Cultivating a beautiful garden can be very therapeutic. Whether you are the proud owner of a vegetable and fruit garden, a decorative flower garden or an elaborate garden complete with fountains and statues, it is a rewarding experience to bask in the glory of your own creation.
The most common way to create your garden, and one that allows for plants to grow in different ways, is by using garden planters, raised beds or soil plots.
Gardeners with less than perfect soil plots or with no much space might consider raised bed gardens.
In a raised bed garden you can creating a garden on top of the native soil so that gardeners have complete control over the condition of the soil needed for various plants. The advantages to this type of garden is that it requires less maintenance, there is easy access to plant, pest control is easier, and the soil is improved.
After you have mastered the basics, improving your garden is easy. First, get the right garden tools. A raised bed garden requires a whole set of tools of its own. Familiarising yourself with these will help you decide which will be most beneficial for you.
Garden spades are hand tools, used for turning soil, aerating and mixing compost. They are essential for digging and planting.
Garden forks break up your soil. This can be used to aerate soil for plants to absorb oxygen and nutrients.
A weed fork is the best tool to use for quick weed work and is useful to break up soil.
Trowels are excellent planting tools. Available in many different shapes and sizes, depending on your preference, they usually have rubber handles, which are great for gripping.
Soil knives are multi-purpose tools, lifesavers for gardeners, with many different uses, including planting, weeding, digging, cutting roots and plants transference.
Pruning shears and knives can smarten up your garden cutting plant parts, fantastic for pruning, deadheading, shaping and trimming.
Hoses are great for watering plants over long distances, with adjustable nozzles to suit your watering preferences.
Watering cans are useful for water plants where hoses would be too heavy duty. The right sized can is important if you are planning to use it over an extended period. Choose a relatively small one so that you can carry it with one hand.
Gardening attire, like gloves and aprons, can protect you from harm and protect clothes from dirt. Protect hands form dirt, blisters, splinters with gloves and stop your clothes from getting dirty with an apron.
Serious gardeners may think about investing in a power tool or two. If there are no power sources close your garden, consider cordless power tools. Larger gardens may also benefit from a sprinkler system and leaf blower.
It can be tough to decide what the best hand tools for your garden are. They may differ in type, size, weight and grip. Ergonomically sound tools are essential for anyone with aliments such as arthritis, weak knees or back problems.
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