National Gardening Day on May 14th encourages gardeners and would-be gardeners to pick up a shovel, plant some seeds, and kick off a beautiful year of homegrown bounty. Have your housekeeper make note, as discovering these tips will encourage you to embrace the outdoors..

On so many levels, gardening is good for you: Studies have shown the activity can help boost mood and reduce stress and anxiety. Even if you’ve never grown a single flower or vegetable, it’s easier than you think. After all, you do the preliminary stuff and Mother Nature does the rest.

These few tips and tricks will surely have the neighbours inspired with awe at your newly flourishing garden.

Upon researching the techniques of gardening experts, the conclusion is usually the same.

When you first get a garden, just weed and mulch. Don’t even think about doing anything else.
Don’t feel that you have to spend a whole morning or a whole day in the garden. Try to do at least one little job every day in short bursts of 5, 10 and 15 minutes. This stops you getting overwhelmed.

This advice works well both for maintaining an established garden and for clearing an overgrown mess. However, if you’re clearing an overgrown mess, you’ll probably want to plant something temporary to give you colour an interest. Cosmos flower for a long time over the summer and they’re easy and cheap.

Nowadays there is much more tolerance of weeds and some plants that were considered weeds are now accepted – even enjoyed – in many gardens. That’s why ‘weed and mulch’ works so well. You will get to know which weeds you like and which you want to pull out. You’ll learn a lot about plants and start to develop your own personal style.

Good soil

How can you tell if your soil is good for growing a gorgeous garden? It should feel crumbly and be able to hold water when moist. That is, it’s not heavy clay or sandy, and a handful of moist soil can be squeezed into a ball. You can improve the soil by adding amendments such as compost to improve soil structure.

Opt for Flowers

Besides adding beauty to your garden, flowers provide habitat for our shrinking pollinator populations and attract butterflies and birds.

Your vegetable garden also needs bees and other beneficial insects to sip nectar and move pollen around so your plants will yield. Be sure to include easy-to-grow annuals such as marigolds, violas and nasturtiums.

Plants also help to remove pollutants from the air. During the process of photosynthesis, the flower's leaves absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen and planting flowers can help to hold soil in its proper place, reducing erosion and flooding.

Grow fruits and vegetables your family love

It’s really easy to get caught up in the beautiful seed catalogue and order many different types of seeds, but keep it simple the first year.

Do not grow anything you or your family won’t consume! By avoiding fruits and vegetables you don’t like to eat, you are reducing food wastage and also leaving room to grow the produce you will make use of.

This advice is imperative to growing a healthy, flourishing garden.

Here at Beauchamp Partners we are often advertising positions for Housekeeping . If you are considering hiring personal staff, then get in touch with us!

For more news, tips, and advice, make sure to visit our news page.