The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Landscaping for the Do-It-Yourselfer

The philosophy that a man’s home is his castle and he is responsible for everything in it is being taken to new heights in today’s do-it-yourself society. Where before it would be considered perfectly acceptable to call a construction specialist when the winter snows punched a hole through the roof it is now considered to be an “unnecessary expense” and, regardless of experience or qualification, the man of the house is expected to climb up onto the roof and patch the hole.

The same philosophy has now been applied to the art of landscaping. Men and women with absolutely no knowledge of plants, mulch or land gradients are bravely grabbing their shovels and spades and venturing forth into the unknown to feed and nourish their young fledglings in the hope that they will grow to be tall, strong saplings. Sometimes these weekend warriors are successful in their endeavors, sometimes they are not.
What is it that separates the heros from the walking wounded in this battle with Mother Nature? It is knowledge. The successful gardener is one who has spent hours researching the type of flora that grow best in their particular climate, the type of soil needed for its nourishment and the extra care that each plant requires. They have studied and debated the virtues of different fertilizers with the neighborhood garden shop until they are blue in the face and have returned home victorious with hundreds of pounds of the highest grade-fertilizer. While the neighbors all laugh at what they consider their obsession these fanatics have the most brilliant gardens in the neighborhood.
The key to unlocking the secrets of a garden which has been handed down from gardener to gardener is to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible about every aspect of the growth and development of their young fauna and to remember that, much like the doctor, the teacher or the parent, the journey towards enlightenment for the prospective landscaper is never finished.