Mixing Plants

If you’re short on space but you still have a long list of plants you want to have in your garden then a great idea is to mix the plants you do have in your garden or in your containers.

If you’re planting in the ground and have a little bit of room to work with then the first thing to do is to choose plants that don’t require huge amounts of space to spread out and grow in. By doing this you’ll save yourself the heartache that comes when one plant dies because it wasn’t able to compete with another of its neighbors or when a whole bunch die because there simply wasn’t enough space or resources to go around. Don’t put yourself through that and instead choose plants that require less space to grow in. It’s also a good idea to choose plants that grow vertically because these plants mix even better together due to the fact that they just grow up and up and thus can usually be planted or potted next to each other pretty easily.

When mixing plants you can also choose companion plants that grow well with each other protect each other by deterring disease or pests. This is sort of like a bonus because not only will you save space but your plants will also be healthier and less prone to any problems. So take a look at the plants that you’re hoping to have in your garden and see what ones would do well planted near each other or within the same container. You can also create borders and edges with specific plants and vegetables that are designed to keep pests out.

Planting a mix of plants in your containers or in your garden can also go a long way to making your garden look really nice and filling up extra space while certain plants are developing a bit slower than others. A mix of herbs or extra flowers can create a nice edging to your garden or help use up extra space in a container that might have looked bare otherwise.

When you mix plants you can also do a lot for using the minerals and nutrients in the soil wisely because different plants require more of different nutrients. That’s why we have the methods of crop rotation and replenishing the soil that we do - so by mixing certain plants together you can get a jump start on these kinds of methods and give your soil a boot all through the growing seasons.

Overall mixing plants in your containers and in your garden does more than just create a nice look or a border it can really help you make the most of the space you have which can mean more crops from your garden, better efficiency in your crops due to a lack of disease and pests, and more fun gardening for you. So do some careful planning and research and if you get creative you’ll be able to have all the plants you want in your garden and make the best use of the space that you possibly can.