Great Gardens Begin with Great Soil

Every great garden begins with great soil. These are a few tips to make your garden the envy of the neighborhood.

As much as you might love to smell the roses in your garden, try to resist getting too close. Its best to avoid walking on the soil in established gardens, because every step compacts the soil, and compaction makes it difficult for roots to grow. Create paths between rows or in beds, or place a board on the soil adjacent to areas where you work to distribute your weight more evenly over the soil. Also, avoid working when the soil is wet. Otherwise, when it dries, you'll wind up with big clumps of hard-packed soil.

The next step, is to mulch.
- Cover garden beds with a layer of mulch to keep weeds down and reduce the need for water
- For a natural looking garden, use dark colored organic mulches made of bark or compost
- Mulch new plants with straw or chopped leaves after planting in the fall to prevent root damage during the winter
- Add a thick layer of mulch and let it rot to improve the soil of existing gardens
- In winter, mulch evergreen perennials and ground covers with evergreen boughs to protect them from winter burn

Don't let difficult soil get you down. With a little hard work -- and the proper soil amendments -- you, too, can have a garden bursting with your favorite flowers

Finally, Water properly. Having good drainage is important in having a lasting garden.

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