Are you tired of your old garden that seems to be more weeds and dirt than anything else? Having an attractive garden around the home can add value and aesthetics and enhance your lifestyle. Everyone needs something pretty to look at and if you are constantly surrounded by dreary, half-dead plants it will eventually get on your nerves and poison your mood. So here are some tips to not only make your garden pop, but to brighten up your mood as well.
- Spend a little more on organic fertiliser to ensure your soil is healthy. Few plants can grow well in soil that cannot provide the nutrients they need.
- Start again with your basic garden shapes and add different plants for a better look. Do a little research so you know what their growing habits are and can plant them accordingly. There are many great gardening makeover books available you can learn from.
- Add brightly coloured outdoor furniture to a dull corner, especially if nothing seems to grow there. Colourful pots, plants and even a water feature will ensure this area sizzles with colour and interest. Make sure you take time to sit there and enjoy it!
- If watering and weeding are not your thing, forget annuals and choose low maintenance plants and cover the top of the soil with pebbles or pine bark. There are many such plants that have interesting or unusual shapes or leaves that can be just as good to look at as showy annuals. Vary the leaf colour by choosing dark leaved plants for the background and then lighter green, blue-green or yellow leafed plants for the front. Add in one or two ornamental grasses or some low ground covers for the front.
- Add an ornamental archway or old-fashion gateway to the centre of a round garden in the middle of the lawn. The latter is called a ‘folly’. Grow climbing vines or a rambler over it and cram the garden with old fashioned flowers, leaving no room for weeds to grow. You can get a similar effect with a stone pillar, but placing a bird bath on top would give more even interest.
- Recycle things and add interest to your garden at the same time. Use an old bicycle or child’s trike to hang pot plants from and use old boots, a watering can or even an old cane wash basket as containers for pretty flowers. Don’t expect the latter to last too long, but if you thread it with thin wire this will help to support it.
- A simple tip that can make a big difference is to add one or two large and colourful pots or statues to your garden, in amongst all the plants.
