Can you squeeze in 30 minutes a day? Think of all the time you spend on non-essential activities like scrolling through your Facebook feed, watching a mindless TV show (Family Feud anyone) or reading the latest magazine before you get to the checkout line.

I hear so many people say they don’t have time to garden. You can’t squeeze in another minute for creating a beautiful garden…a garden that will leave you energized and refreshed instead of feeling like you’re wasting precious time. Part of the problem is that when you see an inspiring garden you immediately think that it must take hours each day to create and maintain. But it doesn’t have to.

Creating your beautiful garden can be done in small chunks of time. You can begin to create a lovely garden if you will dedicate just 30 minutes each and every day to making it happen. Not an hour or two or three. Just 30 minutes a day. Everyone can find 30 minutes if you make a commitment to it.

Here are 6 ways to get started creating a beautiful garden that will nurture you. These tips will help you to stick with your garden so that you can enjoy spending time there. Time to relax and reflect, enjoy your friends and family, and entertain…however you like to spend time in your garden.

6 Ways to Create A Beautiful Garden in Just 30 Minutes A Day…

Use a Timer

The tasks that need to be done in the garden can feel overwhelming. You look around at everything that needs to be done and it’s just too much. So you walk away. You find some other activity that doesn’t feel like such a burden. But if you dedicate just 30 minutes a day, you can accomplish big things in your garden.

Start by choosing just one area to work on. Determine what needs to be done in that area. For example, you need to weed the front flower bed. Grab your tools and a timer and get started. The beauty of your timer is that you can do anything for just 30 minutes. While the timer is ticking away, work as hard as you can. Once the timer dings, then put your tools away and do something else. However, you can always reset the timer for another 30 minutes if you are enjoying what you’re doing.

Be Consistent

Along with your timer, this is the key to creating beautiful garden spaces. You have to be consistent. Every day you need to spend 30 minutes working in the garden. So yesterday you didn’t finish weeding, then today you’re back at it…for another 30 minutes. And the next day and the next. In a week’s time you will have dedicated 3 1/2 hours working towards creating a lovely garden. Just think how those minutes and hours can add up.

Keep Supplies Handy

If you’re dedicating 30 minutes a day to your garden, then you want to be able to get started right away. If you have to search all over for your gloves, spade, and clippers this will eat into your time. The more difficult it is to get to your tasks, the less motivated you will be. Find a way to keep your gardening supplies at hand. Here are a few suggestions:

• Use a bucket to store your tools in. The beauty of the bucket is that it can hold the weeds you’re pulling or flowers you’re dead-heading.
• Keep your tools in a mailbox that you attach to a post in your garden.
• Purchase a garden bag that you can grab as you walk out the door into your garden.
• A garden apron can hold your tools and timer.
• Use a small garden cart that you pull with you into the garden.

It doesn’t matter what the form, you just want something where everything you need is right there and easy to grab.

Add in Extra Minutes with Non-gardening Time

Every morning while sipping your first cup of coffee, enjoy a leisurely walk through the garden. The morning dew is on the ground and the air is fresh and clean. The temperature is still cool for the day. This is a perfect time to complete ongoing garden chores. As you walk by your flower pots, remove the spent geranium flowers. Dead leaves can be snipped off and a large weed or two can be pulled up. These small tasks add up over time.

Or maybe you enjoy a glass of wine while sitting on your porch swing at night. Freshen up the pots on your porch before you sit down. These little tasks that you do here and there will minimize having to spend part of your 30 minute gardening time. And they will help to keep your pots and flower beds looking great.

Create a Masterlist

Part of the difficulty of working in the garden is that oftentimes there’s too much to do all at once. Obviously with just 30 minutes a day, you can’t do everything. You’ll need to choose one small project at a time. This is where a Garden Masterlist can come in handy. Jot down the most important tasks that must be done first to create or maintain your garden. Next, add in the things that can wait a bit but are still important to do. Finally, list your dream items…the things that you would like to slowly build into your garden.

Some tasks will be ongoing, such as weeding. But others, like creating a pathway or making a new flower bed, might be one-time projects. The masterlist can help direct your steps so that you are not doing 30 minutes here and 30 minutes there and in the end you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything. Your masterlist will keep you on track.

Work with the Seasons

To make the most of your 30 minutes a day, work with the seasons for your gardening tasks. This way you will use the time to your advantage. Here are some seasonal tasks to consider.

Spring:

Spring is a good time to create new flower beds or add in some new landscaping. Putting up a new fence or building your dream shed works well in the spring. Plant your flowers, vegetables, and summer-blooming bulbs. Since the maintenance of those plants is minimal for now, you’ll have more time for garden cleanup and preparation.

Summer:

This is an active time where you will be needing to weed, dead-head and pick flowers, harvest your produce and herbs and just maintain your garden areas. Summer is not the time to add in new flower beds or plant shrubs and trees.

Autumn:

Although the garden will start slowing down, you will still need to be harvesting your produce, flowers and herbs. Cleaning up your beds is important during this season. This is also the time to plant your spring blooming bulbs. Plant new trees, shrubs and berries before the temperature turns cold. Autumn is also a good time to create new garden areas and structures.

Winter:

Winter is the time for planning and preparing. Spend your 30 minutes each day learning a new garden skill, assessing last year’s garden, planning and researching. Remember to make time for your garden even though you are snuggled up warm in front of the fire.

When you add 30 minutes into your regular routine, it doesn’t feel like much. But you are building a habit. Little by little your garden will become a thing of beauty that you can’t wait to spend time in. When you carve this time out of your busy schedule you are saying yes to something that will bring lasting value. An occasional Family Feud Marathon is okay, but your beautiful garden can bring you so much more joy! So get started now creating your beautiful garden in only 30 minutes a day.