Gardens serve many purposes, from providing your family with food, to lending a sophisticated air to your home. Sadly, not everyone has a green thumb, but thanks to a few simple steps, even the most junior gardener can turn their space into a flowering paradise.

When planning a garden, it’s important to keep in mind your family’s needs, and the amount of maintenance you can provide or afford.

Firstly, choose the best location. Try to find an area that is sheltered from high winds or if you live near the coast, away from salt spray. If you cannot find such an area, there are plants for those conditions. Once you’ve decided on a location, it’s important to prepare the soil. Some soils are sandy and some clay, but do not let this set you back. Adding peat moss, manure, and/or humus to your soil, even if it is good, will improve it considerably. This will also help with water retention and will enrich your soil. Next, you need to think about which plants you would like to have in your garden. Nurseries get a lot of people asking for a plant that grows to a particular height, flowers year round and requires little or no maintenance. There is no such plant. All plants, trees and scrubs grow to different heights, and require maintenance.

It is best to educate yourself on the plant material available. Plants from nurseries are all potted, so it might be difficult to judge what it might look like at its full potential in the ground.

Apart from a description of what a plant will look like, go around the Island to look at other gardens. Take pictures of what you like, bring them in and ask if the nursery carries that particular plant. Books such as “Bermuda: A Gardener’s Guide” are also good sources of information and useful tips. After planting, maintenance is required and it’s always a good idea to water a plant once it has been transplanted. You will have to water more in the hotter, dryer months. Fertilise your plants, as you will get a strong healthy plant if you do. It’s important to have a schedule when you fertilise, as well, i.e. a water-soluble fertiliser may require feeding once every two weeks or once a month.

Prune your plants to keep them in check and at the desired height. Pruning also keeps your plants looking full and healthy.

Keep a look out for bugs. Holes in leaves can be an indication of a problem. A good plant/garden insect spray should help control this. If you are unsure of what the problem is, take a sample to the nursery to get advice on how to deal with it. Finally, control the weeds in your garden regularly. Put aside some time once every two weeks to weed it as failure to do so will lead to bigger problems and take away from all your other hard work. It is good for your health and peace of mind to be outside enjoying the fresh air. After all the effort you put into creating your garden, there is nothing more rewarding than enjoying the fruits of your labour.