Planting, Wildlife & Seasonal Care

Design Your Garden for all Seasons, not Just the Summer

Your garden design should extend beyond the layout of paths, fences and walls. The planting should enhance the view from the kitchen window and provide interest during the dull, winter months. Most gardens fail this test. Planting for show in the summer should not be at the expense of bare and uninteresting beds for the rest of the year.

[ADD: Chris’s planting. What he sees from the house in winter and what he would add.]

Other Planting

Structure your planting. Evergreens and a small tree provide a base for the other planting, which should be changed to provide color and interest for the rest of the year.

Other planting should assist in tying the house to the garden and soften hard edges of the house and outbuildings.

Borders should be deep enough to allow for the layering of plants. A deep border of at least 1.5 meters will allow for a planting scheme with a layering of plants which will obscure the fence.

Plant repeat plants along a border instead of using a sampling of different plants. Using the same shrub or grass a few times provides rhythm and creates a designed, rather than random, planting scheme.

The Planting Calendar

Depending on when plants are put in the ground, they thrive or decline. Trees, shrubs, and hedges can be planted in the fall because the soil retains its warmth and continues to be worked by the elements. Plants that are not hardy should be left until after the last expected frost. In the UK, this is in mid to late May. Sometimes plants are put on display at garden centers before they are hardy to plant and the public mistakenly believes they can be put in the ground.

Bulbs

Bulbs are an inexpensive way to add color and are among the first plants to appear in early spring. They are easy to grow and require very little upkeep. Tulips and daffodils can be planted in the fall. After they bloom, the leaves should be left to decay so that nutrients are returned to the bulb for next year’s bloom.

Soil and Compost

Improving soil with compost benefits the entire garden and helps develop hard to come by loam soil. Mulching in the spring and fall provides numerous benefits. It adds a finished look to plant beds and keeps the soil moist and native plants from competing with weeds for nutrients and water.

Wildlife Gardens

Designing a wildlife garden during the planning stage helps avoid an unkempt appearance. Consider the following elements during the design stage to improve your garden for wildlife:

– Sinking a hedgehog habitat fence 13 cm into the ground to create a hedgehog highway.

– Placing a log pile behind a shrub.

– Using a native hedge to define a boundary.

– Creating a gradual slope into the water of a garden pond to help animals and amphibians climb out.

Choosing wildflowers and other plants for attracting insects to your garden is as simple as choosing a single color bloom over a double bloom.

Seasonal Changes

Allow seedheads to remain during the off season. Remove seedheads and cut back perennial grasses in the spring.

Take steps to protect tender plants from the first frost. Remove leaves from lawns and paths but allow a few to collect under shrubs.