Mornings with Michelle

For most people who enjoy home and garden activities, they will say being outside helps relieve stress of everyday life.  Not only do we have additional stress these days, we also consume more chemicals and generally unhealthy additives with everything we eat.  For most of us who value nutritious foods but also have an extremely hectic schedule, its near impossible to avoid consuming items loaded with ingredients we can't pronounce nor understand what they mean.

Creating your own vegetable garden can give you both completely organic produce as well as relieve stress by being outside and enjoying your accomplishments.  Today we offer a few easy ways to get started with your own vegetable garden and some simple tips on ways to ensure your growing plants produce vegetables for all to enjoy.

Do you ever wonder what type of soil to use for gardening or what the difference is between Topsoil, Compost, or Mulch products?

Laurie Fenley, expert horticulturist and avid gardener, gives us the run down on the three main types of soil, how to determine what type of soil we currently have, and how to properly use products like Topsoil, Compost, and Mulch for our next landscape project.

For many Landscape Contractors, here is a quick way to add value to your business by incorporating the installation of boulders into your product offering. At our corporate site in Fallbrook and our Cathedral City and Indio sites, Southwest Boulder & Stone has more than 40 different kinds of boulders available at any given time. With such a large amount of inventory to choose from, it’s best to know some specifics about boulders before you start. Then when your customer falls in love with stone, you are ready to go! Below is a list of some of the most important questions homeowners ask when purchasing boulders.

Learn How To do a Dry Streambed Installation in Less Than 10 Steps

Gravel

This is what separates the beginners from landscapers...

and designers from hobbyists.

Knowing where and what type of landscape to use when mapping the renovation of your property.

With that said, we wish to give you our full attention and in hopes you will give us the same, we look forward to teach what we've learned in the last 25 years.

In turn we hope to learn from many of you as well, your needs, interests and perspectives in the world of landscaping. Rocks and people share a similar trait, each one of their marks tells a story.

Today, is not just a rock story, but an "idea" to create a great pathway or water resistant yard.

Michelle covers an exciting topic this episode "Gravel", Yes thats Right!!

Gravel- is it small, naturally rounded pebbles or crushed stone?

Actually, the term has been used for both types of materials.

It can be the small “pea gravel” worn smooth by river wash or the more common crushed stone with sharper edges.  Both can be a gardener’s best friend for paving materials.  Gravel is cost-effective, user friendly, easy to install and is available in many colors, shapes, and sizes.

Use it to “frame” or encircle flagstone pavers or stepping stones in a pathway, or to carpet a garden as groundcover.  Gravel also makes an attractive natural-looking drive. For a meandering garden path, choose the rounded gravel that is easier on your feet or the crushed rock version for better compaction. Either way, it will draw you into your garden. And with all these choices, you can let your creative side go wild!

Michelle McLeod explains the different ways to capture rain water during a heavy downfall. She covers some of the cities making aesthetic changes to local buildings, in order to help communities utilize rain water as ecological resource.

Tired of your bare landscape?

Looking for a project to enhance your backyards appearance?

Michelle McLeod approaches several points on enhancing backyard appeal, similar to what we described in our description on building a Rock Garden with low - growing plants.

With 25 years in the business, Michelle is experienced in selling Boulder and Stone to landscape architects, contractors, urban designers and DIY landscapers. 

Tune in and get the first of several early steps for landscaping decomposing granite.