Beautiful Garden is a work of heart

How do you begin to create a garden space that is unique to you?
Here are simple steps that will help you


1. Identify WHY you want a garden.
How will you use it? Who else will enjoy the garden? Remember that you may not be the sole inhabitant, so get input from all family members on how your outdoor space will be used.


2. Do a little dreaming.
Now that you apperceive why you wish a garden and how you intend to use it, let your acuteness play with all the accessible appearance in your appropriate space. A little absent will bare those attributes that will put your claimed banner on the garden.

Also adjudge whether you wish a academic or an breezy garden. Academic area are awful structured, disconnected by a able axial arbor and cantankerous axes. Breezy area accept a added accustomed attending with strong, abounding curves.

3. Make a list of "must haves".
What items are essential? Listing your needs up front ensures that your final plan won't be missing anything important. Do you need a retaining wall? A privacy fence? A path to the garage? More parking space? Do children need a place to play? What about pets?

Walk around your property and make note of everything that is essential. Your final design should balance dream features and "must haves" to create a satisfying and functional space.

4. Evaluate what you already have.
To get where you are going, it helps to know your starting point. Is your space large or small? Is the site flat or sloping? What is the climate? What type of soil do you have? How much water is available and from what sources? What are the predominate views?

5. Ballpark your budget.
Once you know what you want and what you need, it's time to consider what you are willing to spend. This dollar figure will influence what features you include in the final garden plan -- trees, plants, hardscape materials and architectural elements such as arbors, fountains, ponds and benches.


Remember that your "budget" comprises two elements: money and TIME. In agreement of time, does the garden charge to be accomplished by a assertive date or can you actualize it over time? (Speed costs!) Also, how abundant time are you accommodating to account to advance your dream garden? Can you additional several hours a anniversary or are you advantageous abundant to allow a caretaker?

As you advance and clarify your plan, you may charge to antithesis time and banknote costs. Be flexible. You may charge to absorb added time if you can't absorb added money and carnality versa.

6. Identify your garden's focal points.
Every garden needs an eye-catching spot that causes you to pause a moment. When you choose a focal point, you are choosing the direction you want visitors to look when they enter your garden. Did your list of "wants" include a waterfall or fountain? An arbor retreat? A blossoming apple tree? If so, you are well on your way to identifying a focal point -- or points -- for your garden.

7. Create a rough design.
Take all the information that you've gathered and incorporate it into a workable design that balances the "wants" with the "must haves". Your goal is to create a space that is both satisfying and functional.

8. Choose your plants and hardscape.
The colors and materials that you choose will create the character of your garden, adding interest, movement and visual appeal. Do you want harmonious colors or strong contrast? Warm hues or cool tones? Bold colors or soft hues? Mixing different colors and materials and textures will give your garden a strong sense of space.

9. Make a scale drawing.
Thus far, you have created a basic map of property lines and your house as well as an overlay sheet that shows focal points, "rooms" and pathways. You also have a list of the trees, shrubs and plants for each area of your garden. Now you need to create a scale drawing that shows EXACTLY where each feature will go. You will use this blueprint to lay the walkways, set the arbors and trellises, and plant the trees, shrubs and flowers.

10. Execute your plan.
Before you begin actual construction of the garden, check all local building codes and regulations to make sure that you will be in compliance. Structures such as decks, patios and retaining walls may require a permit from the local city government. Once all permits are in place, you can start to lay out the garden.


With your calibration cartoon as a blueprint, use a band admeasurement to position all structures, walkways and plants. Be abiding to admeasurement accurately so anniversary aspect in your architecture fits its assigned space.

If designing a garden amplitude sounds a bit intimidating, don't panic. Just chase these accomplish one by one and let a amplitude disentangle that feels appropriate to you. You CAN do it. After all, a acknowledged garden is just addition allowance of your house, which you've already auspiciously decorated!

for Successful Container Gardening

Here are several tips for creating a wonderful hanging basket or container this summer. The first is to use an artificial soil composed mostly of peat moss. Good soils such as Fafard or Pro-Mix use perlite, peat, and other ingredients to produce a soil that will not compact over the summer.

Real garden soil compacts and turns into concrete under the pressure of regular watering. And when it does, plant roots stop growing because they require good open spaces to move into and absorb nutrients. Hard, compacted soils do not grow good plants so do not use real soil in your containers.

I re-use my artificial potting soil from year to year. I dump it out of the pot. Chew it up with a shovel to cut up all last year’s roots and add approximately 10 % by volume of compost. The compost increases air spaces and gives plants a boost in healthy nutrition.

Feed your plants weekly. Nitrogen, the engine of plant growth, is water soluble and as you water your containers from the top the dissolved nitrogen is leaving from the bottom. I use a fish-emulsion liquid feed with seaweed to provide all the trace nutrients my plants require and recommend it highly. You can use any liquid plant food (like Miracle Grow or Shultz) to promote growth. Compost tea is the Cadillac of liquid plant food and if you make your own compost tea, your plants will respond with bigger and better blooms as well as increased vigour.

And finally, no matter the size of the container, it is important to soak it all the way to the bottom at each watering. Continue watering until water emerges from the pot bottom. This ensures the roots can reach all parts of the container and grow properly.