Now that it is finally warming up on East Coast—at least where I live in Pennsylvania—I am just itching to get out and start digging in my garden. Perhaps you’re feeling that same itch.
Every year my husband and I have grand plans designing a garden somewhere in our yard where we previously haven’t had any plants and shrubs. Or we decide to totally redo an existing garden to change things up, such as the year we tried lasagna gardening.
Unfortunately, in the past we have fallen victim to some of the common mistakes people make when designing a garden. For example, wanting to plant a vegetable garden but not really giving enough thought to where in the yard that garden was going to be. Because it turns out that while our yard seems sunny, it is not sunny enough to sustain vegetable plants. Last year we grew one very expensive green pepper—we’d paid $6 for the pepper plant and it yielded a single pepper. I should have followed my own advice and stuck to container gardening to grow vegetables.
I recently came across some information from Preen, the maker of weed-prevention products, about the common mistakes that home gardeners make when designing a garden—be it a brand new garden or one that they’re fixing up from an earlier design.
Avoid Invasive plants.
What might look like a find (so pretty and such a fast grower) may actually be a garden monster. Invasive plants spread by runners or underground stems. Aggressive and extremely difficult to remove, these plants spread to choke out other plants. Offenders include chameleon plant, lamb’s ear, lily of the valley and goutweed. I had no idea about lamb’s ear and lily of the valley—two of my favorites! In my yard some of these invasive species include bamboo, but with our houses so close together, we have found that bamboo acts as a great “natural” screen to complement a fence. However, it does take off like wildfire. To avoid out-of-control invasive plants, put them in a deeply lined bed or large container garden pots.
Look Out for Weeds Gone Wild.
Weeds are the ultimate invasives as they adapt to the local habitat and get greedy for territory. To stop them, tackle their seeds. Remove existing weeds before they go to seed (each plant can produce thousands). Then apply a layer of mulch and sprinkle a weed preventer on top. Mulch blocks the sunlight that weed seeds need to sprout. For an added layer of weed protection, lay down newspaper over the offending area, then add the mulch.
Will You Be Inviting Trouble?
Some plants are more than attractive—they attract pests that you may want to avoid. For example, if you are allergic to bee stings, you should avoid plants that act as bee magnets. These include buddleia bushes or monarda (aka bee balm), zinnia and salvia flowers. Where deer are abundant fill your garden with plants and shrubs that are labeled as deer resistant. Deer love hostas, tulips, yews and azaleas, so avoid putting them in your garden if there are a lot of deer around.
Choose the Right Plant and the Right Place.
Before planting any shrubs, flowers or vegetables, be sure to read the label on that plant. That adorable shrub won’t look so cute by the house when it grows to 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Labels detail light and water needs, and follow them to a tee. Putting shade-loving impatiens in Southern-facing window boxes will die in the full sun. However, plant them in a shady, north-facing pot, and they’ll thrive. Not sure which areas of your yard are full sun, partial shade or full shade? Step outside throughout the day and note where the sun is. Also, trees don’t have leaves yet so a sunny spot in April could be a shady area in May. Keep that and USDA hardiness zones in mind as you make your choices for flowers, plants and shrubs.
More Isn’t Always Better.
Believe it or not more home gardeners kill more plants by watering them too much, versus not watering them enough. Most established plants prefer about one inch of rainfall or irrigation every week or so. Too much water can cause rot or weak growth. Also too much fertilizer won’t make plants more robust, but it can burn and kill them. When it doubt, use a light hand with watering and fertilizing.
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