Gardening in order to make the place you live look inviting and beautiful is something that has come down from age to age. Home owners just starting out to garden may wish for their place to look like the one next door that was planted many years ago. They don't realize that maintaining a garden takes hard work and persistence but if they do put in the hours and hours it takes to keep a garden beautiful, their garden will be lush and beautiful too. The following garden tips for beginners should get you on your way.
The first and most important tip for the beginning gardener is start small. This cannot be emphasized enough. Your garden is never going to look like a garden that was started ten or twenty years ago and if you were to ask the owner of the garden they will tell you it took that long to get it to look that way. If you don't start small you run the risk of being discouraged once you find out all you have to do to have that beautiful and lush garden. If you take it step by step and year by year, it is not half as scary. If you are flower gardening just plant close to the house and maybe down the walkway and driveway. If you are trying to make a vegetable garden make it at the most 100 square feet, no more than that.
Decide what type of garden you can actually put in the available space you have. If your yard is primarily shady, you can not grow plants that need sun. Some flowers need 6 to 8 sunny hours per day and if they don't get it they will wilt and die. You will have to choose plants that enjoy shade in a shady yard so make sure to observe how much sun hits the yard per day. The minimum amount of sun required by a vegetable garden is six hours per day.
The spot in which you place your garden must be well drained. If you plant where water collects every time it rains your garden will rot and die. Pick a spot where you rarely see water gather when you have a storm. Too much water will rot the roots of your plants and they will not survive. This applies to flowers and vegetables.
Check your soil for the amount of acid in it. Buy a kit that tests soil at the local discount store or any store that sells plants and perform the directions on the box. A great amount of acid in the soil or too much alkalinity needs to be corrected by adding minerals to the soil. Take the test to the nursery and they will be able to tell you what you should add. They will give you instructions on how to do it as well.
The first time you plant do not expect to use seeds. Using seeds takes much longer and the likelihood of getting a harvest of vegetables or beautiful blooms is rare. It is advisable to start seeds indoors when the winter is almost over so that they can grow to be planted as plants outside in the late spring. Purchase flowers and vegetables as plants in the late spring at the nursery. Go on-line to get information about each flowers or vegetables you plant in the garden so you get an idea of how to plant them and what to do after they start to grow.
Your garden will have to be weeded, watered and you will have to feed the plants in it. Nurturing a garden is somewhat like taking care of a child although not quite as intense. You have to be vigilant against disease and bugs and other wildlife that will attach it. Daily walks in the garden to inspect any damage are necessary. Weeding has to be done on a regular basis and if you let that go your garden can become shabby and the flowers and vegetables can be choked out and die. Periodic feeding is also necessary.
Get to know the people at the garden center for at least a few years. They can give you good information and also check for other information on-line. Make sure the on-line information is suitable for the area in which you live. Also join a local garden club to get information that will be valuable to you. Make sure to have fun with your garden. There will be good things that happen and bad. You need to take both and learn from them and make sure to not be afraid to ask for good information.
The first and most important tip for the beginning gardener is start small. This cannot be emphasized enough. Your garden is never going to look like a garden that was started ten or twenty years ago and if you were to ask the owner of the garden they will tell you it took that long to get it to look that way. If you don't start small you run the risk of being discouraged once you find out all you have to do to have that beautiful and lush garden. If you take it step by step and year by year, it is not half as scary. If you are flower gardening just plant close to the house and maybe down the walkway and driveway. If you are trying to make a vegetable garden make it at the most 100 square feet, no more than that.
Decide what type of garden you can actually put in the available space you have. If your yard is primarily shady, you can not grow plants that need sun. Some flowers need 6 to 8 sunny hours per day and if they don't get it they will wilt and die. You will have to choose plants that enjoy shade in a shady yard so make sure to observe how much sun hits the yard per day. The minimum amount of sun required by a vegetable garden is six hours per day.
The spot in which you place your garden must be well drained. If you plant where water collects every time it rains your garden will rot and die. Pick a spot where you rarely see water gather when you have a storm. Too much water will rot the roots of your plants and they will not survive. This applies to flowers and vegetables.
Check your soil for the amount of acid in it. Buy a kit that tests soil at the local discount store or any store that sells plants and perform the directions on the box. A great amount of acid in the soil or too much alkalinity needs to be corrected by adding minerals to the soil. Take the test to the nursery and they will be able to tell you what you should add. They will give you instructions on how to do it as well.
The first time you plant do not expect to use seeds. Using seeds takes much longer and the likelihood of getting a harvest of vegetables or beautiful blooms is rare. It is advisable to start seeds indoors when the winter is almost over so that they can grow to be planted as plants outside in the late spring. Purchase flowers and vegetables as plants in the late spring at the nursery. Go on-line to get information about each flowers or vegetables you plant in the garden so you get an idea of how to plant them and what to do after they start to grow.
Your garden will have to be weeded, watered and you will have to feed the plants in it. Nurturing a garden is somewhat like taking care of a child although not quite as intense. You have to be vigilant against disease and bugs and other wildlife that will attach it. Daily walks in the garden to inspect any damage are necessary. Weeding has to be done on a regular basis and if you let that go your garden can become shabby and the flowers and vegetables can be choked out and die. Periodic feeding is also necessary.
Get to know the people at the garden center for at least a few years. They can give you good information and also check for other information on-line. Make sure the on-line information is suitable for the area in which you live. Also join a local garden club to get information that will be valuable to you. Make sure to have fun with your garden. There will be good things that happen and bad. You need to take both and learn from them and make sure to not be afraid to ask for good information.
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