Live with Nature - Gardening

People thinking the Living with Nature might be so difficult.

But it can be possible by following steps

Prep the Planting Area

If you’re making a new bed in an existing lawn, first remove any turf grass and roots. Then enrich the growing area by working a layer of four to six inches of organic material (compost, chopped leaves, peat moss, etc.) into the top eight to ten inches of soil with a spading fork. If your ground is very sandy, swampy, or rocky or high in clay content, do yourself a favor and consider making raised beds with a simple kit and filling them with amended soil purchased in bulk. This saves you the daunting, near-impossible task of trying to turn bad soil into good.

Beds with Cap Railings by Popular Mechanics

A slightly more complex design from Popular Mechanics adds a ‘cap railing’ to the top of the bed to make it look more finished and offer a place to set tools when you’re not using them.

Repurposed Dresser Garden

Turn an old dresser into a tiered vertical garden! This project could be as simple as placing potted plants inside the drawers, or you could staple landscape fabric to the inside and fill them with soil. Be sure to use a dresser made of solid wood rather than particle board, if it will be exposed to the elements.

Water with care

While we're on the subject of water, adopting a few smart-watering habits will do much to stretch out your supply, especially during dry, hot spells in the summer. Adding mulch and compost to your soil will retain water and cut down evaporation. Plus, soaker hoses or drip irrigation only use 50 percent of the water used by sprinklers. Water early in the day so you can avoid evaporation and winds. And the best place to drench your plants? Directly on those thirsty roots.