DIY Garden Kits

 

an ecological approach to home gardening

DIY Garden Kits are a set of robust, ecological plant communities that can be purchased by the home gardener. This ecological approach embraces the environmental constraints of a site and choose plants that will thrive within those constraints. The (mostly) native plant combinations help pollinators and create habitat.

DIY Garden Kits:

  • Attract pollinators, provide habitat, food for birds etc.

  • Dynamic mixes of plants with compatible needs

  • Mimic natural plant communities

  • Emphasize texture and are beautiful through 4 seasons

  • Management vs Maintenance: Actions performed across the entire planting, not individual species.

The DIY Garden Kits mimic natural plant communities. In their natural setting, plants compete for resources - light, water and nutrients. Each plant has adaptations that allow them to coexist with other plant species. As the plants compete they create balance. Underground, they have different root types that can coexist underground because they occupy different strata. Above ground, the structure of the plants also occupies different layers - hugging the ground, above ground and towering above. DIY Garden Kits embrace the environmental constraints of a site and choose plants that will thrive within those constraints. 

The Kits guide you through a process:

  • Observe the site and choose the appropriate Kit

  • Prepare the site for planting

  • Plant!

  • Let the plants do their work with as little interference as possible. Maintenance involves initial watering, weeding, a minimal Fall cleanup, and mowing the entire are in early Spring.

These kits are for people that are ecologically minded, who are interested in gardening and the environment, but do not have extensive knowledge of planting design. The plantings are more affordable because we provide 'Landscape Plugs' - smaller plants that are less expensive. There are no shortcuts, and there is hard work involved, but as a home gardener you can have a professional quality planting with plants typically only available to the trade.

Get started with your kit here