This year has been a bit of a struggle gardening wise. I’ve been having some problems with my right arm which I initially thought was a muscle strain, but I know think might be tennis elbow (not that I’ve been playing any tennis). There have been lots of plans, not enough time and the arm problem, so I haven’t had the chance to give the garden the help it really needed. It was a bit of a relief when Scotts Miracle-Gro® got in touch to suggest some ways of achieving results without having to put a lot of effort in. In fact, Scotts Miracle-Gro® company has created the Extremely Busy and Important Person’s Guide to Gardening. Designed as a parody of the best-selling Ladybird Books for Adults and world-renowned range of gardening guides from famous author and botanist Dr D.G. Hessayon, the guide, available as a free download at www.lovethegarden.com/littlegreenlies, breaks down garden care into three key simple-to-follow areas: lawns, plants and weeds. Here are my hints and tips on gardening for busy people.
I decided that the top priority was to improve the look of the house from the front. The hedges needed cutting and the drive was a disgrace. Really it needs a good go with a pressure washer and sand brushing into the cracks, but instead I decided to use Weedol® PS Pathclear™ Weedkiller. Weedol® PS Pathclear™ Weedkiller kills weeds to the roots and creates an invisible barrier that prevents new weed growth for up to 3 months, which seemed just the thing to save me having to redo the job this year. I used the 5 litre Weedol®PS Pathclear™ Power Sprayer, which comes with a battery operated power sprayer for continuous spray and extended reach for optimum accuracy (the 4 x AA batteries come included too). So I got the car off the drive and sprayed everywhere. It didn’t take that long, say 20 minutes if that. Over the next couple of weeks the weeks started to die off. Then I gave it a bit of a brush over and tidy up.
Another thing you might want to consider when giving your outside areas a bit of a makeover is whether there are any pests that you need to deal with. Getting the professionals in is usually the answer, like https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/ for instance.
Hopefully, you can see in this after picture that the weeds have died right back and the whole area looks a lot more tidy. It inspired me to have a go at making a bit of a focal point by creating a feature. Not wanting to put anything to waste, I decided a bit of recycling was in order.
This old chimney pot didn’t go back on the roof when some work was done a few months ago. It’s not as pretty as the old style Victorian ones, but I think it’s quite decorative. I’ve been looking around for the right thing to go in there and I’ve decided on some Mexican fleabane. I’ve put a plant pot inside it and it’s held up by a tower of old bricks inside.
It doesn’t look anything special at the moment, but I have high hopes. I went for Mexican Fleabane because I am hoping it will spill out the top of the pot and cover the edges. Here’s a picture of Mexica Fleabane when it really gets going so you can visualise the effect I’m going for.
It’s always difficult finding time to get things straight, but I hope my tips on gardening for busy people has helped.
The powersprayer sounds great and your garden is looking fab too.
I am so fed up with our garden is it is pretty much all weeds these days. We live opposite council open space which they used to mow every couple of weeks – now its every 6 so the weeds just blow in 🙁
I used a £10 weedol bottle on my front drive a few months ago and, whilst it killed some, it left patches of dead grass that we had to scrape to remove. I’ll definitely be trying pathclear instead I think! Thanks for the tips 🙂
I find gardening relaxing and although you do need to dedicate a lot of time to it. I can’t wait to see your results.
I really need to clear some weeds from my garden and around the edges of my bungalow. The sprayer sounds like a good idea.
That’s a fab result on the driveway, this looks like really good stuff and super easy, just what I like. Mich x
Your driveway looks great. That stuff works awesome. Thanks for the tips.
Hello Erica, I love your thought and also your post is impressive. I have been wanting to start a garden around here and think your post was just the motivation I needed for it, thanks!
I try not to stress with gardening since it is my favourite hobby, it’s like my therapy relaxes me a lot while I spend time abroad.
Thanks for sharing!!
Erica, thank you for information! Helped me a lot!