15 Garden Upgrades That Are Actually Ruining Your Yard
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When you think about updating your garden, you may see yourself surrounded by colorful flowerbeds, a green lawn, and charmingly placed décor that make your outdoor area your little piece of heaven. However, when trying to build what you dreamt of, it’s very easy to get caught up in common traps that could actually hurt more than help. What you think is a brilliant idea for your yard can sometimes have consequences you never thought of.
With that in mind, let’s look at 15 garden upgrades that are likely doing more harm than good.
Misusing Mulch
Mulch is awesome for retaining moisture and improving soil health, but too much mulch will smother your plants and cause rot, but . For example, piling on a lot of mulch around the trunk of the tree lets all of that moisture get trapped which then encourages fungal growth. Mulch should be used sparingly and never touching the stems of a plant.
Too Many Fences
While fences give you privacy, having too many will make your yard feel boxed in and claustrophobic. They also restrict airflow, and cast unwanted shadows over your garden, preventing some plants from thriving. It is better to consider the use of plants or hedges, and let more breeze open than fencing every section.
Excessive Lawn Ornaments
It can be easy to clutter your yard with gnomes, wind chimes, birdbaths, and all sorts of other quirky decorations. Whilst a few well placed ornaments can be charming, too many can only overwhelm the eye and take something away from the beauty that is natural to the garden. It can also be difficult to keep your space tidy, since you’ll be constantly moving things around to mow or prune.
Improper Tree Placement
Trees offer shade, beauty and environmental benefits, but if placed too close to your home, driveway or garden beds, they’re an unwelcome guest. Tree roots can eventually damage foundations, pipes, patios etc. On top of that, trees grow, and they cast more shade than your garden can handle, and your other plants can’t survive.
Poor Plant Choices
Sometimes a plant that looks beautiful at the nursery ends up taking over your entire yard. With a quick life cycle, invasive species can overwhelm the system taking over native plants and upsetting your garden’s ecosystem. And sometimes the plant simply isn’t right for your local climate, and you end up spending a lot of time and energy taking care of it, and it just doesn’t thrive.
Hardscaping Overload
You can’t go wrong with patios, decks and pathways, but too much hardscaping could leave you missing greenery and make your yard less inviting. Also, too much concrete or stone leads to a “heat island” effect: Your garden becomes hotter and less beautiful on hot days. Plus, the large expanses of hard surfaces don’t absorb the rainwater, which will have an impact on your local environment.
Neglecting Native Plants
While exotic or non native plants may seem like a great way to get your garden to stand out, local plants are better adapted to your climate and need less care. Your environment may not be suitable for non native species, so the plants will require constant watering, fertilising and other interventions. But native plants tend to require less water to be established, are more drought tolerant, and can attract bees, butterflies and local wildlife.
Too Many Pavers
Paver pathways can be a nice way to structure your garden, but it can be easy to go over the top here and feel like your garden is way too segmented and unnatural. Excessive paving breaks up that flow and makes your yard feel like a disjointed chessboard. It also cuts down on your green space and makes your garden less natural.
Overcrowded Planting Beds
It’s easy to get carried away when planting flowers, shrubs, and vegetables and fit more into your garden beds than you should. Overcrowded plants compete for sunlight, water, and nutrients, however. If left too long, it can stunt growth, make your plants more susceptible to disease and pests, and ultimately leave you with a patchy looking garden rather than a lush one.
Unnecessary Retaining Walls
While retaining walls can be useful on steep slopes or to help with erosion control, too many people tend to install them when they’re not needed, which can detract from the natural aesthetics of a yard, and also lead to drainage issues. This extra construction can pool water in unwanted places and disrupt the flow of your garden as a whole.
Overuse of Gravel
Gravel paths or areas are neat and tidy, but covering large areas of your garden with gravel can cause drainage problems. Runoff problems result from the inability for rainwater to seep into the ground. It can erode other parts of your yard over time, and it’s hard to keep clean of debris.
Water Features
Fountains and ponds can be beautiful, but they tend to need more maintenance than you think. They can be living space for mosquitoes and algae if you don’t clean and maintain them regularly. That peaceful water feature might become a murky, stagnant eyesore if you aren’t willing to do the regular work.
Artificial Grass Installation
Synthetic turf is an easy solution to avoid mowing and watering, but it’s not without its own problems. Artificial grass suffocates the beneficial micro organisms in the soil beneath it by not allowing the soil to breathe. It can get so hot underfoot on hot days, and over time the plastic can degrade and leave your yard in worse shape than before.
Ignoring Proper Drainage
A soggy mess is what you’re setting yourself up for if your garden doesn’t have good drainage. In these low areas, water can pool and drown plants or just make for a muddy, unpleasant situation. Before planning things like paths, patios, or plant beds, it’s good to make sure you have a drainage for water to avoid these problems.
Overly Structured Gardens
Although a perfectly trimmed hedge with immaculately arranged rows might be impressive, they can seem too stiff, and require constant upkeep. A less rigid, more natural approach to gardening encourages more wildlife and also makes a space welcoming and tranquil as opposed to sterile.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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