Lots of things have editors… newspapers, books, movies… but did you know that your garden might need an edit from time to time, too? We all get busy, but if you let your garden go without regular maintenance, it can take some serious sweat to restore it to order—and the longer you go without caring for your garden, the bigger the chore it will be to fix.
This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many home gardeners still use regular pruning and trimming to try and rein in their overgrown landscape. An unruly garden is just like any other problem; it cannot be solved with any efficiency without first identifying the exact problem. You have to make an honest assessment of the current state of your landscape, identify what’s valuable and worth keeping, and what needs to go. This can be a tough process, especially if you personally placed each of these plants that now has become overgrown. Your gardening professionals in Kingsport at Promier Landscapes are here to help.
Follow these tips for guidance when deciding how to “edit” your overgrown garden:
Look at the big picture
All of the elements of your landscape should work in harmony. There should be layers, from the grass and short shrubs to the tallest trees on your property. Remember, each plant that makes up your landscape is a living thing. It grows, changes, moves and reacts to other plants and changes in the weather and surrounding environment. How do these plants affect one another? Which plants are making an impact, and which plants are reacting to those impacts?
Decide which plants can stay and which need to go
This can be a very difficult position. Longtime gardeners form emotional attachments to their plants, especially trees or any that were planted for a special reason. To get an overgrown landscape under control, however, tough decisions have to be made. Two determining factors that can make the process easier: which plants need the most maintenance, and which plants have the most emotional value. If a plant or tree requires major regular care, but you love it, then it may be worth keeping to you. Once you’ve made that decision, clear out the plants surrounding it to give it room to grow.
Plant more perennials
Perennials are more durable, and not just because they come back every year. Most perennials can be dug up and transplanted and thrive in their new locations. That said, avoid moving any single plant too frequently, as this can shock the plant into death. Instead, give perennials at least a few years to settle into their new locale.
It’s all about timing
Know the climate in your area, and when are the best times of year to transplant plants. This depends largely on the climate where you are living. In East Tennessee, late fall like November can be the ideal time to transplant larger plants like trees and shrubs, when they are heading toward a dormant state for the winter. Make sure you have a plan before transplanting anything; know where the plant is going ahead of time, and have a plan in place to take care of it that should include frequent watering. Once it comes time to do the work, get your plant dug up, transplanted, and settled in its new location as quickly as possible.
Not sure how to “edit” your garden? Ask the pros
Making an accurate edit of your landscape requires having knowledge of plants. Do you know which plants should be transplanted in the fall, and which in the spring? Do you know which species of plants don’t respond well, in general, to being moved? Your revision of your garden has a much greater chance of success if you have as much knowledge as possible at your disposal.
The professional landscapers in Kingsport at Promier Landscapes have experience working with all kinds of plants in the area of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol in Tennessee. They can use their expertise to give your landscape that needed “edit.” Ready to find out more? Just contact our office at (423) 872-2988 to receive an on-site consultation today.