Enhance Your Garden

As the snow begins to melt, and the trees and shrubs start to show their spring green it is time to think about summer. Mountain alpine summers are short, so to make the most of our gardens, it is important to start early. For those with existing gardens, you can enhance them by freshening them up. There are a few things we can do to renew our existing gardens, by using annuals and perennials, or to completely renovate and start over with a brand new and improved garden.

Adding annuals to enhance a garden is quick and easy. Examine sun exposure, water requirements, and space to determine the best annuals for your space. Annuals have almost instant color and maintain their color for the entire growing season. This will give you a lot of bang for your buck. But the downside of annuals, is that they die at the first frost, and will need to be replaced yearly.

Many gardens have existing perennials that just need sprucing up. Larger perennials tend to develop a “flopping” look, due to their size. With these, it is best to divide the plant, and then transplant it, to make larger groups with smaller plants. This will encourage the older plants to stand up and bloom sooner and longer. This is especially necessary if you have older perennials that have stopped blooming altogether. It is best to do this during the spring. Re-grouping existing plants into larger groups, helps to give the plants you have more “pop.”

After you have divided, transplanted, and re-grouped your existing perennials, you can then evaluate what types and what quantities of new perennials you will need to add to fill your spaces. After taking into account light exposure, water and space requirements, you will be able to choose the best plant options. The benefit of perennials is they continue to come back year after year, to help avoid large expenses each spring.

For the gardens that are too far gone to revive, a total renovation is the best option. These gardens generally will have more weeds than plants, existing plants that are not performing, and often have poor soil quality. A complete renovation will remove all the weeds, but most importantly, will amend the soil by adding much needed nutrients. Planting new plants in poor, weedy soil will increase the chance of the plant’s failure. After amending the soil and adding plenty of nutrients, we can add new perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees to make the perfect bed.

For any of the enhancement ideas above, proper irrigation is a must. While many plants have lower water requirements, all plants do require consistent water. During the first two weeks of a new plant’s life, this is especially important.

Land Designs by Ellison and A Cut Above Landcare offer a free consultation on the quality of your irrigation system, as well as what plants will work best in your space. We can help to get you started to ensure your best chances for success.