It’s no secret that gardening in January is tough. Whether you’re feeling the Christmas blues or only now coming around from your New Year’s party, wrapping up warm and putting on a brave face may feel like the very last thing you’d want to do.
However, the best way to overcome the challenge is to set some goals for the coming year. In this article, we’ll list some of our favourite gardening new year resolutions to make the adjustment period that bit easier.
From becoming more sustainable to trying new gardening techniques, let’s run through some New Year gardening resolutions.
Try Companion Planting
When gardening, it can be tempting to just place things next to each other purely based on looks. While this certainly does wonders for your aesthetics, there are some benefits to being logical with your plant placement.
For example, did you know that planting onions next to or near strawberries helps prevent them from developing mould? It’s not the most common of knowledge, but little things like this can certainly help your garden thrive for much longer than normal.
There will be some circumstances where you may have to sacrifice looks, but for the most part, companion planting is an effective method of developing a harmonious garden that supports itself as much as you support it.
Join a Local Gardening Club
If your gardening is starting to make you feel like a lone wolf, you might want to consider reaching out to and joining a local gardening society or club.
Filled with like-minded individuals who love their gardens, gardening clubs can help you develop friendships, learn new techniques, and even enter competitions from time to time. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the one parting ways with the knowledge you’ve learned from our various outdoor inspiration pieces!
Conduct a Tool Overhaul
We all have that one super old tool that we couldn’t live without. Be it an ancient shovel or a dying pair of shears, letting go of gardening tools that technically still work is a difficult procedure. This year, we strongly urge you to consider making that first jump towards a new toolkit.
This doesn’t have to involve every single piece of your gardening arsenal, but maybe you could just focus on things that are consistently causing problems. Removing nails with rusty hammers, digging holes with splinter-clad shovels, these frustrations can slowly build up and make gardening much less enjoyable.
So go on, treat yourself. Future you will be very thankful.
Become a Composting Aficionado
Gardening comes with all sorts of costs. One of the most prominent of them is compost. Compost is an essential tool for gardening. It helps create a suitable environment for plants to grow, while also feeding worms and assisting with biological growth deep within soil.
Unfortunately, buying compost all the time is a costly endeavour. Not only must you venture to your local garden centre, locate the right compost, and awkwardly transport it home, but these expenditures can be almost completely negated at home.
Composting simply refers to the process of creating your own compost. Doing so cuts back on the amount of waste your household produces by re-using it in a compost pile. Suitable ingredients include vegetable peelings, fruit waste, teabags and even grass cuttings. Starting the whole process is relatively simple. All you need is a dedicated area within your garden that you use solely for composting. One way of simplifying this even further is to use a large receptacle such as a water butt.
Start Water Conservation
With energy and utility bills rising, it seems a lot of UK residents have taken things into their own hands this year.
One major way that your garden can help with this is through water conservation. Water butts of varying sizes can be sourced from your local supermarket or DIY shop and used to replace your water supply for all sorts of outdoor tasks like watering plants and cleaning driveways. You can even go one step further by integrating a fully-fledged reservoir into your home’s mains supply to be used throughout the home. However, these do require some professional installation and frequent maintenance to avoid bacterial growth.
Bring the Outdoors, In
Let’s not forget, gardening doesn’t happen exclusively in the garden. House plants are a common part of modern interior design that help add a touch of life to our rooms.
If you’re yet to join in on this trend, consider this your signal to get involved. As well as their visual benefits, indoor plants have been shown to have stress relieving properties, while also improving the air quality of your home without expensive purifiers.
Build Your Dream Garden This Year
Making New Year’s resolutions is a great way for gardeners to brush up on their skills, revamp tool kits and, most importantly, experiment. Are you focusing on gardening this year? Perhaps some new garden furniture is needed to give you the inspiration you need. Find high-quality, durable pieces that are built to last at Kettler.
With these resolutions, you can look forward to a year filled with the joys of gardening like you’ve never known.
