EZ Gardening For Beginners

Gardening is usually one of those things that people like in theory but don’t really have either the time or resources for in reality. If you are one of those people who would love to have some fresh flowers and plants around your home, but you either don’t have time to tend a real garden, or you don’t have the space to plant one, then window box gardening could be for you. Window box gardening has all of the benefits of traditional gardening, but window boxes are easier to maintain and can be used by anyone. Window boxes also have the added benefit of making the flowers and the plants easier to see from inside the house, which means you don’t have to sit outside to enjoy your handiwork.

If you think window boxes are for you, before you can get into the fun part of choosing plants for your box, you have to first consider where you are going to place the window box. Where you box is placed will dictate which kinds of flowers you can have in it. Ideally, you want your window box to either get full sun or part sun – if it is totally in the shade, you will be limited when it comes to picking flowering plants. Of course, window boxes are loved by apartment dwellers, and the surrounding buildings can impact the level of sun. Don’t forget to consider things like the color of the surrounding buildings. Even if buildings shade your window box, if those buildings are white, they can reflect enough sun to allow you to plant full sun plants. If the surrounding buildings are dark, even if your plants seem to get full sun, you might have better luck with part sun plants because the dark buildings will absorb some of the sun.

Crucially, you must also consider the wind. This issue becomes especially important if you live several floors up. Wind speed increases are you go higher in the air, and heavy winds can be detrimental to sensitive plants. Even more important to remember, however, is that a falling window box can be deadly to people walking below. Choose a sturdy box with a good system of attachment to your window so your box doesn’t become a deadly projectile to people walking below in heavy winds, and preferably, place your box in some place that is shaded from the wind.

Once you have found the perfect place for your window box, you can get around to choosing your box yourself. Window boxes are generally made of four materials – clay, plastic, metal, or wood. The choice really comes down to which look you like the best. However, plastic is generally the cheapest, sturdiest and easiest to work with. Clay is often extremely heavy, because it needs to be glazed and it needs to be thick to handle the soil.

Now for the fun part: choosing the plants. Your gardening center will be able to give you advice on the best kinds of plants for the temperatures in your area and which kinds of soils you will need for the plants you pick. Be sure the plants are compatible with the level of sun your window box will get. Also be careful about overcrowding your window box, which will cause weeds to grow.

Flowers in window boxes tend to grow away from the window, but if you want the flowers to be equally visible inside and out, flip your window box around every few days. This will cause the flowers to grow vertically instead of out, so you will be able to enjoy your window box from all angles.

Many of us desire a lush green garden with fragrant colorful flowers to enhance or complement the look of our houses. But as so often, dreams are limited by money in our society. Landscaping can be expensive and hiring a landscape designer is with a regular budget the most unlikely thing that you would do. But do not give up yet. You can achieve a stunning garden with less money with these cheap and easy gardening tips.

First of all, one of the biggest budget breakers in landscaping is labor. If you want to save money big time while getting the most beautiful garden on the street, do the work your self. Just as plumbing, car repair, house remodeling takes huge amounts in labor, so does landscaping, but landscaping does not require a skilled person. Landscaping can be done by anyone. Of course the design might be rather difficult to achieve, but you can always get great ideas and looks from garden magazines, at your local garden center and online. Many garden projects are easy to do. Some hard work and so-called sweat equity is all that you need.

Next on the list, which is also a budget breaker, not quite as bad as the labor, is the material itself. Rather than choosing expensive flagstone or similar, go ahead and choose a cheaper alternative, maybe even a fake alternative that is a look alike. This way you can save big time and still achieve the look you were going for. Instead of the expensive special plant from china, buy a nice plant or shrub that looks similar and is indigenous to your area, which often means cheaper in price. Also, if you plan ahead you can be rewarded. If you are taking your time to get your garden done, you can plant your shrubs, trees and perennials in fall. Many garden centers reduce their prices drastically at the end of fall. People do not want to buy the plants anymore because the plants have started to change into their fall/winter outfit and are loosing their leaves or changing color. This means nothing bad in perennials, trees and shrubs. In spring these plants will get back to their beautiful spring/summer look just like all the other plants that might have been in your garden for years or the ones you would buy new, but you saved a ton of money by planting them in fall. As many garden stores quite right say, fall is for planting.

Another cheap and easy way to get color in your garden in spring and summer is by planting different perennials that grow from bulbs. Tulips, crocus and daffodils for spring, gladiolas and lilies for summer can give you a great flowering look all spring and summer for a fraction of the cost. Planting bulbs in fall in a strategic order can save you from buying overprized annuals in spring.

A great look for very little money can be achieved by using mulch throughout your garden. But when buying mulch and mulch is needed for more than one small flower bed or two, do not buy the bags at your local garden center. Buying mulch buy the bag is o expensive. Rather have it delivered in a big amount form your local landscape material supplier and save. Mulch comes in many colors and can make your garden look topnotch.

As you can see, you can achieve a attractive and stunning garden for a lot less than you might have thought and those garden dreams can actually come true. Any garden can live up to its potential if you get creative with budget friendly materials.