Yes, it’s the height of summer and time to set aside gardening tasks…for a few weeks. You’ve planted, weeded, fertilized, and watered; enough! Well… maybe there’s a little something more you might want to do before you head off to the seashore or take the kids to summer camp.
Reorganize! Take an hour or two to do those small projects that will make your fall gardening so much easier. They won’t take long, but here are six suggestions for organizing for optimum ease of use!
First, take stock!
- Take an inventory of the stuff you’ve collected for gardening—those packets of unusual seeds for fall planting, the exotic flowerpot from the antique store, the hand tools. (You get my drift.)
- Begin by simply taking photos of the supplies piled under the porch and the tools by the back door.
- Organize all that you’ve found into categories: hand tools, watering tools, fertilizers, and so forth.
Second, map your plan of attack!
Have a bit of fun sketching a simple map of your garden. Note important shrubs and trees, those lovely, old plants that return every season. You might even color-code when portions of your garden bloom…if there is a pattern to your plantings.
- Mark the places or place you store your garden supplies and tools.
- Okay, are there things you want to change? Plants you want to move? How about those tools? Are they where you can use them conveniently? Are they discreetly or attractively stored when not in use?
- Mark places where you could store your garden supplies, perhaps places you can see now but haven’t thought of using before.
Third, look up!
One useful storage option is vertical!
- How about that 6’ stockade fence? It might be attractive to hang rakes, forks, and shovels. Be sure the fence is sturdy enough to bear their weight. Those hanging tools will easily show you if they need cleaning or a squirt of WD-40.
- And those small hand tools? What about hanging them in interesting pots or baskets from tree limbs? Be sure the pot or basket has easy drainage. You don’t want to be running out to take down your basket of trowels and garden shears every time it rains.
- A trellis can be a useful place to store gardening tools too. Large “S” hooks can be used to hang light-weight tools on the trellis. (Be careful not to overload the trellis if it’s not too sturdy.)
- Wall-planters can do more than hold flowers. They too can provide discrete storage for small bags of potting soil, fertilizer, and the sprayer of deer or bug repellent.
Fourth, think seasons!
Since it’s mid-summer, you have a pretty good idea of how your garden is producing and displaying during Spring and Summer (Fall and Winter too, for that matter.)
- Look back at your little map and the shade-in areas. Does this give you ideas for new plantings? If you have a gardener, ask him/her to help fill-in the blooming plan.
- It might be interesting to move some plants to another area of the garden, based on the way you’d like your garden to appear during all seasons.
- Set up a reminder calendar designating which plants are to be moved and when. It’s helpful to have your ideas written or drawn so you and/or your gardener are working toward the same goals for your garden’s appearance. You may have pictures on your phone of the garden in different seasons. They can be printed or pasted into your planting calendar.
Fifth, decluttering!
Okay, this is a tough one, at least it is for me. Decide to toss out or give away plants, tools, and supplies that you haven’t used in 12 months! (I have the same rule for my closet, and I struggle there too.) The temptation is to say, “Oh, it may be useful next year!” But, really, how likely is that? So…
- Go through those almost empty bags of potting soil and fertilizer. Toss the ones that are useless; pour the dried out potting soil into a flower bed. The fertilizer is a bit trickier. Do not dump it in the garden. Check the toxic chemicals recycling dates. Take that old fertilizer there.
- Gather up those packets of seeds you have been saving. Go through the packets. If they’re not too old or if the packaging and thus the seeds are not damaged, why not make a little pot of surprise sprouts. You might find some sweet plants lifting their leafy heads from your seed nursery.
- Here’s an easy one: Look over your tools. If they’re in bad shape, toss them. If they’re in fairly good condition, clean and oil them. Make a list of any tools that need to be replaced or added.
Sixth, bins, pegboards, and buckets!
Now, you’re ready to put away what’s left of tools, supplies, and seeds. This is the fun part. You can feel virtuous and in command of at least one thing in the garden. (I never feel in command of my garden! It’s definitely in charge.)
- Survey what’s left of supplies and tools. Sort by: what can HANG, what needs to be SEALED AWAY from moisture, what should be on hand every time you garden (garden gloves, your favorite garden shears)
- One option is a PEG BOARD. It allows you to hang items from hooks and also hang containers that will hold items. The only trick is placement of your peg board. If it will be exposed to the weather you’ll need to paint both sides to prevent the particleboard from warping and rotting.
- Those wonderfully varied plastic tubs with lids are great for storing materials that you want to keep dry. Also, they’re easy to label. You can list what’s in the tub and change the label as you move items in-and-out.
- Finally, there are those old familiar shoeboxes and classic small baskets. (I like baskets since they like a bit of moisture to remain pliant, and they’re pretty as well as functional.) You can use baskets or boxes for storing the seed packets that have “made the cut.”
So, you’ve dedicated a few hours, maybe even an entire day to reorganizing. You survey your garden shed or table and see everything in its place. It’s a great feeling. You’re off to the seashore or mountains knowing the garden tasks to come will be mastered more easily because you’re organized!
