What Is The Best Way To Choose Plants For Your Garden?
Selecting plants for your garden is often an enjoyable yet time-consuming task. Your choice will generally include selecting plants that appear the most colourful and beautiful while being reasonably easy to maintain.
Arguably the most straightforward approach is to begin with a simple list of plants that you are interested in. You can do this either with online research or by visiting a dedicated garden centre.
Once the list is complete, read the remainder of this article to see if your chosen plants will work in your particular environment.
How to Choose The Best Plants?
Keep Invasive Plants Out
It is important to consider the impact invasive plants can have on your garden. It often makes sense to choose non-invasive varieties, especially if you have little experience or time to dedicate to maintenance.
Plants that grow aggressively are difficult to maintain and often take over your garden more quickly than you might realise. It is this reason why it makes sense to avoid them, unless you have specific reasons.
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and Wisteria (all varieties) are some examples of aggressive varieties.
Take Seasonal Factors Into Consideration
Be sure to take into account the time of year when planting your garden. Different plants have different bloom times and thrive better in certain seasons.
Remember: your garden will not be flowing all year round — but it will still be in view. So carefully consider seasonal factors. Read how to grow a garden that blooms all year.
Do A Soil test
It is important to have a clear idea of your soil type. This is because different soils are best suited for certain types of plants.
Although many plant varieties will grow in neutral soil, several will thrive in more acidic conditions, an example being Azaleas and Rhododendrons, or Clematis in the case of alkaline soil.
You can tailor your soil type to produce the best conditions for the plants you want to select, but this will require additional knowledge and preparation. Just some methods include adding pulverised limestone to raise the pH or aluminium sulphate or sulfuric acid to lower the pH.
How Much Maintenance Are You Willing To Do?
When it comes to the amount of maintenance required, plants vary considerably. Before planting, think about how much maintenance you are willing to do.
Plants like roses need regular pruning. Aggressive plants require additional maintenance to keep your garden healthy and attractive. And plants like day lilies need to be divided every few years to keep them blooming.
It is best to conduct some research into your chosen plants to determine the amount of maintenance required. This way, you can see if the plants are suitable.
Hassett Plant Centre Can Help You
Hassett Plant Centre is a specialist garden centre in Northampton, providing a wide range of bedding plants, shrubs, climbers, and hedging. We offer friendly, free support when it comes to choosing the right plants for your garden.
Visit our website or come in-store to see our stunning range of garden plants.