawn and cheer you up. Many of the flowers that we lovingly cultivate in our flower beds today come from wild forest or meadow ancestors. IN good conditions they will delight you every year, requiring almost no effort on your part.
For the sake of simplicity, in many books on gardening, bulbous, corms and tuberous plants are called in one word - "bulbous". All of them are united by the fact that after flowering, the above-ground part of them dies off, and organs remain in the ground. vegetative propagation- bulbs or tubers. In some bulbs, such as onions, the leaves die off before flowering. Many bulbous - daffodils (Narcissus), snowdrops (Galanthus) - bloom in early spring; others - for example, autumn crocuses (Colchicum) and winter erantis (Eranthis hyemalis) - in autumn. Bulbous flowers for lawns are indispensable for the fact that the entire above-ground part of them dies off, which means that after they have faded, the lawn can be safely mowed.
If you have a small lawn that you constantly walk on, then you should not plant bulbs. Their sprouts begin to emerge from the ground in early spring, which means that they will not be able to be stepped on for at least several weeks, otherwise they will die. The ideal place for bulbs is a quiet, secluded corner, clearly visible from the house, so you can enjoy their bloom without getting tangled under your feet.
Before choosing or buying bulbs, find out if they will like the place where you intend to plant them. Do not think that they will all feel good under a tree or on a grassy slope - those bulbous that love the sun will not take root under a tree, and moisture lovers will suffer on a quickly drying slope.
Competent sellers will tell you which species will take root better in your environment. If you want a natural looking lawn, limit yourself to one or two varieties. Typically plants different colors do not coexist in nature, do not plant them nearby and in your garden. But this does not mean that you cannot plant in one place plants that bloom consistently. After crocuses or snowdrops, daffodils may bloom in the same place. Keep in mind that sometimes the simplest varieties are more suitable for lawns than the luxurious varietals. Simple, non-pedigree daffodils with short stems and small flowers look great in the grass, while the brighter and larger varieties bred by breeders will decorate any flower bed, but look out of place on the lawn.
In spring, crocuses bloom in unison, and their cups open wide, showing yellow pistils and stamens.
Take a handful of bulbs, toss them onto the lawn and plant them where they fell for the most natural look. Ideally, the distance between them should be equal to the size of one onion.
Try to plant bulbs in small, variable-sized groups rather than in even rows that look unnatural. If you bought bulbs in large quantities, there may be plants of different sizes and varieties, some of which are ready to bloom and others not yet - this will also give your plantings a natural and relaxed look. When planting, try to give each bulb enough room to grow and reproduce. If you don't, the bulbs will soon become cramped and may stop blooming, so you will have to pluck them and manually separate them.
You can plant bulbs different ways... It is better to plant large ones one at a time, using a scoop or a special seeder for bulbous plants, which cuts neat holes 10-15 centimeters deep in the turf and soil. If you have many small bulbs, it will be quicker and easier to lift a whole piece of turf and plant a group of bulbs.
The bulbs should be planted at a depth equal to their threefold height. As a rule, this is done in the fall, but it is better to plant snowdrops after they have faded, but have not yet lost their leaves.
Small bulbs, such as crocuses or hazel grouses, are easiest to plant by folding up a piece of turf and sticking a few bulbs under it. Then put the sod back in place, tamp it well and water so that the grass is not damaged.
The fertilizer that the lawn requires will not be good for bulbous plants: their leaves will grow more actively than flowers. Grass needs fertilization with a high nitrogen content during the growth period in order for its leaves to be strong and healthy, but if you have bulbs on your lawn, you can apply it only after all the leaves have died out. Before this happens, they need to be fed a high potassium fertilizer to ensure good flowering for next year. Such fertilization will not harm the grass; it will only slow down her growth a little, which is even useful, since you cannot yet cut her.
To create a meadow lawn, you just need to persuade the meadow flowers to grow on your lawn. If you already have a well-rooted traditional lawn, just stop cutting the grass as short as before. If you cut it not up to 2.5, but up to 5 centimeters, then many low plants, such as horned lily, Chernogolovka, threadlike veronica and clover, will soon appear on your own. Many gardeners consider them weeds, but a weed is a plant that has grown out of place, so if you are happy to see them on your lawn, they automatically cease to be weeds.
If the lawn has been well looked after for a long time, then all these small meadow flowers will not appear immediately, but sooner or later their seeds will appear and find their way up. If you want to rush things, take a close look at your flower borders, flower beds and vegetable beds: you will surely find some of these plants that you just have to transplant. In addition, there are nurseries that specialize specifically in meadow flowers and precisely for planting them on the lawn. They sell seedlings in 7cm pots, which are very convenient for planting in turf. This way you can get primroses and primroses that are unlikely to appear on your lawn on their own. It makes no sense to simply scatter meadow flower seeds over an already existing lawn: a stronger and more viable grass will most likely prevent them from germinating. Never plant tall flowers, such as yarrow, on your lawn, or your lawn will turn into a real meadow, which is a completely different story.
Clover does well in the grass, and its fragrant flowers attract bees.
If you are planting a new lawn, it is best to immediately add meadow flower seeds to the lawn mixture. Some companies sell these mixtures ready-made. However, do not expect miracles: often flower seeds germinate not at all where you would like, and the grass completely drowns them out. You can buy and rolled lawn with flowers, but in this case, it may have overly tall flowers, more suitable for a real meadow, while you only need a blooming lawn.
A meadow lawn is simply a patch of lawn with taller grass, among which there are low wildflowers. A real meadow is made up of tall grass and tall flowers. It is trimmed only twice a year and needs much more space than your average garden plot.
The first thing to know about wildflowers is that they hate fertilizer, so stop feeding your lawn, and if you have a new one, don't start. On the other hand, the grass loves fertilizers and weakens without them, which suits the flowers, which usually suffer from their overly energetic neighbor.
Secondly, for obvious reasons, you will not be able to use herbicides on a meadow lawn. If too many unwanted plants appear on it, treat them pointwise and do not let them scatter seeds.
Finally, a haircut. You already know that on meadow lawns, the grass should be allowed to grow up to 5 centimeters: this way you will give the flowers to gain strength, and primroses and other flowers on tall stalks calmly bloom and shed their seeds. When your pets bloom, you can completely forget about the lawn mower for several weeks.
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My Family Garden - Help
Dear friends!
In such a large assortment of all kinds of goods, it is very easy to get lost and of course you want so much! But it happens that there is no way to order everything at once.
So that you do not lose the products you like and do not waste time looking for them, we have created a convenient section for you where you can save the items you like.
Now you can create your own personal "Family Garden".
On the page of our new section, you have the opportunity to create lists, convenient for you, where your plans for future plantings will be stored.
Sort products into lists by price, culture, pick-up time, any property you like.
Did you like something but want to order it later?
Create a list, save the selected items there and when the time comes, click the "all items in the cart" button. The total amount of the future order will be shown in the lower right corner.
To get started, use the already created "Favorites" list, save all the positions you like to it. If you want to create a list with your own name, just click the "Add new list" button. Give it any name that will help you navigate, for example, "Seeds for 2016", "My Club", "Summer Flowerbed", etc. And when the hour comes, in a few clicks order all the goods you need, for example, for your winter garden.
Looking through now detailed description product, you can click the "Add to My Family Garden" button, and the product you like will be saved in the folder of your choice.
Easy, fast, convenient! Happy shopping!
How to use the My Family Garden section
To add a product to My Family Garden, you need to go to the product page.
In the additional window that appears, select the list to which you would like to add the current product. You can select New List by giving it a name. After selecting the list, you must follow the link "Ok".
My Family Garden
On the section page, you can view all the products you have added, as well as the created lists.
From here you can add the item to the cart, as per item:
And also the whole list:
You can also remove an item from the selected list:
Or clear the entire list of products:
To completely remove the list, use the following link:
Create lists on a variety of topics. Examples of names can be very different: "My future summer flower bed", "For a summer residence", "Apple garden" and many others. Do you know exactly what you will order from fruit and berry seedlings? So name the list "Delicious", adding your favorite varieties there. And when the time is right, order the entire list in just a few steps.
We have done everything to make My Family Garden as convenient and intuitive to use as possible!
The green lawn in the country can be used in different ways: arrange picnics on it, play sports, organize a playground. But most often a trimmed lawn is created as a decorative detail of the landscape. Singly planted exclusive or simply beautiful plants, monoclumba, spruce, thuja and other coniferous vegetation look interesting on it.
In each specific situation Different loads are applied to the grass cover, so it is important to choose the right grass or seed mixture for the lawn.
So that the green lawn does not require renovation as long as possible, unpretentious types of grasses with a long lifespan are used. Their development from germination to flowering is rather slow, but they remain viable for several years.
Top 10 best longevity lawn grasses:
Actual prices for your city:
Since the lawn is created for more than one year, annual grasses are practically not used in it. The exception is temporary lawns. For example, it is planned to create a flower garden on the site, but not now, but in a year or two. In this situation, it is advantageous to sow the land with one-year or two-year grasses or grasses: a piece of land that is not ennobled will not spoil the landscape, and in due time the soil will be easy to cultivate, since annual plants will not create sod.
There are not so many annual grasses for the lawn, perhaps due to the fact that they are not in great demand. Most often, only two types are used in landscaping, ryegrass and bluegrass.
Temporary Lawn Grasses:
Sowing the lawn can be carried out from early spring to September. In spring, this is done from April, when the earth warms up under the sun, and the moisture has not evaporated yet. In a humid environment, the seeds swell quickly and begin to germinate. Seeds sown no later than the second decade of September, before the onset of cold weather, have time to germinate, and young shoots take root even before the first frosts. The root system of plants tolerates the winter with little or no loss.
Sowing can be carried out in summer, but for this you should choose favorable conditions: in cloudy weather, after rain. To prevent young seedlings from drying out, you need to water the soil all the time while the grass is gaining strength.
How to sow a lawn:
A few weeks before sowing, the soil is dug up, and in a few days it is leveled with a rake. Immediately after sowing, the soil is again leveled with a rake in order to lightly sprinkle the seeds with soil.
For better contact of the seed with the soil, it is recommended to roll the area with a light roller. It will thicken the top layer, and the seeds will begin to germinate faster.
Useful video on planting lawn mixtures:
Seeds different types lawn grasses differ in size and density, so the seeding rates of specific crops differ. If we take the averaged parameters (the size of the seed and its density), into the lungs, loose soils are sown at 30-40 g of seeds per 1 m 2, and in heavy soils at 40-50 g / m 2. If the lawn has a large area, the seed mass is calculated per 1 hundred square meters and is 3-4 kg on light soils and 4-5 kg on heavy soils.
A significant deviation from the norm in one direction or another is not desirable, as this affects the quality of the lawn. If you take more seeds, their germination is extended over time and takes place more slowly. The sprouts "compete" with each other: those that made their way earlier suppress the growth of late shoots. If the seeds are sown less than the norm, the seedlings are sparse, uneven, and bald spots remain on the lawn.
Typically, seed shops have ready-to-use lawn mixes for sale, and the crops that make up them are matched to different conditions cultivation. Knowing in what place it is planned to make a lawn, you need to buy a mixture that is suitable for the composition of the soil, corresponding to the degree of shading of the site, as well as soil moisture.
Not all meadow grasses tolerate shading, one might say that only a few lawn plants have the ability to withstand shade. This unique feature is inherent in oak bluegrass... It grows well under tree crowns and in the shade of buildings. Even if there is very little sunlight on the lawn, the plant will cover all the bald spots and will not lose the juiciness of the color.
Important. Unfortunately, oak bluegrass not resistant to trampling, so it is better not to walk on it. Also, in order to preserve the picturesqueness of the lawn, you will have to abandon frequent mowing.
In low-lying places with constant humidity, the root system of plants gets wet, and the lawn does not just lose its decorative effect, it simply dies. It is recommended to sow on such a soil marsh bluegrass with powerful roots. The plant forms a lush green canopy and grows back quickly after mowing. The disadvantage is the short life span, which is why you need to constantly sow seeds to maintain the decorative effect of the lawn.
On the wet ground developing well white bent... Unlike swamp bluegrass, it lives for about 8 years, but is inferior to him in juiciness. These two lawn plants complement each other perfectly.
Without watering, the lawn quickly loses its attractiveness, which is why it is difficult to maintain its aesthetic appearance at the dacha, which is visited from time to time. In such a situation, a ready-made mixture will help out, which contains drought-resistant herbs. These include the common comb ( Cynosurus cristatus).
In addition to the fact that the plant is not demanding for watering, it has another advantage: resistance to trampling.
In non-irrigated areas, creeping clover ( Trifolium repens L.).
This is a drought-resistant grass that is not demanding on the type of soil, forming strong, low-growing bushes. The first year, growth is sluggish, but after a haircut, the greens grow back very quickly. The plant does not tolerate shading and marshy places. To match the clover red hair-like fescue ( Festuca rubea trichophylia) Is a drought-resistant grass that combines well with other grasses and is included in most lawn grass mixtures.
It also grows well in areas without regular watering. red fescue, meadow bluegrass, long-leaved fescue, fine bent fescue.
Unlike hard surfaces (tiles, paving stones), soft grass does not heat up under the sun, making it ideal for creating areas of intensive use: picnic areas, ball games, golf courses. The grass used for this purpose must form a dense sod and be highly stress-resistant. These properties are possessed by meadow bluegrass Bluegrass.
Thanks to the dense sod formed by the root system of the plant, it is also used to combat soil erosion in problem areas: slopes, banks of water bodies.
The grass mixture for active lawns also includes meadow bluegrass Braun, perennial ryegrass and various varieties of cane fescue ( Mustang, FRRSC-1).
In areas with harsh climatic conditions, it is recommended to use cereal seeds for creating lawns, as they are most easily tolerated by low temperatures and sudden cold snaps. The leading places in the list of the most hardy herbs are slender bent, red fescue and meadow bluegrass... These plants have similar properties: they are not afraid of sudden temperature changes, early autumn and late spring frosts.
It is very difficult to control weeds inside the lawn: it is impossible to weed out in order not to hurt the cultivated plants, and it is difficult to pull up by hand. It will be easier to care for the lawn if the composition of the lawn mixture includes herbs that inhibit the growth of weeds. First of all, these are species with rooting shoots, such as .
It is difficult for weeds to break through the dense turf formed by the intertwined roots of lawn plants, so plants with a strong root system should be present in the lawn mixture: red fescue, white bent, common beckmania.
In creating a beautiful lawn, intended not for walking, but for decorating the landscape, they use field bent and blue fescue... They form a beautiful uniform cover, which you just want to touch with your hand. The bent bent is very attractive, the leaves of which are delicate to the touch, in the herbage resembling an expensive velvety fabric spread over the ground.
Important. The disadvantage of both types is the instability to trampling, therefore they are not used in the creation of sports lawns and areas for recreation sites.
All lawns, to one degree or another, need constant care: mowing, sowing seeds, irrigation. But there is a type of lawn that does not require special attention, this moorish meadow.
