We know how it feels. You’ve trimmed and cut your garden just before winter. But now your garden is overgrown and sprawling everywhere! Thanks to the spring and summer collaboration, your garden is now out of control!
Before you give up on your gardening gig or consider moving, hear us out. We’ve got nine great tips to make your garden more manageable. With these tips, you can not only bring your garden under control but also keep it manageable no matter the weather or season!
The Problems of An Overgrown Garden
- The slightest wind can blow all the dirt and debris from the garden into your house.
- Besides pests, overgrown gardens are perfect nests for snakes and other creepy crawlies that can easily make their way into your home.
- You run the major risk of diseases such as zika, dengue, and west nile, spread by mosquitoes breeding in your overgrown garden.
- Overgrown gardens can give rise to new species of plants that may be difficult to maintain. These types of plants may have thorns that can be pricking hazards and make it hard for you.
- Overgrown bushes and gardens are dormant fire hazards. Just the slightest ember can set off the entire area, which can be tough to control.
- If your overgrown garden faces the cold winter, come spring or summer, it can be very difficult to reclaim it.
- Overgrown gardens can be not only a nuisance for you but also for your neighbors. This can bring you legal and financial troubles.
- If you have pets, an overgrown garden can be an issue. Your pets may wander out to do their business and get bitten by pests or insects. Or get pricked by the thorny bushels.
Tips To Make Your Garden More Manageable
Overgrown gardens can be the source of many problems, as we’ve established. But it’s not a lost cause just yet, because we’ve covered you.
Take a look at these tips to bring your overgrown garden mess under control and enjoy a more tame and humble garden.
Garden According to Your Space
One mistake that most novice gardeners make is overestimating the space that they have available in their homes. So if you’re about to start a garden, look at the area in which you want to start it. Then section it off by types of plants you’d like, like allotting one area for flowers and another for vegetables. Doing this will help you gauge the growth of your garden and keep it manageable.
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Replace Pots with Bags
Pots and containers take up a lot of space. If you’re gardening on your rooftop or balcony, you might want to switch the pots for bags. There’s fabric bags where you can put the plant and sow directly into the ground. Fabric bags are easy to move around, regulate temperature, help roots grow faster and are more readily available. Also, using bags instead of plastic pots or containers reduces the risk of water retention, which can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.
Plant Easy Plants
Easy plants include herbs, shrubs, ferns, and basically anything that doesn’t need a lot of maintenance. These plants all retain their greenness all year round and don’t need to be replaced now and then. Different types of succulents, aloe vera, monstera, and various cactus species are all low-maintenance plants.
Let The Lawn Go
Want the feeling and finish of a grass lawn, but without the hassle of having to constantly maintain and look after it? You might instead decide to opt for an artificial grass lawn, giving the benefit of a lush green garden area with minimal fuss.
UK supplier Grass Warehouse are just one of many brands that have reported a huge amount of growth in the popularity of artificial turf in the past few years, and with many different types available, it’s certainly a solution worth looking into.
Investing in a lawn is a good idea, if you have the space and the money. Let’s face it, the more area your lawn takes up, the more money you have to spend to keep up. So if you’re not ready to make those financial and spatial commitments, don’t get a lawn.
If you have an area big enough to pave or deck, do that and set up your garden. Not only will it be less work for you, but it will also cost less. And you’ll still have enough space to garden some more!
Add Landscape
Once you’ve saved up space and some money by ditching the lawn, you can add landscape to your garden. Set up a little seating area to relax and take the edge off after a long day. There’s nothing better than having a mini-garden cafe of your own where you can loosen up anytime!
Elevate The Bed
Raising your plant or flower beds is a great way to save space, beautify the area and ultimately, make your garden more manageable in the long run. When you raise your plant beds, you make it easier to water, weed, groom, and keep them looking good as new!
You can also paint and decorate the beds to suit your garden’s aesthetic. Having fantastic-looking, elevated platforms for your plants will make you want to spend more time in your garden and look after it more often.
Plant The Right One
You must choose plants that fit the soil and your hometown’s weather. The last thing you want is to spend a lot of time picking out plants and then planting them in your garden, only to have them never grow or die halfway.
Talk to botanists or research online to find out the best-suited plant species according to soil types and weather conditions where you live. You can even use online plant-picking generators and put all your preferences like color, soil type, weather, and sprouting season to get the plant best suited for you!
Use Self-Watering Pots
We bet you didn’t hear about them too, but self-watering pots are a thing! These containers come with built-in reservoirs that will water your plants without you worrying about it. These containers are also designed in such a way that your plants won’t be overwatered.
Let It Be
While an overgrown garden can be problematic, don’t become too stressed about trimming the first branch you see growing longer than usual. Sometimes a little bushy fluff can add to the appearance of your garden, but of course, don’t let it grow out of control.
Things to Remember
Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to keep your garden manageable,
- When using shears or shovels, remember to wear your protective gear. This includes your safety goggles, thick gumboots, and gloves.
- Contact an arborist when you want to cut overgrown branches in trees. This is because they can give you professional advice on your trees’ health and how to take better care of them.
- If your garden is already overgrown and you’re out of wits, contacting a professional is not too late. This will help you learn from the experts themselves, and you’ll end up with a nicely maintained garden.
Conclusion
There you have it; we hope you enjoyed this article. We also hope you can use the tips to maintain your overgrown garden. Remember to seek professional help whenever necessary. Share with your friends and family so they can use these tips to take care of their own gardens. Happy gardening!
FAQs
How to Prune Overgrown Ferns?
Ans: An overgrown fern may look challenging, but with these tips, you can shape and shear it and make it look brand new! Right near the end of winter, you’ll see your ferns looking a little crazy. So when spring comes knocking, get ready with your tools.
- Cut down the old fern fronds (fern leaves) and shape according to how you like it.
- Trim the dead branches next once the new ones come in.
- If the fern is browned halfway, cut it in half. This helps the plant to thrive.
- For indoor ferns, cut all the overgrown bits. Take a closer look since they are indoors; an overgrown plant can be problematic.
How to Decorate A Low-Maintenance Garden?
Ans: To decorate a low-maintenance outdoor garden, the key is to keep it minimal. The less clutter there will be, the more elegant it will look. So here are a few things you can do to decorate a low-maintenance garden
- Keep it clutter-free. Avoid bulky vases, pots or ornaments, and statement furniture such as a table and chairs.
- Try to keep everything two-toned in colors. Using too many colors in the space might make it look busy and clumsy. Using similar tones can also help tie in the calming aura of the garden’s greens.
- Hang some nice art in there. If art is not your thing, take pretty pictures of your garden and frame them in there!
