Tag: gardening

Arbor and Trellis Ideas for Your Garden

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Photo by Colin Maynard on Unsplash

Homeowners love the idea of creating a personal sanctuary in their outdoor living space, but many aren’t quite sure of how to proceed when it comes to making the most of their yard and garden area. One of the most common issues faced by homeowners is that they don’t really know how to use hardscaping elements to their best advantage. For instance, it’s standard procedure to place a trellis against the side of the house and let a rambling rose clamber up and around it, and while this provides a classically charming cottage garden look, it’s not the only way to use a trellis. Following are three suggestions designed to provide you with inspiration concerning how arbors and trellises can help transform your yard into the serene sweet spot of your dreams.

Create a Privacy Hedge With Trellises

One of the most primary elements of serenity is privacy. By putting in a row of trellises on the edge of your property, you can create a living hedge that does double duty by providing aesthetics as well as privacy. Climbing roses are a good option, but if you want year-round coverage, choose something like evergreen clematis. If you like the idea of mixing it up every year with different types of vining annuals, choose fast-growing options such as morning glory.

Define the Back of a Perennial Border With Trellises

Traditional perennial borders sometimes lack the necessary height for optimal balance, but you can fix that situation by installing one or two tall trellises at the back of the border and planting vining perennials. Classic choices include wisteria, clematis, vinca and, of course, old-fashioned rambling rose. Feel free to let your imagination be your guide when it comes to selecting vining plants. Blue potato vine, for instance, is a vigorous climber that’s not often seen in modern home gardens but is one of the few vining plants that reliably produce true-blue flowers.

Create a Secret Glade With an Arbor for an Entrance

If you’ve got a small, treed area on your property, consider creating a private glade where you and yours relax in an environment filled with natural beauty. Create a small seating area using a weather-resistant teakwood bench, and plant plenty of flowering woodland vegetation such as primrose, sweet woodruff and trillium. Plant your choice of vibrant flowering vines near the arbor so they can ramble up and over it to create a lush bower leading to your private retreat. 

Any one of the above approaches will bring an average yard from mundane to magical. With a little creativity, you can no doubt come up with more ideas for creating a serene ambiance using garden arbors and trellises. 

5 Ways to kill weeds naturally

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A common concern for organic gardeners is finding ways to kill weeds naturally. If you’re trying to avoid synthetic weed killers and keep your garden as healthy as possible, there are many natural alternatives.

From common household items to clever gardening practices, this guide can help you find the best way to manage the weeds without hurting your garden environment.

Corn gluten meal

If you’ve spent time removing weeds and want to make sure they don’t come back, try sprinkling corn gluten meal on exposed areas of the garden. This will prevent the weed seeds from germinating and becoming pesky plants.

Vinegar

Apply regular household vinegar directly to unwanted weeds to kill them off. Use a spray bottle, pump sprayer or even a paint brush to add the vinegar carefully, as it can harm more than just the weeds. Try applying vinegar on a dry day, so there’s no chance of water washing it away.

Newspaper

Have old newspapers to spare? You can use them to smother the weeds and prevent new ones from popping up. Create a thick layer of newspaper to block the sun and prevent photosynthesis. This method works best if you remove existing weeds first and lay the newspaper directly onto damp soil.

Mulch

Mulch is not only an excellent natural weed killer, but one of the best ways to keep your garden healthy in general. Cover the soil with a few inches of mulch – made of organic matter like leaves, wood chips and grass clippings – to help retain moisture and prevent new weed growth.

Ground cover plants

For a low maintenance and long-term weed control, leave no space in your garden uncovered. Ground cover plants like creeping thyme, clover and bugleweed spread out over the surface of the ground to form a natural shield against weeds. As a bonus, you’ll enjoy the lush aesthetic and protection against soil erosion.

These are only a few ways to kill weeds naturally, but some of the simplest. Keep these household items and garden strategies in mind when maintaining your green spaces to keep them free of pesky weeds.