Like many other people, you’ve probably turned to gardening as a distraction from pandemic anxiety. But since the COVID-19 virus continues to abound, you’re probably wondering what else you can do to your garden. Maybe you’ve grown bored with how your garden looks and want to inject it with fresh ideas.
Or maybe you’re just itching for something to do to distract yourself. Luckily, there’s a surplus of gardening ideas out there. We’ve compiled the best ones to inspire and motivate you to make the most out of your home’s green spaces.
Try topiary
This is the practice of trimming and training plants to form specific shapes and forms. You’ve seen these in grand homes in movies or magazines — great hedges, mazes, or greenery cut into the complex shapes of animals or humans. The famed fictional hairdresser and hairstylist Edward Scissorhands dabbled in topiary in the hit 1990 film. But topiary can also be done in simpler ways — perhaps you have them in your garden already. Its most popular forms include spiral, orb, and teardrop shapes. Perhaps there are trees or bushes in your yard you can trim to an orb shape that’s reminiscent of the ones in Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.
Whatever shape you choose, topiary is a great way to let your garden do the talking. These displays, especially more unusual ones, are a good icebreaker or topic of conversation for your guests and neighbors.
Build a vertical garden
A vertical garden is also known as a green wall or living wall. This is a good idea if you want to add more greenery to a small space. Installing a vertical garden also has the added benefit of cooling the surrounding air temperature, which can be of great help during the hot summer months. It can also positively impact your mood and mental well-being.
You can have a living wall at home with the use of a trellis. Secure planters onto it, so they can hang or let nature run its course on a wall-climbing vine. You can also use a pallet to arrange potted plants vertically.
Recycle something into a planter
If the environmental benefits of recycling haven’t yet convinced you to practice it, perhaps adding some fun to your garden will. You can recycle just about anything that has space to hold your plants into a planter. Bottles, cans, old shoes, mason jars are some of the more common ideas. You can use teacups or teapots as a home for your succulents. If you have an old car tire lying around, you can paint it, stuff it with blossoms and greenery, and hang it up.
Go low maintenance
If you’re not a natural at gardening, you can still have a good-looking garden if you choose the right plants to fill it with. Do your research on plants that can easily thrive in your region. You can also choose to invest in plants that don’t need much water.
Don’t be ashamed to buy one or two faux plants, especially for your indoors. It’s both a relief and a joy to have at least one plant that will never die.
Adorn your birdbath
If you’re the type to want to look after these winged creatures in some way, why not do it in style? Decorate your birdbath with beautiful blooms that will have birds singing your praises. Research shows that looking after birds benefits your mental health. The sight and sound of them can reduce your levels of stress and depression. Mary Poppins was onto something!
Transform your tree stump
Have an old tree stump in your yard? Make something out of it. Hollow out the center to turn the stump into a planter for herbs or flowers. A fun way to involve your kids in this project would be to build a fairy garden on the tree stump. A fairy garden is a miniature garden with miniature decorations, furniture, and houses. You can use a tree stump, a planter, a birdbath, or even a teacup.
You can also have your tree stump ground and put the remains in your compost pile.
If you feel like you’ve exhausted all your gardening ideas during the lockdown, think again. There may be an old shoe, car tire, an unused birdbath, or a blank wall waiting to be transformed into a garden installation that’s as good as new.
