Managing your new home is a stressful and difficult task. A part of the home we cannot forget to attend to, is our gardens and for many new homeowners, this is definitely a new task to deal with.
For those who are new to gardening, there are many common mistakes we all tend to make the first time around.
To help all new gardeners, I have listed 6 mistakes you might end up making which will only end up hurting your garden.
1. Working Without a Plan
You need to sit down and take the time to plan out your garden. Do not rush your design. What tends to happen is that you will end up buying more plants than you have space for.
2. Not Paying Attention to Soil Conditions
Before you begin planting, prepare your soil. Plants grow better in soil that is rich in organic material and does not drain too quickly. Do not work on the soil when it is wet, or you will end up with clumps of hard packed soil once it dries. This will make it hard for your plants to properly grow as the roots need to grow smoothly through the soil.
3. Not Paying Attention to Where you are Planting
You need to buy plants to suit the conditions of how much sun and shade you have in your garden during different times of the day. You then place the plants you bought to suit the desired amount of sunlight and shade it should be getting.
4. Not Planting in Groups
You do not want a mottled garden design, to avoid this arrange your plants into groups. What you should be doing is planting in odd numbered groupings of three or more for the most impact.
5. Under watering and Overwatering
The amount of water your plants will need depends on the weather. If there is hardly any rainfall, which is considered to be anything less than 2.5 cm, then you will need to water your plants further. Do not water a plant until you see that the soil is in a pool of water. This will only hurt your plant, and you might end up killing it.
6. Get Rid of the Weeds
It is important to get rid of any weeds to keep your plants healthy. To reduce weed growth, you might consider spreading mulch. It will also help maintain soil moisture and stabilize soil temperature. Plus, adding mulch to your gardens really gives it a finished touch of perfection.
By being aware of these common mistakes new gardeners tend to make, you can avoid making them yourselves. Summer might be coming to an end, but it is never too late to create a great looking garden.
Michael Young is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage/ Johnston & Daniel Division. Michael is a regular contributor to the Muddy York Toronto Real Estate Blog. Michael’s website is located at www.tosold.com.
