Jumping into gardening can be both exciting and intimidating. There’s so much to learn! You want to plant everything! Where do you start? Seasoned gardeners have learned the best tips and tricks through years of experience, and while trial and error is a great way to learn, you can get a head start by seeking their advice. Here are some common tips from experienced green thumbs.
1. Start Small
Even if you have visions of a large garden, start small. Consider how much time, energy, and resources you have to commit to creating, planting, watering, weeding, pruning, and harvesting (if applicable) each bed. It’s all too easy to dive in and plant a huge garden only to find yourself drowning in weeds later. Create one or just a few beds first, then add on each year.
2. Start with Good Soil
Good soil is the foundation of a good garden. A popular saying encourages gardeners to always plant a $5 plant in a $20 hole. In other words, make sure to prepare the soil properly before adding any plants, and the plants will grow healthier for it. Most plants grow best in loose, rich, well-draining soil. Mixing in some compost and mulching well are two easy ways to improve and maintain healthy soil.
Trench composting is the easiest way to have good compost without too much work
3. Consider Growing Conditions
Although most plants grow well in loose, rich soil, some like dry, rocky soil or wet soil. Some plants prefer full sun, others full shade, and still others a mix of the two. You’ll also want to consider the height and spread of the plant compared to where you want to locate it. Is there enough room?
Will the plant take over? This all sounds a bit overwhelming, but at nurseries and garden centers this information is usually displayed on a plant tag, and plants are often grouped by sunlight requirements.
4. Plant Perennials
Strolling through greenhouses each spring and picking out bright, long-blooming annuals is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. They need to be replanted each year and often require a lot of water. But perennials come back year after year, and after their first season, they typically need little supplemental watering or other care, especially if you choose plants native to your region. Perennials can be expensive up front, so plant a few new ones each year (remember, start small!), filling in with cheaper annuals in the meantime.
Check out this list of 12 delicious perennial vegetables. Or, if you’d rather plant flowers, here’s a list of long-blooming perennial flowers for a gorgeous, carefree garden.
5. Ask Questions
As you embark on your gardening journey, don’t be afraid to seek help and ask questions along the way, especially from gardeners familiar with growing in your area. Staff at locally owned nurseries are often knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. You can also join a local gardening club, if that sounds fun to you, or seek help from a local Master Gardener chapter or Extension Office.
I also like to leaf through a gardening book. Here’s a list of the best gardening books for beginners who want to improve their gardening skills!
6. Be Patient and Learn from Mistakes
Gardening requires patience. You’ve already learned that it’s good to start small, but you will also discover that disappointments happen.
Sometimes, this is a result of mistakes, which are great learning experiences, and other times, you might face pests, diseases, or damaging weather.
Sometimes, plants just don’t thrive. All of this is okay! You will have successes as well as failures, and the key is to keep going and enjoy the journey.
7. Grow What You Love
Grow what you love, and love what you grow. If you don’t like it, don’t grow it! This is especially true for vegetables: if you grow something you don’t like to eat, you likely won’t enjoy gardening as much, and your harvests will go to waste.
Similarly, if you’re establishing an ornamental garden, fill it with plants that you (not your friend, mentor, or neighbor) find attractive. A garden is a labor of love, after all, and it is meant to be enjoyed.
I love lavender so much that I planted 300 plants in front of my home office window (the above picture is just a tiny corner of that patch) and wrote a book about my experience: How To Grow Lavender For Fun and Profit.
