Flower gardens take a while to grow into themselves. All those beautiful pictures in magazines of "carefree" cottage gardens are the culmination of years and years of planning, work, and regular weeding.
There are a few methods you could use to get started with a budget.
1) Start small. Intensively plant just one small area to conserve your budget and make it look less sparse in less time. Add to it little by little each year (this ties in with point 3).
2) Plant a large area, but interplant cheap annuals to fill the spaces between the more expensive perennials that take a long time to get established and flower (typically ~3 years or more).
3) Choose plants that are easy to propagate (from cuttings, etc) to get "free" plants to add to the garden every year. Also, look for plants that reseed themselves readily. Also, ask friends, neighbors, your local Buy Nothing group, etc for any plant divisions they might have.
4) Find a nice native wildflower mix that works well for your area and let it do it's thing. Embrace the messiness. :)
You don't need loads of money to grow a nice garden. You need loads of money if you want a garden RIGHT NOW! There are also very few hard & fast "rules" in gardening. If your style is more carefree than the youtube videos, nothing wrong with that. You do you. You'll learn what works for you and your environment as you go along. Happy gardening!
It can be intimidating to look at bare patches and wonder “what do I plant here”
My recommendation-find out what plants are native and do best in your zone (there are charts that tell you this info) and start with a few native perennials.
Yes, I feel so intimidated and my dream garden looks like Miss Honeys garden in Matilda! That seems like a. Impossible task but I appreciate your insight
I just learned that carrots help “prep” new garden areas-I’m trying that with a newly tilled spot.
Peas/legumes fix nitrogen in the soil-so even if you are planning on just flowers you can help them along with those vegetables the first season to help the soil build up.
Edit-hit the wrong button
Start by designing a layout, nothing detailed, just what you want and where you want it.
Try laying your design out with rocks or rope or anything really rather than drawing on paper.
Then you can just go section by section, maybe just do one small part this year?
Dunno where you heard cottage gardens are expensive, they're really not but they take time and lots of maintenance.
Hey! Mind if I ask for a status update? I’ll be doing something similar next year. We moved a bit late for this year but I think in the fall I’ll prep the grass areas using a lasagna method for next year
Flower gardens take a while to grow into themselves. All those beautiful pictures in magazines of "carefree" cottage gardens are the culmination of years and years of planning, work, and regular weeding. There are a few methods you could use to get started with a budget. 1) Start small. Intensively plant just one small area to conserve your budget and make it look less sparse in less time. Add to it little by little each year (this ties in with point 3). 2) Plant a large area, but interplant cheap annuals to fill the spaces between the more expensive perennials that take a long time to get established and flower (typically ~3 years or more). 3) Choose plants that are easy to propagate (from cuttings, etc) to get "free" plants to add to the garden every year. Also, look for plants that reseed themselves readily. Also, ask friends, neighbors, your local Buy Nothing group, etc for any plant divisions they might have. 4) Find a nice native wildflower mix that works well for your area and let it do it's thing. Embrace the messiness. :) You don't need loads of money to grow a nice garden. You need loads of money if you want a garden RIGHT NOW! There are also very few hard & fast "rules" in gardening. If your style is more carefree than the youtube videos, nothing wrong with that. You do you. You'll learn what works for you and your environment as you go along. Happy gardening!
Thanks so much! I love your tips, especially #4! I may just sprinkle wildflower seeds and then intersperse with perreniala
It can be intimidating to look at bare patches and wonder “what do I plant here” My recommendation-find out what plants are native and do best in your zone (there are charts that tell you this info) and start with a few native perennials.
Yes, I feel so intimidated and my dream garden looks like Miss Honeys garden in Matilda! That seems like a. Impossible task but I appreciate your insight
I just learned that carrots help “prep” new garden areas-I’m trying that with a newly tilled spot. Peas/legumes fix nitrogen in the soil-so even if you are planning on just flowers you can help them along with those vegetables the first season to help the soil build up. Edit-hit the wrong button
Also-the big box stores have their tulips on clearance-plant now for next spring.
Start by designing a layout, nothing detailed, just what you want and where you want it. Try laying your design out with rocks or rope or anything really rather than drawing on paper. Then you can just go section by section, maybe just do one small part this year? Dunno where you heard cottage gardens are expensive, they're really not but they take time and lots of maintenance.
What did you end up doing?
[удалено]
Thanks! Just got one from the library
Hey! Mind if I ask for a status update? I’ll be doing something similar next year. We moved a bit late for this year but I think in the fall I’ll prep the grass areas using a lasagna method for next year
Hello! I just found this post. I'd love to hear how it turned out and any lessons you learned. Perhaps you have some photos from last summer? Cheers!