A passionate gardener is part designer, part manager and part cleaner. A gardener controls weeds, builds soil, installs new plants and removes dead flowers to keep the garden thriving and beautiful.

Gardeners are more like garden nurses or caregivers than cleaning staff. They do the little extras to make the garden glow. Gael-Anne Hatch, Still-Life Garden and Floral in Calgary, still-lifegarden.com, adds contrast with seasonal and permanent plantings as she maintains gardens.

Both private gardeners are small operators, working mainly in private homes instead of large commercial sites. And both share a skill we could all benefit from: they build and care for gardens beyond the designs they inherit. If you want to garden like you have staff here are their five top garden maintenance secrets

See full article