By Carson Arthur
Want to save time this summer? Here are my top outdoor tips to make your life easier!
Plants are work. Whenever the experts talk about low maintenance plants, they are still talking about work, just less work. For some problem areas, you want no-work solutions. Garden art, or non-living items are just that; cool things in your gardens that require no effort. Funky birdhouses, architectural metal shapes, even tall wood obelisks all make for an interesting garden space and once they are in, they require zero effort to maintain! In fact, most of these items look better with age.
I’ve started using wood that is pre-stained for all of my decks and fences. There are lots of products entering the market that promise easy care and maintenance for our wood surfaces. I have been using brown pressure treated instead of the green alternative. They are the same price, but because it’s been treated with a great brown shade, I don’t need to stain it every spring. If you just want a surface that looks great even though it’s not wood, go for a composite deck board.
I hate weeding. Pretty vocal about this one. I REALLY hate weeding. My secret to avoid weeding all summer is newspaper! We’ve all heard about using mulch in a garden around the plants to prevent weed growth, and it does work…some of the time. I learned a simple technique of lining the beds with 7 layers of newspaper and then adding mulch on top of it. The reason this works so well is because the blocks the light from getting to the weeds and it will also naturally breakdown under the mulch, adding nutrients to the soil below
Use colourful planters instead of colourful plants to add impact to your space. Plants that flower generally require more care and attention than ones that do not. If you want reds, blues or oranges at your front door or on the deck, choose a container that already has them and fill it with easy to grow vegetables like lettuce or even a great heirloom tomato. Now, you’ll have exactly the look you want for your space…all summer long.