With these 5 planning tips, you’ll have the most beautiful garden in the neighbourhood.
While most of us are still living in a world with social restrictions and events being cancelled or postponed, it’s a great thing to create more hobbies at home. In fact, it’s the perfect time to start planning your new garden for the spring.
Whether you’re a longtime gardener or you’re just now jumping on the gardening bandwagon, welcome! With these five steps to planning out your most effective and beautiful garden, you’ll be planting (and growing!) in no time.
Our Steps for Planning Your New Garden
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1. Location
Location, location, location: it matters! When planning out your garden, a couple of things to consider are what you want to plant and what the light requirements are for the plants to perform the best. If it’s vegetables and herbs, then you’ll want to choose your sunniest spot. If you just want some beautiful flowers and shrubs purely for your own enjoyment, pick the area that you will see them the most often and just get to know what kind of sun exposure it gets. There are plenty of plants to choose from, whether they need full shade or full sun.
2. Soil
While the subject of soil can be a bit overwhelming once you start to delve into it, just keep it simple to start. If you’re unsure and not ready to jump into the world of soil testing, then just make sure that you buy good quality soil that is appropriate for either flowers or vegetables in pots. If you plan to put in some garden beds or use existing ones, then start off by bringing in some good quality soil and top dress your beds.
3. Fertilizer
All plants need nutrients, and you will learn as you go which ones need less or more food to really perform well. Talk to the staff at your local garden center about what type of fertilizer you need and how often you will need to fertilize. If most of your gardening will be in containers, then you will need to feed your plants a bit more often as they tend to lose nutrients a bit faster.
4. Water
Make sure that your garden hose is long enough to reach all of your planting areas, as this will make watering much quicker than carrying a watering jug everywhere. This is something to consider in the areas of your garden that will be in full sun. During the hottest days of the season, any plants in these areas may need to be watered more than once a day.
5. Frost
It’s important to know when the last (and for some gardeners, the first) frost of the season is in your area. While some plants may survive being planted out before the final frost, most annuals, herbs and vegetables are too tender. For areas that have a shorter summer, it’s also good to know when you usually get your first frost. You will want to make sure that you harvest everything before it can get damaged, and you’ll need to be aware of any tender plants that you need to move inside to overwinter.
If you’re planning on starting your herb and veggie plants from seed, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has a great feature on their website where you can find a planting calendar for your area. It takes all the guesswork out of knowing when to start sowing and transplanting!
Whatever you decide to grow this year, enjoy, have fun and relax! Most gardeners are kind and friendly people that LOVE to talk about gardening and share their experiences. So, whether you just get chatting with someone while you’re shopping at your local garden center or join a local garden club online, welcome to the wonderful world of gardening!
