13 Aug 10 Tips on how to keep your garden looking good
Your garden is a great source of pleasure and stress-release, as well as making your home worth more and look nicer, so keeping your garden looking good is an investment worth making, especially in the Summer months when you get to enjoy it more.
1. Keep it simple
When planning a new garden or redesigning an existing one, keep the planting scheme simple – less generally is more. Hardy shrubs and evergreen plants are the key. Shrubs are great because they live a long time. Evergreens look good all year and drop fewer leaves than deciduous plants. Those labelled ‘groundcover’ plants are a great selection as they tend to be tough and will join together to help keep weeds down.
2. Think long-term when combining plants
Choose plants with textures and colours which complement each other year-round. That way you won’t need to put in seasonal bedding plants to add colour outside Spring and Summer.
3. Have the right plants in the right place
Choose plants which are well-suited to the soil and your site. Our team at TTS Garden Services can use our expert knowledge of your garden to help you choose the perfect plants for it.
4. Go for big pots
In general, big pots are easier to look after than small ones. The smaller the pot, the quicker it dries out – so the more watering it will need. Group plants in large pots or use raised planters if you have little or no garden soil. Urban gardens benefit from this technique most.
5. Select award-winning plants
Award-winning varieties are more likely to do well in regular garden conditions and be easier to look after. Look for the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) label in garden centres and online. It’s an independent certification from the RHS that the plant is a good variety. In covers plants from trees and shrubs to fruits, flowers and vegetables.
6. Embrace nature’s wild side
Appreciating nature in its wild imperfection can help you enjoy your garden and reduce the maintenance required. If the garden is at your business, it also adds to your sustainability credentials. Think of having a bedding area with wild flowers, for example. It helps to design your space accordingly, so it fits in with the overall look you’re after. We can advise. Embracing nature’s way can bring great satisfaction. At TTS Garden Services we believe in respecting the planet, so take time to consider our actions and the impact on the environment. We recycle where we can and offer eco-friendly solutions, where possible.
7. Make your lawn neater and easier to cut
Installing a permanent edge to it, such as brickwork or paving stones, means you won’t have to spend time trimming the edges every time you cut the grass. Smoothing out any tricky angles and awkward corners – by extending the grass or enlarging your borders – can make a shape that’s neater and easier to cut too, saving you time.
8. Go vertical – with self-clinging climbers
Climbers are a great way to make the most of walls, fences or trees to add to your garden look. Self-clinging climbers such as ivy, Virginia creeper and climbing hydrangea attach themselves onto surfaces (rather than needing wires or trellis to grow up).
9. Use mulches for less watering and weeding
Another way to make your garden ‘green’ as well as great is to use mulching. It’s using another material, like bark chippings or gravel, to cover up any bare soil between your plants. It helps prevent weeds growing and stops water evaporating away – meaning less watering and weeding. It also smartens up the garden too!
10. Get and use a water butt
Want to use less of Planet Earth’s water in your home or business? One way is to use a water butt to capture rain water for use in your garden. They can be easily installed in a corner next to a garage and feed off the downpipe of the guttering system. We can install them for you. We can also drain them in the late Autumn when sub-zero overnight temperatures would cause the water to form as ice and damage the butt.
TTS Garden Services offers a full range of garden maintenance services to clients across Perth, Kinross & Dundee. We are here to help people enjoy their gardens and maintain them and will happily offer advice on this. For more information please contact us directly.
Happy gardening!