Gardening, be it for shrubs, trees, flowers, or vegetables, can be a very relaxing and rewarding activity. The smell of the dirt under our fingers as you plant seeds and pull up weeds, the thrill of the watching the tiny plants start to come up, and the pleasure you take in the results of your efforts, all make gardening an affordable and pleasurable past time. here’s a few useful pointers.
When choosing plants for your garden, pick plants that are native to your geographic region. Plants native to your region will naturally do well in your garden because they are already adjusted to your climate. When you plant native plants, you will not be surprised by any unexpected results when your plants mature.
Water your potted herbs! Keep potted herbs well watered, but don’t over-water, which is a common mistake. Sage, thyme, rosemary and tarragon aren’t that bothered by a somewhat dry environment. On the other hand, mint, chives and parsley require constant moisture. Make sure that the container has adequate drainage holes, and place a layer of gravel in the base of the pot as a drainage layer. This ensures that the water doesn’t flow straight out.
Invest in a good pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands while working outdoors. Whether you are working with plants with thorns or with fertilizer, gloves can protect your skin from damage from both plants and chemicals. They also do a great job at protecting your hands from dirt or sap stains and make cleanup much easier.
When you are pruning a tree, make sure that your tools are sharp. Cutting with a dull tool can tear the bark off the tree, causing unnecessary damage to the tree. Not only that, cutting with a dull tool causes you to spend extra energy in cutting. A sharp tool will give you a cleaner cut with the least amount of effort.
Collect your dirt for a soil analysis to see the nutrients your soil needs. You can get this tested at a local university’s agriculture department, usually for a fee. The fee is well worth it usually because then you will know what nutrients your dirt needs to have a garden that is successful.
To make weeds easier to spot, be sure to plant all your flowers in a straight line. A more unusual layout may be visually interesting, but it gives weeds plenty of places to hide. Keeping your garden simple will make weeds and diseases easier to locate and simpler to get rid of.
Evergreens are best planted at least four weeks before the ground freezes. This will allow the tree to establish some roots before the soil freezes in the late fall. Evergreens do not drop their leaves in the fall, but continue to lose moisture, so it is important to get them in the ground well before the first frost.
Gardening is a pastime that really gives back. It brings benefits to ourselves, to our family, and to our planet. So, turn your thoughts to outside, and to the pleasure to be had by tending our own piece of the earth, and work on that garden!