Adding Concrete To Your Landscaping Design

Landscaping majorly involves gardening. Usually, a landscaping design is filled with plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers. Concrete is mostly used in building and construction, mostly for foundations, beams, columns, and slabs. 

How To Use Concrete In A Landscaping Design?

Steps: In your landscaping design, you can use concrete for the steps. It does not matter how large or small your garden area is; concrete can be altered to produce different aesthetic designs. You can use either smooth or textured, patterned or colored concrete for your steps. 

Concrete Patio: If you have always wanted a patio in your garden, where you can get relaxed without entering your garden. This is the time for you to create it. You can install a concrete patio; it is easy to install and will not take much of your time. To install a concrete patio, you must pour the concrete in the design you want and leave it to dry.

Concrete Furniture: Rather than having wooden furniture that can be damaged by rain, insects, and other natural factors, you can have concrete furniture instead. Concrete is a safe material even when in contact with elements like fire and water. It is also environmentally friendly.

Concrete Planters: Another alternative to plastic plant pots is to use concrete planters. This is one of the easiest and best uses of concrete in landscaping design. You can create planters of various shapes and sizes.

Is Concrete Safe In Gardens?

When you hear that you can incorporate concrete into your landscaping design, you would ask if it is safe for the plants in the garden as a newbie. The safety of concrete to plants is relative to the type of plants you have in your garden. Some plants thrive well in acidic soil; you should never put them in concrete planters.

Concrete contains lime, and lime has a high pH level, making any soil it contacts alkaline. Other plants like orchids, mums, morning glory, begonias, Easter lilies, and begonias thrive well in alkaline soil. So, they will do great in concrete planters. Herbs and vegetables like arugula, broccoli, oregano, and cabbage chives also do great in alkaline soil.

How To Make Concrete Planters Safe

There are different ways of making concrete planters safe for plants. You can alter the soil’s pH level in the planter by adding organic mulches, iron sulfate, or sphagnum moss. This method is not always effective, so you can try the other methods.

The other way to make concrete planters safe for plants is by soaking the planter in water for at least three days. This will drain out the alkalinity from the planter, making it safe for both acidic and alkaline thriving plants.

Conclusion

Concrete has a lot of uses in landscape design. You should not assume that it is bad for the garden and the plants because it has a high pH. Get informed, and you will have fun.