EZ Gardening For Beginners

Gardening can add a new dimension of immeasurable beauty to your yard and life. But perhaps you don’t think you have enough time to dedicate to your garden. Even if you think you are too busy to dedicate spare time to gardening, you would be surprised how much you can do with just a couple of hours on the weekend a few minutes throughout the working week. If you crave a garden, but don’t think you have enough time for one, here are some simple tips and instructions on how to plant a low maintenance garden.

Designate a Space for Your Gardening

Gardening does not need to take up hours of your time. The easiest way to brighten up your yard or outdoor living space without exerting a lot of time, money and effort is to designate a specific space for your garden. A lot of gardens are time-consuming because the plants are scattered throughout a large outdoor area. If you limit your gardening space to one raised bed, for instance, you will not have to worry about watering several garden beds or maintaining a large garden. Start by focusing one area in your yard that needs space and work from there.

Container Gardening Adds Easy Color and Texture to Any Space

Do you want to brighten your yard with color and texture, but don’t have the time or money for a whole garden bed? Consider container gardening, an easy way to add flowers or plants to any part of your home. Moreover, if you are working with malnourished soil, or simply don’t have the space for a full planting, container gardening can fill this void with minimal effort. You can opt for one large planter, a variety of container sizes, or a small-scale container garden. Container gardening is a cost-effective and easy way to satisfy your craving for a garden without having to do the full-scale plant bed preparation, seeding and transplanting.

Choose Hardy Perennials for Easy Year-Round Color

Do you wish you had a garden that boasts year-round color? You don’t have to be a gardening whiz to ensure that your garden is rich in color and texture on a year-round basis. There are many hardy perennials that, once planted and become well established, will present you with blooms throughout the growing season. Perennials are plants that continue to bloom season after season. For this reason, perennials will usually cost you more, but the investment in a long-lasting garden is well worth it. Make sure that you understand which perennials thrive in your climate. You will want to choose the hardiest perennials available in your area for the best low-maintenance garden. Visit your local nursery and ask which plants do best in your area despite minimal care and attention.

Install a Drip Irrigation System for Easy Plant Care

Do you wish you had a healthy, thriving garden, but don’t have the time it takes to water your plants on a regular schedule? A drip irrigation schedule can take care of this for you. Drip irrigation systems are becoming increasingly popular because, once properly installed, they water your garden with maximum efficiency. This system works by dripping water on a continuous basis, thus avoiding over-watering and loss of evaporation. A drip irrigation system can help keep your plants properly watered without you having to lift the hose ever again. Moreover, these systems can help save you water and time, making them an environmentally friendly option for the modern gardener. Visit your local nursery or home improvement store to take a look at the latest drip irrigation systems. They can be tricky to install, so you may want to enlist the help of a professional.

Container gardens on patios and balconies are a great way of displaying lush greens and great colors. Container gardens also add fragrance and style to your patio. To achieve a great container garden there are a few important tips that can make for a gorgeous container garden on your patio or balcony.

First of all, you should know that there are not many things that you can screw up with a container garden. You can actually be more adventurous than with a regular garden for several reasons. The area to cover and amount of flowers needed is much less than in a big front or backyard garden and therefore a lot cheaper to change when something should go wrong. Therefore you can try one thing and if it does not work, then you just change it to something else.

Containers in a container garden can also be used to enhance the look. There are many materials that containers are made from. Clay, Plastic, Stone and ceramics are all options for planters that you can use on your balcony. You can also build a wooden stand or decorate the outside of the planter to achieve just the look you are looking for. But make sure to keep in mind that containers need to have adequate drainage through holes in the bottom of the container. Also, planting containers need to be fairly large in size to offer most plants a nice growing space.

An important tip for container gardening is to make sure that the plants you choose are right for the light available on your balcony or patio. If your balcony is more in the shade than the sun, choose plants that are shade tolerant such as hosta, ivy and begonia.

When planting, a few bigger pots look nicer than many small ones. Preferably arrange plants in odd numbers that makes for a harmonic arrangement. When planting a few big plants per big pot you can always fill the bottom with smaller filler plants to complete the “potscaping.”

If garden in is your forte, but you haven’t done it in a few years worried about your children, you should consider planting a garden that is safe for the children and that the children can help you with. Planting a safe garden that kids can help in is an easy to accomplish task. There are only a few things that you have to consider to make your garden safe for your children.

Many children love to help their parents with household chores or interesting tasks, at least for a certain amount of time and gardening is one of the things that children generally really enjoy helping with. Depending on the age of the children it might be hard to have them help since they might just destroy the garden instead of being helpful.

For younger children it might be helpful to have the garden fenced in or have a container garden or beds that are raised so that the children cannot just run in and over the plants without your permission. When you decide to involve your children in the garden, involve them in all the necessary steps so that they can learn the process. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that children like to play and can only work hard and diligently for so long. Therefore plan breaks, include games and fun into the designing and planting of your garden.

First of all, before buying any plants, go ahead and prepare the garden. Have the children help you dig and turn the garden patch and have them also help you laying out the garden patch with sticks, rocks and string. After preparing the patch, make a drawing together with your children and plan what kind of plants you want to have in your garden. Maybe there will even be a separate area for each of your children, where they can decide on one or more plants that they would like to take care of by themselves this season.

When planting a garden where your kids can help never choose any plants that can be poisonous to your children should they try to eat some part of it. There are many nice flowers, vegetables and fruits out there that children can eat the one or other part without being harmed. If you are not sure which plants are included in the safe for children category in your growing region, your local garden center should be able to answer all your questions and give you good advice on what to choose.

After the soil is prepared, the design and choices are made; it is time to go to the local garden center. Have your children help pick nice plants, so that they feel important during the process. At the center take one to two extra plants from each of the varieties just in case. There can be accidents when children help plant the plants and after all the most fun is in planting the plants for gowns ups and children alike. And if there weren’t any accidents you will probably be able to find a spot for those plants or a container that you can set somewhere else.

During the planting process, mark the sports for the plants and lay out nice lines for the children, so that they exactly know where to plant the plants. If you have time and want to add an extra art project for your children, go ahead and make plant markers with your children that they can use to mark the plants.

When the plants are planted, use mulch in between the plants. Mulch is used for several reasons. First of all, shoes will stay cleaner and that is surely something good to achieve, when children are part of the gardening process, second of all, mulch will keep more moisture in the soil as sun blazes down on it.

Let’s face it: those unsightly tree stumps in the front or back yard are not doing much to enhance the natural beauty of your garden. Tree stumps can be an eyesore, and especially if you are set on having an eye-pleasing garden. Tree stumps can also be quite expensive and difficult to remove. If you are willing to work with the unsightly tree stumps in your yard, here are a few ideas for transforming these eyesores into workable garden and outdoor elements.

Disguising Unsightly Tree Stumps as Workable Outdoor Decor

Instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to remove your tree stumps, why not simply work around them? Indeed, you can create several workable outdoor decor elements that revolve around your tree stumps, including a quaint old wishing well. This project works best if you only have one tree stump, or if your tree stumps are spread far enough apart throughout your out door space. You can build or buy a pre-made decorative yard wishing well to place around the perimeter of the tree stump. Pre-made decorative wishing wells can be purchased unfinished or finished in a variety of colors and designs. Most wishing wells are round enough that they will fit well around tree stumps. This is a charming outdoor decorative element that is an easy way to disguise unsightly tree stumps in your yard.

Working With Your Unsightly Tree Stumps to Create a Dazzling Display

Instead of trying to completely disguise your tree stumps, you can use them to create a dazzling container garden display. Use the tree stumps as pedestals on which to place your decorative pots and containers. You can choose a planter or container that is around the same size as your tree stump and use the stump as a plant pedestal. Use smaller planters to create a decorative ring around the tree stump. For this type of project, you can really unleash your creativity. Use coordinating and colorful decorative planters and containers to create a fun and creative tree stump garden display.

Use Your Unsightly Tree Stumps as a Fountain or Statue Pedestal

You can also use your unsightly yard tree stumps to create an interesting statue or fountain garden display. Tree stumps work as natural pedestals. You can ring the tree stump with decorative yard displays, including coordinating flowerpots or containers. In the middle, you can place a decorative fountain or statue that stands as the centerpiece of your display. This is a fun and easy way to make the most of your tree stumps.

Use Unsightly Tree Stumps as Building Blocks to Your Garden Display

With a bit of work and ingenuity, you can turn those unsightly tree stumps into an integral part of your garden design and display. Using a saw or other tool (depending on the strength, size and location of your tree stumps), you can cut your tree stumps so that they can act as ’stepping stones’ to your garden. Shave down each tree stump at intervals to create the effect of ‘building up’ to your main garden display. This is a fun and easy way of working with your tree stumps to create an unusual and eye-pleasing garden design.

Smooth Down Your Tree Stumps to Create Ready-Made Garden Seating

This is a fun and practical way to make use of those unsightly tree stumps. You can build a decorative garden display around the tree stumps, and then smooth down the stumps themselves into comfortable and smooth tree stump seats. Create your own meditative Zen garden, and use the tree stumps as well-worn meditating stoops where you can sit and take in the surrounding garden.

Container gardening is a great alternative to have your own homegrown fruits and vegetables if you do not have a big back yard with a patch for the plants. Container gardening can be very easy and successful for you if you follow a few simple, helpful hints.

Fist of all, when you get started with your container garden, pick a few plants, vegetables and fruits that you would like to harvest throughout summer and fall. Of course you cannot grow every vegetable or fruit available on the market in a container, but many vegetable and fruit varieties can be grown in a container. One of the most favorite container plants is the tomato plant.

After you chose a few varieties, make sure that you have big enough containers. A tomato plant for example needs an at least five gallon or bigger container to grow well. Therefore you still have some space considerations when planting a container garden. Besides the container itself, the soil that you put in the container is an important factor for growing healthy plants and vegetables. Not any old dirt will give you the same result as a high quality gardening and potting soil. These soils are specifically designed for containers and the plants that go into the containers. They will for example hold moisture better than regular soil, but also prevent the plant from molding when there is too much water added. Special gardening and planting soils also have a starter amount of fertilizer. Proper nutrients are important for the growth of healthy plants.

After planting the plants, make sure that you water your plants regularly. Keep in mind that containers and pots generally dry out faster than a big garden patch, especially on hot days or long stretches of dry weather. Also important when watering the plant is to get some advice from your local garden center about the watering preferences of the plants. Some plants prefer to be watered close to the soil while others do not have such preferences. If you think that these preferences are not easy to take care of, make sure to ask your garden center employees for the easy to take-care varieties and you will not have to worry about such issues.

Container plants need to be fertilized on regular bases. Containers and pots do not hold very much food for the plants and therefore more food has to be added to the pot. There are many ways that you can fertilize your container. Some of the easier ones are plant stakes. Plant stakes hold all the nutrients a plant needs over a longer period of time. Therefore you do not have to remember to add the fertilizer on weekly or bi weekly schedule, but you might only need to replace the stake every few weeks. There are also easy to use fertilizers that you can add to your water when watering. Other fertilizers are sprinkled on the top, but these fertilizers are harder to apply in the proper amount.

And do not forget the factor sunlight. Many fruit and vegetable plants need a good amount of sunlight throughout the day to grow and produce a crop. Tomatoes for example need a minimum of five to six hours of sunlight a day and the more the better. Therefore you will not be able to grow a container garden anywhere but on the sunny side of your house. Plants that do not get the proper amount of sun will not flourish and might not even produce more than one or two vegetables or fruit on the plant, which in the end might be a waste of money and time for you.