We all know that good landscaping can make a significant difference. Whether you’re talking about curb appeal from the street, or a miniature paradise in the back, it can bring immense enjoyment and even significantly affect your property’s value. Some people love spending hours in their garden and in the dirt. I’m not one of those people!
So whether you’re like me or a genuine "green thumb", we still want to make the most of our time and effort. The landscaping tips that follow will do just that. They will give maximum results for maximum enjoyment, with a minimum of time and effort spent. This gives you and your tenants more time to enjoy the beauty.
Landscaping Tips:
Be Choosy: First, you’ll want to do a little research and choose plants according to your USDA hardiness zone. From those, you’ll also want to find species that are hardy and disease-resistant. If you choose annuals that bloom without the need for deadheading, you’ll end up with lush flowerbeds that require little maintenance. Some of those varieties would be; fibrous begonias, impatiens and lobelia.
Be aware that some annuals, such as cleome and calendula, will reseed themselves. Especially if you don’t remove the dead blooms in the fall. If you do want them to return the next season, then don’t remove the dead blooms and just let them reseed. If not, simply remove the dead blooms to prevent them from reseeding and returning the following year.
Be Strategic: In the beginning of this process, while doing your research, determine which of your plants require the most water and care. You’ll want to group those varieties in the same area. That way you won’t need to run from place to place taking care of them. You can make sure you always tend to the neediest of your plants. Then as time allows, you can care for the others.
When you know you will be planting tall, delicate, "floppy" plants or flowers, plant stiff, bulkier plants in front to help support them. This way you won’t need to stake all the tall delicate varieties in order to help them stand tall.
Another time-saving aspect to consider is where you keep your tools. Instead of keeping everything in the garage or a tool shed, consider keeping the most frequently used tools close by. A decorative container with wheels might be the ideal solution for you. It is also a great idea to buy tools with brightly colored handles. Then when you lay one in the grass, it will be much easier to spot and not be lost or left to be a victim of the lawnmower!
Be Wiser than Your Weeds: What makes a weed a weed? If a week pops up in your garden and you like the way it looks – keep it! You can decide to call it an indigenous plant and it is then no longer an unwanted weed. If you just can’t get past it, planting densely and using a lot of mulch in your flowerbeds will discourage the gitemth of those unwanted weeds. For those persistent weeds that make it in spite of your dense plantings and deep mulch, pulling them when the soil is moist makes the task a bit easier. So, there you have it, landscaping tips to make your life a bit more easier.
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