How Does Your Garden Grow

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Whether you start with seedlings or potted plants, a botanical garden requires a substantial amount of planning.   Climate, the amount of daily sunlight, allotment of land, color, types of flowers you enjoy and cost - are some things to consider.  Using packaged seeds is always a more reasonable financial choice.

Beautiful summer flowers in your yard can create a calming atmosphere to escape the daily grind.  I personally feel very happy, calm and content seeing the colors that please my sensibility.  The gorgeous flowers and birds’ sweet songs are my kind of music.

Color has real emotional influence and creates a mood changing environment.  My English Garden always has a palette of pinks, purples and white.  It gives me a serene feeling when I sit and enjoy it. You must plant what makes you smile.

I am lucky enough to have a pool area and feel the need to create a more tropical environment with bright colors that are found in more tropical places.  Here I use oranges, pinks and yellows near the pool to create a Caribbean atmosphere.  I tend to pack in more flowers in potted than recommended but with frequent watering they do well.

I always start with scrap paper and draw a bird’s eye view of the area I am going to plant in.  Browse the internet and local nurseries to check out prices, colors and care required for the flowers you like.  You may want to start with pictures of gardens that catch your fancy and reproduce the entire design.

Using colored pencils and paper draw your garden and mark the areas you want to plant with the same color as the flowers.  Label the type of flowers that will be planted.

When it comes time to plant make sure your topsoil is healthy and loose.  Adding more topsoil and a layer of mulch always makes the plants healthier and keeps weeds away.  I mulch before planting, but others choose to carefully much around the young plants.

Water well every other day.  Remember not to overwater and wait almost till the ground feels like there is not much moisture content.  Very few plants like wet feet.  Accept the fact that plants need fertilizer every 10 days.  I use Bloom Booster – just a scoop in a watering can works for potted plants and there are bottles of liquid you can attach to your hose.

Gardening means exercise, fresh air and comfort for the soul. Create a beautiful botanical garden to call your own that you can enjoy each and every day!