Are you hoping to improve the health of your garden but aren’t quite sure how to do it?
Beautifying your garden isn’t as simple as watering your plants at the right time. There’s a lot that goes into creating a garden that’s beautiful and healthy.
What do you need to do?
Check out this article to discover the top garden maintenance tips.
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Examine Plants Before Purchasing
Examing your plants before purchasing is one of the best things you can do to get your garden off to a healthy start. If you purchase a diseased plant, the disease can spread to other plants in your yard and wreak havoc on your entire garden.
However, it’s not always easy to tell which plants are healthy and which plants are sick. Before you start shopping, have an idea of a few plants that you’d like to purchase. Look up pictures of what each plant is supposed to look like at its healthiest.
Before you buy, inspect the plant from top to bottom to make sure its roots are healthy and that it’s not suffering from any type of disease.
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Add a Variety of Colorful Flowers
While there’s nothing wrong with green plants, adding in some colorful flowers can help beautify your garden and break up the sea of green. But, don’t just start adding colorful flowers to your garden all willy nilly.
Just as you’re careful about the colors you add to your living space, so too should you be careful about the colors you add to your garden. Ask yourself:
- Do you want to stick to a unified color palette? If so, what do you want that color palette to be?
- Do you want a wide range of colors in your garden? If so, how will you incorporate a lot of colors without making your garden look chaotic?
It can be easy to go overboard with colorful flowers and end up with a chaotic looking garden, so make sure you have a plan before you plant. That being said, here are some of the most colorful flowers to add to your garden:
- Sweet peas
- Violas
- Lavender
- Sunflowers
- Asters
- Honeysuckle
- Persian buttercups
- Hibiscus
- Strawflowers
- Tulips
- Lantana
- Oriental poppies
- Dahlias
- Roses
- Marigolds
- Pansies
As you can see, there are a lot of brightly-colored flowers that you can add to your garden.
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Figure Out Your Watering Scheduling
While watering your garden isn’t the only thing you need to do to beautify it, it definitely ranks up there as one of the most important things to do. Figuring out a watering schedule can be tricky, as the amount of water your plants need will depend on how much rainfall you get, where you live, and the species of the plant.
Here are some tips to follow when watering your garden:
- Water your flower beds just one to two times per week to keep them evenly moist
- Water your plants in the evening or early morning when the soil is cooler and less water will evaporate
- Avoid watering the plant heads and leaves to prevent mold
- If you’re away for long periods of time, use an irrigation system
- Focus on watering the root zone
- Mulch everything to slow down evaporation
- If you can’t use a drip irrigation system, use a soaker hose for precise watering
Also, remember to water your plants and flowers deeply and thoroughly. Annuals and lawns concentrate their roots in the top 6 inches of soil. Perennials, trees, and shrubs concentrate their roots in the top 12 inches.
If the soil is heavy, it may take a few hours for the water to trickle down. You can use a shovel or your finger to check the progress of your watering.
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Invest in a Bird Feeder
When it comes to beautifying your garden, birds will be your best little helpers. Not only do birds help pollinate plants so they can grow, but they also help control the bug and pest population by eating them.
Birds eat spiders, insects, mosquitos, and other pests that can destroy gardens. Plus, birds help to control garden weeds.
One of the best ways to attract more birds to your garden is with a bird feeder. If you’re asking, “How do I choose the right bird feeder for my garden?”, here are some tips to help you make the right selection:
- Purchase more than one bird feeder to attract a variety of species
- Try to buy one of each type of feeder- a thistle feeder, hopper feeder, ground feeder, and sunflower feeder
Also, make sure you put your bird feeder in the right location. Feeders are safest when placed next to a window. If a bird takes off from a feeder and hits the window, it won’t be flying at full speed, and it has a good chance of surviving.
It’s also a good idea to place the feeder near a natural shelter such as a tree or a shrub.
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Protect Your Lawn
A healthy lawn serves as the foundation to a beautiful garden. Here are some things you can do to protect your lawn:
- Don’t cut your grass too short, especially if you live in an area with hot weather
- Water your grass early in the morning
- Use mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting
If you don’t think you can keep up with lawn maintenance, you can always purchase artificial grass.
Garden Maintenance: Time to Maintain Your Garden!
Now that you’ve read this guide, it’s time to put these garden maintenance tips to use so you can beautify your garden. Pretty soon, your garden will be looking prettier and more colorful than ever.
Be sure to check back in with our blog for more gardening tips and tricks.