Spring in Calgary always feels like it’s full of possibilities. The long winter months means that Calgary homeowners have a long time to plan out their new gardening activities, so when the snow starts to melt, it feels like every evening and weekend is alive with potential to change and update your garden. In particular, spring is a great time to think about your growing spaces, mainly your flower pots and garden beds.
Unique Flower Pot Design Ideas
Flower pots represent a fantastic way to add pockets of colour throughout your garden, keep a handle on fast growing plants like mint, as well as helping you get creative if you’ve got limited garden space. Of course, you can stick with the simple terracotta and ceramic pots from your local garden centre, but if you want to take your garden to the next level, think about some of these unique flower pot design ideas:
- Repurpose old furniture – a fun way to add a centrepiece to your garden is to repurpose old or antique furniture as a raised bed. For example, an old chest of drawers makes for an unusual raised bed idea, while a chest freezer is a great way to keep old electronics out of the landfill.
- Think vertical – if you’re limited for space, or you want to grow a series of herbs near to your house for cooking purposes, then a vertical flower pot is the way forward. These structures take up the same footprint as a normal flower pot, but rise up to almost a metre tall. You fill the gaps with soil and plant your seedlings as normal. Watering a vertical flower pot is as easy as a normal pot, and you’ll have a variety of herbs ready to use all summer long.
- Use your head – finally, for a bit of fun, you should find a flower pot shaped like a head. Not only will a head shaped flower pot get visitors talking about your garden, but it adds a touch of surrealness to have plants double as hair in your garden.
How To Maintain Existing Garden Beds
Once your flower pots are taken care of, it’s time to think of your garden beds. The first thing you’ll want to do once the snowpack has melted is to do some spring garden bed maintenance. Initially, this will take the form of clearing out any debris from your garden bed, doing the customary weeding of the plants that started to grow before the snow came, and pruning back any shrubs or bushes that need a spring trim. Next, you’ll want to think about adding a layer of fresh compost and fertiliser to your garden beds to kick start their spring growth, and finish off the spring garden bed upkeep with a layer of mulch. For a better growing season, consider finding a mulch made from natural ingredients that includes a seaweed mix, while wood chips make for a natural protection that also gives a classic look to your garden.
How To Create A New Garden Bed
The final stage in your spring garden preparations is to finally dig up and create the new garden beds that you’ve been thinking about all winter long. The process to set up a new garden bed is the same whether you’re doing a raised bed or an in ground bed:
- Choose your location – just like with buying a house, the success of your new garden bed is all down to the location. The beauty of a raised bed is that you can put it just about anywhere, while a dug in bed means that you need find some new space with plenty of drainage and a good amount of sunshine. Sometimes it’s easier to simply expand your existing beds rather than trying to find a brand new location, and you can still put down an underground barrier to stop plants (and weeds) from travelling to your brand new bed.
- Layer the bed – even if you’re starting a brand new bed in the ground, it’s important to think about layering. It’s possible, of course, to simply use the soil that you dug up to fill the garden bed, but you should use the opportunity to provide a nutrient rich starter for your new plants. Start with some form of weed barrier (old cardboard or newspaper are great recycling options!) and then add layers of brown compost (leaves, manure, branches) and green compost (any vegetable or fruit scraps from your kitchen, coffee grounds, eggshells). Water every layer to provide a natural drinking source and keep going till you reach the top of the bed.
- Dress the top – finally, dressing your garden bed helps to protect all of your hard work that you put in. A top layer of mulch helps to trap and retain moisture when the spring rains come, as well as preventing that same water from evaporating too quickly in the summer heat. It also helps to prevent windborn weeds from taking root in your soil, as well as providing a deterrent against wild animals using your garden as their bathroom. It’s up to you whether you choose wood chips, a blended mulch with seaweed or dyed bark to add a pop of colour to your garden bed.
Get Some Professional Help
All of this spring garden bed and flower pot work takes time and effort, and it’s amazing how quickly time flies once spring arrives. If you’re in need of some help making your spring garden dreams a reality, or you just need some help visualising what your garden could look like, then you need to call Scoop Cut N Shovel’s team of garden bed experts. We offer a one time spring clean up blitz to kick start your garden, and then you can take advantage of our bespoke garden bed maintenance program. This is where you’ll work with one of our gardening professionals to generate new ideas to put some joy and beauty into your garden.