June is the time of year when you can sit back, smell the roses and enjoy your garden, well it would be if it stopped raining. Apart from the weather, the other thing that stops people relaxing in the garden is the constant work that always seems to need doing.
Most of my clients want gardens that are easy to look after, these are some of my tips to help reduce the chores in your garden so you get more time to enjoy it:
PLANTING:
° Choose shrubs, like Choisya ternata or Skimmia that don’t need pruning, for the structural element. Add some seasonal flowering plants to make it more interesting.
° Check the ultimate size of a plant to make sure it will fit, i.e. won’t grow over a path or up in front of a window, then you won’t need to keep chopping it back.
° Don’t waste precious time pruning plants when you don’t need to, see above.
° Plant bulbs, they’re so easy to look after, the photo above is Allium sphaerocephalum, plant it in autumn in a sunny position.
LAWNS:
° Don’t bother watering them in dry weather, they’ll soon recover.
° Don’t cut them too short, it weakens the grass.
° Insert a mowing strip of brick or timber between the lawn and path so you can mow right over it. Not having to edge the lawn will save lots of time.
GARDEN FURNITURE:
° Wooden furniture needs painting with preservative, save time by choosing metal furniture instead.
PLAN:
° Have an overall plan so you don’t have to keep changing things, moving plants etc., Most garden designers will happily give advice if you don’t want a full garden design.
Sit back, have a cup of tea or glass of wine and enjoy your garden.
Jill
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