Happy Gardens

It is time we stopped and listened to Mother Nature is telling us. We don’t have unlimited resources and the weather patterns are changing. And so we need to change our way of thinking and doing things. The drought that has started in 2011 continues, and we need to adjust accordingly. We need to learn how to deal with extreme weather.

 Re-evaluate your landscaping. It is important to take the following things into account when designing or re-evaluating your   landscaping:

Purple coneflower

– check if the existing plants are native or well adapted to your area,

– prepare your soil right,

– always mulch,

– go organic and don’t forget to feed your plants to help them survive stress,

– water deeply and infrequently,

– create pockets in the garden that serve different roles, both visually and practically,

– don’t forget about wildlife,

– capture rain water,

Butterfly milkweed

– and lastly, don’t forget about your trees – they are extremely valuable and they are suffering! We tend to let trees take care of themselves. Because of their size we think that they can survive just about anything and need not our help. This is far from the truth. Trees are our great resource in so many ways – the clean the air, the add value to landscapes, they provide habitats for wildlife, act as sound barriers, produce oxygen, and help us save energy.