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WHAT'S NEW
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How to grow a gorgeous, work-free garden
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Shortcuts to making your yard a beautiful place to be -- and having time to enjoy it, too.
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By Beckie Fox
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Time-pressed homeowners needn't give up their dream of a lovely landscape. By choosing the right plants and following a few tips aimed at curtailing upkeep, you can have a beautiful garden and time left over to enjoy it.
• Magical mulch
Cut your watering and weeding time with a two- to three-inch layer of organic mulch (leaf mould, compost, shredded bark) applied over exposed soil in borders. Mulch preserves moisture, suppresses weeds and adds nutrients.
• Let go of grass
Losing the lawn to other ground covers, such as sweet woodruff, periwinkle or bugleweed, will not only cut mowing time but also beautify shady spots where grass struggles to grow.
• Send in the shrubs
A variety of spring-, summer- and fall-blooming shrubs provide colour throughout the year without the dividing, staking, deadheading and replanting perennials and annuals entail. Try: Japanese spireas, deutzias, weigelas and potentillas.
• Consolidate containers
Use fewer but larger containers. Big containers overflowing with plants look great and need watering less often.
• Healthy plants are happy plants
Plants are better equipped to survive weather stresses, pests and diseases if they like where they're growing. When choosing a new plant, make sure you can provide the right amount of sun, the type of soil it requires and the amount of water it needs. Otherwise, you'll constantly be nursing sickly plants.
• Hint: Paint pizzazz
Paint a wooden bench bright coral or fuchsia, or set off a swath of ground cover with a bright object, such as an unplanted urn.
Check out our top 10 home-grown edibles, perfect for growing in containers.
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