There are so many awesome benefits to gardening; whether you are using it for fresh fruits and veggies, or even if you just want a beautiful landscape. It can help to improve your diet, release stress, and just improve your general mood. For those who have never tired it before and want to give it a go, here are some steps you can follow to start building the garden of your dreams.
First of all, you have to consider how much time and effort you are willing and able to put into your gardening. Luckily there are many options, so it is really up to you. You should keep in mind that not only do you have to spend the time putting in, and installing your garden, but you also have to consider the maintenance that your garden needs. Some will need very little upkeep while others will take a lot of tender love and care. Be realistic, and don’t get overzealous. It’s better to start out small, than to be overwhelmed right of the bat.
Now you have to decide what you want to accomplish. Do you want to center your garden around cooking and grow your own produce, or do you want to improve your landscape with beautiful scenery? You can eventually try to take on both, if you so choose, but remember start small. From there you can start picking out your plants.
When selecting your plants there are even more things to consider. Keep in mind the climate you live in, the layout of your garden, and what you want to accomplish. To help you out, take a look at the plant tags. They will let you know what kind of climate they thrive in, the conditions they like the best, and how big they will grow. There is nothing worse than planning your layout, selecting a cute little plant, and later on realizing that it will grow ten feet tall and ruin all your hard work. Some tags even have scannable codes so you can learn everything that you need to know. Avoiding a small mistake in the beginning will help avoid large headaches further along the road.
Another thing to keep in mind is the layout of your plants. Some plants are picky about the amount of shade and sun they get during the day. You don’t want a plant that loves shade to be burning in the sun all day. It also never hurts to pick out plants that are sturdy and hard to kill. Let’s be honest, sometimes we let things get away from us. A sturdy plant will keep on trudging along, even if you accidently misjudge your layout or climate. Some very forgiving plants to keep in mind would be geraniums, begonias, aloe plants and philodendrons, but there are many more out there. Just do your research.
After you have everything selected and ready to go it’s time to plant! Use, high quality soils, follow directions carefully and you will be off to a great start. Hopefully these starter tips will help you to realize gardening for the first time doesn’t have to be a scary ordeal; just take it slow and steady and you will be on your way to your dream garden.