Making the most of our outdoor spaces is more important to us than ever. In Covid times, it has taught us one thing, it’s to value our gardens. The lockdown conditions experienced across the globe made it very clear how much we gain from our gardens – peace of mind, a connection to the natural world, an escape from stress and even a social space to entertain family and friends. As a novice gardener, make the most of the space you have available, don’t be afraid to call in a gardener who charges by the hour to help. They can support optimising your garden or with maintaining it and focus on creating spaces that are good for you and the environment.
Think Vertical
Who says gardens need lots of outdoor space? Many people with access to only a limited amount of it have found ingenious ways to make the most of a small courtyard garden or a balcony. Vertical gardening can work for anyone – whether you inhabit a property with acres of outdoor space or a smaller one with limited potential. Putting a living wall in place is something that is trending nowadays as it helps to bring the outdoors inside. You can grow herbs or microgreens as part of a kitchen garden, or an arrangement of ferns and mosses to purify the air. Your living wall can be located inside or outdoors on a decking or patio area, or even a balcony. You can continue the effect with a container garden, planting small bushes and trees, colourful grasses and plants or beautiful blooms inside attractive pots. The bonus is that if you ever move, these can move with you!
Get With Plant Tech
Technology applies to every area of our lives now, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that plants and gardens are also getting in on the act. Garden tech solutions can be especially helpful for those new to gardening who are just learning about plant care. You can get apps that monitor the amount of light a particular bed of plants is getting, or even use it before planting to ensure that the patch you have in mind is suitable for the variety of plant you’re thinking of growing. You can also now buy self-watering plant pots if you’re bad at remembering to keep your plants well-watered. Using tech to get tips on gardening can help you come up with a sustainable planting scheme that is suitable for the soil and light conditions you have in your garden.
Keep It Natural
There is an increasing trend towards keeping it natural. This means planting flowers designed to attract insects and wildlife to support the local ecosystem, forgoing chemicals in favour of natural methods of fertilisation and pest control, supporting local pollinators, and composting at home. This sustainable approach to gardening is in harmony with our changing attitudes towards supporting the planet. It reduces our carbon footprints, supports local bio-diversity and enhances the fertility of your soil. You can get small countertop composting units to make sure household food scraps get re-used. This approach is a great way to think about your garden.
You can use organic fertilizers that can be crushed fruit peels, grounded coffee, tea bags or anything instead of harsh chemicals. The organic fertilizers will keep your soil as moisture and boosts root development. You can achieve more benefits by using organic fertilizers hence, it is less expensive, it keeps the soil in good texture, eco-friendly, and helps to achieve the required amount of nutrients for the plants, nowadays, people looking for natural and organic products thus results in higher profit.
Go Low Maintenance
If you want all the benefits of a garden but are pushed for time, you can design a scheme that is deliberately low maintenance but still has plenty of impacts. Start by constructing bedding that has lots of colour and height differentiation to add visual interest, but makes use of drought-resistant herbs and plants such as rosemary and lavender (which also have the bonus effect of smelling great!) or hardy ornamental grasses. Layer in some smaller, lower-maintenance plants such as evergreen rhododendrons or other plants which are easy to grow and maintain. A professional gardener can advise on your planting scheme and give you tips for creating the look you want while ensuring you have the time to care for your garden.
Check Also: 6 Essential Gardening Tools That Every Home Gardener Needs
Ask For Advice
Gardening brings people together, so don’t try to figure everything out on your own if you are a beginner – never be afraid to get expert advice to design your garden, join gardening communities or follow gardening tips hashtags on social media, and share cuttings with your neighbours. Remember that gardening is pretty much trial and error – figuring out how to grow something successfully is one of the great satisfactions of gardening. Share your experiences, try things and be prepared for them to fail and ask for advice or secure professional help where needed. In no time at all, you can have a beautiful garden that suits your needs and adds so much to your life with the right mix of plants.
