Before planting a garden, considerable thought must be taken to ensure important features are correct.
There are many factors to consider when considering a garden surface. The light availability, soil structure, and PH level, water availability, and buildings or other structures around all contribute to the location of the proposed garden. Other things to contemplate are the different garden styles available, various materials to work with, and the overall scale of your garden.
All living plants need light to survive. The amount and type of light that is given will determine the type of garden you can build. In the proposed area of your property, monitor when the sunlight hits the area and leaves it again. Is it for two, three, six, or twelve hours daily? Also, is it in the early morning, during the day’s heat, or late afternoon? Your available light will judge what limitations you will have. For example if it only gets a few hours of filtered sunlight a day in the morning or late afternoon, then a shade style of bed is probably best. If your area is full sun for the most of the day, then sun-loving plants will thrive.
This also has a reflection on what type of plants you can grow. Heavy clay soils need the addition of compost and peat moss to help lighten the area, and a sandy area needs more topsoil with amendments to balance the moisture level. A rock-plagued location can be dealt with in many ways, one by removing the rocks and adding soil with amendments, or the other extreme by encouraging plants that thrive in these conditions to grow in your setting.
The PH level in the soil is another factor. The best PH level is between 5.5 and 7.5, with a lower number being more acidic and a higher number being more alkaline. A
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