Gardening Basics
The Skills and Thrills of Growing Things
5 Easy Plants From Cuttings
One of the fastest and most successful ways to increase plants is to use cuttings from a mother plant.
You can garden, start here.
Basic Gardening Skills
The gardening basics, done right, lay the foundation for success to come of your garden. A simple thing like digging a hole for a new tree is more than just handing a shovel to someone and saying “dig”, so let’s start there and master some planting techniques.
Points And Posts
Begin with a Plan
5 Point Plan for home landscaping.
Where should you plant your tree? Consider these basic points before you dig.
Prepare the Soil
Start Planting
Dig a hole, easy directions so you don’t make common mistakes.
Plant a bare root tree or shrub
Plant a container or ball and burlapped tree or shrub.
Transplant peonies, for a lifetime of blooms.
Maintain Plantings
Multiply Your Plants
Easy seeds to grow in your garden
Begin with 5 Basic Gardening Tips
5 Important Garden Tips
- Get Your Garden Tools: Buy tools on an “as needed” basis, put them on wish-lists for birthday, holidays. Garden tool guide, here.
- Improve your soil with humus. That includes composting and adding amendments. It can also be well rotted manures, green manures and composted tree leaves.
- Start with easy plants. It really builds confidence, makes things look pretty, when you have easy to grow plantings filling the space. Try annuals the first few years, but don’t forget hostas for shade (you can even grow them from seed) and daylilies, and other plants like them. Simple to grow, and to maintain. Seeds even a child can grow.
- Buy the right plants. Check to see if they are healthy and not “potbound”. Check their light requirements (sunny or shady), and the hardiness zone.
- Follow a chore calendar for your area, until you get an idea of when to complete certain tasks. Monthly Garden Chores for the Midwest.
Use Seasonal Guides to Organize Tasks
Seasonal Guides
Monthly chores, tasks, and guide pages will help you know:
- The best time to prune
- When to plant your vegetable crops
- When to divide perennials or plant bulbs
A seasonal guide can also give you pointers on what pests or diseases to be on the lookout for, which flowers are blooming, when to fertilize, and even reminders to take care of wildlife. Bookmark your favorites or clip them using a program like Evernote.
One of the best ways to make best use of all the information you are gathering is to start a garden journal. Modern gardeners can also use an app like Evernote, which is available in free and premium and works across all your devices.
Newbie Gardening Tips
- Companion Planting Cheatsheet
- Season by Season Garden Guides
- How to Dig a Planting Hole
- How To Plant Flats Of Annuals
Best Bulbs For Beginners
Easiest Bulbs For Great Results
- DaffodilsThese bulbs are easy, easy, easy and last for years with little care. Rodents don’t bother them and they multiply on their own- all you have to do is dig up some and plant elsewhere in the garden for more golden blooms during Spring.5 Steps To Dazzling Daffodils
- Perennial Tulips Are you hoping for more than one year of blooms from the tulips you plant? Then try some of the recommended varieties, the most likely to bloom well after the first year.
- Glory Of The Snow This lovely, blue flowering, small, bulb is not the best known of the minor bulbs (crocus probably is), but it multiplies well. Chionodoxa also gives a beautiful carpet of blue starry flowers once it is established. I’ve never had the problem with rodents decimating stands of it like they do the crocus plantings.
Keep It Manageable
Start with a simple plan for herbs or veggies. It’s easy, and you will love having something you grew yourself.
Like many, I began with a little vegetable patch to make sure I had fresh produce for meals. Following in my grandparents, and mother’s footsteps. Next I planted bulbs and some annual flowers.
You may have a different plan, but here are some elementary steps to take in creating 3 different gardens. They take very little space and effort.
Gardens to Start With
Herbs and Veggies! Two of the most rewarding things you can grow, and they can be quite easy to care for if you remember to to start small and expand with time and experience. That way you learn what you can manage- including what to do with those bumper crops.
Two of the Easiest Garden Plans
- A Starter Vegetable Garden is an easy plan to add some delicious fresh food to your table.
- A Simple Herb Garden in a few easy steps.
Return To Start Page
5 Design Principles
Garden Containers Make Everyone an Expert
Containers bring color to any space in the garden, and are ideal for experimenting with color.
Planters Solve Space Problems
Add flowers, vegetables, even dwarf fruit trees to small yard spaces with containers.
My pages give combo ideas and simple how-to instructions.
Beyond The Basics, Dig Into Gardening
Once you have learned the basics, take your garden education to the next level of Learning to Garden.
