Tips from the Pros

Gardening expert Melinda Myers of PBS’ Yardwork shares six simple and effective strategies for maximizing your garden’s yield this summer – leaving you extra space, time and energy to sit back and enjoy it.

Increasing your garden’s productivity comes down to planting, maintenance and harvesting techniques, according to Myers, who has penned more than 20 gardening books.

1. Keep it natural. Michelle Johnson, co-owner of the Fort Collins-based landscaping firm Hydrate Colorado, offers an easy recipe for a natural weed killer: just fill a spray bottle with three parts undiluted vinegar to one part dishwashing soap, and use it to douse the weeds’ foliage. “Rinse out a metal sprayer after use,” notes Johnson, “since vinegar is corrosive to metal.”

1. Buy the best. The easiest way to make furniture last longer is to buy the highest quality you can afford. “Pieces made of solid wood with screwed and glued construction from manufacturers with a good reputation are going to be heritage pieces,” says Brent Simon, owner of Colorado Style Home Furnishings.

1. From pot to plot. Whether it’s tomatoes in a balcony container or a flower garden on a median strip, urban gardening is practiced by people with limited space and unlimited creativity.

As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. These grand entrances make the most of that occasion and set the stage for what’s to come.

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