Instead of growing our daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs formally in beds and borders we naturalize them. This reduces care to almost nothing. What a pleasure just to plant, knowing that with most of the bulbs no further work is needed! For the greatest effectiveness we grow these naturalized bulbs in broad sweeps. You don’t need a great deal of land to do this. A drift of a few dozen in a small area will be comparable, in its own way, to a great mass of bulbs. The method is important:

Plant bulbs fairly close together and not in symmetrical rows, but informally, casually. One way to do this is to scatter bulbs on the ground and plant each one where it falls. Of course you will always want to have three or five bulbs of a certain variety in front of an old stump or lichened boulder for a specific effect, but in general you should think in terms of large numbers.

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There are a number of factors involved in producing high quality compost. First of all; small explanation of what the compost process is:

Composting is essentially you “farming” bacteria. By that I mean growing a bacteria culture in the food you’re providing them; the garden waste. It is the bacteria which break down this waste and turn it into usable compost, but just like any living thing, the bacteria needs an environment which is conducive to their growth, which means controlling the type of food you’re giving them and the environment there in.

In order to provide the bacteria with a good environment, you need to control the heat, moisture content, types of waste they’re getting (not just all one kind, but a variety with a variety of nutrients) and the aeration of the compost pile. To make sure they get sufficient aeration, the usual method is by “turning” the compost, so that all parts of the pile are exposed at one point or another. This practice has the added benefit of ensuring that the various ingredients in the compost pile are evenly mixed. You’ll also find that if you provide sufficient oxygen and a good balance nutrients, the bacteria will develop heat which keeps them in the optimal temperature range.

The whole processing of creating compost, from placing the ingredients together to getting high quality compost, will usually take only a couple of weeks if the conditions are good, and by the end the pile shouldn’t really smell like anything other than dirt.

If you actively garden then you”ll definitely be able to recognise the importance of quality compost. It can be used to maintain the quality of soil and enhance, and it is essential to use it when planting new things.

If you garden a lot and really put a lot of effort into maintaining your garden, the amount of compost that you can end up using may cost quite a lot of money, so knowing how to develop your own compost, and how easy it is to do it, is a real cost saving measure. Not only that, but it can also be seen as another form of gardening, as you will need to nurture the compost pile and make sure that it is getting what it needs to produce what you need; it can actually end up being rather fun.

Another big benefit to composting is that you can put the majority of your garden waste – grass cuttings, bush clippings, weeds and animal waste (if you have them) – into the pile, and not only will that curb your excess waste, but it will actually make your compost pile more effective.