No matter how big or small your garden is, the following gardening tips will make your garden go from good to great in no time.
- Use mulch on your vegetable patch, trees of flower beds using only organic material – mulching help your garden to save water, adds vital nutrition and keeps pests away.
- The soil is the life of your garden: keep it healthy and your plants will take a tough stance against diseases and garden pests.
- Plants who need an acid environment will enjoy a sprinkling of pine needles that will deposit acid in the soil as they begin to decompose.
- Spray a dilution of soapy water onto leaves to get rid of annoying aphids. Rinse off afterwards. Also encourage lady birds/lady bugs to hang out in your garden.
- Avoid chemical fertilizers as much as possible – make your own delicious compost.
- Good, rich compost is fantastic for your garden since it keeps it full of nutrients, airates the soil and maintains healthy roots.
- Add value to your household property by doing some landscaping to make your garden more attractive.
- Planting trees should be done with careful forethought and planning since trees take up so much space and become dominant features very quickly.
- Buy plants that suit the temperature, sunniness, annual rain fall and general climate of where you live.
- Trees are great environmental protectors, keeping your garden cool in summer and allowing sunshine to filter through for warmth in winter.
- Vines will keep your fences and walls shady and can spruce them up with color and shape.
- Use alternative ground covers other than grass to keep things interesting.
- Plant herbs! They help your cooking skills immensely and also look great in your garden.
- Gardens that love shade generally require less effort to maintain – although effort is a relative term.
- Use a few spots of flowers here and there to add colour to your garden.
- You can make compost from most things that were once alive (plants being the best) but avoid meat and bones.
- Dig in compost to just below the surface, but not too deep.
- When digging a hole for a tree, don’t make the edges too square or smooth since this will prevent easy root penetration.
- If your garden was in a forest, mulching would be the floor of the forest where all the goodness comes from: remember to mulch each year.
- Earthworms are your friends – they keep the soil well-fertilized and happy.
- When you plant out your plants from plastic containers you may need to rip the roots a little bit if they have attached themselves to the walls of the containers.
- After planting don’t leave soil exposed – mulch and cover!
- Don’t only plant one type of plant or vegetable – this doesn’t happen naturally in any case. Diversify with different plants next to each other and you will encourage beneficial insects.
- Get rid of annoying weeds with undiluted, unrepentant, merciless vinegar to knock out the weeds without damaging the environment or yourself.
- Encourage natural, organic biodiversity and insects and microbes will take care of pests.
- If you have too much rain going on, mulching will help keep things together.
- Did you know that domestic gardeners tend to use more synthetic weed killers and fertilizers per metre than farmers? Keep your garden healthy and go organic.
- Too much sun damaging roots? Mulch.
- Keep mulch evenly spread at the base of trees – don’t pile it all up against the trunk.
- Stamp out weeds by covering with thick mulch and remove strong grass by the roots.
- Water well before and after you mulch.
- To make compost you can use a combination of grass cuttings, vegetable and fruit left overs, small twigs and other organic material (avoid adding dog poo, meat or bones).
- Keep it local when you landscape: use plants that naturally occur in your region for least effort.
- If you love order and meticulousness, create a more formal garden with well-planned focal points laid out in your garden.
- Beware of poisonous plants, especially if you have children: elephant ears have poisonous leaves and sweet peas and a host of other plants have poisonous flowers.
- Choose plants that have budded but not quite flowering when you buy annuals or perennials – this will help them settle in first when you plant and develop a strong root system.
- Plants that are drought resistant will help you out if you live in a dry area: look for succulents, silver leaves and strong tap roots.
- Plan ahead when planting: factor in the size of a plant when it is fully mature and then layer your garden appropriately.
- Install a good irrigation system to water the base of plants instead of just watering over the leaves – and water early mornings if you can.
- Another benefit from composting is that it maintains a healthy pH balance in your soil and delivers well-needed micronutrients you won’t find anywhere else.
- Take care when digging so that you don’t damage roots or mess about too much with healthy soil.
- In order of preference for dealing with pests: physically remove them, use guards or barriers, biological agents such as insects and finally pesticides that are as natural as possible.
- Use autumn colours in the front of your garden to attract the eye and to make a small garden feel larger.
- Get rid of environmental noise such as traffic by adding natural sounds with wind chimes and bird feeders.
- When you first plant a tree you may need to water deeply every week for a while to help it recover from the shock of being transplanted.
- Create paths, lines and boundaries with fences, hedges and stone dividers.
- Don’t kill every insect you see: most insects are good for your garden.
- By composting you are actually adding diversity to your garden and encouraging good bacteria, microbes, worms and insects to thrive.
- Plant in the late evening or on a cloudy day so that your newly planted seedlings don’t suffer in the hot sun.
- Plant purple and blue plants in the shade to make their colours stand out really well.
We hope these gardening tips and tricks will help you make a beautiful garden.
