The past two years we have seen an explosion in the amount of people learning to garden. The hardest part of any project is starting it, so I put a list together of some basic guidelines to help any novice or beginner gardener prepare themselves as best as possible.
Prep Your Yard
Prepping your yard and taking down some basic information can go a long way. Before you ever start a project, you’ve got to carefully decide where a garden plot should go, and the measurements for that plot. Once you’ve found a suitable location , you’ll need to know how much sunlight that area gets a day. This will determine what kind of plants you’d look for in a garden center. So much hassle is caused by people ready to get their hands dirty but lack measurements for their plot. If you’ve done all of the above and you’re still having troubles, I’d recommend a soil test. They can be pricey but will always give the most thorough inspection of soil quality.
Set Up for Success
As I said before, starting a project is the hard part. Making your garden maintenance as accessible as possible makes it all the more likely that you’ll actually preserve the routine. For example, my plants are all in the ground less than a foot away from my hose. The moment I see one of the plants need water, there is very little in the way of me turning a single lever. If you know you aren’t going to be motivated enough to carry a bucket of water around your house, then hose splitters or extensions may be a good investment. This rule is more about knowing yourself and your habits. This can influence the type of plants you buy, as some require more or less attention than you might be willing to provide.
Garden Style / Purpose
Everyone has a different idea in mind when designing their ideal landscape. Just like any art form, there are styles and genres to it. Some people only picture edible gardening when they hear the term, others picture a home with columns and hedge plants and fountains. This is all limited by your space, but it’s something to research and integrate into whatever plans you have. A good example I reference often is the structured vs unstructured looks of country vs cottage styles of English gardens. You need to find what will make you interested enough to upkeep your garden.
