Garden basically is a place normally outside the house where we grow some plants to enjoy nature. Its our wish whether we make an ornamental garden or grow some vegetable or fruits in the garden. Though people normally grow flowers in the garden as they look attractive and increase beauty of the house. People do it for their hobby too but to have a garden requires a hard work its not that easy to maintain a good garden there is lot of effort in doing and maintaining it. Here are the few steps one can do to have a good garden at home:

- Know your soil type:

The first step to make your garden is to know your soil type. Once you know what is the nature of your soil you can find out which type of plants you may be able to grow in your garden comfortably and which one you won't be able to grow and the desired plants you may ask from nearby nursery for your garden. And if you are not sure about the soil you can take a sample of the soil to the nearby nursery and can get help of them to know about your soil type and accordingly you may select the type of plants to be planted in the garden as per the nature of the soil. As there are few plants which like to be grown in the acidic soil so for them acidity is not a problem but there are plants too which may not tolerate the acidic nature of the soil and may not be able to survive in that soil. Soils are grouped basically on grain size there is sand, slit and clay. In addition to the composition percentage of organic material in the soil also play an important role in the plant growth.

- Use organic fertilizers:

Always prefer organic fertilisers as these enhance the nutrient level of the soil which encourage life to soil microbes and worms which help in the growth of the plants. Most common organic fertilizer people use is cow dung. It is rich in nutrients that feed plants. Also Limestone is also one of commonly used fertiliser. It balances pH level of the soil. It also contains Calcium which helps in the growth of plants and magnesium which makes plants stronger. But before using this one should check the pH value of the soil so that one may decide how much of this fertiliser is to be used as this increases PH level of the soil. Chicken manure is also one of the organic fertiliser. Being rich in nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous this is widely used to increase fertility of the soil and ultimately enhancing growth of the plants in the garden. One should use the fertilisers as per directions given by the manufacturer not as per our wish as excess pf using fertilisers may effect the soil and can make it more acidic which may effect plants.

- Keep soil mulched:

Its advisable to have the soil mulched throughout the year as it minimise the growth of weeds and this is important to stop growth of weeds as these weeds take away the nutrients which are required for the plants which we have grown. Mulching also maintains temperature of the soil it helps to make soil cool in summer and warmer in winters. Also it prevents loss of moisture through evaporation and ultimately helps plants in their growth.

- Its better to plant same species together.

As the plants of same type require same soil,nutrients, light and water to survive so its normal that they all will survive together unlike if we grow some other plants together it may happen one of them having lesser strength would die because the stronger one will extract all the nutrients and essential things from the soil leaving nothing form the weaker plants.

- Pesticides:

Always try to use the mildest pesticides as it has some harmful effects too. Its necessary to identify the pests and the diseases first so that we may know which pesticide has to be used. Spraying chemicals should be the last option.  A pesticide basically is a chemical substance which kills the certain types of animal or plant life which we consider to be harmful for the growth of our plants. These are widely used in almost everywhere in agriculture but it also has some ill effects too as people are exposed to these chemicals residuals in their diets. Though we use it for the growth of plants but still these are considered not good for us.

- Pruning:

Pruning shrubs is an important process in the gardening and one should trim the branches at the early strange and don't leave them for afterwards as it becomes difficult to do that once they grow. One should prune them carefully with the sharp tool and should check it while pruning them one may not damage the main branch. Pruning is essential because through pruning we remove dead wood, give shape to the plant, improve health and reduce risk of falling branches. There are many type of pruining like thinning, topping, Raising and reduction. Pruining should be done at any time throughout the year once you note that some extra branches are ruining the shape of the plant.

 - Watering:

Water is essential requirement for plants as they can't survive without water. Its advisable to deeply water every few days than to shallow watering every day as deep watering effects the roots of plants which go deeper in the earth and makes a plant stronger. While the plants in the pots should be watered every day once or twice depending on the season as in summer we need to water plants twice as in heavy sunlight even the moisture of the soil evaporates unlike winter when there is no such heavy sunlight.

 - Composting:

Compost is basically is an organic waste that is decomposed and is used as a fertiliser to enrich soil. Compost is rich  in nutrients and are widely used in gardens, horticulture, aggriculture. Compost generally add nutrients to the soil which helps in the growth of the plants. Its easy to make compost at home. One can start piling his/her compost on the ground in one corner of the garden as this allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost. Add compost material like watse food, tea bags. Material like straw, leaves, wood ashes. Add some green manure like wheat grass which actaully make it rich in nitrogen. Cover it with anything like plastic sheet,carpet,bed sheet,lid so that it may not loose mositure. In every week give the pile a trun with the help of showel as this will aerate the compost. remember the healthy compost should have much more carbon and nitrogen in it. Composting garden is beneficial as it enriches soil, recycles kitchen and yard waste, introduces beneficial microbes to the soil and ultimately helps plants to get some useful nutrients to grow better.

Its difficult to do these acticvities but for sure if someone do these things regularly definitely would be able to have a garden. 

Few more things which one can do in his/her garden to look it more attractive. These are small things but definitely would help you to make your garden an attractive one:

- With the time some sort of salt layer deposits on the surface which looks bad. To remove this salt layer one can use vinegar and alcohol. Mix equal parts of alcohol ,vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray the mixture on the surface of the pots and gently rub with the plastic brush and let it dry. After few minutes you would find that the salt layer will vanish away. Use the pots once it is dried fully.

- Don't throw away the left over tea or coffee use it to acidify the soil as there are few plants which like to grow better in the acidic soil for them this is the best thing we can do but before that we must know about such plants. Few plants like camellias,blue berries have this tendency.

- When we boil the vegetable we should not throw the water but should use it to water the potted plants as this water has nutrients which helps in the growth of the plants.

So these are few of the things one can do to develop a good garden at home. Though these steps are not that much tough to follow but still they require time and efforts which one can certainly do. There are many people who do gardening just for their hobby but still maintain it. These days when the buildings are being made and there has no much of trees left one should develop a garden outside home so that one can enjoy nature at home and can have fresh air around him/her to stay healthy.

Image Source: Wikipedia.