Having a beautiful backyard garden is an excellent way to spend more time outdoors, walk in the grass and dirt, and just enjoy nature more than you would otherwise. When your backyard is aesthetically pleasing, you’ll naturally want to be out there, whether you’re tending to your garden directly or enjoying the view from the back porch.
Although they’re beautiful, gardens take a lot of work to create. If you don’t already have a yard prepared for planting a garden, you’re looking at some serious work. However, it’s worth the effort because, in the end, you can relax with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the beautiful view.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or transforming an existing garden, start with the essentials and build the foundation you need to get a little fancier if you choose.
1. Level your space
First things first. Level the space where you plan to create your garden; it will make your life easier. All you need is a tractor, and many people have found that a Kubota is excellent for landscaping tasks.
You can use your Kubota to take out small trees and bushes, and with a couple different attachments, like a disc harrow, you can cultivate the soil and pull up weeds. Other attachments can assist you in creating drainage. To see how it’s done, watch this video of a homeowner leveling their garden area with a Kubota.
Whether you’re planting a flower garden directly in the ground or you’re building raised beds for a vegetable garden, a flat surface is ideal to start. It can be frustrating to walk on uneven ground while trying to water or prune your plants, and it’s even worse if you struggle with balance.
A flat surface will also make your garden look better since everything will be at the same height. If you plan on pouring cement as a foundation for raised beds, a flat surface is a must.
2. Understand companion planting
Some plants, including vegetables, are ideal to plant together, while others should not be planted together. Knowing these details will help you create a garden that thrives.
For example, you don’t want to plant beans with any kind of peppers or marigolds. If you plan to use marigolds or other plants as a pest deterrent, make sure they’re not near your beans. Peas are always a tasty choice to plant, but they don’t do well near bulb vegetables like leeks, garlic, and onions.
On the other hand, you can plant asparagus, basil, oregano, parsley, and tomatoes with marigolds. Beans do well near corn, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplant.
While corn can be planted near both beans and marigolds, if you want all three, either plant marigolds with corn and put your beans somewhere else, or keep the beans and corn together and skip the marigold.
If it’s hard to remember which plants go together and which ones should be avoided, just print a cheat sheet and refer to a chart each time you plant something new.
3. Add art to your garden
The most beautiful gardens tend to have some type of art incorporated into the space. This can be a metal sign posted on a fence, a beautiful wrought iron archway with vines twisted into the bars, or small things, like pinwheels and ceramic frogs.
Some people really go out of their way to hand paint pots and reclaim random items, like old dressers, to plant flowers in the drawers. You can get as creative as you like with garden art. To make it even more impressive, try to get your colors to match the colors of your flowers.
4. Create shade
Flowers and other plants can be stunning, but if there’s no shade, you won’t want to be out there long. Shade is great for protecting your plants, too, if the heat gets too intense. Some plants even thrive in the shade compared to full sun.
If you don’t have a tree providing natural shade in your garden, either plant one or use something else to create shade. It could be a statue, a water fountain, or even a small supply shed. You’ll enjoy your garden more when you don’t have to endure the heat just to be surrounded by your plants.
There is no such thing as “too many plants”
As long as there’s room in your backyard, you can’t have too many plants. Don’t worry about going overboard. For instance, if you want to cover a large area of the ground with sedums, don’t hesitate. As long as you have the time and energy to maintain it, your garden will be amazing.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
