TIPS ON HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR GARDEN

Here are some helpful tips to keep your newly transformed garden healthy!

  • Watering deeply and consistently will be essential for the first year, especially on the dry summer months.

    If the garden was planted in Spring or Fall, water if there is a prolonged period of no rain.

    If we sowed seed, make sure to keep these moist until they germinate.

    We highly recommend installing an irrigation system for hassle free watering!

    Once your garden is established we recommend watering infrequently but deeply in order to promote deeper roots and more resilient plants.

  • A weed is in the eye of the beholder! One persons weed, is another persons treasure!

    All jokes aside, some weeds aren’t so bad! Make sure to identify the plant before removing it.

    If your garden is prone to the ‘bad’ weeds, your new planting may be highly susceptible to weed invasions. This is because the gaps between the new plants aren’t filled in yet and they provide lots of bare soil for weeds to germinate. It is also likely that we overturned your soil (loosening up compacted soil), exposing weed seeds that had been lying dormant.

    We recommend hand picking the weeds, making sure to remove the entire plant (including roots). Many weeds can reproduce vegetatively meaning a new plant will grow from any fragment of root/leaf that is left behind.

    Once your new plants grow an start to fill in the areas of bare soil, weeds will be less likely to invade.

    Remember to never let weeds go to seed!

  • We most likely already mulched your new planting! This will help provide nutrients, retain soil moisture, and prevent weeds.

    We recommend mulching once a year with a material high in organic matter.

    Leave the leaves! - Leaving the leaves and other plant debris doesn’t mean a messy garden. Collect all your leaves and add them to your garden bed. Adding these leaves will provide nutrients, increases moisture retention and prevents weeds. Avoid shredding the leaves as beneficial insects are likely already taking shelter in the leaves. Leaves may be shredded for a more tidy look.

  • Organic fertilizer was already added to each plant during the planting! The fertilizer will provide some exta nutrients while the plants establish.

    We recommend adding some organic fertilizer once a year in the Spring.

  • In general, trees and shrubs should be pruned in late winter with some exceptions. We recommend leaving perennials over the winter and cutting them back in the Spring. Leaving your perennials standing over winter provides needed shelter and food for beneficial pollinators.

    There are some plants that have specific pruning needs so please feel free to reach out. happy to offer advice or book in a pruning visit.

  • Check out our pollinator section to learn some easy gardening tips that will increase pollinator activity in your garden.