Careful Garden Planning Has Many Advantages

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30453, 29 May 1964, Page 6

Careful Garden Planning Has Many Advantages

At this time of the year thought is being given to making new gardens. This is a task which should not be rushed and every aspect considered before. any work is begun. Careful planning now will save a great deal of time, labour and money later. The gardener may have a general idea of what he wants in his garden, but it is important to relate this to the cost and the amount of labour that will be necessary. It is pointless to have an attractive garden if it takes every available moment to maintain it. Before any planning is contemplated, decide how much money can be spent and how much time you are prepared to spend on its upkeep. • ■■■ A number of features have to go in, irrespective of the type of plants you will grow. Paths Besides the main path or drive up to the house, a num-

ber of others will be necessary. They may be permanent and made of concrete, bitumen or gravel, or paved; or they may be temporary. Perhaps both kinds wHI be required. ’ Concrete and bitumen paths, properly laid and edged, may need skilled labour but require no further maintenance. They are, however, relatively expensive to put down and do not always look very attractive. Gravel paths may be cheaper to ’ lay down but some upkeep will be necessary. They need raking periodically to collect soil, and weeds can be troublesome.

Paving can be most attractive, but skill is necessary in laying and initial expense is high. Cementing between the stones will eliminate the weed problem although additional interest can be provided by growing plants in the crevices.. Garden Boundaries Walls are permanent, expensive, need knowledge to build, but there is no additional expense in upkeep.

Fences are again costly to construct but if suitable wood is used, properly treated, there is little subsequent upkeep. Hedges ?ost relatively little to establish but considerable preparation and subsequent upkeep is necessary. While fast-growing hedges give shelter and privacy quickly, their roots rob the soil for some distance of water and mineral nutrients; trimming twice a year will be necessary to keep them tidy. Slow-growing hedges- take longer to fill out but the roots are less invasive and one trimming a year is all that is necessary. Informal hedges cost little more than other hedges to plant, need only one trimming a year, and are much more attractive for they flower, biit they are less neat in appearance than are formal hedges. Lawns No garden is a garden unless ft has a lawn, yet they are expensive to keep up. Thorough initial preparation, and subsequent regular cutting, feeding and watering, are all necessary each year, and there is the added expense of a mower, An alternative to a lawn may be a paved or concreted area, but here the initial expense is high and the finished result is not attractive. Bedding Plants These are popular for they enable colour and interest to be introduced to the garden quickly. At least two plantings a year will be necessary and the cost of these is high. Besides the initial preparation there may be watering, weeding, and dead heading. Instead of planting out the bedding each time, seeds of annual plants can be sown in situ, but there is still the additional work necessary.

Rock Gardens Only the enthusiast is likely to tackle this aspect of gardening so the following remarks are probably superfluous. Much hard work and expense is necessary to secure and build the rocks into a garden. Tools cannot be used here and all work has to be done by hand, including weeding, trimming and dead heading. Herbaceous Borders These probably involve the most expense in labour of any part of the garden. After initial cost of plants, there is preparation, planting, weed control, staking, dead heading, and, later, division. This must all be done annually. Some labour may be saved by using plants that do not require staking and by close planting which will smother weeds. Trees and Shrubs Here at last are some plants that require little labour, after the initial planting, except for occasional pruning. They will grow more or less indefinitely and will add interest and character to a garden over the years. Even the initial expense of plants is no higher than is required for any other plants. AU this may appear depressing, but it does help to show the amount of labour that is necessary for different features in the garden, as well as emphasising the initial or subsequent expense. No specialist group has been mentioned, such as roses, dahlias or chrysanthemums, for these are likely to -be grown to the exclusion of other plants by enthusiasts and expense and labour requirements are of secondary importance. The vegetable garden and orchard will be discussed in a later article.