Getting to Know Your Yard
By John Fech, UNL Extension Horticulture Educator

It's a common assumption that grass can be grown just about anywhere. Well, it can--but not well. In fact, grass plants are as dependent on location as flowers and vegetables. Although it’s easy to assume that your lawn is growing in the most logical places, chances are a few areas would be better off without grass, while at least one bed of ornamentals or shrubbery would look and function better as lawn. So, try to think of the yard as a blank slate, even if you’ve lived in the same place for twenty years.

To get started, step outside and look at your yard as if you’ve never seen it before. Simply walk around with an open mind and your favorite drink in your hand, making mental notes about what would look good in each part of the landscape. For now, resist the temptation to think of specific plants. Instead, visualize general shapes and forms of plant material. Picture the various activities that you and your family like to engage in--touch football, backyard barbeques, sunbathing. This will get you ready for preparing an inventory and analysis.

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Beautiful Barriers- Creating a Living Snowfence
By Rod Wilke, UNL Extension Educator

The season’s first major snow storm and the accompanying troublesome snowdrifts remind us that that we should have taken the time to erect snow fence in the problem areas when the weather was pleasant and the soil unfrozen. Snowdrifts in rural areas are particularly troublesome because of the miles of roads involved, and the time and money it takes to clear blocked stretches.

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Photo by Joseph O'Brien, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Acreage Design Starts With a Good Plan

Planning an acreage helps avoid costly mistakes and aids in achieving your goals when purchasing the property.

Aerial photographs may be available from the Farm Service Agency, county engineers, county planning offices, Google Maps or Google Earth. Assuming the photographs are relatively current, they can provide accurate planning information. Use the photo information (or if no image is available), draw the property to scale on gridded paper using measurements taken directly from the property.

Using an engineering scale of 1” = 10’ or 20’, or an architect’s scale of 1/8” or 1/16” = 1’.0”, most properties can be drawn at a size that will be easy to use and verify design details.

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