Photo: Oakdell
You want your garden to look great this spring, so how do you make it pop just that much more? It’s actually easier than you might think because using simple things like compost, rocks, wood chips, and mulch can help without the use of a lot of pesticides or commercial fertilizers. Here are 4 tips to make your garden look beautiful.
Compost is one of the best things you can add to the soil every time you put a plant in the ground. Compost is basically decomposed organic matter. This process recycles the waste so it can be used as nutrition for all the plants you grow. The compost will add a combination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and water to the soil helping your plants thrive.
The best ratio to use for your compost is to mix one part compost with four parts soil. Plant your plants like you normally would in the soil-compost mixture, and then ‘top dress’ your trees or plants by adding a half inch of compost on the surface of the mixture. This can help prevent weeds and provide important nutrition to your plants.
For more substantial landscape material, mulch can be helpful. Mulch is a layer of material usually made up of shredded wood or rubber. This covering can be spread on top of the soil to protect against erosion, conserve moisture, and help prevent weeds. You can easily use mulch in open areas, gardens, flower beds, playgrounds, and on slopes for erosion control.
Mulch provides insulation and protection for your plants. Plus, it also allows you to add color, texture, and definition to your landscape. With options ranging from light brown all the way to black, you’re sure to find the color that suits your preference and helps provide a nice contrast. Wood mulch can actually hold up for a few years as well, but plan to replace it after about three years. If you live in windy areas, a more course mulch will be less prone to blow away.
Playgrounds are a lot easier to install than you might think. But you really need to decide on what your landscape will look like before you make the decision to build and install any playground equipment. Your first thought might be to just place this on grass. The problem is that grass doesn’t like to be trampled on so you are very likely to end up with dead grass. Sand may be an option, but it doesn’t provide as much cushion if your kids accidentally fall.
Wood chips designed specifically for the playground are a good option. Plus wood chips designed for playgrounds won’t give slivers! And they provide more cushioning than sand so your kids will have less of a chance of hurting themselves. Another cool thing about these wood chips is that they still provide a nice cover for the ground. So any soil below will likely be safe to use years down the road if you decide to take that playground back out.
Rocks are another great way you can differentiate your garden from everyone else’s in the neighborhood. There are different types of rock-based landscape covering: landscaping rocks, pebbles, gravel, and pea gravel. Each of these is going to give your yard a different look. Landscaping rocks can range from one to four inches, pebbles are going to be smaller, gravel has sharp edges and is smaller than the pebbles. And pea gravel is like a combination of the above. They are small rounded edge rocks.
Decorative rocks for your garden are great for adding clean lines. They are also a great way to show off those desert plants that grow so well here in Utah. But you can easily use rocks around any plant you’d like. Anything from flowers to trees. Plus the protection the roots of your plants get can’t be matched. And the smaller the pebble, the less chance of getting those pesky stray weeds.
Landscaping with planting materials is an easy way to help differentiate your yard from the run of the mill backyard. Many of these options can help take you to a whole new level. All of these are inexpensive and look incredible.
