With the spring on the way and many people spending more time at home, our gardens have suddenly become a central focus of our lives. Many people are looking for ways to make the most of them to help them get through these trying times.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at all the ways that you can make your garden a more pleasant environment. Being at home will never have felt better.
Remove Old, Tired Plants From Your Garden
Old plants don’t just look unsightly; they can also become diseased or impede the growth of new plants, harming the appearance of your garden.
If you notice any desiccated plant or shrubs that are past their best, use this as an opportunity to remove them and replace them with something else. Dig them up, throw them on the compost and replace them with colorful shrubs that will blossom in the years to come.
Plant Densely
A lot of people can be reluctant to go bold in their gardens for fear of looking ostentatious. Many gardeners will buy and plant species of plants individually along beds. However, if you want to give your garden visual appeal, it pays to plant more plants than you think, to plant densely.
Geraniums and achilleas work exceptionally well when planted in groups of three. So do violas and primroses. If you have flower beds, don’t be afraid to cram them with plants. Allow just enough spacing for them to thrive, and fill the bed with complementary species.
Design A Brand New Flower Bed
Creating a fantastic garden is also about using your creative side. While keeping your lawns well-kept is part of it, nothing quite compares to designing your flower bed and watching it flourish.
Making a new flower bed from scratch is a lot easier than you think. First, you’ll need a spade to cut out the outline of the bed. Dig into the turf firmly, about six inches if possible, and then lever it out. Once you remove the grass, cover the area in some fresh compost, and then turn the soil over to work it into the ground.
Where possible, try to cultivate a plot of land that is not too stony. Look for quality soil with high nutrient content. Avoid digging your bed near to the roots of large trees as these tend to make plants less viable.
Once you have dug out a bed, you can begin the fun part: choosing and planting your shrubs and flowers. Before committing to any particular species, make sure that it has enough space in the bed once fully mature. Think carefully in advance about how far apart you’ll need to place your plants so that each has enough space to get sunlight once fully grown. Be sure that you plan to avoid overcrowding or shading.
Have Gaps? Use Potted Plants
Even with the most diligent planning in the world, you will sometimes end up with gaps in your flower beds. If you’re struggling to fill them, take advantage of potted plants instead.
Pots can enhance the appearance of your garden versus regular beds by adding an element of three-dimensionality. They make your flower displays “pop” and appear as though they’re overflowing in a way that regular beds do not.
Give Your Pots A Good Scrub
Your garden pots have to endure rough conditions, sitting outside all hours of the day and night. Not only do they have to cope with everything that the weather has to throw at them, but moss, mold, and bird droppings too.
Suffice to say, your pots are probably in a sorry state right now, but that’s nothing that a quick scrub won’t cure. If you have ceramic pots in your garden, clean them with warm soapy water as a soft sponge. Where possible, avoid using any course or wires brushes as these might damage the material.
Build A Covered Patio
Patios are pleasant in the spring and autumn, but they can become a little too hot for comfort during the height of the summer. If you want to be able to sit outdoors but don’t want the sun to burn you to a crisp, then build a roof for your patio using any materials you have available to you.
Encourage Bees Into Your Garden
Gardening isn’t just a human endeavor; it is something that nature helps with too. Gardeners are more like stewards, fostering a diverse ecosystem rather than artists, creating something specific. Sometimes, you have to roll with it.
Attracting bees to your garden is an essential pillar of creating a living, breathing, and vibrant garden that changes throughout the seasons. Without them, you’ll struggle to get the pollination you need to sustain all your species of plant.
Fortunately, getting bees to come to your garden is surprisingly simple. Here are some of the main methods that gardeners use:
- Stop using any form of pesticide as this will hurt bees as well as other insects
- Plant flowering fruit trees, like apple and pear
- Plant flowers with a single petal
- Put a little bit of sugar in your bird table water for them to drink
- Plant vegetables that flower throughout the year
Banish Mosquitoes With Natural Methods
Over the next few weeks, there’s a high degree of probability that you’ll be spending more time than ever before in your garden. The last thing you want, therefore, is for swarms of mosquitoes to make the experience unpleasant. But what can you do to keep these pesky, blood-sucking insects at bay?
Mosquito Authority points out that there are now a host of natural control methods available to homeowners worried about the impact of these creatures on their enjoyment of their backyard. You don’t have to go in with all guns blazing. Often, a few simple tricks are all you need to repel these invaders and keep them at bay.
Undertake A Spot Of Crown Lifting
While some trees look great left to grow to their own devices, the vast majority look better after so-called “crown lifting.” The crown of the tree comprises all the trunks, twigs, and leaves that branch out to form the main shape. Crown lifting raises the point at which the crown starts by removing branches from lower down the trunk. Trees that have been through this process look more mushroom-like in their overall shape.
There are two main benefits from crown lifting:
- It helps to improve the appearance of your garden.
- It makes it easier for smaller plants and shrubs to grow in the exposed space.
If you have a large tree in your garden whose branches go all the way down to the ground, consider removing them and throwing them on your compost heap. Doing this will allow new plants to thrive, increasing the diversity in your garden.
Redefine Your Edging
Edging looks excellent when you first do it. But over time, the soil naturally shifts and moves, losing its definition. This process can take decades to play out, but it inevitably takes its toll on the appearance of your garden.
Use an edging tool to recarve your beds, removing any clumps of soil or lawn that have strayed. Where possible, use a guideline to mark out the shape that you want to cut so that you don’t wind up with less than optimal results.
With a few small changes, you can radically transform your garden into a far more pleasant and welcoming environment. And that’s just what you need to see you through the coming months.