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By Victor Pryles
It's vital to start the process of having a hassle-free
garden.
This article gives you that first step and helps achieve some
sound understanding of what you face as a weekend gardener.
Our
goal is to create a garden that practically takes care of
itself.
Unlike my neighbor, Fred.
Fred never found a way to escape the prison of
responsibilities
and hard, never-ending work required by a high-maintenance
garden.
If you want to avoid Fred's fate, you need to start by making
a
critical examination of the maintenance of your yard and
garden.
Start by taking a stroll around your property and make note of
how much time you take to tend to various areas.
Which plants require the most care, right now?
Are there areas that please you and take less care?
Are there some areas that you love so much that no matter
how
much maintenance they take you'd not want to change them?
Can you visualize any areas being scaled down in size, or
that can be improved with a low-maintenance design or
gardening
technique?
Where is the problem weeding area?
Which is the most difficult mowing area of your lawn?
In my book: "The Weekend Gardener"- The Busy Persons' Guide To
A Beautiful Backyard Garden, I present very specific ways to
combat your problem areas as you think critically about the
current maintenance problems you must take into account. Take
this tour with a critical eye and a notebook. Make some notes
to yourself about what you see, what you imagine, and what you
are currently faced with.
As you do this preliminary overview, remember it is okay to
consider what you "hate" to do in regards to gardening work.
We
want to get rid of these areas first and foremost.
Everyone has a different take on this subject. Some hate
mowing
the lawn, others actually enjoy the exercise and like getting
out in the sun. Some find weeding tedious, others will enjoy
the process of grabbing weeds by the fistful and yanking them
forcefully out of the ground. I have a cousin who has actually
been found to wonder into neighbors yards yanking the critters
up (much to the surprise and cheerful appreciation of his
neighbors) after he had run out of them in his own yard.
So, part of your yard tour' is to make note of the areas that
require work; how you feel about each one, and listing which
are particularly time-consuming.
Once you're done, take your list and make a check mark (!)
next
to those items that you intend to keep no matter how much
maintenance they may require. Then put a question mark (?)
Next
to the ones you enjoy looking at, but are nonetheless
high-maintenance and take too much work. Later you will
discover timesaving techniques you can surely apply to many of
these problem areas.
Now plan on making your aim to eliminate those areas left
UNMARKED. You'll want low maintenance ways to turn these areas
into sources of pleasure, instead of drudgery. However, you
can't DO anything to lessen the strain until you first SEE the
problems out there in your yard. So do this tour as a first
step to achieve true joy and freedom in your gardening
experience.
About The Author: Victor K. Pryles is the author of: "The
Weekend Gardener'- The Busy Person's Guide To A Beautiful
Backyard Garden. You can learn more about it at:
creativepops.com/garden.index/ He also offers a
garden-tip-a-day to his readers.
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