DIY Network

Kristen Locke: Plan, Costs and Products Meet Kristen Locke and find out the gardening challenge plan. From "Garden Sense" episode DGAR-305

(Continued from page 1)

Dollars and Sense

Twenty new plants were used in Hardiness Zone 6 and approximately $650 was spent. The most expensive plant was the chameacyparis at $40. The least expensive plant was the ajuga at $2.50 each. But 36 of them were planted so the overall cost of the ajuga was $90.

Plant prices may vary by zone.

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Sensible Tools

These are the tools and garden supplies used on our project by Walter and the DIY team and also given to the homeowners to help care for their new landscape:

• Fiskars Hose (www.fiskars.com)
  
• Fiskars Kangaroo Pouch (www.fiskars.com)
  
• Yard Glove (www.upcountryproducts.com)
  
• Spray-Doc Gilmour (www.gilmour.com)
  
• Gilmour Sprinkler (www.gilmour.com)
  
• Miracle Gro Weed Preventer (www.miraclegro.com)
  
• Scotts Flower & Vegetable (www.scotts.com)
  
• Corona Clipper Bypass Pruner (www.coronaclipper.com)
  
• Corona Clipper Wheelbarrow (www.coronaclipper.com)
  
• Gloves provided by Atlas Gloves

Web Extra: Maintaining Trees and Shrubs

If you have larger tree limbs, consider using handsaws to prune them. A bow saw works on limbs three to four inches--and good ones run in the $15 to $20 range.

NEVER use a carpenter saw from your toolbox on trees. It's not a sensible tool to use for this project because its teeth get clogged up, damaging the tree and the saw.

Tools for Pruning

We did a lot of pruning in Kristen's front yard. She'll need the right tools to keep things looking great.

Here are some general rules to follow so you don't waste money on the wrong tools:

• A hand pruner is the tool Walter reaches for when he has to prune anything less than 1/2-inch in diameter. That includes most small shrubs.

• Loppers are a sensible choice for limbs up to two inches. Walter advises that you don't go cheap. You'll need to spend around $50 for a quality lopper.

• Avoid inexpensive anvil loppers because they can get dull fast and can crush stems.

• You'll find hedge shears at virtually every nursery you visit. But unless you're going for a formal look, you really don't need these.

Gardening by Zip Code If you're looking to start a gardening projectbut don't know your gardening zone—visit the National Gardening Associations's USDA Hardiness Zone Finder. Enter your Zip Code to identify the proper zone.

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RESOURCES :

A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants
American Horticultural Society
Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc.
ISBN 0-7566-0616-0
Website: www.dk.com

Medicinal Plants of the World
By Ben-Erik van Wyk and Michael Wink
ISBN: 0-88192-602-7
Timber Press, Inc.