Moving into Your New Home - What’s First in the Garden?

If you have just purchased a new house, it is more than likely that it comes with a garden. It could either be properly maintained and filled with lots of wonderful plants, grown without being tended that you do not even know where to start or simply a plot of soil without any vegetation in sight. Whatever your situation is, here are the things you need to do first.

What do you want out of it? Before you even start, you must find out what you want from your garden. Do you want a vegetable garden? Do you want a floral garden? Do you want an ornamental garden? Does it need to be child friendly? Knowing what you want can help you during the planning phase.

Now that you know what you want from your garden, you might be wondering where you should begin. It all depends on the current situation of your garden.

Evaluate the condition of your garden. It is advisable to take time to fully evaluate the condition of your new garden. This will help you determine which existing plants you want to keep, what areas in your garden need improvement, which portion gets the most sunlight, what area in your garden tends to be damp during the rainy season and what existing plants are hit hard when the cold of winter finally comes.

By finding out what you currently have and what needs to be improved can help you devise an effective plan of action that can save you time, money and effort.

Formulate a plan of action. After thoroughly assessing your entire garden, you are now ready to formulate a plan. You should nbow know what happens to your existing garden through the seasons, you can already map out all the specific steps that will get you to the result that you want.

As soon as you have decided what your garden will be and how it will be designed, you can calculate how much your budget should be and how much time you need to spend to create and maintain it.

For instance, if you prefer elaborate ornamental designs, you probably need to ask the assistance of an experienced gardener or landscaper and use plant machinery from AU Grab Hire. If it is a garden project on a smaller and manageable scale, you can start building floral or vegetable beds at your own pace and own time.

Special consideration must be taken if you have children or pets. Maybe, you can opt for a simple garden design using plants that grow easily and require less maintenance.

Mind the lawn. If you already have a decent lawn to start with, consider yourself lucky. If you don’t, it makes sense to invest in it. Prepare the area by leveling the ground and removing the rocks. Then you can start laying your new rolls from the edge and pressing it into the ground.

Do not walk on your lawn if it has not taken root yet. This may take a few weeks or so.

If an overgrown lawn is your concern, mowing it is the simple solution. Cut it until you reach your desired height but make sure you don’t damage the roots while doing so.

Keep the borders. If you have acquired a garden with poorly maintained borders, check out what plants are there that you like and keep them. If it is filled with dead or unwanted ones, you should remove them.

Then start removing the weeds, including its roots. If you are left with any gaps, be creative and fill it in with your favourite plants.

Start tackling the shrubs As soon as you have your lawn and your borders under control, you can start giving your attention to any shrubs that you may have acquired along with the new home.

Start the visual inspection. If there are dead plants and branches, remove them. If there are unsightly or overcrowded shrub areas, spruce it up.If you have acquired a very neglected garden, you may have to prune the shrubs to stimulate proper plant growth. You may have to prune them around 4 to 8 inches off the ground. Although it may look bare for the time being, it will allow the shrub to rejuvenate and grow healthier.

Pay attention to the details. According to Leonardo da Vinci, "Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail." Whatever the condition of your garden, taking the time to improve it’s soil condition is always a great addition.

Start planning by collecting garden wastes and kitchen scraps and turn them into homemade compost. It is actually never too early to start one. Set aside a specific area in your garden where you can place a bin and place all your scraps or wastes there. You can also add your grass cuttings and clippings too.

It would also help if you can determine if your garden is facing north or south, which spots get the most sun exposure, what area gets the most wind, what area is sheltered from the elements and what part of the garden has great drainage.

That is the blank canvas to which you can start. Now that you have waited to get to know your garden, planned how to make it your own, and took out the weeds, you can start injecting new life and your own stamp into your garden.

Since it is now truly yours, take pleasure in getting your plans into action. Although it will take time to see visible results, all effort will be worth it if you begin to see your first blooms, vegetable harvest and verdant growth.

As soon as your garden plans come to fruition, take the time to sit back, relax and appreciate what you have just done.

CTackling your garden may not be your first priority when moving to a new house but the sooner you will tend to it, the sooner you will feel at home in your new home!