A summer garden would be a lovely sight especially if you can maintain it well. Here are some tips:

On Watering

Water your plants less often. You’re saving water and you’re treating your plants better, too. For majority of fruits and veggies, just soak the soil with half-inch of water every three to four days. You’re minimizing water loss and you’re helping the roots become stronger. [Read more...]

Different kinds of gardens require different kinds of garden tools. Hardware stores mostly cater for a wide range of tools, but there are shops that specialize in the more expensive kind of garden tool that shouts quality. Wherever you decide to shop, here are is a list of gardening tools and their uses.

When you buy secateurs make sure the blade always stays sharp to avoid damaging the plant. Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, models with tension control and with sizes that best fit your hands. Secateurs usually cost around $50 – $130.

Hedge trimmers or shears are handy – but only if you have a hedge, or plan on growing one. Some hedge trimmers have curved blades to stop branches from sliding out when cut.

Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and breaking up lumps of soil. The cheaper ones are often not strong enough for heavy soil, so go for sturdiness instead of price. Forks usually cost around $30 – $100.

A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move around dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharpened for clean and efficient cutting will cause the least amount of damage to plants. These are a basic garden necessity and usually cost from $30 – $50.

A pruning saw is used for pruning trees and larger shrubs, while secateurs are for plants like roses. Pruning saws have a narrow curved blade that fits between stems or branches and easily and cuts them as you pull the saw backwards. They are approximately $27- $55.

A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly as the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.

A rake is also a basic requirement for the garden. The strong rake with the flat head and sharp metal prongs is used for smoothing a garden bed and getting out the last of the bumps and weeds. The plastic rake is used to gather leaves and grass clippings only.

Gardening tools don’t have to be expensive. Flea markets and garage sales can be excellent places to pick up great tool bargain.

There is some debate as to what is considered a native plant. Some people in the US think they’re plants that were growing on the continent before the arrival of Europeans or people from any other continent. But a broader definition accepted by others is any plant that grows naturally in an area without human interaction. Either way, a native plant is not an exotic plant that has been introduced to the area and has taken over and choked out other species, or one requires constant attention and resources to get it to grow.

Native plants are able to handle the area’s weather. They can survive extreme weather conditions such as hot dry summers and cold snowy winters. They have adapted to the normal amount of available groundwater or rainfall. In other words, you don’t have to constantly water these plants and that’s a relief to your water bill and less time spent in the garden.

Another benefit to planting local species is their ability to resist local pests and diseases. They thrive and are healthy, naturally. And for you this means cutting down and hopefully eliminating pesticide usage, which is, of course, better for everyone’s health and wellbeing.

Another benefit of these natural plantings is they can help slow down erosion. This is particularly true for riverbanks, cliff tops, wetlands, ocean shores and your storm drains.

These reasons save us time, money, and frustration for sure, but there are also reasons to plant native that include the birds, bees and wildlife. They depend on native species for food and shelter, plus the chance to pollinate. In addition, the plants provide wildlife protection from predators. The plants and the wildlife help make up our ecosystem and make for a healthier, well-rounded environment.

When you include native plants and grasses in your garden, you have vegetation that is not invasive, but rather fits seamlessly in the landscape, looking perfectly at home. You are also contributing to diversity and preserving various species of vegetation and the animals that depend on it for their habitat.

These are all good reasons to “go native” with your plantings. Remember native plants when you plan your garden and keep in mind it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Perhaps you’ve moved into a new home with a new yard, or you’ve decided to clear the jungle that is your existing backyard. You want a nice-looking yard with a beautiful garden you can be proud of. Then maybe you can entertain friends outside, just like you see in the magazine ads.

Note how big the area is that you have to work with.

If it’s a small area, recognize that you might not be able to include all that you would like. You can pare down with smaller beds of flowers, less grass, or dwarf-size trees. Become aware of how big your possible greenery choices may grow and don’t be fooled with how tiny plants are at the nursery.

If the yard is big, then consider tackling it in stages. Have a master plan, but don’t try to do it all at once. That will leave you with a bad back, sore muscles, and wondering where your summer (or year) went. Consider installing any retaining walls, rock or brickwork, and paths first. These hardscape elements are the skeleton of your garden and will lead you naturally to the next phases – grass, plantings, ornamentals, ground cover, etc.

Good garden ideas are all around you.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Instead, get behind the wheel and cruise around town to get ideas you can copy. Take pictures and bring them to the nursery so they can help you pick out the same plants and flowers. You could even chat with your favorite gardeners and walk away with cuttings to start in your garden.

How much time do you have to garden?

Be mindful of how much work you’re going to create for yourself with your new landscape. Know thyself. If you think gardens are just to look at and not constantly putter around in, then choose non-fussy plants that don’t need a lot of pruning or tending. Also cut back on the number of trees that lose their leaves each fall so you don’t have a lot of raking to do. Ground cloth for weed control is a must.

Starting a new garden is exciting as well as a bit overwhelming. Consider the size of your area, getting ideas from other gardens, and what you can do to create a low-maintenance garden when you’re in the planning stages.

If you don’t know what the term “hardscape” means, you’re not alone. Lots of people, mostly those who haven’t had a lot of gardening experience or who have never had their own yard, are unfamiliar with the term. It actually refers to the parts of your landscape that are “hard”, such as concrete paths, decks, patios, retaining walls, gazebos, and other structures.

When planning your garden, starting with the hardscape makes perfect sense. You have a defined space to work with and chances are, you’re going to do more than just cover it with a patch of grass.

You’re going to have areas for bushes, trees, and flowers, defined with some sort of hard barrier between them and the grass, right? You’re also going to want a space where you can put outdoor furniture like a table and chairs, so this calls for a patio or deck.

You also might have some issues to resolve because of the slope of your land. Slopes can call for retaining walls and there are different materials to choose from depending on your needs and the look you like.

Maybe you’re lucky enough to include a swimming pool or hot tub in your landscaping plans. You might also want an area for a play structure for the kids. These will be a big part of your hardscape planning.

Lastly, you might desire to fence in the whole area or parts of the area, like to keep the dog in or the neighbor’s dog out. Or want lattice work to hide the garbage cans and air conditioning unit, and give yourself privacy.

As you can see, there are many reasons to use hardscapes in your landscape. There are also many different materials involved, and installing them will probably be the biggest, most expensive, and back-breaking part of putting in your yard.

But installing your desired hardscape is the first step, after design, because it’s the skeleton of your garden. You won’t plant flowers until you have that retaining wall in to retain them, and you won’t plant your wisteria until you have a trellis for it to climb up.

When planning what structures you need and where they go, consider carefully the materials and construction possibilities. Build these to last so you don’t have to build them again.

It becomes infinitely easier to plant your “softscape”, trees, bushes, and flowers, after all the permanent hard structures are in place. Hardscaping helps you to see the whole picture and gives you the actual space left to work with.

If you’ve always been a Do-It-Yourselfer, it might be hard for you to understand why many homeowners choose to hire a landscaper to design their gardens. The following is a list of some of the reasons why, and they may get you to thinking about what you can have a landscaper do that you shouldn’t, couldn’t, or won’t do yourself.

1. Landscapers don’t make gardening mistakes that cost you time and labor to fix later, and then later again, and then again.

2. They know where to source the right materials for the project. After listening to what you want and offering advice, they can easily get you materials that are low maintenance, low cost and non-toxic if those are your preferences.

3. You may have some ideas, but sometimes it’s too big a project for you to wrap your head around. Landscapers can fill in the blanks of your sketchy plan and will give valuable feedback when you bounce your ideas off them.

4. These professionals know which plants to choose. You maybe know what color flowers you’d like but you don’t know what grows in your area, how big they’ll grow, what works well together, and which are lower maintenance.

6. Perhaps you can plan the whole thing out on paper – but you’re allergic to dirt, wood, flowers, and manual labor.

7. Landscapers are there for you if you have more money than time. You want your summer and don’t want to be a slave to working on endless outdoor projects. You know that one project completed always leads to two more that now need doing.

8. The professionals have a good idea of the costs involved and can give you firm estimates. Then you can scale back on your grand plans if you need to. Whereas if you were doing it all yourself you probably wouldn’t realize all the costs of the project and could run out of money half way through.

9. A landscaper can help if you already have yard problems. Maybe you inherited these problems when you moved into an existing house. The grass (or is it weeds?) is a mess, rainfall is draining towards the house, there is no automatic watering system, and the bushes at the front of the house are so overgrown you can barely find the front door.

10. At some point you may notice that your garden needs some pizzazz. You want it to look better than the neighbors’ gardens. You want it to stand out, show off your home, and include outdoor living spaces.

11. And lastly, landscapers know how to make your garden low maintenance, which is good because you’re going to be involved in the aftercare.

Landscapers know what they’re doing; this is there area of expertise. Consider hiring a professional whether you have a project planned and need someone to see it through or you need someone with vision who can start at the beginning with drawing up the plans.

Let’s face it; gardening can be a pretty expensive endeavor, especially if you’re starting with a blank slate. You’d like a beautiful garden but you don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Here then, are some ideas regarding gardening on the cheap.

* If you know some really good gardeners and they have some wonderful plants, ask for cuttings. You can then grow your own plants from the cuttings.

* Buy smaller plants, leaving room for growth when you plant them. Smaller plants are cheaper, plus they seem to settle into their new surroundings with less shock than their bigger brothers.

* Buy plants that grow so much you can divide them. Lillies come to mind. I now have eight lilly plants from just one I purchased two years ago.

* Flowers are nice, but the cost of replacing them each year is not. Consider planting flowering bushes that give you color year after year rather than flowers that are only around for one season.

* Choose plants and trees with low-water needs, such as natives. This will save you the cost of constantly watering them.

* Buy smaller trees. It requires vision to imagine what your garden will look like in a few years, plus patience, but the cost difference could very well be worth it.

* Instead of spraying weeds with dangerous and expensive chemicals, use plain old vinegar in a spray bottle. Note that you shouldn’t get it on any plants or grass because it will kill them too.

* Consider a spot for vegetables in your garden. If you grow vegetables from seeds, it’s cheaper than buying veggies from the supermarket. You can collect the seeds at the end of the season and plant them the next season.

* Plan ahead. As with any project, if you plan ahead and are willing to be patient, you can buy plants during sales, find a garden swap, dig up plants from yards that are going through a major landscape remodel, and more.

* Find hardscape materials and yard furniture online through Craigslist or FreeCycle.org. Some furniture just needs a fresh coat of paint or new seat cushions.

Having a beautiful garden does not mean you automatically have to spend a lot of money. There are many ways to cut costs, such as planting from seed, buying smaller plants, and getting free landscaping material from FreeCycle. Don’t let a small budget keep you from a beautiful garden because you can have one with gardening on the cheap.