What do we see on a fresh Saturday morning when we finally find ourselves on our own six acres of the earth’s surface? Clean manicured lawn, flowers, junipers, sun loungers… Who as. “Garden of minimal care” – a beautiful figure of speech or still a reality?
By a strange desire…
We become owners of gardens due to different circumstances. Someone-at the call of the heart, when tinkering with plants brings joy. For some, the main thing is “to take the children to the dacha”. And someone sees the garden is not very necessary application to a luxurious country house. But be that as it may, any of these gardens requires, to put it delicately, attention, sometimes simply colossal. And no one, even those who “call”, do not want to become slaves of their own garden, even the most beautiful.
Meanwhile, everything is extremely simple. The fact is that the excessive labor intensity of care is a consequence of any problems. Some of them are solved by compliance with technology. Others, oddly enough, design techniques. And still others … require just getting rid of what you have to mess with for too long. So, what are we doing in the garden?
Watering
The heavy slimy hose is constantly twisting, mosquitoes are gnawing, half the plot is not watered yet, and cucumbers are completely “ears hung up”… It’s time to think about automatic watering.
Yes, it will require some investment. But if you need to save money-study the theory (the benefit is simple), go to a master class in winter, and the system can be easily mounted yourself. Moreover, the components are cheap.
Weeding
This is one of the most tedious procedures. But let’s see where weeds usually appear. Most often, they happily sprout on pieces of empty land in flower beds between plants. Why is it empty in this place? Plants did not grow — plant something temporary, groundcover. Or bark to fall asleep at least.
And if there is nothing to grow and every season this place is empty? Review the design. In fact, if weeds win the fight against weeds from year to year, it is most likely due to the lack of a methodical approach. They can appear from the roots left in the ground and from sown seeds. Therefore, it is necessary not just to weed, but to choose everything to the last root, once you can do it. Or pull as much as you can, but in no case do not let them inseminate.
Problem areas are always bordering the lawn groundcover plants or creeping juniper. Choosing grass from them is an extremely tedious task. Therefore, all small Sedum, saxifrage, Ajuga and so on are transferred to where they will border on the track or filling.
Feeding and treatment of diseases and pests
Feeding can not be avoided. But if instead of the usual fertilizer applied repeatedly, use a long-acting fertilizer designed for the entire season — you can almost forget about fertilizing. Prevention of fungal diseases of plants and protection from pests can also be minimized. Watered, fed and not smothered by weeds, the plant suffers much less from both. Again, the design helps. What is subject to powdery mildew is better to move to a light ventilated place.
Tired of fighting with lovers of eating viburnum leaves? Remove it away, out of sight — the berries will not go anywhere, and the leaves in the hole will not irritate.
Lawn
Mowing the lawn is not a very time-consuming process. But if the entire lawn with a uniform frequency through seventy centimeters is studded with flowers,the process becomes much more complicated. We collect all the small plants and group them into a good mixborder.
There remains a clean lawn, which is passed with lightning speed. Well, for those who love toys, the lawnmower robot is just a godsend!
Pruning and cutting
I’ll tell you a secret: you only need to carefully prune fruit trees and tapeworm bushes, where the aesthetics of skeletal branches are important. Everything else about what is written “on the external strong kidney”, you can not look, battery brushcutter… But also not limitless.
If you plant biologically large plants in small flower beds with the words “nothing, I will cut”, you will still have to cut. This is a pure design issue. Perhaps some copies should be moved to freedom and free up a couple of Sunday hours.
Spring and autumn events
In autumn, this is falling leaves, pruning everything that is ugly withering, winter shelters of roses, rhododendrons and others like them. With foliage somehow copes with a garden vacuum cleaner. Perennials that can keep their shape and stick out from under the snow, we leave. And with a shelter, it is quite possible to simplify your task. The fact is that by finding (or organizing) a suitable place for an exotic, you can facilitate his harsh wintering. Ever-burning Picea glauca Conica and scaly junipers in the middle zone will feel great in a place protected from the wind from the shady side of the house (provided there is an open space in front of them). As in the textbook: diffused light and dense ambush of the perimeter of the site. It works.
And here the main thing is not even how the Christmas tree will overwinter, but how we will be upset if it does not overwinter, and how much time and effort we will spend on bringing it to a decent condition if it partially overwinters. And replace the “unknown” half-dead rhododendrons with unbroken varieties of Finnish selection. And if all summer you think with horror how you will remove the climbing rose from the support — then it’s free will.
Transplants, division
There are fans of a hundred times to drag plants from place to place. There is no limit to perfection. There are forced transplants, when two plants that are equally dear to the heart are in critical proximity and are about to crush each other. But with the acquisition of experience and knowledge, such situations become less. There are also planned transplants, when trees cover light-loving plants with a growing crown, when temporary plants are removed between growing high-quality and expensive ones, and so on. The garden does not stay within the set limits, and this is normal. As for the endless division of perennials — forget it. A beautiful specimen is a large specimen.
And, of course, for any plant that is prone to lodging, a large size is providing decorativeness when the Bush falls apart, but it does it beautifully.
Planting bulbous and annuals
From bulbous should focus on decorative bows and daffodils. They are planted once and for a long time. But tulips every two years (and ideally every year) should be changed. Or mess around with digging, marking, sorting by size, drying, planting again…
And annuals — a little, and immediately in good containers. Those that remain in hanging baskets require watering every day.
So, what do we end up changing to make our lives easier?
- We remove all scattered plantings on the lawn.
- Large plants seal the perimeter of the site, creating a mild microclimate inside, and small plants are grouped into flower beds.
- At the same time, we transplant what requires other conditions.
- We remove high lying perennials from the paths, so as not to fool around with the garter.
- We part with capricious plants, which, despite all efforts, do not bring joy.
- We buy a garden vacuum cleaner and a convenient powerful brushcutter.
- We are laying automatic irrigation.
Leave a Reply