You might be wondering what have I done wrong that made a bad result for your garden. Whether it’s the best time of day to water your plants or how to get rid of slugs effectively, there are plenty of questions most amateur or beginner gardeners have and plenty of mistakes they make along the way to achieving their perfect garden.

Bad watering style

Many people water their plants at the wrong time of the day. If you water in the heat of the day you will do two things. You will lose a lot of the moisture through evaporation, and the water droplets on foliage can act as magnifying glasses for the sun, scorching the leaves. Water your plants either first hour in the morning or last thing at night to retain the moisture and protect the delicate leaves.

Another common mistake is to spray the surface of the area and believe that It is enough. Often if you scrape away a little soil after someone has watered you will find it is dry only a few millimeters down. You must let it dig into the soil. If it does not absorb easily, a good trick is to poke the soil all over with a broom handle and fill the holes with water. This water will then go down deeper to the soil slowly.

Slug invasion

Many people don’t start dealing with slugs until it is too late.  Some Gardeners are using copper tape, grit, eggshells, beer traps. Start in early spring as the sun warms up if not, they will breed and breed and you will just be holding back the tide. Just make sure that they won’t multiply in the first place and you will have a much easier summer.

Planting a too-big tree in the front garden

Too often I see these humongous trees that have just taken over people’s front gardens.  Like Conifers, oak tree and Norway maples invade windows and door spaces, blocking all of the light to the front some houses.

There are number of smaller, more modest trees that are appropriate for your garden that look stunning and won’t dominate the space. Acer rubrum ‘Franksred’ and Weeping White Pine are another two beautiful options. And don’t forget the striking Japanese Maples and the Newport plum. Any of these options will bring tons of character without needing tons of space.

Scalping the lawn

A lot of gardeners make the mistake of cutting the lawn too short, otherwise known as “scalping” . This is especially a problem in a drought or dry spell. If you know a drought is approaching, let your grass stay a bit longer. That would hold the moisture better and stay much healthier. Also, remember again not to water it during the heat of the day or you may burn the blades.

Murdering your own house plants

Most house plants are killed by kindness. Too much generosity with water is the number one cause of killing your plants. You should never let your plants be in the water for a very long period of time. A great style is to put about an inch of water in your sink and then sit your plants in it. After an hour, once they have absorbed what they want you to take them out and put them back.

Poor weeding

Don’t use a hoe to chop the top off of a weed. There are some weeds like dandelions and thistles have a strong root structure under the soil. You must dig as much of the root up as you can, or use a systemic herbicide that will absorb down into the roots and kill them.

Digging clay soil when it’s wet

If you do this, you will break down the structure of the soil and damage it. Wait until clay is not saturated with water, and then mix it generously with well-rotted manure. Some like to add sand as well.