Gardening can be a pleasant and rewarding experience but it can also turn into a nightmare if you happen to be doing it wrong.
Wrong is relative to every gardener.
While there are many tools of the trade as well as gardening recommendations that you should follow, most of the time, when you stop enjoying your garden is because you chose the wrong type of garden for you.
If you want to make the best of your gardening experience and truly enjoy the fruits of your labor, you must choose the perfect garden for your personality type.
What type of garden appeals to you? Now, be practical about answering this question.
I am sure that we all would like the beautiful, huge, and exotic gardens that we see on our travels or gardening books and movies.
That is not what we are talking about here, instead look at the type of garden that you would like to spend time working at, and caring for - the garden that will reward your efforts and that you will enjoy day after day.
There are many types of gardens.
If you want color and beauty, you will probably be happy with a flower garden.
The style and flower selection should be according to the amount of work that you want to put to maintain it, and the purpose of it.
If you want tons of color and flowers to enjoy inside your home as well as outside, you should concentrate your efforts in a garden that will change with the seasons and that will give you something new every season.
The area where you live will dictate the plants that will be available and grow well.
Perennials will come back year after year, and require little care.
Annuals will have to be planted again every year, but come in a range of shapes and colors.
You can select small pots or containers for annuals, and plant perennials in the ground for easy management.
If you want to consume items from your garden, you can choose to plant vegetables and herbs.
They will need a bit more work and knowledge on your part, but once they grow, you can collect them and use them in your kitchen.
It is very rewarding to eat something that you grow on your own.
You will have to experiment with soil and feeding, as well to look out for garden pests that will want to have a taste of it before you do.
A water garden is very soothing and relaxing.
It requires water features, which could be a bit of work to install and costly, but after that, it is a matter of cleaning them and making sure that they run well.
If you are going to combine a water feature with some living creatures, this will become more work, as you will have to ensure a safe environment for these creatures and plenty of food always available.
Keep in mind that you may attract some predators too.
You can consider fish such as Koi, turtles, frogs...
Once these are in your garden they will become your responsibility and depend on you to survive.
Plant butterfly bushes to attract butterflies and bumble bees, and sweet flowers to attract hummingbirds.
You can also keep a bird feeder and birdbath to attract birds to your garden.
Another type of garden is a fruit garden.
The rewards are many, but this is one of the most time consuming and labor intense gardens to keep.
You will have to monitor pests closely and treat the trees as needed.
Many pests will be attracted to this type of garden as fruit is sweet in aroma and taste.
If you do not tend this garden properly, you will end up with a huge mess of bugs, rotten fruit, and sick trees.
So make sure that you want to put the hours to tend this garden before you go for it.
Choosing the type of garden according to your personality and purpose can be a fun experience as well as rewarding.
Planning and learning about it before you actually plant it is recommended for maximum enjoyment.