Every Landscape Artist Needs Landscape Supplies

Becoming a landscape artist is easier than you can imagine. Your land space, large or small, is the canvas and creating a masterpiece of plants, hardscape design and decorative personalized touches will be a snap with the right landscape supplies. Get your vision and get to work. Your efforts will be admired and enjoyed by all who take a look! 

First on the list, you need a classic round shovel. This is used for digging, lifting and throwing.  A stirrup hoe, many times referred to as a hula hoe because it wiggles, is used for weeding. Its sharp steel blade skims into the ground horizontally, slicing weeds at the root. A flat hoe is used for moving dirt around and smoothing out the soil and lastly, you need a bow rake to prepare beds for seeds or planting. You may look for these tools made of boron alloy which is an eco-friendly steel manufactured by a process of water instead of chemical treatment. Good quality handles are important for durability.  

Next, you should acquire various gardener supplies such as gloves, scissors and pruners. An excellent glove would be lightweight but tough enough to protect from punctures and thorns, keeping your hands clean and dry. Precision pruners, either long or short blade, should have a spring mechanism for opening and closing with ease. Scissors should be rugged and generously sized with stainless blades. They can be found with an adjustable tension dial, non-slip grip and built-in wire cutter making them an all-purpose tool. Gardening supply items for watering your landscape might include an irrigation system, sprinklers, hose or a simple, old-fashioned watering can if you wish to keep it simple!  All gardeners supply tools should be wiped off and properly stored after use. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish when shopping for discount garden supplies. Quality tools, properly cared for will serve their purpose for a lifetime of use. 

Composting is the environmentally friendly way to recycle kitchen scraps and garden waste back into the earth. Through decomposition of these materials, you will have nutrient rich compost, high in nitrogen, to mix into your soil. There are many sizes of commercial composters and bins on the market today. There are compact sizes, heated composters, worm composters and spinning bins from which to choose. A simple tiered bin has levels with a top chamber where you add your waste, a middle level where the waste is digested and the mature product is at the bottom. Each level is separated by a slide out divider to allow the material to fall down. Air and water combine to accelerate the decomposition. Among your compost supplies, you may wish to purchase  compost activator which has natural microbes, combining just the right bacteria to speed the decomposition process in building healthy soil. Purchasing rodent screen for your bin is a good idea to keep pests from burrowing.  

Your landscape supplies will also include bark. The practical use of bark is for retention of moisture and weed abatement.  Bark is also a decorative supply item.  Your bark supplies can be purchased in bagged quantities or in bulk for large areas of ground covering.  There are many choices of bark and color may be your primary concern, but size, type and cost are other variables to consider.  For example, a shredded redwood, which is fibrous, will last longer than any other wood or bark mulch. It is widely use around native plants and tends to stay in place well on slopes or hillsides. Douglas fir has a rich, red hue and elegantly accents what is typically a green dominance in landscaping.  It is aesthetically pleasing, long lasting and most beautiful. White wood chips are less expensive than bark, light in color and hold ground moisture well. Shredded cedar is an excellent mud control material, used frequently on pathways. Rubber bark is a durable, safe, environmentally friendly option that looks like wood or rock and is fade resistant. It has many qualities to consider—zero water absorption, 100% water drains through, eliminates wood-eating insects and does not blow or float away like bark. 

With your landscape supplies and a little imagination, your masterpiece will become a reality. You can add a dry streambed, unique water feature, fire ring, rocks, stones, raised flower or garden beds, a trellis or a bird feeder.  Perhaps a whimsical statute would suit your taste.  As a landscape artist, you can create beautiful landscaping to be enjoyed season after season.