Steven A. Frowine - Gardening Basics For Dummies

Creating a garden can be compared to writing a book. First, you start words (individual plants), then you put these words into sentences (plant combinations), next you put these phrases into paragraphs (sections of the garden), and finally these paragraphs turn into chapters and a book (your entire garden).

Don’t be intimidated by this process. No garden is created in a day. Take your time. Enjoy the process. Designing and creating a garden isn’t static; it constantly evolves. There is no one right way to do this. And don’t be self-judgmental. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. After all, it’s your garden!

Observation! That’s the very first step. Forget for a moment what’s growing in your neighbors’ yards or other home landscapes around town that you see and may covet. Take a broader view — it’s all part of the assessing process, a process that can lead you to a gorgeous, successful garden of your own. And don’t forget that the garden is part of your yard in general. If you incorporate your garden plans into an overall plan for your yard, the yard itself can become a beautiful extension of the garden.

Identifying and spending some time analyzing what you already have is an important step in planning. After all, every yard is different and therefore presents a gardening challenge. You may be surprised, as you ponder, to discover that you can work quite well with what you already have, making seemingly minor changes to major effect.

The following sections help you examine where to start, recognize what issues you have, and maximize what features your yard has.

Here are the basic things to look for that affect your overall gardening plans. The following issues directly influence your planting decisions:

Local climate: Over the course of a calendar year, is your area’s climate dry or damp? Generally sunny or generally rainy? Do your winters (or summers) slow everything down or bring plant growth to a temporary halt? The answers to these questions can tell you which plants are likely to grow easily and which ones may require some extra help. See Chapter 3for info about plant hardiness zones and how they affect your growing space.

Type of soil in your yard: Consider the natural soil in your area. Is it rather sandy? Clay? Loamy (rich, crumbly, and dark)? Acidic? Alkaline? Does it drain rainwater away quickly, or does moisture puddle and linger for days? The answers can help you understand which plants will thrive and which ones will need soil improvements. (If you really don’t have any idea, a simple soil test is a good idea — see Chapter 4.)

Plants native to your area (or already growing in your yard): Finding out which plants (trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers) are native or perform well in your general area, either by observing or by asking around, can further fill you in on what kind of growing conditions you’ve been dealt.

Zoning restrictions: Before you get too far along, make sure you’re aware of any landscaping or building restrictions or regulations that your HOA or city might have. In general, front yard plantings that are visible from the street typically have more restrictions than backyard plantings or structures.

A good neighbor: Let your neighbors know of your plans or additions, especially if your plans affect their views or privacy.

And here are some structural considerations for your garden:

Permanence of big structures: Okay, the house stays. The garage and shed, too, although maybe you can move or replace the shed. What about shade trees? Can and should you cut any of them down, or at least prune them? Big branches may be a hazard, and letting more light into a garden is often welcome.

Walkways: Changing the path of foot traffic if it’s currently in the way of your garden space is hard, but not impossible. So take a hard look and be honest. If you add or replace a walking surface, the yard can look immediately nicer and your garden spot may be neatly outlined. Options for installing a path include gravel, brick, flagstone, and other paving materials. Wandering paths look nicer and slow down footsteps, but pathways should actually lead somewhere if you want people to use them. Wider paths also slow people down and encourage them to enjoy their surroundings — your beautiful garden.

Desire for privacy or shelter: Good fences can make good neighbors, and materials make all the difference. Big, substantial wooden fences do block street noise and unsightly views but may also create shade and look unfriendly. A lighter or more open design may be better, perhaps softened with a flowering, climbing plant. An alternative is living fences of hedges or an informal line of bushes (evergreen or deciduous, with or without fruit and flowers — turn to Chapter 13for information). Work with what you have to improve your fence’s look, or vow to install or replace it with something nicer.

There are certain classic gardening problems and, thankfully, myriad solutions. Don’t ever feel overwhelmed — picking out an area to work on and improve and concentrating your efforts can buoy your spirits, and then you can move on to another concern. My advice is to start first with an area you have the time and money to fix up — preferably an area you want to start enjoying sooner rather than later.

The main point is to take action. Address the big issues now, and you’ll definitely feel well on your way to a more beautiful, enjoyable garden. Read on for some basic problems and possible solutions.

A yard or garden space with a lot of shade is often lamented as forcing too many limitations on gardeners. Never fear! This problem is often much easier to remedy than you may think, usually just by pruning some trees and bushes:

1 Go out with clippers and/or a small pruning saw to remove all nonnegotiable branches and twigs — anything obviously dead or diseased, particularly the lower branches of thick trees.

2 Go on to thinning — taking out growth that’s rubbing against other branches or crowding the interior of a plant.

3 For anything you can’t handle, call in a certified arborist or a tree company. If you aren’t sure you can do it yourself, don’t do it! Tree work can be very dangerous. You need the services of a tree company if you decide to take out an entire tree or large limbs. Check with local authorities; in some areas you need permission to cut down trees. In the end? More sun, more light, and more air — a whole new yard!)If a tree is in your neighbor’s yard but the unwanted branches come over into yours, talk to them about removing the branches or even the whole tree. When a shade tree affects your yard and your neighbor’s, work out splitting the arborist bill to remove or prune — it’s only fair! If you decide to use a certified arborist, get references. Make sure the arborist is insured and bonded.

If a more permanent structure, such as a house or fence, causes your shade problem, you may still have more planting options available than you think. Review the chapters in Parts 2, 3, and 4for a variety of ideas on how to grow in the shade.

Regardless of whether bushes and shrubs are a shade problem, you should prune them to remove some or all the offending thicket to keep your garden (and yard in general) looking good. Try an early-spring pruning foray. This is also the time to do drastic chopping back, say, if you want to reduce a hedge’s height; cut no more than one-third at a time — you can prune again next season. Spring pruning is preferred because plants are surging into new growth, and they’ll be better able to recover from cutting back. Fall pruning can be a mistake, because it may inspire fresh new growth that then gets damaged by cold weather/frost.