Nature finds a way, as they always say. This often means that no matter what you do, your garden will be okay. That being said, curating a space will take maintenance, because nature tends to try and not remain curated over time.
For this reason, it’s important to consider the needs of your garden, and to make that kind of maintenance an essential part of the green skills you learn. But of course, as with any mindful and caring task, learning what not to do is sometimes better than learning how to be proactive. A balance is needed of course, but this approach prevents you taking two steps back for every step forward.
In some cases, we may damage our garden without even realizing it. Through proactive actions we take, maintenance efforts we forget to implement, or simply not knowing about new requirements that a new household and garden can bring, these issues could potentially limit the long term health of our exterior property.
In this post, we’ll discuss several ways by which you may be damaging your garden without knowing about it.
Leaving Tools & Furniture Out Too Long
It’s pretty common for someone to finish working in the garden, set down their tools, and forget to bring them back in. Or maybe a garden chair becomes a permanent feature on the lawn after one too many lazy afternoons outside. Over time, a lack of tidiness can sometimes lead to damage and disrepair. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect or obsessive about it, but just being mindful of how this can affect your garden and equipment is wise.
That’s because often, garden tools left out in the elements are at risk of rusting and can also damage the lawn or soil underneath them. That goes for furniture too, especially heavier pieces, which can press down on the grass, and create bald spots or compact the soil to the point where grass struggles to grow back.
A simple habit of tidying up after gardening or relaxing outside might take a little time to become second nature, but it’s worth it. If you can store tools in a shed or garage and move furniture around every so often, you’ll be preventing these issues.
Incompatible Plants
It’s true that not every plant thrives in every environment, and some combinations of plants can even compete with each other for nutrients. For example, certain plants need full sun, but others may prefer partial shade. Some may require moist soil and others thrive in drier conditions, snake plants, for instance, tend to do better here. Ignoring these needs can leave some of your plants struggling or even failing entirely.
It’s also worth being cautious about invasive species or plants that take over your garden and crowd out other, more delicate ones. Researching plants before adding them to your space can save a lot of frustration and heartache later after you’ve done your hard work planting and caring for plant arrangements.
Part of this equation also means taking the time to understand your local climate, soil type, and the needs of each plant, as that will make it easier to curate a thriving, garden where each choice works with the next one. You can always look online or ask at your local gardening centre if you’re not sure..
Improper Water Runoff
Watering your plants and lawn is vital, that much you’re likely aware of, but if water doesn’t drain properly it can create problems you might not even see at first. This might be more prevalent if you live on a slope or at the bottom of a hill for instance, where the rainwater can flow down.
If you haven’t thought about runoff, it can lead to water pooling in areas of the garden, which can drown plants or cause root rot. In some cases, it can even lead to foundational damage, which is the opposite of what you want. Sometimes, standing water can become a breeding ground for pests.
If you can check how water behaves in your garden after a rainstorm or heavy watering session, you may get a better idea if the current system is up to snuff or not. For instance, the prior homeowner might have assured you they’ve taken care of it, but maybe even they were mistaken. If you notice pooling, it might be worth improving your drainage system to sort the problem for good. Some options include adding a rain garden, installing French drains, or even reshaping certain parts of the lawn to help water move away from problem areas more effectively.
Incomplete Lawn Care
The lawn often takes the biggest priority in most gardens, to the point where you’ll likely notice if there’s an issue. However, neglecting its specific needs can slowly wear it down, for obvious reasons. Mowing is important of course, but you have to do it at the right height, fertilize correctly for the grass type and make sure the soil is healthy too.
There are some rookie mistakes to try and avoid if this is your first garden. Cutting grass too short, for instance, can leave it vulnerable to weeds and dehydration. Moreover, sometimes using the wrong fertilizer, or none at all in a garden that might need it, can starve your lawn of nutrients, especially if the soil is depleted.
It’s worth visiting the golf course lawn store for professional-grade supplies and expert guidance, because the principles in curating a massive golf course (while this may require more resources than you may be familiar with), can apply to your home garden on a smaller scale too!
Wildlife Difficulties
Gardens are meant to attract wildlife, but some animals can bring challenges along with their presence, and it’s important to know which ones. For example, birds may eat seeds before they can germinate and it’s healthy to plan for that in advance (with crop nests, for instance), and sometimes burrowing animals like moles can cause damage to lawns and flower beds. Even beneficial wildlife it’s really important to curate, like bees, can become a problem if their hives are too close to your home or pathways.
Implementing means to ensure the garden is encouraging the right kind of wildlife is a good first step, like installing bird feeders which can encourage birds to eat seeds from the that instead of your plants. You may not have heard this, but sometimes natural fruits like cayenne pepper can help prevent animals from digging near that area.
Treeline Neglect
Trees are often seen as low-maintenance parts of a garden, probably because many of them have been around for longer than you and I have ever been alive, but even they need care if you hope to curate the space appropriately. For example, overgrown branches can block sunlight from reaching other plants which can put your planting efforts to waste for the most part, and sometimes diseased or damaged limbs can lead to fall risk, which could harm those in the garden, especially your kids.
Neglected trees may also develop problems below the surface even if they don’t look rotten at all. Overgrown roots can easily damage nearby paving, walls, or even your home’s foundation if left to grow without care. That’s why expert gardeners tend to recommend that inspecting your trees and pruning them as needed helps maintain their health. You can always call a tree surgeon if you need some help, don’t just cut branches down or treat rot without care.
Incorrect Landscaping
Landscaping projects are fun because they can help renovate or add functionality to your garden, but poorly planned or executed designs will almost always cause more harm than good. For example, placing large rocks or retaining walls without considering drainage can disrupt the flow of water like we were talking about above, leading to the problems we mentioned.
Moreover, using materials that don’t match your climate, like wood that quickly rots in damp areas, can also create unnecessary headaches down the line, no matter how good the path or vegetable box lining seemed at the time. It’s always worth consulting with a professional or doing thorough research before starting a project, or having professional landscapers simply take care of it all for you.
Pet Poop
It’s a victory to toilet train a dog or to have chickens in the garden, but their waste can be a hidden issue for the green space if you don’t pick it up quickly enough, as it can also kill grass over time due to the high nitrogen content. That likely isn’t the most pleasant thing you read today, but it’s worth knowing.
It’s good to have a routine for picking up after your pets and having a specific area of the garden for them to use to help manage this issue.
Over-Curation
Now, all the advice above may have caused you to think that unless you’re not preening everything, you’re not doing enough. But sometimes, in the effort to create a perfect garden, it’s possible to overdo it. Too much pruning, overusing chemicals like pesticides or herbicides, or planting in tightly packed designs can lead to stressed plants and disrupted ecosystems, so sometimes, just let your green space breathe.
With this advice, we hope you can avoid damaging your garden without knowing.
