Many gardeners get very upset by the large amount of time spent on gardens maintenance, but they should rather work more cleverly than harder. Each season brings its own tasks and this should be done timely.
photo credit: Mike Babcock

Raking leaves in Autumn is a very good example of this, as gardeners spend days trying to get rid of all the fallen leaves. Your best option is to let the tree drop all of its leaves before you start clearing them up. Rather enjoy the beautiful carpet this scene creates. Leaves should not be thrown away, but rather use them as ground coverings to protect the soil from the freezing Winter that follows.

Pruning your roses during winter is another maintenance monster that can see you bending over for hours. Rather create a measuring stick of about 90cm, stick it ten centimeters into the soil next to a rose bush and cut the rose at the top length.

photo credit: fesoj

Now take your cuttings from the rose bushes and put the rest through a shredder, this will carve the remnants into splinters that you throw over the rooting area of your roses to protect the roots from the cold.

Lawns should be cut by following a moon calendar. Certain days will see your lawn grow a lot more after cutting, but other days on the calendar can be selected to slow down the lawn. This could save you lots of time as the weekly mowing could be reduced to bi weekly by doing this simple technique.

Do small maintenance tasks as they pop up. Like dead-heading flowers as you are enjoying your daily garden walk. Weeds that pop up can be pulled on the spot as you notice them. Doing small bits, you never have to spend your weekends working in the garden only.

photo credit: jeffedoe

A small amount of maintenance will see you enjoy a beautiful garden all year long.

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