The Pleasures of Yard Work

If there is one pleasure you can get from yard work, it is to see a plant bloom. It doesn’t take much to improve your yard. The miracle of the bloom adds bright colors to a dreary wintry day. Place the other plants as a frame around the bloom to give it more focus. You feel artistic blending color within your garden. The whole point of finding pleasure in your garden is to get the plants to blend.

The weather can overheat or dry up the soil. Not only will wood chips keep your plants warm in the winter, but wood chips prevent water from evaporating into the air. Wood chips come in several colors which adds to the artsy feel of your garden.

Butterflies and hummingbirds in your garden will make you smile. You can attract them by planting a nectar producing plant. Nectar producing plants are asters, black-eyed Susans, daylilies, and phlox, milkweed, thistles, and violets. These plants have the same requirements so you can choose one of each to be in your garden. It’s important to get colors of flowers that do not clash.

After you have cleared an area in your yard, put the plants in the ground in clumps, instead of in rows. Make sure your pH is 6.5. If the soil is too alkaline, then you can add lime to raise the pH or if the soil is too acidic, then add peat moss. To add focus to the one particular area, encircle the plants with different sizes of rocks. You can also encircle the plant area with a cute, little picket fence.