Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.
A thoughtful plan or a few changes in your current design can help reduce your workload and improve the beauty of your landscape.
Avoid the temptation to plant perennials and shrubs closer together than the tag recommends. You’ll have greater impact in a shorter amount of time, but more work in the long run as you dig, divide, prune and remove overgrown perennials and shrubs.
Do a bit of research before planting to help you select the plants and planting strategy that best meets your needs. Keep in mind some perennials grow quickly, self-seed and need frequent dividing while others, like peonies, do not.
Properly space plants to reduce future maintenance. Fill in the vacant spots with annuals until the perennials reach their full size.
This is a good strategy for shrubs as well. Cramming too many shrubs into a small space for quick results means you will be pruning often and removing some of the plants.
A bit more information: Further reduce maintenance and improve the beauty of your plants with proper pruning. Match the pruning strategy to the plant for the best results. For more tips on planting, growing and pruning see my Great Courses’ How to Grow Anything: Make Your Trees and Shrubs Thrive DVD set.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com.