Tips To Update Your Garden and Landscape Settings

You look out on your garden and sigh... You wonder, how did it get so out of hand.

Well...don't feel bad. It happens to the best of us. Still...we're creeping into August and you're behind on the garden chores. You'll love these tips that will leave your garden looking amazing and you feeling so proud. 

Depending on how large your area is, you should be able to update most garden settings over a weekend. 

Tips to Update Your Garden and Landscape Setting. Here we go......!

  1. Gather a few tools for this: garden gloves, rake, hoe or spade, heavy duty large size trash bags, mulch, bagged compost.
  2. Armed wtih gloves and a trash bag, walk through gathering up dead plants and pulling up those that aren't likely to make it anyway. 
  3. Dig up any shrubs or trees that are dead or damaged and ready to be gone.
  4. Spray any weeds. Use your choice of weapon whether it is vinegar or harsher. 
  5. Inside the garden area, lay newspapers down and soak with water. Cover with a solid layer of mulch.
  6. Plant a few perennial plants in stragedic areas for most impact. 
  7. Leave the older shrubs and trees that are in good health. Give a good pruning if necessary.
  8. For color and interest, you might plant only a few new perennials. This time of year, echinacea (coneflowers) and coreopsis are in bloom.
  9. Refil some of your old plant pots with new bagged compost mix and pop in some small growing ornamental grasses or herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme, chives).
  10. Clean or define pathways for movement from one area to the next.
  11. Voila! You have just updated your garden!

There's no need for wall to wall plants. Leaving empty or negative spaces provide a sense of space, minimalization, freedom, less maintenance. Plus if you are looking to sell your house, it shows prospective buyers how lovely the area can be without a lot of effort or plants.

Here is a picture of one of the areas of my garden using the tips above (removing overgrown perennials, leaving mature specimen plants, spraying weeds, laying wet paper and mulching). I love the negative space. It's so much cleaner. Maybe next spring, I'll add a couple of new low, creeping perennials. But, for now, I'm enjoying the new look!

Empty or negative garden landscaping.

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