Gardens are hard work.  Behind every immaculate lawn and carefully tended flowerbed is a never-ending struggle between nature and gardener. Of course simply leaving the garden to its own devices isn’t really an option; Untended, plants will grow freely for the whole of spring and summer and even into autumn. Worse yet, an uncared for garden is an invitation for undesired plants to invade and colonize, taking over and killing off any plants that were actually wanted there.

Building a garden is certainly not easy work, but it is uniquely rewarding. That’s why today were going to look at three potential problems the new Gardener needs to consider These being garden Pests, Plant Diseases and Water Management

Pests

Whatever it is you’ve chosen to grow in your garden the chances are that something out there thinks it looks simply delicious. This is doubly more tragic when it’s something you’ve been looking forward to eating yourself. Just imagine a slug getting first dibs on your lettuce – we can already feel the disappointment!

It’s important therefore to be aware of what sort of creatures might want to make a meal of your garden work.  Once you know this, the next step is learning about appropriate ways in which you can protect your plants from these pests, whatever they may be.

To take the slugs as an example, your choice of methods to counter them are varied. You might try bordering raised plant beds and pots with copper tape to poison them. Or create beer traps to lure them in.  Other options including dedicated poisons might be considered too but may not be suitable based on your circumstances say if you have small children or pets that like to go in the garden.

Diseases

Diseases are similar to pests. They still want to eat your plants but now the peril comes from something microscopically small. The impact however is anything but.  Different plants may be susceptible to different sorts of problems but there are a range of things you can do no matter the plant to help prevent disease outbreaks in your garden.

The most obvious one is to know your plants and to make sure they are growing in conditions that suit them. Plants that need a lot of water will suffer in dry conditions and vice versa and this in term will make them weaker and more susceptible to illness. Likewise care should be taken when introducing new plants into the garden either by avoiding problematic plants and avoiding the temptation to take obviously struggling plants from the discount shelf in a garden centre. Even if the plant itself doesn’t carry illness, its weakness may make  it susceptible to later infection, giving disease a foothold in your garden.

Water

With two years in a row of record temperatures its never been more important to plan ahead for the water needs of your garden. Choosing plant varieties that can thrive in drier climes is one option to a more successful garden.  Another is giving your plants, and lawns in particular time to grow and develop proper root networks before cutting them back or pruning them.

In pragmatic terms however building some form of water storage set up is near essential. While you can reduce the amount of water your plants need, they will still be thirsty. And most likely the time you need water the most is the time it will be least available with days of dry weather and local hosepipe bans.

Horticulture – Learn the Basics

If this has given you some insight into what you need to consider when starting a garden and you want to go further, you need Horticulture – Learn the Basics.  A new course bundle from ADL, this certificate course has been written to give you a solid start in everything you need to know whatever your plant growing ambitions.

As well as a solid foundational course you also get a second shorts course in plant language and an included e-book on pruning to help you maintain your growing ambition.

Check out the Learn the Basics Bundle today!