Decorating & Design
July 1, 2022
15+ Ways To Fake A Green Thumb
There are certain gardens we pass by and always envy. Sometimes there is a dedicated gardener behind that green curtain, other times it’s a talented landscape designer or maintenance team working the levers. But don’t fret if you want to DIY your own outdoor oasis. Here are some easy gardening tips to help you get that coveted yard, without taking a crash course in horticulture!
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Sidestep Poor Soil
If you are struggling to keep things alive because your garden is shaded by a huge tree, or have hard clay soil (a common complaint in new builds), you can still grow big beautiful plants. On this B.C. deck, trees and shrubs and perennials grow in delicious potting soil.
Raised Beds
The advantage of raised beds is that they are often more productive than beds in the ground because the soil is less compacted, has better drainage, and warms earlier in the spring, meaning that plants will start to grow earlier in the season. The other reason to love them? No more bending or kneeling to tend weeds or pick veggies. These beds are equipped with automatic watering as well, to cut down on labor.
Add A Greenhouse
Even if you’re not a garden guru, you can sure look like one with the addition of a greenhouse. They are also super practical, allowing gardeners in the north to get a jump on growing plants from seeds, or sheltering tomato plants from the sweltering sun.
Think Big
Making a bold, assured gardening move like using mature standards instead of small pots can telegraph gardening confidence. These plants are an investment, so do some research first to determine how much light your trees require to give them the best chance of thriving.
Go Outside The Box
Container plants look best with a mix of plant material, so don’t limit yourself to boring annuals from the big box stores. Here a mix of grasses, sedum, Coral Bells heuchera and daisies recreate the breezy feel of a naturalized meadow.
Grow A Vine
Vines soften hardscaping an add an old fashioned romance, but here’s the secret: they are super easy to grow and care for. Plant a fast grower like Viriginia Creeper or ivy, or a climbing version of euonymus or roses and sit back while they work their magic.
Go Insta Lush
Nothing is easier than dropping in a fern in an urn — there is no waiting for flowers to bloom, deadlheading or pruning involved. You can buy them from the garden centre in their full glory (and they are relatively inexpensive), and look like a major green thumb with no plant parenting required.
Choose Easy Plants
Don’t stack the deck against your skills by choosing delicate plants that need complicated regimens — leave them to the pros who love a challenge. In this country home, designer and homeowner Michael Angus didn’t want to spend his weekends gardening, so he chose low-maintenance boxwood shrubs for the front of the house that stay green all year long and look magical with a dusting of snow.
Add A Statement Tree
Some homeowners get caught up with what’s going on in their beds but a tree adds impact in a way rows of petunias never can. If your garden is compact, look for dwarf or pygmy versions of trees (like this fiery Japanese Bloodgood maple). See more of this stunning West Coast garden here.
Pick Perennials
It’s easy to get seduced by bright annuals at the garden center, but if you don’t love spending time digging every spring, deadheading or raking leaves, look to perennials like fountain grasses and flowering shrubs. In this city garden, tufts of grasses come in a wide range of colors and add gentle movement without dropping messy leaves in the fall.
Prune
Nothing looks more polished than a well-manicured row of shrubs. Some plants lend themselves better than others to shaping like slow-growing boxwoods, euonymus or yew shrubs clipped in globe shapes. They keep their form and don’t require much upkeep. Wander through Meredyth Hilton’s backyard garden (complete with her chic studio) here.
Choose Big Containers
If the soil in your garden is unwelcoming (full of hard clay) and you don’t want to spend time amending it, place plants in large scale containers. Plants will thrive in nutrient-rich potting soil, and you can situate the containers according to the sun or shade the plants require.
Keep It Simple
A mix of colors and specimens can look chaotic, but there’s a beautiful simplicity to focusing on one plant. In this B.C. backyard, a row of all-white ‘Blushing Bride’ hydrangeas act as garden architecture and produces beautiful white blooms all summer long. Owner Thomas Hobbs potted weeping silver-leafed pear in planters to give the silvery leaves more grandeur.
Think Drifts
Plants like ferns propagate themselves and take the pressure off replanting every spring. Here, defined beds are eschewed in favor of flowing masses of plants like Western Sword Ferns and grasses.
Light Things Up
You may have not planted that towering blue spruce, but some well-placed lighting will reflect well on your garden. Highlighting established plant material with a good lighting system gives a garden polish and makes natural materials, like this tree’s bark, look epic.
Plant A Row
The rhythm and repetition of rows creates an orderly, tailored look in a garden. An easy-to-grow stand of cedars acts as a green screen that looks lush and grows with minimal shaping.
Try A Parterre
If you’ve struggled with patchy grass and are ready to give up babying the lawn, there are alternatives. Use pebbles to create a French-style parterre garden, it eliminates tiresome weeding, and walking on the pebbles gives off a satisfying crunch. Tour this sustainable Quebec garden here.