People who have backyards tend to take a great amount of time deciding what to do with all the extra space in their yards. One good investment is to cultivate a backyard garden. However, deciding on what to grow in it is another decision. This article will help you choose what type of garden to grow in your backyard.
Flower Garden. Proponents of flower gardens argue that flowers make their backyard more aesthetically valuable. A well planned and organized flower garden will make any backyard filled with intense colors and scents.
Flower gardens will easily attract pollinators such as butterflies, bees and birds which will add to the natural beauty of your backyard. When it is well-planned, you can have a backyard that is blooming with flowers throughout the year. Having a flower garden will also ensure that flower vases inside your home are always filled with beautiful flowers that can make any day, even the gloomy days, bright.
Some flowers such as lavender and camomile can produce oils that have aroma therapeutic properties. Scents of lavender and camomile flowers are said to soothe and calm the nerves. Other plants, such as roses, are also used for their oils and are incorporated in baths.
Vegetable Garden. While some gardeners like to fill their backyards with flowers, others prefer to fill them with vegetables. Growing your own vegetable garden in your backyard can be a delicious endeavour because of the following benefits:
Taste. Freshly picked vegetables especially those that are free from synthetic pesticides taste simply wonderful and taste more delicious than those purchased in a grocery store. When you grow your own vegetables, you can control the amount of pesticides that you put into them.
Cost. Although there is some initial expense in starting your own backyard vegetable garden, the vegetables you get from your garden is absolutely free. Most people will agree that you can significantly reduce you weekly grocery costs by growing and eating your own vegetables. Excess vegetables from you harvest can even add to your savings if you sell them to your neighbours.
Flower and Vegetable Garden.
Although some people prefer a vegetable garden than a flower garden for their backyard and vice versa; there is no rule that says that you can't have both flowers and vegetables in your garden. As a matter of fact, planting some flowers and herbs within a vegetable garden can be very beneficial to your backyard. Flowers and herbs not only make your backyard vegetable garden more aesthetically attractive; it also protects your vegetables from different harmful insect pests. The mixing of herbs and flowers will eventually make your vegetable garden more productive through the following:
For Attracting Pollinators. Vegetables do not have the most attractive flowers to attract birds, bees and butterflies. To make sure that these pollinators find your vegetable plants, have flowers with high nectar content planted along side flowering vegetables. This will attract more pollinators that will pollinate both the flowers and the vegetables in your backyard garden. Flowers that have shades of yellow, blue or white such as sunflowers, cosmos and zinnias are ideal for attracting pollinators.
For Attracting Beneficial Insects. If you are like most people nowadays, you will want to opt for organic foods. This means that you want foods that are free from synthetic pesticides. Attracting beneficial insects which kill insect pests is a more scientific and organic approach to getting rid of the harmful ones. Insects such as ladybugs, praying mantis, and parasitic wasps are beneficial insects that are attracted to certain flowers and herbs such as parsley and flowers from the aster family.
Serve as a Trap Crop. When an insect pest infestation cannot be controlled, one way of not losing productivity is by offering it a sacrificial crop or a trap crop. Trap crops are usually planted surrounding the vegetable crop that you are protecting. Pests will be more attracted to the trap crop and will therefore congregate on it. Once the trap crop is infested with pests, they are then pulled out and disposed of including the pests. Flowering plants such as Nicotiana is a good trap crop for aphids.
Whether it be a vegetable garden, flower garden or a combination of both, having your own backyard garden will be beneficial to you and your family. Just having a garden to tend to even during the weekends will give the benefits of exercise. Tending a garden especially the weeding and cultivating part is a good way to keep fit.
