Looking after a garden is an ongoing affair and like any relationship, it really does take regular and ongoing maintenance, especially at this time of the year. With all the rain, weeds grow faster than the plants so generally speaking every plant in your garden needs to be cared for specifically.
GENERAL CLEANING
The biggest tasks would be to pull out weeds and the grass that have self-germinated in your garden. Believe it or not, grass grows in your garden so easily, often brought in by birds, butterflies, and the wind. Unfortunately grass isn’t easy to get out of a garden which is why tenacity and regular maintenance is vital. Failing this, it becomes an unmanageable task.
Other general cleaning tasks include:
- Clipping and taming ground cover: This tends to grow aggressively and could end up strangling the plants
- Removing Dry leaves: As plants grow old, they shed their old leaves which dry up and clutter your garden. Overhead trees may also drop their leaves which dry up and need to be removed.
- Seeds and seeded heads: These also need to be removed so that the garden looks neater.
FILLING THE GAPS
One of the most exciting things about gardening is that it is every changing. Sometimes plants are over-sensitive to humid and moist conditions, and this will leave a possibly empty patch in the garden and you need to assess what else in your garden is flourishing that you could possibly use to fill the bare soil areas.
LAWN CARE
We Love Lawn - there is nothing better than sinking your bare feet into a lush, green, well-cared for, nourished lawn. To ensure that your lawn stays lush and green in the summer time, you need to pedantically inspect it for weeds and ruthlessly remove these offenders.
Prevention is obviously better than cure, so one needs to examine why weeds grow in lawns in the first place. There are many reasons. Firstly, our earth harbors many years of seeds, so just as you think you are on top of the game, the weeds are back again. Secondly, if your lawn is not strong and well knitted, it will contain weak spots where weeds will flourish. You may have to treat the weeds at 3-6 week intervals for a while to eradicate the persistent ones, and enable grass to grow in their place. Regular or weekly mowing is important as well, as allowing the lawn to grow too high is damaging. However, be careful not to cut it too short at a time either as it will regress.
Another interesting point to understand, is that keeping the same lawn type throughout your home will call for extra effort and maintenance. 99% of lawn has different variations within it and most of the lawns we look after are a mixture of three namely Berea, Buffalo and Cynodon. If you have Cynodon lawn, you will need to hand weed other growing weeds out, as it is visibly noticeable if another type starts to grow. You will also need to keep a strict fertilizer regime to discourage weeds or foreign grass.
GRAVEL & PAVING
Your gravel, your paving, your driveway and any pathways around your pool are areas which are highly prone to weeds. Ongoing maintenance is required, but if there are too many weeds to eradicate by hand, a chemical will need to be used. These areas are such important visual aspects of our garden that they need to be in good shape at all times.
To view this magnificent garden that we designed and care for, pop along to The Vintage Barn Ballito. You will find a map on the link http://thevintagebarn.co.za/