You are now prepared to embark on the journey of making a garden that is organic and healthy. Now’s the time! Keep reading for tips any beginner will find useful.
Think about leaving some areas of your lawn uncut. Long grass provides a great habitat for beetles, young amphibians and grasshoppers. Grass is also an important food source for some butterflies and caterpillars. Gardens without wildlife would be very sterile environments, and most plants can’t reproduce without the help of wildlife.
When you are working in your garden, be sure to leave the praying mantis alone. These insects are skilled predators which take care of any number of harmful pests. In addition, these praying mantises do not harm your garden in any way, so let them go about their work protecting your garden from pests.
Improve the health of your soil before your plant your crops and seed. Three or four weeks beforehand use organic compounds like mulch, fertilizer, and compost to increase the nutrient value and retention of your soil. It will also improve the retention of water, create a soil buffer, and more.
Create an illusion of space. If you have a small garden, use color to create an illusion of more space. A background of blues, grays, pinks and mauves will create a misty effect, giving you the feeling of depth. If you use a bright color in the foreground such as red, this will emphasize the effect, as it draws the eye forward.
If you are going to garden around your home, you need to make sure that you wear safety clothing. If you wear sturdy shoes, long pants and safety goggles while you are maintaining your lawn, there is less of a chance that you will get hurt from doing yard work.
Have a good stretch before starting gardening work. A good five to ten minute stretch will help loosen the muscles and get the heart rate up. The bodies’ muscles work better and are less prone to injuries when properly warmed up. Walk around the garden a few times and do a few simple stretches and the time in the garden will be a more enjoyable experience.
Plant evergreen shrubs. Certain shrubs can provide triple duty throughout the year: they bear leaves year-round, produce flowers, and sometimes have ornamental fruit that attracts birds and other wildlife. This makes them very desirable in any landscape design. Excellent varieties are Berberis, Holly, Camellia Japonica, Ceanothus, Viburnum and Skimmia. Most will survive in any conditions.
Fall is the time of year to start planting those bulbs that produce the beautiful flowers that herald the beginning of spring. These types of spring flowers are easy to grow and can reward you with many years of gorgeous blooms. These bulbs need to be planted a few weeks before the first hard freeze in order to get their root system growing so they can survive the cold winter.
Try planting a ‘one-color’ garden bed. While this takes quite a bit of work, due to the limitations of the color palette, it can create a very striking visual. The emphasis is placed more on shape and structure, and it is especially helpful in a small garden, as it makes the area appear much larger. Remember that ‘one-color’ doesn’t mean a single shade. Use all shades in the color palette. For example a blue garden can feature flowers in shades of blue, purple and mauve.
You should now have the basic knowledge you need to start an organic garden. If you thought that you were ready before, well you should now be an expert! Hopefully, the advice you have learned will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to produce a beautiful and beneficial organic garden.
