Our gardens can be a place of comfort and relaxation or a bottomless pit of tasks that we never get close to – often both at the same time! The colder, wetter, and darker the fall days get, the harder it will be to get there and prepare your garden for the winter rush. The temptation to sit back and pay for a gardener to often do rudimentary tasks grows with each stormy day.
Nevertheless, our farms need a last bit of care and attention. So, if you're like me and want as little maintenance as possible, here are five useful tricks I came across to enable no-nonsense gardening.
Use what you have around you
Forget about endless trips to the garden center to look for supplies! It may seem necessary, but often everything you need can be found within easy reach. Do you have a few wooden planks lying around in the shed, a few old, unused fence panels? With a little bit of craftsmanship and quick, step-by-step instructions, you can turn your spare wood into a trellis in no time. Do not throw away old watering cans, saucepans, or kitchen sinks. These can be transformed into quirky makeshift flower pots, herb gardens or small habitats for animals.
Build robust
If, like me, you live in a place that gets pretty stormy in the winter months, you'll spend your life repairing fences that have overturned or are starting to rot in damp conditions. However, there are many more durable alternatives that do not require such regular maintenance. Gabions, for example, are metal cages that are filled with hard materials such as concrete and stone and provide a much more stable perimeter for your garden or plant borders. Order according to your preferred specifications (height, depth, interior material, etc.) and you can build a wall that would make even President Trump jealous!
Choose what to plant wisely
This almost goes without saying, but now is not the time to plant delicate flowers or orange trees. If your garden looks bare and you want to add some vegetation, now is really not the time to start growing plants from scratch … unless you want to grow root vegetables or garlic, of course. It is best to find a healthy plant that is already partially grown (preferably one that is native to your home country / region), with firm roots, and make sure you dig a hole deep enough to to get into the ground. Always remember to plant the bulbs the right way up.
Soap shavings for squirrels
These little animals are cute, but they can be a real nuisance for any gardener. They dig up onions and feed in your bird feeders. One way to keep the furry fiends away is to spread shavings from Barred Bath Soap on your plant beds. As soon as it rains, the soap will dissolve in the soil (it's harmless to your plants, so don't worry). The scent will keep the squirrels away for several weeks.
Make your own compost
Making your own compost may seem like a faff at first, but once you've decided on a container and filled it with a good base material, all that's left to do is to pile it on the pile with household food scraps, newspaper clippings, and ceaselessly falling leaves. Now, with a little transplant, you can be sure to put your feet up for the winter months!
