As a business owner, mom, and wife, my days can be quite busy. Each day is filled with errands, meeting with homeowners, consulting with employees, working in the office and working around the home. One business that I frequently stop in has an ‘easy’ button very close to the counter. It is so tempting to grab the button and just for a moment pretend that by pressing that button, my day would suddenly become less stressful and less hectic.
While I can’t help you hit the ‘easy’ button on office or house work, I can help you make life a bit easier when it comes to maintaining the outside of your home. Gardening, when done with thought and purpose can be very enjoyable and rewarding. Here are a few tips for making your life a bit easier.
1. Start with a plan. Create a master plan that can be implemented in phases. Determine a budget and work within that budget to achieve your goals.
2. Identify what is already in your yard and add new plants that will either work within the existing framework or alter the framework first. Plant identification can be difficult. Gardening books, master gardeners and plant identification apps can all help.
3. Group plants that have the same cultural requirements together. Consider environmental conditions such as light, soil conditions and exposure to wind when selecting plants.
4. Amend, amend, amend. The condition of your soil is just as important as the plants. Amending your soil by adding peat moss, gypsum, mushroom compost and top soil will all improve the nutrients in your soil and therefore the performance of your plants.
5. Pay particularly close attention to the growth habit of the plants that you choose. Make sure to note the mature height and width of all plants. Consider carefully those plants that spread by seed or rhizomes.
6. Evaluate the size of your landscaping beds. It’s easier to mow than to pull weeds. Landscaping beds naturally get larger over time. Consider making your beds smaller by adding sod.
7. Involve younger generations in outdoor activities. Gardening can and should be a multi generation activity. Time spent together outdoors is time well spent.
8. Container gardening-all the fun and none of the weeding. All types of plants can be put into containers; annual flowers, perennial plants and even shrubs. Please note however if you want the plants to live through the winter in most cases they will need to be planted in the ground or the containers need to be put in a protected location.
9. Invest in high quality tools. Sharp spades, high quality pruners and a solid wheel barrel make gardening chores much more manageable.
10. Consider watering your plants with a soaker hose when appropriate. Soaker hoses water a group of plants directly at the root system.
11. Mulch has a litany of benefits for your plants. It reduces weed growth, helps retain moisture to the soil and improves the soil structure. 1” of mulch is appropriate around perennial flowers and 2-3” around shrubs and trees.
12. Sometimes less is more. Unless you really like a full look, it’s ok to have open areas in your planting beds.
13. Perennial flowers naturally come back each year. Consider planting more perennial flowers and less annual flowers.
14. Think twice before planting mint, trumpet vine, ribbon grass or snow on the mountain.
15. Discover the joy of planting seeds. Certain plants do really well when started from seed. They include zinnias, marigolds, milkweed, yarrow and coneflower.
16. Don’t be too critical of yourself. Gardening can be a bit of trial and error. Enjoy the successes and don’t dwell on the failures. Know that by gardening you are improving air quality, reducing noise pollution and supporting beneficial insects.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
