Are you wondering how to revitalize your garden looking its best this springtime?
Studies reveal that approximately 2 million American families engage in some form of private gardening. Caring for your garden requires a commitment to ensure your flowers, lawn, and other plants’ longevity. For some reason, many people perceive garden care as only watering and exposing their plants to sunlight. However, many more factors go into ensuring their growth and visual appeal.
3 Great Ways to Revitalize Your Garden
Here are three practical tips you could try.
1 – Adequate watering
Contrary to what many people are used to, holding your water hose or watering can and spraying water directly over your plants (overhead watering) is the wrong approach. The trick to watering a garden is to aim close to the plant’s base, to get the garden well-watered without excessive soaking. Overhead watering causes wet foliage and ultimately promotes foliar diseases and other fungal problems.
Depending on the type of plants or foliage you have in the garden, only water when your plantings need it. Usually, the growing season is the best time to water, but allow the soil to dry between each session. Doing this helps to deal with moisture oversaturation. Additionally, you can easily see where to water when you do this chore by hand. However, if the process is automated, opt for a drip irrigation system. Sprinklers tend to do more overhead watering, which can be bad for certain foliage.
2 – Adequate aeration
Aeration is the introduction of air into the soil to improve drainage and encourage microfauna and microflora growth. This is usually done for lawns, and for that, a special tool known as the lawn aerator is designed to do this. More so, knowing when to aerate your lawn is an essential requirement to ensure its longevity.
Usually, aerating in the fall is recommended because the season is noted for its cool air temperature, which doesn’t affect soil warmth. Spring can be helpful as well but avoid doing aerating in winter. As a precaution, don’t walk directly on aerated soil because the extra weight put on it can cause it to get compact again.
3 – Treat your soil
Over time, soil degrades and loses its natural properties. This explains the need for seasonal refreshing or as often as required. Fortunately, it’s easy and quite convenient to purchase new soil either via online garden shops or the local garden center. Be certain that you buy the required quality needed for your garden. Moreover, adding mulch is a useful technique to improve soil moisture. Besides, it keeps weeds at bay and infuses organic matter into the soil to improve its quality.
Still, on soil treatment, you should try fertilizing the garden. Remember that not every fertilizer is appropriate for certain plant species. For example, shrubs, landscape trees, and other perennials don’t need soil fertilizers. The only time when it’s advisable to use such fertilizers is when your plants begin to show signs of yellowing foliage. Nonetheless, always use the right amount and the correct type in the garden to promote growth, as excessive fertilization can overstress the soil and other foliage.
Revitalize Your Garden With These Three Useful Tips
Regular garden maintenance is a personal duty you can’t ignore. Even though some gardens may not require much care, a majority do. Gardening is a combined effort of pest control, disease prevention, and other factors to get it looking lush at all times. So with a little work, you can revitalize your garden–don’t give up.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
