One thing that is often overlooked when planning and creating a beautiful summer garden for homeowners to enjoy is the fact that the garden exists throughout the year. Unfortunately in the vast majority of summer gardens there is a huge hole in the garden for the vast majority of the year. Carefully planning in order to avoid this process and planting flowering plants that bloom during various seasons of the year as well as plants that provide beautiful foliage and greenery even when the flowers may not be blooming can prevent this absence of life within your summer garden from occurring.
Plant continuously and groom your garden consistently throughout the year. Obviously the winter months are not great months for planting in the earth but this doesn’t mean that you cannot use flowerpots filled with seasonal offerings to fill the gaps of green within your garden. There are all kinds of flowers that thrive in winter weather that would make a beautiful addition to your winter garden without taking anything away from the beauty of your summer garden. In fact, the ability to incorporate these flowers and plants into your garden without necessarily planting may be an excellent incentive to keep your garden up to date even in seasons that aren’t traditionally thought of as gardening seasons.
Add features to your garden that aren’t plant related to bring splashes of color to your garden during winter months while preserving the space needed for planting your summer garden when the appropriate time comes. Flowerpots are a great example of this but so are lawn ornaments and statues that may be either moved to a different location during summer months or removed all together. Keep the earth warm for the summer garden to come during those long cold winter months.
Use the winter months to plan your summer garden. The spring is often spent in preparation and the fall months are spent harvesting. The winter months would be put to excellent use planning the new additions and possible movements that need to occur in the coming months. Working on your garden and improving your garden does not necessarily require working in your garden. Once you have those gaps filled in and a little bit of green and color in your garden for the winter months you can focus your undivided attention on making the coming summer garden even better and more spectacular than ever before.
Be careful not to plant all of your seeds in one garden spot so to speak while you are making your plans. By this I mean you need to keep a certain willingness to make adjustments and corrections as you go and learn more about the growing process and the specific gardening needs of your yard. Every growing season will bring a season of new lessons to learn take the time to reflect upon the lessons learned during previous seasons when making plans for the coming seasons and make the adjustments that present themselves along the way.
By learning from the mistakes of the past and always looking to and anticipating the needs of the future you are insuring greater success each year for your summer garden not only during the dog days of summer but throughout all the seasons of the year.
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A rain garden design is an environmentally positive approach to gardening. Soil and plants have the ability to process chemicals, various wastes like oil and even pet waste. However, the way our cities are design allow the water to drain into a river or some other reservoir, perhaps even untreated. A rain garden design, however, traps water and forces it through the root systems of plants and flowers that essentially filter the toxins out and process them into a non-dangerous state. There are many factors to consider when designing an effective rain garden that will determine its effectiveness at processing waste. One of them is the location of the garden, which is the focus here.
First of all, many people interesting in a rain garden design feel the best place to put one is where all the rain collects already. Many landscapes have an area such as this. One side of our yard would always develop into a small pond every time it rained hard. Our yard sloped down to the back of the neighbor’s garage. Many would think that because that’s where all the water is going, that would be the ideal place to grow a rain garden. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This is one of the last places to consider a rain garden design.
The ideal rain garden design needs an area the is exposed to sunshine most of the day. The area in my yard where the little pond would form during rain storms was shaded most of the day. Without the sun, the drying cycle would not be optimal. Direct sun will help to kill pathogens, which is one of the most beneficial functions of the rain garden design. Furthermore, direct sun will promote healthy and robust flower and plant growth.
Secondly, an ideal rain garden design will ensure that there is no structure within ten feet from any structural foundation. Foundations are susceptible to damage from flooding and saturation. So, the location of your rain garden design should be sunny and away from you house, garage or any neighbor’s house and garage.
Finally, the area you choose for your rain garden design should be as flat as possible and should drain well. You want the area to collect rain water, but you also want it to be able to drain quickly. Furthermore, stagnate water in the summertime attracts mosquitoes which isn’t only a bother but can also increase your and your families chances of contracting mosquito born viruses, which is becoming a greater concern these days.
As was mentioned above, location is only one consideration. This article should have gotten you thinking about which location in your yard would be ideal for a rain garden design. You will want to further consider the plant and flower species you choose and how water will be funneled into the garden during rain storms.
Jonathan writes on gardening topics for Elegant Garden Design.
