How do you prepare a garden with trees, bushes, roses and even perennials for long absences?
Regardless if you live in a cold or a warm climate you have to take some action before you leave your beloved garden. This is the most important ones:
Prepare the garden for long absences.
Getting rid of so much weed that you can manage, cutting back overgrown shrubs and trees to protect weaker or slow growing plants against the more rapidly growing shrubs is your main goal. This will help you to retain the shape and the main features in your garden. Obviously cutting hedges, shrubs, trees and lawns also are a part of this point.
Thoroughly weeding the asparagus before I mulch them generously with weed-free garden soil.
This is how it looks after the weed is removed with so many roots as possible.
Generously mulch around the plant with weed-free garden soil. The soil will suppress weed, add some nutrients and give some protection against cold and heat.
Make sure your garden is thoroughly watered before you leave. Then the plants are well prepared and have some extra water reserves to start with for your long absence.
Make sure your garden is well watered before you leave for a long absence.
Mulch with weed-free soil around the plant roots. Bark mulch is also a valid alternative.
Under plants which are difficult to weed around as this agave I put wet newspapers or other paper/wet cardboard to preventing weed to sprout. I cover the paper with bark mulch.
Bark mulch around acanthus, yucca and canna.
Treatment for preventing slug damage, plant diseases, insects and chafe damage from larger animals can be a good investment.
Granular slug and snail killer can be a cheap investment keeping your plant from getting eaten in your absence.
This apple tree is gnawed is gnawed at by deer and moose. On the picture, I have painted a deer repellent consisting of dried blood meal and water.
Hydrangea with some blood meal which I splash on with a paint brush.
Plant your container plants in some free space in the ground or place all of them together in the shadow and ask a relative or a neighbor to frequently water them.
Place container plants in the shadow and ask someone to help you to water them.
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