Gardening by the Yard

Gardening by the Yard used to be a popular TV program for many gardening enthusiasts. However, you can also use the term as a mindset when it comes to gardening.

Gardening by the yard is a fun way to approach your gardening project in your own home. Rather than imagine your work in the garden as an enormous task, you can take things step by step and work on one area at a time. Gardens are works in progress. You can’t walk away from one because it constantly needs tending – whether it’s pruning, cutting or watering, chances are you’ll be in the garden every day, spending time enjoying what you’ve planted.

Gardening by the yard also means that you improve your garden by sectioning off areas and devoting them to different plantings. Perhaps one section is devoted to flowering shrubs. Having an explosion of colors in your garden will look great. Then you can also devote one section to vegetables. Again, knowing when to plant vegetables is crucial. Know your garden calendar so you’ll always have the best vegetables and herbs your soil can produce.

Gardening by the yard also means knowing how much plants to buy. It is estimating and configuring, it is knowing how many will fit inside a certain area. It also means that planning your garden will be a balance between hardscape and softscape. If you have rocks or garden statuary or pathways like cobblestones, then anything surrounding them to make them softer should be balanced in scale – how big and how small are questions to be answered here.

If you don’t make it such an ambitious project but rather make it so it is a more approachable task, do it yourself gardening and landscaping won’t seem such an overwhelming task.

For example, if you need to clean out your yard and need to prepare it to make raised flower beds, the task will seem more doable when you think of it as gardening by the yard. By working in smaller sections, you can see the work that you do more quickly and concretely. Literally, one yard at a time. This also gives you a sense of accomplishment when you see one section finished.

Do not aim for perfection. That will just frustrate you. Meanwhile, aim for balance and symmetry. Aim for color combinations. And aim for the fact that with winter, some plants may just wither and die.

This is why if you have space, then try to learn how to make a greenhouse. It need not be fancy. In fact, kits are sold and they all have, how-to tips. Building your greenhouse will ensure that you’ll have vegetables during the off season. It will also mean that you’ll have cut flowers that are not in season, either! How to make a greenhouse has become less intimidating with the introduction of semi-finished kits. If all you know how to use is a hammer and a nail, then you’re all set!

Gardening by the yard also means allowing people to enjoy the garden. Provide seating and shade. Encourage guests to stop, to linger, to enjoy nature. Think of gardening as your open customized space. Find peace in the quiet sections, and reflect on the beauty that  surrounds you!

So don’t be intimidated by your garden. Approach your task one yard at a time and you can get much more done quickly, efficiently and with less stress. At the end of the day  you’ll have a garden that you can call your own, and that you’ll be so proud of!

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  1. Gardening Techniques: When to Plant Vegetables
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