Some people are simply blessed with the ability cultivate stunning landscapes. With a conductor’s wave of their cordless hedge trimmer, shrubs and hedges dutifully adopt whatever shape and form they desire. Their lawns are always a brilliant green and their flowerbeds seem to be perpetually in bloom. Are these people gifted? Do they have Mother Nature on speed dial? What’s their secret?
Actually, these gifted gardeners don’t have one secret; they have a whole arsenal of them and you can enjoy the same beautiful landscapes they do. You just need to take the time to learn some of their secrets.
For all the effort you put into your garden, you might find your plants don’t often weather the summer well. While there are several variables that can bring about a premature demise or prevent your plants from reaching their full potential, the first thing you should consider is what zone you live in. Knowing your zones means knowing what plants will do best and when best to plant them.
In addition to knowing your zones, get to know your soil. Different plants have different soil preferences. Some prefer fast-draining soils, others prefer different chemical levels in the soil. By familiarizing yourself with the type and chemical composition of your soil you can select the best plants for your property or replace your soil to accommodate the types of plants you want to grow.
After you’ve picked the right plants for your zone and verified the health of your soil it’s time to consider where you want to plant them. One common mistake is similar to painting a floor and finding yourself cornered, surrounded by wet paint. The gardener’s equivalent of this is to plant your plants so that some are blocked and inaccessible by others. This limits your ability to tend and maintain them. That, in turn, will lead to wild growth, hard to reach weeds and leggy, untended plant growth. Leave yourself room to negotiate your garden so you can keep all plants healthy and beautiful.
Finally, invest in a good garden improvements tool that will meet your needs. Don’t buy the most complex tools on the market. Keep it simple and functional. While it’s certainly easier to let nature run its course, doing so will leave you with a wild and messy look. A lawn edger will help you keep crisp definition between the edges of your lawn, walks and driveway. Other tools will help you maintain hedges rather than letting them grow wild and unruly.
Managing a beautiful lawn is a lot like managing a family. It takes love and patience. But it also requires understanding; understanding needs and patiently nurturing those you love. By taking the time to understand your garden from the soil to the plants in it and taking the time to nurture them you will dramatically improve your landscape. It can certainly be labor intensive but if you let it be a labor of love it will never feel like work.
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