Your garden probably covers a larger area than the entire floorplan of your home. This potentially makes it the most important living area you own. Here are 5 simple ways to make the most of that.
#1. Prune your trees and shrubs
Trees and shrubs form the frame around which the rest of your garden can be designed to achieve the optimum aesthetic appeal.The easiest method to improve your garden is to trim that frame.
Removing lower lying branches from trees and shrubs (crown lifting/lifting the canopy) allows more light to reach the lawn and flower beds below. Removing the excess foliage also allows you to better picture what you want your garden to become because it reveals the space you didn’t realize existed.
If you have a large number of trees to prune, invest in a tree saw, good-quality pruning shears, heavy-duty gardening gloves, and a wheelbarrow to ensure that moving unwanted branches is safe and easy.
#2. Out with the old
Once you can see the garden for the trees, you may find that some plants and garden ornaments don’t pull their weight. Like animals, plants have a lifespan. If your fruit trees don’t bear fruit or your garden gnome looks like he stepped out of the 60s, get rid of them.
However, in many states, countries, and cities, there are regulations regarding the removal of trees. It’s better to know the local regulations before digging up the 300-year-old oak tree in front of your house and winding up in jail.
When replacing old plants with new, consider how you can double the pleasure. Plant fruit trees so you can enjoy fresh apples, flowers that smell delightful,and flowers that attract butterflies so you can enjoy their color too.
#3. Create new flowerbeds
You may discover that some areas of your lawn are patchy and require reseeding. Alternatively, you may have removed dead shrubs or ornaments and now have a patch of bare earth.
Before you take steps to replenish your lawn, step back and examine the damaged location in relation to the rest of your garden. If you think a splash of color there would improve your garden’s aesthetics, then dig a flowerbed instead.
Mark out the area of lawn you intend to remove with your spade. Next, make cuts along the turf you’re removing to make it more manageable. Then slide your spade horizontally beneath the turf to lift it. Dig around a foot into the ground to loosen the soil, add compost, and then you’re ready to plant something new.
#4. Maintain your flowerpots
Your garden may feature ceramic or novelty flowerpots along the veranda, beside the path, or in random positions. These often tend to get overlooked and, over time, can become grubby and discolored. The easiest way to deal with this is to grab a scrubbing brush and detergent then set to work.
If the freshly gleaming flowerpots still don’t do it for you, replace them. When choosing new pots, think McDonald’s and Go Large! Plants require plenty of space for expansion and more soil means more water retention. Bigger pots also offer more stability because the wind won’t blow them around. Perhaps the reason your old flowerpots don’t look great is that the plants they contain aren’t able to reach their full potential.
It doesn’t matter what design of plantpot you choose, as long as it offers the necessary weight and rigidity for your plants and you love it. Some gardeners will prefer plain terracotta while others will select pots so colorful that they outshine the flowers they hold.
#5. Improve your garden path
When considering how to improve your garden, the path is often neglected. However, when visitors come to your front door, it provides their first impression of your home’s most important room. Make sure it’s a good one!
For paved paths, use a weeding tool or old blade to remove weeds and moss from cracks between slabs. Fill in the resulting gaps with a mix of onepart cement to three parts sand. Use a trowel to push down the mix.
Gravel paths offer several advantages over paving, such as being porous to allow rain through, easier to lay over uneven ground, and more affordable. However, if you do decide to lay a new gravel path, do it right. Dig out the route. Lay an aggregate or crushed concrete base and tamp it down. Add more layers of aggregate until the whole length is even. And top with gravel.
