Get Started!

By Ghost Gardener
Columbia, SC
April 12, 2013

Spring Fever is running rampant in the Midlands!  This common, seasonal affliction can drive the tidiest city-dwellers to dig in the dirt.   You see your personal landscape with a hopeful  eye and willing spirit to finally make some natural beauty happen in your yard. Ah, but even if your body is strong, you may be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, or you may be weakened by the indecision you face when strolling through a garden center or the pages of landscape mags.  Fear not! You can start out small and simple.  No need to fret about performing an extreme makeover in one season, or even one year, unless you have lots of ready cash, or a ready-made crew of laborers and years of gardening experience.    Dream big, yes, but start with a single project.

Don’t buy anything yet!   Take a day or two to decide what your best, most beneficial  outdoor project can be this spring.    Answer these five questions to give yourself a fresh focus on your yard, your needs, and your abilities: 

1. What part of the yard do I find myself spending the most time looking at year-round?  Consider where you most often enter and exit your home, or what you see when you first drive up, or where you sit to enjoy morning tea or an afternoon cocktail, or where your eyes naturally travel when you’re puttering around outside.  You want to enjoy the renovation results every day!
2. What annoys me the most about my outdoor space now?  Perhaps the jungle-like beds that surround your home cast your mood and your windows in perpetual gloom.  Perhaps there Is such a lack of softening shrubs around the base of your abode that it passes for a rental property—for undergrads.  Perhaps the basics are in place but there’s no punch of color or personality.  Perhaps you want some privacy from the neighbor’s chain-link fence and the backyard junk beyond that.
3. What’s my budget?  Seriously, you need to decide.  Landscaping can get pricey pretty quickly, and plants do NOT come with a guarantee.   Also, factor in how much grunt work is required as time = money.   If your project will need strong backs to dig a fire pit or create a new bed in a patch of compacted ground or clear out years of overgrowth in that stand of camellias, you will be in charge of directing this labor.  
4. How good am I at maintenance?  Plants require year-round attention on a weekly basis, and sometimes on a daily basis in extreme heat or drought.  If you travel often, or are prone to forgetfulness, or are a gardening novice, limit the number of plants you take on in this first go-round.   Focus more on art objects that can live outdoors, from found-object statuary to a funky grouping of containers to an old wrought-iron gate that livens up an exterior wall of your garage.  Garden art is not only found in garden centers!
5. Which outdoor area is my top priority to improve?  Your answers to questions 1-4 will help you decide, but if you’re having trouble, go with the project that gets you the most excited…not the one your mother thinks you should get to.  You’ll need passion to persevere!  So what if it’s only a few containers placed strategically in an existing bed—the point is to take the first step in your gardening journey!

I walked through this process with first-time homeowner Brooke, who has caught the bug and is ready to do anything  to improve her bland yard.   Brooke and her husband often find themselves chasing after their toddler in a side-yard area that is bordered by existing shrubs, the house, and the backyard fence, forming a natural outdoor room.  Her top priority is to have an outdoor play space for baby that doubles as a hang out for friends after baby’s bedtime.   The backyard belongs to two large dogs who are too excitable around children and guests, so that’s out.  The shady side yard already has a bench swing, so add a couple raised beds with storage benches for outdoor toys, designed/built by a carpenter friend, along with a fire pit encircled by an artistic pebble and wood block patio, and the space becomes cool haven by day and cozy spot by night.  Now that Brooke is focused, she can determine if her $400 budget is enough for materials and adjust if necessary.

Time to make spring fever work for you!

Ghost Gardener

Ghost Gardener is co-owner of Viva Verde Customized Gardening and has been helping clients and friends beautify their Columbia yards for 5 years.  She gained her fearlessness by volunteering with the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens horticulture team and has been learning from her mistakes, successes, and fellow gardeners ever since.  

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