Find Solutions with these Inspirational Outdoor Garden Ideas

Starting a garden is one of the most rewarding things one can do. Whether you’re planting fragrant florals or starting a vegetable garden, anyone can benefit from getting their hands a little dirty. But it can be difficult to know where to start. Our steps ease you into gardening and reward you for your efforts with beautiful visuals, delicious flavors, and colorful blooms.

How to design an outdoor garden

Consider your options: You want to make sure you are prepared to take care of whatever you will plant. Research, get informed and prepare for the plants you want to plant. You just can’t go buy the first thing you find, make sure you are buying plants that are adequate to the environment, the weather, the space, and also what you would want to produce.

2. Choose what you’ll plant: It depents really on what would you like to produce on your garden. Choose if you want a farming garden, maybe you want to produce your own food. Or maybe your thing is planting mint, or peppermint, perfect for cocktails and natural candies. Maybe you want the pleasing smell and the beauty of flowers. Whatever it is, make a list of what all the flowers you want, and research the proper manteinance and manipulation of each one.

How to build an outdoor garden

3. Clean the ground: Get rid of the sod covering the area you plan to plant. The more fertile and friable the soil, the better your vegetables will grow. The same holds true for other plants. Invariably, residential soil needs a boost, especially in new construction where the topsoil may have been stripped away.

Your soil may be excessively wet, poor and infertile, or too acidic or alkaline. The solution is often simple: Add organic matter. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost, decayed leaves, dry grass clippings, or old manure to the soil when you dig or till a new bed. If you decide not to dig or are working with an established bed, leave the organic matter on the surface where it will eventually rot into humus. Earthworms will do most of the work of mixing humus in with the subsoil.

4. Plant Your Picks: An easy method for starting your garden is to buy young plants, called set plants or transplants. Dig holes in your prepared bed based on tag instructions. Remove plants from the container by pushing up from the bottom. If the roots have grown into a big ball (a condition known as being root-bound), use a fork or your fingers to untangle some outer roots before setting it into the hole. Pat soil into place around the roots, then soak the soil with water.

5. Keep it up: Your garden is beginning to grow. Help it reach its full potential by keeping up with garden chores. Water the plants. Pull weeds before they get big. Get ridd of dead, dying, and diseased vegetation. Banish destructive insects by picking them off the plant and dropping them into a bucket of sudsy water (e.g., tomato hornworms), hosing them off, or spraying on an insecticidal soap purchased at a garden center.

How to install outdoor garden lights

Remember to switch off the mains power at the consumer unit.

Before starting any electrical work, stay safe – get yourself a socket tester (or voltage tester for lighting circuits). They confirm whether circuits are dead and safe to work on. Check all finished work with a socket tester (or voltage tester for lighting circuits) before using.

For your safety, these products must be installed in accordance with local Building Regulations. If in any doubt, or where required by the law, consult a competent person who is registered with an electrical certification scheme.

There are three types of outdoor lighting:

Low-voltage landscape lights operate at 12 volts, are safe to work with, energy efficient and easy to install and move. To install this type of system, simply follow the instructions that come with your kit. LED landscape lights also fall into this category.
Solar landscape lights require no wiring and must be installed in full sun to provide illumination at night.
Line-voltage lighting operates at 120 volts, the same voltage as the appliances in your home. Installing these fixtures outdoors requires the use of conduit to protect the wires and an electrical junction box, often included with a fixture, which must be hardwired into your electrical system.

If you want to install solar-powered lighting, make sure your layour gives enought solar light to the panels, so that all of them light strongly

Using a tape measure and a string or chalk line, create a layout line along the pathway. Be sure your line is no more than 6 inches from the edge of the path.
Mark the location of each light fixture along the layout line with landscape paint.
For each light, remove the cover tag over the solar battery, then put the top of the light back together, if necessary.
Assemble the lights according to instructions. Usually, this requires placing the light top into the support and then attaching the ground stake to the bottom of the support.
Expose the solar lights to full sun for 12 to 14 hours before starting installation. This will allow the battery to fully charge and uncover any lights that may be defective before you install them.