Making a Garden I

Making a Garden I
By Simon Morris

This is the first article in a two article series about incorporating a garden into your landscaping. Part one will cover the planning of your garden to get maximum sunlight. Part two will cover some basic guidelines about how to plant the garden.

If you decide to add a garden to your landscaping, one of the most important things to consider is where you plan on putting the garden. This is important because if you don't plan where to put the garden you may be at the mercy of conditions you could have controlled a little better had you put the garden somewhere else. If you have limited space for a garden, then a box garden just might be the perfect solution for you.

What should be the largest factor when deciding the location for your garden? If you said sunlight, you are correct. In general, it is best to avoid planting your garden at the north corner of your property. The north corner may be ideal for you if you are planting ferns or even some wild flowers or begonias. However, generally, it is best to not plant a garden there

The best place to add your garden to your landscaping is at the southern part of your property. This is where the sun gives the maximum exposure all day long. You should also plant the flower or vegetable rows so they run north and south. When you plant

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your garden this way, the plants will benefit from the morning sun on the eastern side and will get maximum benefit on the western side during the afternoon. This will also help prevent the plants from growing too crooked because they will be getting even sunlight. If for example, you decide the best place for your landscaping garden is facing southeast, it is best to plant your rows northwest and southeast.

In order to have the optimal garden for your landscaping you want the garden to have sunlight equally distributed on your vegetables, plants, or flowers. You want this sunlight on them for the maximum amount of time. Surely, you've seen plants that were placed in less than optimal lighting conditions. The plants grow towards the light to try and get more exposure. You don't want your landscaping garden doing that if at all possible. It doesn't look neat and tidy. So, it's best to plan your landscaping garden with a diagram. Take into consideration where the light shines on that area all day, and plant accordingly. Just remember, generally, the southern exposure is the best place for your garden, because it gets light evenly on both sides during the day. A northern exposure may mean no sunlight at all. If you plant your garden northeast or southwest, that garden will always get uneven sunlight.

Simon Morris is a long studied landscape design expert with 25 years of field expirience. You can find more articles written By Simon Morris on his Gardening website www.Garden-now.com. You can also find his articles on www.linkmyarticles.com.

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