So, you want to plant a garden, but don't know where to begin? Here are some tips to get you going! Gardens take some work, but it's worth it to see how beautiful your yard can be, and take credit for all of your hard work.
Choosing a site:
If you have your heart set on growing a specific plant, check to see what growing conditions it requires. Vegetables will need at least 6 hours of sun exposure a day. The same goes for most flowering plants, however there are still many to choose from for a partially shaded site. If you want to start a garden where there is mostly shade, your choices are going to be more limited, but not prohibitive. Also take into consideration when the sun hits your site. Afternoon sun will be hotter and more drying than morning sun. Many plants turn their faces toward the sun, so if your view of the garden is from a west window, your flowers may face away from you in the afternoon. Evaluate other elements of exposure such as high, drying winds or heavy foot traffic.
What is the soil like?
Once you know where you want to plant, it's time to check the soil. Soil testing is the least glamorous part of gardening, but the most important. At the very least check your soil's PH. This will tell you how acid or alkaline your soil is. Plants cannot take up nutrients unless the soil's pH is within an acceptable range. Most plants like a somewhat neutral pH, 6.2 - 6.8, but some are more particular. If you are growing plants from the nursery, check the plant tag for specifics. If no pH preference is listed, a neutral range is fine.
Soil texture refers to whether it is sandy, heavy clay, rocky or the ideal, a sandy loam. Whatever the texture, it can be improved with the addition of organic matter such as compost.
Starting with good soil means you won't have to add a lot of artificial fertilizer to your garden. If you've fed the soil with amendments, the soil will feed your plants.
Preparing the planting bed:
Your chosen site will probably have grass on it or at least weeds. These must be cleared somehow, before you can plant anything. Tilling without removing the grass or weeds is best done in the fall, so that the grass will have a chance to begin decomposing during the winter. Even so, you will probably see new grass and weeds emerging in the spring. It's better to either remove the existing vegetation completely or to smother it.
Choosing your plants:
This is harder than you might think. If you are starting small, you have to limit yourself to a handful of plants. If you are growing vegetables, start with what you like to eat and what you can't find fresh locally. Corn takes a lot of space and remains in the garden a long time before it's ready to be eaten. You might want to use your small garden for vegetables that give a longer harvest, like tomatoes, lettuce and beans.
Flower gardens can be even harder. Start with what colors you like. Rather than basing your dream on a photograph from a magazine, take a look at what your neighbors are growing successfully. They may even be able to give you a division or two.
Take a walk around a couple of garden centers and read the plant labels. Then play with combining the plants that strike your eye until you find a combination of 3-5 plants that pleases you.
Make sure all the plants have the same growing requirements (Sun, water, pH...) and that none of them are going to require more care than you can give them.
Keep the variety of plants limited. It makes a better composition to have more plants of less varieties than to have one of this and one of that.
Planting:
Sometimes you have to plant when you have the time, even if that's high noon on a Saturday. But the ideal time to plant is on a still, overcast day. The point is, stress your new plants as little as possible.
Water the plants in their pots the day before you intend to plant.
Don't remove all the plants from their pots and leave them sitting in the sun for the roots to dry out.
If the roots are densely packed or growing in a circle, tease them apart so they will stretch out and grow into the surrounding soil.
Bury the plant to the depth it was in the pot. Too deep and the stem will rot. Too high and the roots will dry out.
Don't press down hard on the plants as you cover them. Watering will settle them into the ground.
Water your newly planted garden as soon as it is planted and make sure it gets at least one inch of water per week.
You may have to water more often in hot dry summers. Let your plants tell you how much water they need. Some wilting in noonday sun is normal. Wilting in the evening is stress.
Maintenance of your garden:
Hopefully when you were selecting plants you did some background checking and didn't select too many fussy plants. All plants are going to require some maintenance. The idea that perennial plants require less maintenance than annuals is wrong.
At the very least, your plants will require 1 inch of water a week. If it rains regularly, great. If not, don't let your plants get drought stressed. Once a plant is stressed it will never recover fully that growing season.
There will also be weeding to do. Weed seeds come from all kinds of sources: wind, birds, soil on shoes...
Deadheading, or removing the spent blossoms from your flowers, will keep them blooming longer and looking fresher.
Vegetables will produce more if you keep harvesting while young.
Some taller plants may need to be staked, to keep from flopping.
It may happen that one of your choices isn't happy and dies. Move on and replace it with something else.
Enjoy your garden!
You've heard the saying "Stop and smell the roses"? Gardeners can be the worst at taking that advice. We're so busy with our heads down at soil level, pinching, pruning and pulling every weed, that we often don't appreciate what we've created until someone else tells us.
Step back and enjoy what you've accomplished. Then start making plans to expand next year.
