The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Start A Garden Today!
Gardening is a wonderful hobby to have but many fear it unnecessarily. Anyone can start but you just need to do just that – begin! Gardening is cathartic and once kept simple and manageable at the beginning, it will become a wonderful experience. Watching something that you developed growing into beautiful blooms or produce for your table is an exciting time.
It also doesn’t matter what size you will have to garden; you can start a mini garden even on an apartment balcony and there are a multitude of space savers out there on the market. The key to success at gardening for beginners is to start on small projects, don’t try to do everything at once. Capital Garden Services has created an infographic and a related post to cover this so check out the tips on there!
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Gardening for Beginners
Starting a garden might seem daunting but it’s actually accessible for many people no matter what size garden you have to work with.
Positives about Gardening
Tending to a garden, watching it develop and all that is involved will give you a sense of achievement.
It’s a healthy use of your free time; being out in the garden means that you are likely getting some exercise.
You can get the family involved in building up the garden to its potential so it’s a great team building exercise and the kids will learn about nature in a practical way.
Should your garden develop and depending on what you’ve planted, you’re likely to reap the rewards in the form of beautiful flowers or some vegetables for dinner!
Focus on getting the basic tools that can assist you with almost any gardening endeavor.
Gloves
Hand Trowel
Spade
Rake
Hoe
Long Hose with Adjustable Nozzle
Loppers
Wheelbarrow
Basic Gardening Tips
Annuals: Annuals are plans that complete their life span in a single season. A “Hardy Annual” is set outdoors in spring.
Bedding Plants: These are Annuals, Biennials, or Perennials set in autumn or spring to provide a temporary display, usually lasting the summer.
Biennials: Biennials are plants that have a life span over two seasons. They are sown outside in summer and will produce stems and leaves in season one before flowering the following season.
Climber: A climber attaches itself to or twines around an upright structure, such as trillis, wall, fence, etc.
Deciduous: A plant that sheds its leaves for winter.
Evergreen: These retain their leaves through winter.
Hardy: A hardy plant is one which is not affected by frosts or cold weather.
Perennial: A perennial is a non-wood planet that flowers every year, retreating over winter and re-growing the following spring. Thee will live for years in a garden.
Shrub: A shrub is a plant of relatively low height with several stems at the base and lacks a single trunk.
Garden Layout Plan
Perennials: Revive annually to add beautiful areas of colour and texture to garden beds and borders so are a wonderful choice for any garden and are worth the effort involved.
Plan for scale: A big house, for example, will work better with wider and fuller beds and tall, distinctive plants; a smaller garden will work better with a series of more compact beds and lower-height plants.
For beginner gardeners who are totally new to things, it’s best to start on a very small scale.
When buying bulbs, reject any that are soft or showing signs of mould.
Before you plant, you need to do some prep-work on the soil; ensure that the chosen area you plan on adding the bulbs to has good, well-draining soil.
Bulbs will rot in soggy ground and in turn struggle in sandy soil; adding some compost eases theissue.
1. Know When To Plant
Autumn
Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, crocus and hyacinths, preferably by the end of September
Plant tulips in November
Plant hardy summer-flowering bulbs, such as lilies, alliums, and crocosmia, in September and October
Spring
Plant tender summer-flowering bulbs, including gladioli, in early spring
Summer
Plant autumn-flowering bulbs, such as nerines, by late summer
2. Dig the hole where you want the bulbs to go
Plant a bulb three times as deep as its height.
This guideline will vary depending on your soil type.
You can also refer to the guidelines on the bulb packaging (if there is some).
Roots grow out of the bottom of bulbs, so the quality of the soil underneath the bulb is more important than what you fill the hole with.
Don’t let the bulbs touch one another when you plant them in the ground; the general rule is at least three bulb-widths apart – from the centre of one bulb to the centre of the next.
3. Fill in with soil and water
As you place soil back into the hole, firmly press it in place to prevent air pockets but don’t pack the area too tightly. Add water and add more soil as needed.
Stick laminated card into the ground to indicate where you’ve planted which bulbs.
Dealing with Weeds
Try to set out some sort of schedule whereby you do some weeding consistently.
1. Don’t Disturb Them
Dig only when necessary but if you do, amend the disturbed area with plants or mulch.
Top Tip!
For weeds like dandelions, use a sharp knife with a narrow blade to cut through the dandelion roots to sever their food source.
2. Add Mulch
A good way to halt weed’s progress is by covering the soil’s surface with a light-blocking sheet of cardboard or newspaper and then spreading mulch over it.
3. Chop Off Their Heads
Perennials weeds are damaged by this method as it forces them to use food stocks and exhaust their supply of root buds, which helps to prevent them spreading albeit in the shorter term.
4. Close the Gaps
This will help discourage weed growth in that areas at the outset.
5. Water the Plants, Not the Weeds
A good way to halt weed’s progress is by covering the soil’s surface with a light-blocking sheet of cardboard or newspaper and then spreading mulch over it.
![Gardening for Beginners [Infographic]](https://cdn.confessionsoftheprofessions.com/infographics/gardening-for-beginners-infographic.jpg)
