Do you dream of being the ideal gardener? Do you have Pinterest boards filled with astonishing flower inspo? Perhaps you even draw up garden designs and spend a small fortune on gardening supplies every spring. But, then, something happens between dream and execution, and you end up with a garden that looks more like a garbage tip than your dream outdoor space.
While it’s irritating to say ‘you either have it or you don’t’, it can often feel like this when it comes to gardening acumen. How is it that your neighbor’s gardens all thrive, while your measly few flowers die at the first sign of sun? Why do weeds seem to grow in your garden so much faster than they do in everyone else’s? And why, oh why, can’t you seem to mow your lawn right?
We hate to break it to you, but it’s possible that you simply aren’t a gardening natural. With this being the case, all of your efforts outside may fall short of expectations. Luckily, like the vast majority of skills, great gardening can be taught if you put your mind to it. You simply need to open your eyes to the following signs that you’re not doing so well right now, and consider their surprisingly simple fixes.
# 1 – Failing at the Basics
As a budding gardener, you probably have a habit of jumping the gun and getting right into the nitty gritty of flower buying and planting plans. But, did you know that great gardeners actually begin their work way before this stage?
Sure, flowers and landscaping are the things that make your garden stand out, but they’re not where real gardening skill lies. You need to strip back and focus on the basics before you can grandstand with your garden skills (or lack thereof!).
But, what exactly do we mean by ‘basics’? Well, precisely that. By focusing on supposedly small elements of garden care, such as watering techniques, soil health, and mowing patterns, you can build the strongest foundations possible for your garden.. And, when you do that, you make it way more likely that anything you plant will take and, importantly, stay alive!
# 2 – Overstretching Your Skills
Along the same vein, you may be standing in the way of your gardening capabilities by simply overstretching your skills. Do you assume that you can do everything outside after reading a few books on the subject? If so, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever become the pro gardener of your dreams.
But why is this the case? Isn’t it good to reach for the stars? Yes and no. The simple reality is that jumping in and assuming you can tackle a notoriously difficult-to-grow flower like an orchid before you’ve even managed easy options like zinnias is never a good idea. This is like skipping crucial training, or assuming that you know best. You’ll never acquire the knowledge you actually need to succeed.
Luckily, the solution here couldn’t be simpler – you need to take the time to earn your gardening stripes. You should certainly stick with easy growers for your first few years so that you can learn everything from soil care to plant pruning while the stakes are low. And if you fail at even that after a few times of trying, why force yourself into something that doesn’t come naturally? Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with just leaning into a patio or decking area outside, rather than constantly trying, and failing, to achieve a flourishing flower-heavy space.
# 3 – Not Knowing When to Ask for Help
Even the best gardeners need help sometimes, and the fact that you’re reading this article suggests that you might need more help than most. After all, you’re clearly lacking some gardening expertise, and professionals can be precisely the right people to plug those knowledge gaps.
Even simple professional help, like bringing a landscaping team on board to plant your dream garden in the first place, is more than worthwhile. This ensures that you have a ready-established space on which to grow your gardening skills in a far more manageable way, with much lower stakes.
It’s also important to acknowledge that even expert gardeners need to ask for help sometimes, especially when it comes to things like tree maintenance. As well as leaving you at significant risk and potentially outside the law, trying to tackle these things alone is never going to give you the best-finished product. By comparison, acknowledging when you need to turn to a professional tree trimming service will both provide you with a better-finished product and free you to focus on the crucial tasks you should be spending your time on, such as watering and mowing.
So, if in doubt, don’t be afraid to call in the pros. Far from revealing gardening weakness, this is a sure way to finally achieve the outside area of your dreams.
# 4 – Letting Weeds Win
In an ideal world, you would simply plant the flowers that you love and leave them to look wonderful. Unfortunately, any experienced gardener knows that there’s a lot more to outdoor success than this. After all, even the best-kept gardens are vulnerable to one notable and all-encompassing risk – weeds. These garden baddies have the potential to entirely derail your outdoor efforts, and an inability to get on top of them is a major mishap that no great gardener would let slip.
Of course, by ‘get on top’, we categorically don’t mean using weed killers or pesticides, which are chemicals that no self-respecting gardener would touch with a barge pole. Rather, we’re referring to skilled weed-fighting techniques, like mulching, plant ground covers, and regular deweeding practices.
While these may seem like a lot of work, they ultimately set the experts apart from the not-so-great gardeners, and getting on top could see your outdoor space finally looking as fantastic as you’ve always dreamt it would!
Not all of us are gardening naturals, but you could learn to walk the outdoor walk by tackling these key mistakes.
