Keeping Your Garden Neat

Keeping gardens neat is a never-ending process, but having some standardized habits and goals will make it easier. A neat garden is less stressful to manage, looks great and is functional. Here are some tips on how to keep your garden neat the easy way.

Allocate space for storage

Garden sheds, storage boxes and designated tool corners will help to keep all your gardening materials accounted for and protect them from harsh weather and pests. All storage spaces should be waterproof, and easily accessible. Certain items like watering cans can be shared with multiple gardeners, but allocating a box per gardener can also help manage personal items like hats and gloves.

Keep pathways clear

There is no better feeling than walking around your garden to admire all your hard work, and keeping your paths clear and accessible is the way to go. Cluttered paths are hazardous, and always make a garden look much messier than it is. This tip is especially important for small gardens like those along corridors since space is always needed!

If you are a successful gardener, your plants often will escape out of their beds and onto your paths. Prune them back regularly and replant rouge seedlings elsewhere, lest you lose your path to your plants. Pathways made of stepping stones and gravel will also need to be weeded regularly.

Designing your garden with accessibility in mind, using boundaries like perimeter planting, and keeping loose tools and gardening materials in allocated storage spaces are how you can plan to keep your paths walkable in the long term.

Growing your best upfront

Keeping a specific spot in the garden beautiful is much easier than expecting perfection from the whole garden. Consider building a focal point near your garden entrance to show your best, and command attention immediately. Using flowers, ornamental foliage and fruits are an easy way to add colour to your garden, and will definitely brighten up your green space.

The flip side to having a focal point is that it will be obvious if it is neglected and will also make the whole garden look as such. Use your focal point wisely!

Remove problem plants

Despite our best efforts, gardening sometimes does not go to plan. Plants can die from a lack of sunlight, harsh weather, pests and disease and more. Removing dead and dying plants is not only a good hygiene practice to prevent the spread of pests and disease, but also will keep your garden looking good. Ailing plants can be moved to a quarantine area to recover or cut up to be repropagated as cuttings.

Have a regular task list

Gardeners tend to get lost in their excitement, and sometimes lose sight of small but important tasks that need to be done regularly. Here is a suggested list to guide you whenever you garden:

• Check for and remove stagnant water to prevent mosquito breeding

• Check plants for pests and disease

• Prune overgrown plants or plants with a lot of pests

• Keep all loose gardening materials in their appropriate storage space

• Clear pathways of clutter, overgrown plants, and weeds

• Maintain your focal point

• Remove dead and dying plants