Please note: this is a contributed post.
Image Credit: Unsplash
So many people don’t realize the potential for beauty in their own backyard and yet that small piece of land, that at this moment is nothing but a few paving stones and some weeds, is a blank canvas waiting to shine. Even if you have next to no gardening experience, there is a lot you can do to enhance your yard that is very simple and will bring you a lot of joy.
Your garden can be another room to your house with just a few simple tricks, all you need is to follow a few basic preparation steps. Then, once you are ready, grow as much as you want!
Improve Your Garden Soil
Many gardens have poor quality soil because the builders weren’t thinking of gardening when they built the houses. Add to that the fact that many people simply aren’t interested in gardening and the soil didn’t really stand much of a chance before you came along.
To improve your soil, you should first remove any large stones and clumps of weeds. Then rake the soil smooth and give it a good watering. The next step is to visit your local home improvement store and get some bags of peat moss, vermiculite, top soil and composted cow manure to work into and improve the structure of the existing soil.
Then you should add a nitrogen rich fertilizer to give the soil an initial boost before planting. You’ll also want to fertilize your garden on a regular basis once you’ve added all your plants, flowers and vegetables All you need to do is mix the fertilizer with the right quantity of water (follow package directions) and then spray it around the garden – ag crop farm sprayer nozzles are a great help for this chore.
Start Planting Your Borders
Once you’ve improved the quality of your soil it’s time to start planting. Many people go for borders around their lawn or a paved seating area, so take some string and layout exactly where you want your borders. You may wish to raise the borders (raised garden beds add an interesting feature) by building short walls and then filling in the gaps with top soil, peat moss, etc.
Choose a range of easy to grow plants when starting your first garden. In fact, if this is your first time gardening, a quick trick to get started is to sprinkle wildflower seeds and decorative grasses for an instant garden. This will help to keep your soil healthy and at the end of the season, you can simply mow the grass down and use it to make compost.
Add Outdoor Lights
No garden is ever perfect in its first season, unless you have an unlimited budget and the greenest fingers on the planet. So, rather than focusing on what you want, you should find ways to embrace the more bohemian aspects of your yard. A great way to do this is to add a string of lights, solar lights or even a few Tiki torches throughout your yard and garden.
Sitting out in your garden on a deck chair, with a refreshing drink under the lights, is a great way to start connecting with your land. Adding the lights, and other decorative landscape features, will also let you enjoy your garden at night. There is plenty of time for you to think about more exciting ways to use your yard but for now, just focusing on the basics will help you to prepare for more interesting things in the future – like adding a new pool, deck or outdoor kitchen.
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