Hugh's Top 5 most common garden mistakes

1. Plants in wrong spots

it’s important to know the conditions of your garden to ensure the optimum growth of your plants. If it’s a sunny spot, don’t plant shade loving plants and vice versa or you won’t achieve the desired effect. It’s also the same when it comes to the amount of water plants need. If you don’t get out in your garden as much as you’d like, then don’t buy plants which need lots to drink.

2. Not mulching

Mulch is an essential part of any garden as it helps retain moisture in the soil while helping to suppress the growth of weeds. Be it straw, a fine or course mulch, pebbles or leaf litter, they all serve a purpose and should be on the list of things to get when planting.

3. Not controlling weeds

By simply getting down on your hands and knees every now and again around the garden and pulling out a few weeds is a lot easier than letting them take over and then needing a weekend to clear the garden. It should also mean they don’t flower and seed, which translates to less weeds in the future.

4. Not fertilizing

Not fertilizing basically adds up to poor growth for your plants unless you’ve got amazing natural soil. So when you visit a nursery, be sure to ask questions about fertilizers and what’s best and what time of the year to give your plants a boost. Of course you can also check the tags which come with the plants. Personally, I like a slow release granularly formula which will last and last, up to 6-9 months.

5. Compacted soil

This is something which can be easily overcome. It can’t hurt to get out with a garden fork and give the soil a good turn, especially if it’s clay based. This will help break up and aerate the soil which in turn will help root growth of your plants. It’s also the same for compacted areas of lawns – you’ll be amazed what results you can get from a few simple actions.