container gardening – MarvinGardensUSA

Think Like a Landscaper When Planning Your Garden

One of the best tricks for planning you garden like a professional landscaper is to work around a focal point. This component of your design should be capable of drawing a lot of interest and attention from guests all by itself. However, by tying this in with other elements of the garden, a truly cohesive space can be achieved.

garden design — Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

Your focal point can be a naturally occurring element, such as a large boulder or tree, or a strategically placed item, such as a building or sculpture. Larger gardens may employ more than one focal point, but this will detract value from a garden too small to handle it, appearing cluttered.

It’s important to employ a strong sense of contrast when developing your focal point and the rest of the garden. Although many aspects of the garden can be included in this venture, such as color, accounting for the texture of your garden gives one of the most subtle yet impactful impressions. Rhythm and repetition of design motifs are also very effective.

For more help planning your garden, please contact us at Marvin Gardens today!

Create a Garden Design That’s Great for Daydreaming and Meditation

When it comes to designing your garden, you may already have particular tastes, one design you may want to think about is a space that promotes meditation and philosophy. Having a beautiful space to meditate can bring peace and it can benefit your health.

container gardening — Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

Here are some ideas you may want to consider adding to your garden design.

Adding shapes such as spheres to your garden can bring a sense of structure and peace while also providing texture.
Balance is key when promoting peace in your garden. This does not have to mean mirror imaging; asymmetrical balance can also add calm.
Gardens that are used for meditation often use greenery and foliage instead of flowers. This is thought to provide fewer distractions.
Well-placed seating such as a bench gazing out over the garden can provide a place to stop, breathe, and take in the beauty.
Plants that provide texture can be a great place to draw the eye, also drawing the mind to stop and think.

If you are interested in different types of garden design and finding the right design to suit your needs, contact us at Marvin Gardens.

Great Reasons to Take Another Look at Your Front Lawn

The front lawn is the first thing people see of your home, so they will already have a first impression formed even before they step into the front door. You therefore have to make sure that the front lawn is always on top condition — you’ll never know who may drop by.

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Aside from keeping the front lawn clean, you can also update it to increase your home’s curb appeal. Nowadays, this is an easier thing to do because of the many options for designing an outdoor space that are available to homeowners.

But how can you tell if your front lawn needs an upgrade? Here are some telltale signs:

The front entryway isn’t highlighted enough to be prominent.
It’s confusing to navigate a vehicle up or down the driveway.
Views from outside aren’t blocked, resulting in a lack of privacy.
The walkway to the front door doesn’t look welcoming.
Your maintenance and watering expenses are higher than you’d want them to be.

If your front lawn exhibits these signs, then allow us at Marvin Gardens to come to its rescue. We have an extensive collection of garden accessories to liven up your front lawn. Contact us for more details.

If You Want to Garden, Just Get Started

Even if you think you have a brown thumb, you shouldn’t give up on the idea of having a garden. Think of any previous missteps as learning experiences and continue your exploration and experimentation of gardening until you found your niche. Now is the ideal time for planning your garden and getting a jump-start on spring!

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Start Small

Going overboard by buying multiple plants and vegetables is easy when you’re eager to take advantage of spring. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with too many projects, though, so start small and focus on one thing at a time. Plant a favorite vegetable or some herbs and once those sprout, branch out to other greens.

Fit Your Space & Style

Planning a garden is feasible even if your property isn’t very big. Keep plants confined via a container garden or choose one specific area to plant. If you’re not an expert gardener, having things closer together makes it less likely plants will suffer from lack of attention.

Every Sprout Counts

Celebrate every new plant sprout as a victory and take heart that your gardening efforts are worthwhile.

For more helpful tips on planning your garden, contact our experts at Marvin Gardens today!

Maximize the Appearance of Your Garden With These Tricks

If you love gardening but don’t have much space, you can still have a great garden. With creative visual planting, your garden can look larger than it really is. Here are some helpful garden design ideas to help you create the illusion of a spacious garden.

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Plant larger plants near the front of your garden and smaller plants at the back. This will give a two-dimensional illusion of depth that will make your garden area feel larger.

Select tall trees with slender trunks that will create height in your garden. Many arborvitae, juniper and Leyland cypress trees are fast growing and provide good height without width.

Plants with large leaves and coarse textures create strong contrast. Plant them towards the front of your garden with finer-textured plants towards the back to create the illusion of more space.

Color creates strong visual interest. Strong, warm colors like red, orange, yellow and brown expand and appear closer. Soft, cool colors like green, blue, lilac and pink recede and appear further away. To create depth in your garden, plant warm colors near the front and cool colors near the back.

For more garden design ideas and gardening advice, contact us at Marvin Gardens.

Creative Ways to Bring Whimsy to Your Garden

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Even if you take good care of your garden, you may still find it’s lacking something. If you look out at your garden and feel like it’s somewhat uninspired, then why not add a few whimsical elements in order to give it a more unique look? The following are a few garden design ideas that we recommend:

Footbridge – Do you have a tiny creek that runs through your backyard? Build a small footbridge over it – even if you can simply step over the water! A foot bridge will help add a huge amount of charm to your garden.

Add contrast – If your garden seems to be just varying shades of green, then add some contrast to it by planting a few stunning red Japanese maples or red plum trees.

Add edging to your garden beds – Give your garden beds a more finished look by placing pavers that are turned edgewise to create a simple, yet elegant trim.

Wood steps – Build a small set of wooden steps into your sloped yard.

These are just a few ways to give your garden a more whimsical look. Contact us at Marvin Gardens for all your garden needs.

Tips to Keep Your Lawn Healthy No Matter the Season

If you want to keep the curb appeal of your property high, then you have to take care of your lawn all year round. The following are a few tips that you should be sure to follow in order to take care of your lawn during each season:

Spring – Fertilize your lawn during the spring in order to keep the lawn’s fresh green look. Look for fertilizer with a lot of nitrogen in order to encourage stronger growth. You’ll want to mow regularly as well.

Summer – Don’t use fertilizer unless rain is predicted; otherwise it will stress the lawn. Make sure to water it regularly to prevent it from drying out in the summer heat.

Fall – Fall is all about preparing your lawn for the harsh weather of winter. Fertilize your grass using a high potassium fertilizer to toughen it up for the winter months.

Winter – Avoid walking on the grass during the winter during more frosty periods. Remove debris from the lawn in order to prevent it from blocking sunlight from the grass.

Use these tips to care for your lawn throughout the year. For help designing an outdoor space, contact us at Marvin Gardens.

Design Tips to Create a Festive Holiday Container Garden

holiday planter decorating — Source: Marvin Gardens Facebook

Container gardens are a great way to add color to any space in your home but are especially useful in the winter months around the holidays. They can be kept growing through the most intemperate winter making them indispensable for people who love to have plants nearby all year-round.

Here are a few reasons you should use container plants at holiday time:

They’re Alive – It often seems that many decorators resort to twigs and dead branches to fill out their holiday décor. While that is a reasonable strategy, it does not bring the same vibrancy and aroma as live plants.
They Can Fill Window Boxes – Don’t plant them directly in the window box – just insert them in their containers and move them indoors when necessary.
They Move – These little biomes can be used over and over again. Place them inside in the dining room for your cocktail party one week and then move them outside for a night of entertainment under the stars.

For more information about these and other creative garden design ideas, please visit us at Marvin Gardens. You will find us online at MarvinGardensUSA.com or you can reach us directly at 203-544-2020.

Consider Adding Winter Branches to Your Container Gardens

One way to add dimension and enhance the seasonal look of your outdoor garden design is to add tree branches to your container gardens. This does not need to cost a lot of money, as you may be able to find suitable branches right outside your door.

One idea that works for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is to repurpose an interesting vintage or unique item as a planting container. All you need to do to make a quick container garden is to anchor some branches into the soil and perhaps add a colorful bow for an added festive touch.

For Thanksgiving, you could choose to put include redtwig dogwood or other colorful branches into your planter with assorted greenery. This garden design can easily follow through to Christmas by adding some white birch twigs and additional greenery, such as pine or fir branches and changing out the bow.

One whimsical look that you can create uses tall curly willow branches and pinecones. Insert the branches into a weathered pot and place the pinecones over the soil for a rustic look that will last until spring.

Get more ideas and advice from the garden design experts at Marvin Gardens.

Teach Your Kids to Garden With Bulbs

One way to get your kids involved in gardening is to start with planting bulbs. Planning your garden with bulbs is an easy way for kids to participate, regardless of their age. There is something for everyone to do and it makes for a great family activity.

Planting bulbs doesn’t require special tools, but you can make it easier by investing in a bulb planter, instead of using a ruler and garden trowel. This tool comes pre-marked with measurements that make it easy to dig the correct depth that is needed for each type of bulb.

Start by having your kids arrange the bulbs in the area where you will be planting them before digging holes. This will allow for adjustments if needed. Avoid planting bulbs too far apart because clumps of bulbs look much nicer than spindly spread out plants.

Dig the holes, plant the bulbs with the pointy end up, cover with dirt and you are done. When spring arrives, your kids will be excited to see the fruits of their labor, and this may help foster a lifelong interest in gardening.

Learn how Marvin Gardens can make planning your garden an enjoyable activity for your entire family.