The garden is any plant parent’s most prized possession. It takes years of hard work to cultivate different varieties of plants—not to mention hundreds of dollars in acquiring plant species. This is why protecting the garden must happen at all costs, and there are risks around the house.
Heavy rain can drop on the garden bed, and with so much intensity, it can displace the soil. Pets may be running around and munching the plants. Accidents can also happen, especially when you have guests who are unfamiliar with where the garden is. Fortunately, there are available solutions to avoid these untoward incidents that can cost the life of valued plants.
Install and Secure the Gutter
Gutters are beneficial to the foundation of the home. They prevent erosion and damage to doors, windows, and ceilings that can happen from heavy rains. This is because they keep water away from the house itself and transpose them straight to the ground.
Another benefit of gutters is how they protect the garden from accumulated raindrops coming from the roof. Since these loads are often heavy and intense, the soil from garden beds can splatter everywhere. As a result, plants slowly lose their soil, and it can affect their growth.
First, the roots will not have enough to cling to. Plants can be unrooted easily, as they struggle to stay upright because they cannot anchor properly. Second, the soil is where plants get nutrients and minerals. Third, the soil is responsible for retaining water. Hence, the depleting amount of soil deprives plants of their necessities.
Aside from installing a gutter, securing it is as important as having one. Debris can accumulate in the gutter, and as time passes, they can weigh it down. By the time heavy rain comes, the gutter gives up and falls right to the ground, squashing the rest of your plants. To prevent this from happening, ensure you have a secure gutter protection system that seals the gutter to the house, and it needs to be beyond tens and hundreds of screws.
Train Your Pet
Those who have experienced raising a puppy while keeping a garden have a huge chance of discovering a leaf that has been violently bitten off. Leaves would over leave a trail of chunks or remain attached to the plant except, this time, it has holes. Then, the worst-case scenario is having the entire plant overhauled from the soil.
Pets are adorable. They brighten anyone’s day, and they add meaning to their owner’s life. Even then, their cuteness shouldn’t overpower the fact that, as an owner, you have a responsibility to raise them healthy and disciplined. Part of this discipline is to train them not to eat plants. This responsibility is twofold: 1) some plants are poisonous to pets, and 2) plants need to survive.
Common houseplants, such as aloe, ZZ Plant, and Jade Plant, are not meant for the digestion of pets. They can induce vomiting, difficulty breathing, and—worst—death. Especially when you can’t keep an eye on them, training them to avoid munching on plants saves their lives—as well as the plants’. For obvious reasons, harshly pulling out plants and attacking them can bring them to a brink of no return.
Put up Garden Lights
People can accidentally step on plants when it’s dark. You’re lucky if the plant isn’t completely squished or taken off from its roots. When the plant is completely devastated, you—as a plant owner—is devastated as well because of another person’s honest mistake.
To prevent this from happening, adding garden lights is a long-term and readily available solution. There are solar-powered lights that anyone can easily stick into the soil and light up at night. They come in different shapes and sizes, too, so that you can choose what fits best for the garden and the appeal of the rest of the home.
You can spread out the lights or outline them along the garden bed. When you outline them, people will know where the garden bed starts and ends. This can also serve as a makeshift fence, assuming that people will avoid stepping on them or walking past the trail of lights.
These days, taking care of plants is more than just giving them their basic needs of sunlight, water, etc. They need full-on TLC. Because of this, taking these extra steps to make their lives free from danger is important. So, on the next home maintenance day, have the gutter checked and cleaned. When you get a new pet, train them to only play with their toys. Lastly, invest in garden lights, so people wouldn’t step on the garden.
