Less work - more fun guaranteed: Here are 10 Tips on how to make your garden as enjoyable as possible - without the hard work - creating a carefree garden - but with a sustainable approach.
1. Borders
2. Healthy Soil
3. Lots of Compost
4. Location, Location, Location
5. Keep Your Distance
6. Shade and Sun
7. Mulching
8. Water Smart
9. Prune, Prune and Prune More!
10. Avoid All Chemicals and Poisons
1. Borders
One of the most important tasks for new and old gardens is to create borders between flower or vegetable beds and walkways or lawns. As better garden beds are "bordered" as fewer weeds can spread. Another aspect is water or soil overflow which can be prevented through borders. Never, ever use plastic! Not only is it an unnatural material, but it also looks ugly and often it is too low to get a stronghold in the soil. It might also break as it is exposed for a long time to sun, frost and frigid temperatures.
Stone borders, at least 8-10 inches high and placed at least 4 inches deep into a layer of stone sand or concrete are the best solution. This will prevent weeds and grass from creeping into the flower beds or walkways. To remove weeds on a walkway, just pour boiling, hot water over the weeds. Do it on dry soil, on a warm dry day. The weeds will immediately die down and wilt. You can also do this with boiling water and added salt or vinegar. Especially difficult are walkways that consist of small gravel. They need higher borders to avoid gravel stones flowing into the lawn or flower beds. See a video here how to install it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlucSy6dmSM
Cover the soil of the flower beds with a 3 to 5-inch layer of mulch to discourage new grass seeds from germinating. But before applying the mulch, weed the flower bed and spread a thick layer of cardboard on the bare soil before adding the mulch.
Another way is to cut into the sod along the line to a depth of at least 6 inches, this way creating a deep edge. However, it needs to be tended and newly cut at least twice or three times a year, depending on the soil, the rainfall and the spreading of the lawn or other plants. It will not work near trees as their roots often spread for meters and are close to the surface. Roots from older trees often make it impossible to edge. After mowing, trim edges with long-handled edging shears, to cut grass the mower couldn't reach. Don’t use a snipper, as it would spread the grass pieces (and maybe weeds) into your flower beds.
It's much easier to control your garden if it has definite boundaries. Containers provide the ultimate in control. You control the soil, water, exposure and even limit the growth of the plants in the container. Moreover, you can move the containers wherever you want.
Raised beds, for example, to grow vegetables, separate the garden beds from their surroundings. Ideally, lift the beds up by 6 inches or more. You'll have the benefits of controlling your borders and you'll be saving your back from some bending.
Don't forget to create “garden rooms”, add a focal point like a birdbath, fountain, arbor, pergola, large rock, or a garden statue.
2. Healthy Soil
Start with great soil and you'll wind up with great plants. Nutritious soil and sufficient water are a MUST: No matter where you garden - in shade or sun - your plants will only thrive when you feed them well with the right soil, lots of compost and regular water. Especially near or beneath trees and large shrubs moisture is crucial. Trees take up all the nutrients and moisture (and even prevent rain reaching the soil), so there is nothing left for your attractive flowers - if you don't soak the soil frequently.
Healthy plants get fewer diseases, attract fewer insect pests and require less water. Plus, you won't have to remember to fertilize every other week. Start with a good analysis of your existing soil. You can have all the essential nutrients tested or just the pH. Many nurseries provide this service. If your soil is deficient in any minerals or nutrients, amend the soil according to recommendations. Then keep adding organic matter, like compost, regularly. A good soil mixture I am using is one-third black soil, one-third compost and used coffee grounds, and one-third composted manure (chicken, cow or sheep manure).
Slow release, organic fertilizers can help supplement deficient nutrients. But feeding plants with synthetic fertilizers can actually destroy the beneficial organisms and organic matter within the soil and only provide a short fix. It's like turning your garden into a drug addict. It will need regular doses of fertilizer and more and more to get the same effect.
Covering the soil with natural cedar mulch has a profound effect on your gardening success. Place a 6-inch thick layer of mulch to even out temperature difference, to avoid weeds and yes, reduce watering.
3. Lots of Compost
It’s so easy to compost your kitchen scraps! I am spreading two layers of newspaper on my counter and peel fruits, vegetables, and potato peels directly on this paper and wrap it, before throwing into the compost heap. This way, possible liquids are soaked up and some of the necessary dry material is guaranteed. If you don’t subscribe to a newspaper, use flyers or paper shopping bags, or even cardboard egg cartons.
Composted organic material, such as dry leaves, grass clippings, shredded paper, fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, tea and coffee grounds, pieces of toilet paper rolls, dryer lint, straw, used paper towels or napkins, shredded leaves, pieces of egg cartons… the list goes on and on. I am wrapping these items in two sheets of newspaper, so they won’t ever smell when composting. In winter I keep a paper shopping bag in the garage and throw my newspaper compost parcels every day into the paper bag. Come spring, I bring these bags to the compost heap.
There are several ways to “ignite” the composting process and adding microorganisms into the compost. I usually dig a hole in the garden bed, approx. one foot deep and one foot wide. I fill it half with compost, then sprinkle some soil over it, then fill the rest of the compost material up and on top a thicker layer soil. With a stick, I poke some holes into the compost hole (for better airing). On top, I place a piece of chicken fence to hinder animals, such as rodents or raccoons, to dig in.
The “classic” way is a large plastic composting bin, but there are several reasons not to use them: the composting materials don’t get enough air, and these bins are too deep to easily turn the material. As plastic is very adverse to the environment, I would never use any of these bins. These bins will not dissolve in ten-thousand years! Much better (and less expensive) is it with the set up a compost heap in your backyard. Just hammer four posts (about 2-2,5 feet high) into the soil (4-6 ft area), roll sturdy metal fence around and cover it also with a fence to keep animals at bay. This way your compost gets a lot of air, and you can easily turn it from time to time with a fork. Sprinkle a bit soil every time you add a pale full of compost material to start the process faster. I also like to catch earthworms and place them into the compost to do their work. They are my unpaid employees - working 24/7/365 on my garden fertilizing material.
Benefits of Compost: Compost provides many essential nutrients for plant growth and therefore is used as fertilizer. Compost also improves soil structure so that soil can easily hold the correct amount of moisture, nutrients, and air. It also encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material. Compost is better for your plants than any artificial fertilizers. And most important: it reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint. Plus - composting is fun, and saves you time and money.
In autumn, lose the existing soil on top with a garden fork, and add a layer of two inches of compost or composted manure for additional nutrients. Then add a six-inch (15-cm) layer of shredded leaves (or natural cedar mulch) to improve the soil’s tilth and texture.
4. Location, Location, Location
Just as in real estate, the location of plants in your garden is immensely important. No shade-loving flower will thrive in full sun and dry soil. And roses underneath a huge maple tree or tucked into the darkest corner of the garden will not bloom at it’s best.
Before you purchase any plant always check their label carefully, it will tell you exactly the best location, or google nursery sites on the internet.
Group plants by their needs I'm sure you've heard the saying "Right plant for the right spot." Of course, you're going to want to put sun lovers in the sun and ground covers where they can roam. But consider how efficient it would be if you put all your water hogs together so you could just turn on the sprinklers or drag the hose to one area and be done. The same goes for plants that require a lot of deadheading or vegetables that need to be harvested daily or hourly, like zucchini. You can still mix in different bloom times and variations in color, form, and texture. It's just the heavy maintenance chores that should be consolidated.
But location is also important when it comes to a plant's size. Large shrubs or perennials look better as background plants, and smaller flowers should be more to the front.
Another consideration might also be the blooming time. Don’t place all flowers or shrubs that are blooming, for example, in May into one spot - while in the rest of your garden has no color to show.
Always plant at least five or seven of the same annuals or perennials in one group. Single plants just look kind of lost… They make no impact, and your garden looks a bit cluttered.
Even shrubs or trees are more attractive when they are planted in a group of at least three. In natural landscaping, trees should always be grouped together in multiples. Compare it to nature: there is always a group, sometimes a whole forest of the same trees, and shrubs or bushes appear mostly in a number of species.
5. Keep Your Distance
The spacing of landscape plants makes the difference between a well-groomed yard and an overgrown jungle. Never be afraid of empty spaces. The opposite: it’s leading the attention and visual interest to the existing and blooming plants. If you really want to fill it up, get groups of blooming annuals and plant them in the empty spaces between your perennials.
Even landscape contractors from the city or nursery companies can be found to make these errors: planting to tight. Walking in a park or through residential areas, one will detect many of these errors. It is very easy to find out how far apart to plant flowers, shrubs, or trees: Just read the label. It tells you the mature height and width of the plant. Add to this width a foot between flowers, or two feet between shrubs, and three feet between the width of trees.
How far away from your house should you plant a tree? Large trees, up to 70 feet or more should be planted at least 30-40 feet from the home, medium-sized trees up to 40 feet tall, 25-30 feet from the home, and small trees 20 feet tall or less, 20-25 feet from the home.
The average tree has as much mass below ground as it has above ground? Most of the mass of a tree’s root system is in the top 18-24 inches of soil. The roots spread at least as far as the most distant tips of the branches, and invasive tree roots often spread much farther and can be very destructive. Trees that have invasive root systems invade pipes. Especially Willows, American Elm, and Silver Maple should be planted far away from the house.
6. Shade and Sun
Analyze the shade more carefully: Bright shade, morning shade, full shade, dry shade, shade from buildings, shade from deciduous trees. Shade is not shade… it might be a little complicated.
Shade from a building is the easiest to find plants for. A wide range of plants will grow well in areas shaded for all or part of the day by a shadow from a house or taller building. The reason: the sky overhead is not obstructed, so plants still receive a full spectrum of light, containing all the wavelengths needed for growth. The only difference is that the light is less intense. You can plant almost all flowers and shrubs that have the word “shade” in the label.
Shade from deciduous trees allows Japanese maples, Camellias, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas to thrive. It is also a perfect place to plant early Spring bloomers, such as Daffodils, Hyacinths, Tulips or Snowdrops to bloom before the tree leaves are sprouting and the full summer shade arrives. All other plants in this dappled shade need to be “shade-loving” - for example, Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Heuchera, Hostas, Siberian Iris, Bigroot Geranium, Anemones, Shooting Stars, Trilliums, Japanese Forest Grass, Primulas, Periwinkle.
Annuals that tolerate dappled shade include Pelargoniums. Begonias, Impatiens, Lobelia, Pansies, Coleus, Caladiums, and Curcuma. Shrubs that thrive if the shade is not too deep: Mock Orange (Philadelphus), Hydrangeas (PeeGee, Annabelle, Climbing Hydrangea) and Rosa Glaucia with its lovely blue-green leaves and light pink flowers.
Dry shade is almost always the result of mature trees with roots that run close to the soil surface, taking up water before it has a chance to reach other plants. When installing perennials in these demanding conditions, add plenty of composted manure to the planting holes. It’s easier to plant in individual holes, rather than trying to dig an entire bed at once, and smaller plants get off to a stronger start than larger ones because they adapt to coexisting with tree roots more easily. Tolerant of dry shade are very few plants, best do Hostas in all color variations, especially Blue Hosta. Avoid the green varieties as they are not very attractive among all other green shades. Other choices are Periwinkle, big-root Geranium and Japanese Spurge, planted in big groups to fill the spaces, especially close around tree trunks.
Sunny Garden Beds: Many full sun plants are also tolerant of drought and arid conditions, making them ideal for potted environments too. Nevertheless, don’t let them dry out, regularly water the soil (no water overhead the plants or god forbid the flowers!)
Plants that thrive in full sun - at least 5 hours - include Lavender, Yarrow, Daisy, Purple Coneflower, Coreopsis, all types of Sedums, Lambs Ear, Aster, Iris, Salvia, Artemesia, Peonies, etc. Annuals include Petunias, Zinnia, Canna, and Geranium. And almost all vegetable types. For seasonal interest within your containers, try planting different types that will bloom at various times so there is always something in flower. No matter of sun or shade: stick to low-maintenance flowers with long bloom times!
7. Mulching
Walking through a forest or hiking in the countryside you will see bare soil pretty seldom. Nature mulches itself! In Fall, dry leaves tumble down to the ground, covering the ground. In Winter lots of needles from Pine, Fir, and Tamarack trees cover the area.
Mulching not just suppresses weeds and slows down moisture evaporation, but should also break down into the underlying soil gradually and thereby improve the soil’s texture. A thick layer of mulch helps moderate soil temperatures. Mulch serves as a buffer from soil compaction caused by rain and helps prevent the crusting-over of bare soil that can sometimes prevent moisture from being absorbed.
The ideal mulch is the one, made from natural Cedars. It has a wonderful smell, especially after the rain. Cedar mulch is quite long lasting and breaks down over time to provide added nutrients to the soil. Cedar mulches also discourage, repels, kills or can inhibit insects from taking up residence in the garden, thus making the use of insecticides unnecessary!
Other products to mulch are shredded (with a lawnmower) leaves or like in the southern US States, Pine needles. Always add mulch at least 6-8 inches high for best results.
Never buy those “mulches” that are color-stained, and are sold by chemical companies
The large scale manufacturers of colored mulch use iron oxide to dye their red mulch and carbon black for their black mulch - which are sometimes toxic. The wood which is used for these products is not Cedar, but debris from felled city trees. These additives will stain your clothes, gloves, and hands. They are not adding any nutrition to your soil. CCA pressure-treated wood should never be used as mulch because one of the ingredients that make up the CCA (chromated copper arsenate) is arsenic, a poisonous substance, and a carcinogen.
8. Water Smart
How often you water your garden depends on the climate where you live, the soil type, if your plants are in shade or full sun, how large the plants are and if they have shallow roots, such as vegetables.
One important rule: Water the soil - never, ever water overhead the plants or blooms! You might say: Rain also pours water over my plants. Yes, true - but rainwater is much “softer” as it doesn’t get all these chemical treatments that city water receives. One more reason to collect rainwater...
Test your soil before and after watering: Use a small hand trowel (or just a spoon), scoop a handful of soil and try to form it into a ball. Should it not keep its form and fall apart, the soil is too dry or contains too much sand - or both.
After watering, dig about 5 inches deep to see how deep (or low) the moisture went. Better water once or twice a week thoroughly (depending if it rains or not). Early in the morning, before the sun rises, is the best time of day to water the garden. It’s still cool outside, which allows the water to run down into the soil and reach the roots of the plant before excess water is lost to evaporation.
A soaker hose is the ideal watering tool. Soaker hoses deliver water slowly, close to the plant roots. After dragging for years heavy watering hoses around, and sometimes got holes that needed repair, I finally found the perfect hose: extremely light-weighted and 100 ft long. I could carry the complete hose with one small finger. When I purchased the hose, it cost more than $100, in the meantime, you can get them for $40 at Amazon.
http://garden-dream.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-greatest-garden-hose-ever.html
Potted plants need way more watering, especially if they are placed in the sun. Get someone to water your garden when you are away. If that’s not possible, fill plastic water bottles, freeze them overnight, and poke a small hole in the lid. Dig the bottle, upside down three to four inches deep next to the plant. After a day or two, the water is melted and very slowly drips into the soil. Another trick to water shrubs is to cut off the bottom of a plastic water bottle and poke a hole into the lid. If there is any rain after the bottle is empty, the rainwater will be directed to the plant.
9. Prune, Prune and Prune More!
The terms pruning and trimming are often used interchangeably, but surprising to most, there is a difference between the two. When you are removing the dead, loose, or infected branches or stems from its respective plant, you are pruning. Trimming, on the other hand, occurs when you are cutting back overgrown plants.
Hand pruners are a gardener's best friend! Buy the most expensive pair you can find. Don’t skimp on the most important tool in your garden. Believe me, I tried them all - from $3 to $80. The cheap ones all broke, and some of the expensive ones I lost… I never walk into the garden without pruners. And I am in the garden every day! To check on my perennial flowers. I barely ever buy annuals. Perennials are so enchanting, versatile, inexpensive and can be propagated for years and years. Perennials need only to be pruned once their blooms are spent. Don’t delay as they will bloom again in late summer/fall when cut right away. At the end of the garden season, perennial flowers are best cut down in the fall. If they are diseased, throw the foliage away, do not compost it.
Perennials are not the only plants which need to be pruned: shrubs need the treatment at least once a year. They can be pruned up to a third per annum. If you start doing it from the first year on, you won’t have bare twigs or stems later on. Pruning and trimming shrubbery improve the health and strength of a plant. Pruning deciduous plants in the winter promote fast regrowth in the spring, as most plants are dormant during the winter. It's also easier to see the shape of deciduous plants in the winter since their foliage is gone. An exception is spring-flowering blooms, such as Lilacs, Witch Hazel, Quince or Tree Peonies. They need to be pruned just after they bloomed, in late spring or early summer as they build their buds for next year’s blooming.
One important rule when pruning: Make the cut in a 45-degree angle, never cut straight horizontally. A sloped angle lets the moisture run down and not trap it on the surface. Also make your cuts if possible 1/4 inch above the bud, sloping down and away from it.
10. Avoid All Chemicals and Poisons
There are so many natural ways to solve problems in the garden or the house - no need to use poisons. Remember: “Convenience Kills”. Pest control will not only kill ants, moles, mice or rats. Especially against the annoying slugs, poisonous grain is widely scattered. It will be a death sentence, not only for these critters but also for cats and dogs… All these poisons - as well as the dangerous glyphosates, such as Round-up, should never be used in a garden. They will penetrate the soil, will be washed away by rain, and flow into rivers and lakes. We eat fish and seafood and ingest these poisons in small amounts, year for year. Glyphosates may contribute to Lymphoma: Non-Hodgkin, DNA damage, and Hormonal Disorders. Do you want to take the risk of cancer?
Easy and mostly free methods, such as pouring boiling water, hot vinegar or ice-melting salt on weeds that invaded driveways or a garden path are working more efficiently than Weed b’ Gone or Roundup. Plus, they are better for your health and the environment.
Thick layers of mulch and edging, or much better: creating borders help to keep weeds out of flower beds.
How to solve unwanted pests: Mix borax, sugar, and a bit of water, make a thin paste, against ants and other bugs. They’ll eat it and take it back to their colony, feeding their breed. None of them might survive it. The website “Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Mice and other Critters Naturally” gives lots of tips for this problem.
https://how-to-get-rid-of-mice.com/natural-home-remedies/
Read also: Poisoning Your Soil: Are Gardeners Really “Green”?
http://garden-dream.blogspot.com/2019/01/poisoning-your-soil-are-gardeners.html
Don't Forget to Smell the Roses!
To stop and smell the roses means: relax, do take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of your garden. And that’s what gardens are for: a means to make you happy. Not something to work on hard!
Show your children and grandkids early in life how much fun and how exciting gardening is. They might even enjoy deadheading the petunias. Planting, harvesting, learning what's a weed, collecting insects - these are all activities that will get them out into the garden.
Don’t work for hours and hours on a weekend in your garden. You will be exhausted and curse your green space. Rather walk your garden every evening, sit down or lay down and “smell the roses”.
Water the ground, pick some weeds or prune spend flowers. But don’t spend more than 20 minutes on this. Use your time to contemplate and marvel on your colorful flowers and shrubs. Enjoying your flower garden is a sensory experience. Growing flowers allow you to enjoy nature, including birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that naturally migrate to nectar from the blooms.
Be smart, take my tips - and become a happy and eco-friendly gardener!
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