That’s how you Prepare your Garden for Vacation

Every year at the beginning of the summer holidays, the majority of Germans embark on a search for rest and relaxation in their well-deserved summer vacation. In most cases the destination is called sun, beach and sea. In the usual chaos of holiday preparation, however, an important point is regularly forgotten. The thoughts are already on vacation and about the local garden think the least! Mostly the shock is great and the recovery is far off when you come home and are greeted by overgrown flowerbeds full of withered summer flowers amidst lush lawns. In the worst case, you even have to lay a new lawn.

The ones who want to avoid such a scenario, should prepare their garden for the holiday. A reasonable holiday preparation is more than asking the neighbours to water the flowers once in a while.

Mow the Lawn short

Shortly before leaving for the holidays you should mow the lawns around the house again. Here it is advisable to set the lawnmower to the lowest cutting height. So the lawn can grow and regenerate in peace during the holiday season. Due to the low cut, the lawn grows a little slower for a short time, thus reducing your shocked expression when you return.

Trim the Flowers

Since summer flowers tend to reduce the production of blossoms when there are too many flowers withered, you should remove them before starting the journey. This allows the flower to form new buds while away, and to greet you with bright colours when you return. Incidentally, removing dry flowers should be done regularly throughout the summer. This keeps the plants more vital and keeps the flowers for a longer period of time.

Support Perennials

Some perennials tend to grow until they tip over. Especially for daisies and similar plants you need to prepare a stable support. Upset flowers not only look modest, they also absorb sunlight from the plants they fall on.

Watering

It is well known that plants need a lot of water to survive. Relying on the fact that it rains on a regular basis is a bad idea during your vacation. It is better to set up an automatic irrigation system with perl hoses and drippers in combination with a timer. Those who shy away from this effort, should agree at least with a neighbour and ensure that he cares during the absence of at least the pouring of the thirsty plants. The sprinkling of the lawn is not necessarily necessary in Germany, firmly grown grass is very good with the morning dew through the rounds. For plant pots, moreover, a water-filled beverage bottle is suitable, which is inserted with the opening down into the ground. This allows water to escape over a longer period of time and saves the plant from being parched.

Need more information on watering your garden the right way? Then our guides on watering your garden the right way, might be just the thing for you:

Guide to watering the garden - Part 1

Guide to watering the garden – Part 2

Weeding

In order to ensure that most of the water poured also reaches the plants, you should clear your beds in advance of weeds. Thus, fewer plants compete for the water provided. In addition, weeds usually grow faster than the surrounding ornamental plants, and you won't have weed-dominated beds when you return. In this context, it is recommended to loosen up the floor a little bit. This allows more water to be stored and nutrients to be released more easily.

Apply Fertilizer

Strongly-depleted plants need to be supplied with fertilizer before departure, so these plants have enough food to activate their growth and flowering.

Please remember that fertilized plants also need more water at the same time.

Harvesting

Ripe fruits in the vegetable garden should be harvested. While away, they usually start to rot. In addition to the unpleasant odour they spread, all sorts of unpleasant animals, such as wasps, snails and various beetles are drawn to it. In addition, clearing rotten fruits is far less enjoyable than harvesting ripe fruits and vegetables. If you can't process the crop before the holidays, your neighbours will happily take it and certainly take good care of your garden, while you are on vacation!

Store your Garden Tools the right way

Often you have a corner in the garden, in which garden tools such as the lawn mower, spades, rakes and other small tools are kept. Since these will not be used for a few weeks, it is advisable to store them in the house or in the garage. That's why thieves don't even get the idea of taking your garden tools to give them a new home.

Even if it sounds like a lot of work at first glance, you should pay attention to the mentioned points. Only then you won't have a lot of work when you return from your vacation and you can spend the rest of your free days in a beautiful garden.

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Picture of the author Hauke Leweling.
Written by Hauke Leweling
Published on 16.07.2019

Whether it's the garden or the workshop, Hauke Leweling is a true all-rounder and a freelance blogger. For Einhell, Hauke is armed not only with pen and paper but also with various gardening tools and equipment that he thoroughly tests. He shares his experiences, as well as tips and tricks, in his blog posts.