Gardening Can Be A Relaxing And Rewarding Hobby

Gardening Can Be A Relaxing And Rewarding Hobby
By Ade Lewis

An attractive garden provides an ideal space for a spot of socialising with family and friends and in many instances a wonderful feature to enhance the look of the property. No two gardens are ever the same and with so many styles and motivations for gardening they can vary a huge amount in style and function.

When getting started with a new garden it is really important to plan the space thoroughly before you start digging and planting anything and to work out where everything will be positioned. You may want to hire a professional garden designer to come in and draw up a professional, scaled design for you or if you are working on a restricted budget you can come up with your own design either on paper or with the help of a CAD program on your computer.

If you are going to be planning your own design, you may find it useful to look through some online portfolios or idea boards for some inspiration to get you started. Ease of maintenance should be a high consideration in your plans to make life easier in future. Incorporating some kind of irrigation system into your design and using weed suppressant can significantly reduce the time spent on mundane and repetitive tasks later on, leaving you more time to take care of the, more enjoyable tasks in the garden. Cardboard and layered newspaper placed at the base of raised beds and planters provide a very effective 'free' weed suppressant, which will last for years before eventually bio-degrading.

It is important to be realistic when choosing plants to incorporate in your garden design. Whether you are planting flowers and architectural plants for their visual appeal or you want to grow fruit and vegetables for the family to consume, you must choose plants that are well suited to your location or the results will be disappointing. With the best will in the world, a mango tree is not going to thrive and produce fruit in a UK garden! Look at what grows well in your area and get advice from your local garden centre or plant nursery and you will avoid wasting money on plants that will either struggle or die off due to being unsuitable for your local climate or the soil type in your garden.

If you plan to grow edible plants for food, you will need to have some basic knowledge as to what to plant, when for great results. If you are new to gardening and lack much experience in this area you would probably be better off purchasing small plants and seedlings, which are already established to give you a head start. Producing your own food in your garden is an incredibly rewarding experience.

Designing a garden for beauty rather that self-sufficiency can be equally rewarding. Through planting a variety of annual and perennial plants you can achieve a stunning display of colour through the majority of the year and create a gorgeous outside area to compliment your home. Gardening is a recreational pleasure for many people who take great pride in planting, growing and designing their outdoor space and find it a very relaxing way to spend their spare time. It is a great way to keep fit and un-wind and can be an extremely enjoyable hobby.

Laurel Hedging. Greenshutters Evergreen Hedging Tree Nursery, with a Garden Centre based near Taunton, Somerset has been growing trees and evergreen hedges on the nursery, including leylandii, laurel & evergreen shrubs since 1980. Come and visit us.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ade_Lewis
http://EzineArticles.com/?Gardening-Can-Be-A-Relaxing-And-Rewarding-Hobby&id=7452787