The most impressive homes today not only boast of a landscaped lawn but have vegetable and fruit gardens as well. Flowering plants can be challenging to grow, but edible ones can be doubly difficult.

In addition, families that can get their produce from their own garden are definitely enviable since they have access to fresh, tasty vegetables and fruits when they are in season. Plus, they know for sure that they are safe and healthy to eat since they did not use harmful pesticides in growing them.

If you want to start a vegetable garden in your home (and throw in some fruits, too, if possible), here are some tips you can follow:

Create a planting plan.

Since you’re just starting a garden, come up with a plan first and find out which plants will work best for you and your area. Take into consideration the type of soil you have, its pH level, typical weather condition, etc. Seasoned gardeners, however, say that it is best to start with seasonal planting. You can use a gardening calendar specific to your area to work out which vegetables and fruits grow in which months, and when to harvest. Succession planting, or the practice of staggering the sowing of seeds, will also help ensure that you have a continuous supply of produce instead of being overwhelmed by their number when it’s time to harvest them.

Plant cost-effective vegetables and fruits.

Aim to grow garden plants that you can get the most out of. For instance, did you know that your garden can hold all the ingredients you need for a fresh salad?

You can start by planting tomatoes – they grow nearly anywhere in Australia. If you’re looking for a particular kind to plant, opt for cherry tomatoes since they grow quicker than the larger varieties — that means that there is less time for them to be eaten by bugs. They also have longer yields as well.

Other green leafy vegetables you can include in your salad are lettuce, perpetual spinach, and silver beet. Again, go for heirloom varieties because they tend to have longer yields, maximising your harvest. Also, they are not too resource-intensive (they require less water, sunlight, etc.) to grow.

In addition, when choosing which seeds to buy, choose plants that give multiple crops and are high-yielding. Beans are perfect examples of this. Consider planting crops that grow quickly such as radish, lettuce, and spinach since you can turn over what you’re growing very quickly.

Of course, it is best to select vegetables and fruits that you like to eat. You can preserve or store them and eat them at your pleasure.

Practise organic pest control.

Whether you have a large or small garden space, you can make the most out of it with the use of companion planting. This means growing complementary plants beside or near each other to act as natural pest control.

For starters, gardening experts say that planting tomatoes and basil together can help protect the tomatoes since the basil’s powerful scent repels aphids. Growing onions and carrots beside each other can boost the productivity of the soil beds because the roots of both plants will use the nutrients found at different soil levels. The pungent smell of onions is said to confuse pests drawn to carrots as well.

Lastly, to deal with stubborn garden pests, use homemade organic pesticides, such as ground chilli and garlic or coffee mixed with soap water.

Landscaping can be one of the most expensive investments you can make in your home. However, it is one of the most valuable outlays you can make. When you hire professional landscapers to design your lawn, you’ll have an outdoor space that is attractive and functional – one that can impress others and increase the market value of your property.

When hiring a landscaping company, there is no getting around the fact that the most important factor you will base your final decision on would be the contractor’s rates. In general, one of the key factors that affect the cost of landscaping is the list of specific tasks needed for your lawn or project.

The common services that landscapers will provide, which can increase the total price of your project, include:

• Landscape design. One of the benefits you can enjoy when you hire a professional landscaper is that you won’t have to spend time coming up with a good and viable landscape design for your property. However, you will have to expect to pay a minimal amount for this additional service. The price for a landscape design will also take into account the size of your garden and the complexity of the design you want.
• This service pertains to all the horticultural aspects or requirements of your landscape. Professional landscapers will select plant varieties ideal for your project and place them in the right spots so that they will grow and thrive.
• Also known as landscape construction, most standard landscaping works include some sort of hard paving. You will also have to shell out some extra cash if you really want to enhance your garden’s hardscaping. This includes adding a deck, having a water feature and pergola installed, and other functional and appealing structures that will add to the total cost of your project.

Other factors that also have significant effects on the total cost of a landscaping project include the amount of labour and the cost of materials required for the project. And basically, the more plants, rocks, and structures you want, the more expensive your project will be.

In New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory, the current going rate for a typical landscaping project is approximately $50 to $75 per hour. In Queensland and South Australia, charges will be lower since professional landscapers commonly charge $45 per hour, on average, for their services.

To make sure you will get all your money’s worth, make sure your professional landscaper is licensed, insured, and comes recommended by their clients. You can also request for a quote first for your project and get details about what they will or will not cover before hiring a particular company.

In residential properties, front yards traditionally had two main purposes: to provide and highlight the entrance to your home and to create kerb appeal. But today, in addition to these two benefits, a well-designed landscape can now also improve the appeal of your home by accentuating or complementing its architecture.

To enjoy these benefits for your front yard’s landscape, here are some useful tips and ideas:

Consider the important elements that make for a good entryway design.

These three elements are vehicle circulation and parking, creating a beckoning walkway to your door, and accenting the front entry.

For driveways, the most commonly used materials today are concrete, exposed aggregate and bluestone since they durable, long-lasting, and easy to maintain.

For an appealing walkway, consider using pavers to line pathways and have them interposed with round stones (a popular landscape design today). You can also make sure your front entry complements your landscape by having it painted in the bright colours and putting some plants and flowers on it or close by.

Have a terraced garden.

Whether you have a small front yard or a huge one, it will benefit you greatly if it features some terraced plants since it will add texture to your lawn. Of course, you will have more spaces to use for planting.

When choosing your plants for your terraced planters, make sure they are colourful and bright, they have contrasting form and texture, and they are easy to maintain. Some examples of low-maintenance plants that you can consider (because they grow relatively anywhere in Australia) are spotted Emu bush and Kangaroo paw.

Fill your yard with flowers.

The best landscaped yards always find a balance by incorporating the right types of plants. However, planting colourful bloomers is always a sure-fire way to make your yard feel more welcoming and appealing. Go for bold, bright hues to make a bigger impact even if you don’t have a lot of space.

The NSW Christmas bush is one of the species of bright flowering plants that you should have in your home since they can grow anywhere along Australia’s East Cost. Albery’s Red is a common variety of this plant and blooms from early November up until Christmastime.

Darwinia oldfieldii also showcases a unique beauty with its compact red flowers and are ideal in the garden or a pot.

Everlasting daisies can be found anywhere in Australia and they are famous for their pink, lemon, gold, and white flowers. They are easy to grow as well.

Have a designated area for entertaining guests.

Lastly, you can give your front yard a more welcoming feel by having a patio on it. It is the perfect place to welcome and entertain guests. You can also decorate your patio with a skirt of flowers or a small hedge to help it look more intimate and enclosed.

You also have the option to cultivate the Happy Wanderer, a plant that has a variety of colourful flowers in purple, pink, or mauve, on the posts of your porch or near the walls. This plant suits most parts of Australia and often flowers throughout winter and spring.

If you put some thought and work into landscaping your front yard, you will have one that boosts both the appeal of your property and its market value.

Engaging children in activities all around the house is always a fun and rewarding way to spend the time. Not only will the whole family learn new things about their home, but there will also be plenty of opportunities for the children to exert their energy and demonstrate their creativity toward making simple items and performing easy tasks that could prove to be useful to the household.

The garden is one of the best places to start projects for the children to immerse themselves in. But while planting seeds and tending to flowers, vegetables and trees are common activities, there’s no reason to limit their projects to these. There’s always the option of making crafts, especially during the winter — it’s the best time to prepare simple supplies or accessories that can be used in the garden once spring rolls around.

Eager to get started? Here are some winter garden craft ideas for kids (and for parents) that everyone will be sure to enjoy.

Creating plant labels

If you’ve got seeds already sown, you’ll need a way to identify which plots contain which seeds. All you need are some popsicle sticks and markers or paint to write out the plant names and perhaps assign a specific colour for each plant.

Decorate pots and planters

Plants can thrive just as well in pots and planters as on the ground itself, and you can add a pretty touch to the garden by decorating them. Let the kids doodle on them or color them all over in their favourite colours.

Build a scarecrow

Vegetable gardens are highly attractive to birds, and you would want to keep them away to prevent damage to your crops — without harming the birds, of course. A scarecrow is a safe solution, and the kids will have fun making it, too. Just tie two garden stakes together to form a cross, surround them with straw stuffing, and dress it up with an old shirt, pants and a hat. Add details like buttons for eyes to make it look more lifelike (to the birds).

Create alternative planters

Many items that can securely hold soil can serve as planters for a garden. You and the kids can make pots from old newspapers moulded into pots, plastic soda bottles, or even gumboots.

Make a grass head

Help the kids draw faces on hard boiled eggs and scoop out their contents. The empty shells can now be filled with damp cotton wool and some grass seed. Remember to keep the wool moist; in two weeks, the eggs will have a healthy head of green grass “hair.”

If you and your family are too busy to take care of the garden chores, don’t hesitate to call in the professionals. Jim’s Mowing offer free no obligation quotes, just call on 0800 454 654 or book online.