CACTUS GARDENING
Most of us think of landscaping as large gardens. Landscaping can be done for the home whether it is an independent home or an apartment. However, there may be a requirement for a spacious terrace or a large balcony for this.
CACTUS GARDEN
One way of executing landscaping in a small space is to try and have a cactus garden. A little exotic and easy to maintain, cacti can add visual interest to a home’s landscape. The first step in making a cactus garden is to scout a location for your garden. The optimal place for a cactus garden is a sloping area as this allows the garden bed to easily drain water out. You can still make a cactus garden if your yard is flat but this will involve more digging.
SIZE AND SHAPE OF PLANTS
After deciding where you want your cactus garden, decide the size and shape of the plants. From short and fat to long and tall, prickly or smooth, cacti can be red, green, silver, even black, and often produce pretty flowers. Before planning your garden, be sure to choose succulents best suited to the climate. Your local nursery will be able to help you best determine what types of cacti can be grown in your garden.
PLANTING PATTERN
You can plant the cacti in square, circle, rectangle, semicircle, or triangle patterns. Then mark the border of the garden onto the ground before you begin. This will make the digging much easier. Outline the base of the mound with small tiles, rocks or other items such as branches in order to mark the edges. Ensure that the plants receive sufficient sunlight. Wherever you feel that there might be a chance of getting hurt by the thorns, lace the particular space with ornamentals or flowering plants. The immediate inside perimeter of your garden can be well-decorated with tall plants as this also works to avoid trespassers. Choose the plants such that all of them have leaves in different shapes and sizes and come in varied hues of green.
MAINTENANCE
A cactus garden requires very little maintenance. Cacti are succulents and require very little watering. In fact, most do quite well with just the occasional rainfall that prevails in their natural, warmer environments. It is important that you allow your cactus garden to dry out completely before watering again. You are much more likely to kill your plants by over-watering than underwatering. Cacti can hurt, so keep pets and children out of your garden.
CACTUS IN POTS
Cacti look attractive when potted. These can be easily moved and placed in balconies or terraces during summers and indoors in verandahs or along windowsills during the harsh winter months.
You can use special cacti soil, but if you want to make your own it’s simple. Mix two parts regular pot soil, two parts sand, and one part gravel. To add colour to your garden spread a layer of natural or colourful rocks on top of the soil and around the plants. This will not only look striking but also help prevent weeds growing and encourage the dry conditions that cacti prefer.
