Photo courtesy Kent Ford Design Group Inc.
Quick garden fixes
Tips and tricks from the experts to keep your garden looking its best
**Edit, edit, edit.** Remove or donate to a friend all but two types of shrubs and perennials, then go out and purchase at least three more of each of your favourites and group them together. This is the best way to have a space that looks truly designed.
—*Kent Ford, Kent Ford Design Group Inc., Toronto*
**Edge the lawn**—that crisp line immediately makes the beds appear defined and groomed, no matter how disorderly the plantings. Clip unruly growth on trailing wall plants to give them a tidy shape.
—*Linda van Vulpen, Van Vulpen Design, Halifax*
**Installing a splash strip** (an 18- to 24-inch band of decorative pea gravel) between the house and the flower bed is a wonderful functional fix. It prevents dirt from splashing on the house after heavy rainfalls and allows for better access to clean windows and tend the plants.
—*Stuart Webster, Stuart Webster Design Inc., Montreal*
**Remove dead** flower heads and stake any flopping plants.
—*Linda van Vulpen, Van Vulpen Design, Halifax*
**Thin out and shape** your old overgrown shrubs to invigorate them and revitalize your garden. While you’re at it, consider removing anything that just isn’t inspiring. Don’t think of your garden as static.
—*Martin Wade, Martin Wade Landscape Architects Ltd., Toronto*
**Don’t forget** the vertical aspects of your garden: transform a bland wall by installing a quality trellis and climbing vine (climbing hydrangea, climbing rose or clematis, for example).
—*Stuart Webster, Stuart Webster Design Inc., Montreal*
**Shape garden beds** in a full radius, rather than haphazard wiggles, so they flow in a serpentine fashion.
—*James Dale, Earth Inc. Designed Landscapes, Toronto*
**Remove the overgrowth** or a large tree or shrub bed that impedes the view to the rest of the garden or blocks out the sun. This may sound cruel but sometimes it is necessary.
—*Philip Nortjé, PNLAdesign, Black Point, NS*
**Weeding and a fresh layer** of shredded mulch two inches deep on the beds do wonders for any garden.
—*Marius de Bruyn, Aesthetics + Design, Oakville, ON*
**Repeat random groupings** of a few choice plants to make your overall garden composition cohesive. Massing plants also makes it easier to identify weedy intruders.
—*Darren Schmahl, The Copper Leaf, Jordan, ON*
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