Less is More in Gardens Too
by Monica Resinger

My flowerbeds weren't giving me the look I wanted. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was I didn't like. I planted, planted and planted more hoping to get that English cottage garden look. 

I had always hoped to have beautiful flowerbeds like the ones you see in magazines, but my gardens didn't turn out that way. To be honest, I enjoyed them more when I first put them in eight years ago. This  should have given me a clue to what was wrong, but it still took me a while to figure it out. 

What did my flowerbeds look like? A simple description for it is like a wild jungle. I have always looked and studied over pictures in books and magazines and have always thought more was better. I crowded plants in wherever there was room thinking this would give me that English cottage garden look. Well, maybe at first this worked because the plants were small. Now, the plants are large and overcrowded. It just doesn't look good; in fact, it looks like a mess. 

Lately, I have noticed that the gardens I'm attracted to are ones where the soil is visible. I'm not sure if it's being able to see the soil or individual plants that I find most pleasing, but I do know these gardens look much better than my tangled jungle. I finally figured out why my flowerbeds didn't look good! They're too crowded. I know, it's so simple. 

So I began pruning, thinning out, dividing and weeding and there's a drastic improvement. The plants look healthier which I'm sure is from being able to get water, nutrients and oxygen from the soil that was once too crowded to get anything from. You can see the beauty of each individual plant rather than seeing a mixed up jumble of leaves and flowers. Each plant is highlighting the others rather than getting lost in a jungle. 

Now I'm not saying there should be five feet between each plant, I'm simply saying there should be a little room for the plants to show themselves off and for the soil to be visible. You can either go by recommended spacing requirements found with purchased plants or in gardening books, or you can simply space the plants so they barely touch each other, if at all. Keep in mind that perennials will come back bigger each year, so give them a little room to grow. 

If your gardens are looking like a jungle, here's some tips to get them back in shape. Get a pair of clippers, a pair of gardening gloves, a shovel, a wheelbarrow and a rake. Take a look at each plant and the ground in the garden and analyze what needs to be done. Clip any dead branches off shrubs and prune them to a desirable shape. Divide and re-plant any large perennials. Cut off any dead flowers or foliage off all plants. Lightly rake dead leaves  or debris covering the soil. Weed. If one plant is growing in front of another so you can't see the other, prune the first plant down so you can see the other plant. Finally, give the garden a healthy dose of water. Now sit back with a glass of iced tea and enjoy the clean, healthy look of your new garden. 

So, the moral of the story is `less is more.... in gardens too.' 

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