Landscaping With Deer Resistant Plants

Landscaping in Austin can be fun, but also quite challenging. The unique setting of Austin blends the urban city with the Hill Country of Central Texas. This mix gives the Austin landscape a look and feel unlike any other part of Texas.

With wildlife and people living together, it is common to see deer in neighborhoods all around Austin. The deer can really give headaches to the novice landscaper. When Landscaping in Austin, it is important to know the different types of shrubs and perennials you can use to make your yard beautiful and keep the deer from munching on your new plantings. Remember, the Plants mentioned are usually deer Resistant, but deer will eat almost any plant if hungry in extreme drought conditions.
Every landscape should have the right mix of evergreen shrubs and flowering perennials. This way, your garden doesnt look dead in the winter and will provide color in the spring, summer and fall. Here are a couple of Plants that I have had success with while Landscaping in Austin.

Evergreen Shrubs:

Silver Germander
Pineapple Guava
Dwarf Yaupon
Cotoneaster
Upright and Trailing Rosemary
Bicolor and African Iris
Jerusalem Sage

Flowering Perennials:

Salvia species (Several varieties and colors to choose from--I like Hot Lips, Mexican Bush Sage and Salvia Greggii)
Indigo Spires
4 Nerve Daisy
Copper Canyon Daisy
Turks Cap
Bat Face Cuphea
Yellow Bell

These shrubs and perennials will vary in height and texture, so be sure to plant in the right location. For example, you dont want to plant a Pineapple Guava in front of a window or an Upright Rosemary too close to a sidewalk--allow for adequate growth. If not, the Plants will overwhelm the space and crowd your garden.

By planning ahead and before you begin Landscaping in Austin, you will save valuable time, money AND keep deer from eating your Plants! Best of luck and happy gardening.

JW landscape Design provides sprinkler systems, patios and Landscaping in Austin, TX. Our services include landscape design, irrigation, patios and outdoor lighting as well as spring and fall clean up. Our experienced landscape designers guarantee professional, prompt service.

We are a licensed irrigation company in the State of Texas (LI#18123) that have been installing sprinkler systems in Austin, TX for years. We serve both residential and commercial properties.

For more information on Landscaping in Austin, TX - please visit our website http://jwlandscapedesign.com for more information and Landscaping ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_D._Williams

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Free Landscaping Design Software

If your want to take your landscape design to the next level then you definitely need to consider getting your hands on landscape design software. While there are plenty options available on the market, they can be quite expensive and if you are only landscaping your own garden you might not be able to justify the cost. However there are some free landscape design software options available on the internet which may be more than enough if you are only a hobbyist.

You should remember however, that if a piece of software is free it is probably not going to be as advanced as paid options. That doesnt mean that free landscaping design software wont be enough for you, this depends on what you want to achieve using your software. The great thing about free software is that there is no cost for trying it out to see whether it has the features that you want.

Even though the average paid landscaping software will have a more advanced graphical interface and will look a lot better, a lot of the features arent actually necessary to create a brilliant garden. If you have tried out a piece of free software and decided that it isnt enough for you then you should see if a more expensive software program has a free trial before buying it. Many programs such as Isisoft offer a free month long trial of their software which will allow you to really see whether it is what you need. If you are buying an expensive computer program then you should always try and give it a go first because often getting a refund can be difficult if you have already installed and registered the software.

The other benefit of free landscaping software is that they are often much more simple to use than more advanced options. While paid software might be more powerful and allow you to do more advanced things, it also increases the learning curve to start using it. Free software might not have these extras and hence if it is designed well it will probably be a lot easier to use. If you are only going to be using the software for your own garden then it often doesnt make sense to spend a lot of time learning how to use a difficult program when you dont need it.

One example of free garden design software is Virtual Garden Designer. This is a great option if you want to visualize how your garden will look once it is completed, even if it isnt as powerful as paid software.

The options today for landscape design programs is simply unlimited. If you surf the net you can find scores of programs that are free, or the trial program is free. I urge you to take advantage of many of these offers. You have nothing to lose, and it can assist you a great deal when you are landscaping your property.

Ken Asselin is webmaster for the Landscape Design Ideas series of Information websites. You can visit his Landscape Design website at: Latest Landscape Design Ideas

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