Creating your special little green niche – Part one
Wouldn’t it be glorious to have your own garden? One of those large green affairs with trees and flower shrubs, an aviary of chirping birds in the far end, a pond of lilies with dragon flies and butterflies flitting this way and that. A swing hanging from the biggest and a massive walnut tree. A hammock to read in, obviously in the shade, and rows of pathways full of the fragrance of flowers.
Right, back to reality, at least the reality of most….. Because that was the idyllic dream which many can only dream of. The stuff of gardening magazines, movies and garden shows. It is easy to believe you could never have an idyllic garden, most especially since you do not own one. But it has been done and done successfully…… Small pokey yards, little back terraces and average looking balconies have been turned into green havens. Rather on the small side, true, but green nonetheless.
However, even if you do accept the fact that you could possibly create a green haven in your own home, up comes the issue of the metaphorical green finger. Yours is definitely blue. You can proudly boast of never ever having successfully brought a pot of green leaves to flourish, let alone bloom. And thus it becomes easy to simply give up on your dream of ever owning a green patch in or around your living space.
It does take some measure of patience and spare time to achieve, but expert gardeners claim it is possible to cre
ate a miniature garden and grown your own little green space practically anywhere, granted that you select the best plants to thrive in those ‘practically anywhere’ surroundings. It just takes some basic knowledge and understanding of what it is all about.
So,for instance, you have to note the characteristics which make each family of plants thrive in order to avoid them dying out on you. Take the happy sunshiny little succulent. Do not ever think that it could, just to please you, live happily in your dark, dank, humid shaft, without ever even catching one beam of sunlight. It will exist valiantly on, stretching into a slender haggard form of itself, in search of the ever elusive warmth of sunshine, and then, quietly, desperately die a slow and probably painful death.
The reverse happens to plants which cannot resist direct sun in any way. They will let you perch them out on your balcony in full sunshine and seem quite acceptable for a day or two. Then the leaves will suddenly scorch, and no amount of extra watering will get them green again. In a matter of days, you will end up with a pot of sunburnt leaves just about ready to fizzle away.
It is just such small episodes that make the average non-gardener shy away from gardening. But take heart. Most nurseries will listen to your wishes, turn them around and send you home with a car full of the best plants for your open space. But before trooping off to your nearest nursery, arm yourself with the necessary information that will help the nursery people understand your open space better and thus suggest the best plants for it.
Follow on to Part 2 of this Home & Garden post for more advise on Creating your special little green niche.