TIPS FOR NEW & ASPIRING GARDENERS
It’s just about the beginning of the gardening season so I wanted to give a few tips to new and aspiring gardeners that have been rolling around in my head for the last few months:
Get it done early. Those warm March and April days that creep above 60 degrees are the perfect time to get a lot of your garden cleanup and prep work done, saving time in the warmer months for planting and maintenance.
Cut back last year’s perennials or grasses that are still in the garden. Prune any shrubs that need a cleanup - whether that be getting rid of dead or damaged branches or cutting up dried blooms from last season. Clean up any residual fall leaves. Top up your raised beds that have compacted over the last growing season with fresh soil and compost. Research and plan new plantings and garden designs.
I also like to mulch my existing garden beds before doing any planting. This allows me to not have to carefully mulch around newly planted annuals and I can be a bit more quick and efficient with it. To plant in a freshly mulched area later in the season, just brush the mulch aside when digging and push it back into place once planting is complete.
Visit garden centers multiple times per year. Garden centers get in a wide variety of plants throughout the year, so you don’t want to miss out on a great plant by only going once per year. Many fall-blooming shrubs and perennials are brought in when they are closer to showing off their fall color, so be sure to spend some time plant shopping later in the summer. On the flip side of things, many hardy perennials, shrubs, and trees are brought in as early as April so plan a visit to the garden center early in the season to get a jump start on your garden. Planting these hardy plants early allows them to wake up in your garden, reducing the potential stress of planting in the hot summer months. Plus, you get to enjoy them all season long!
Take advantage of being in the “waiting room”. The “waiting room” concept was brought to my attention by Roots & Refuge Farm, and it refers to the time period when you are waiting for the next step - whatever that may be. Maybe you live in an urban apartment and love the idea of gardening but only have a small balcony space. Instead of holding off on gardening until you have a home with a yard in the suburbs, take advantage of every square inch you have. Grow in containers, take in-person gardening classes at a local botanic garden, take online classes from gardeners around the world about any topic that might interest you, visit arboretums, parks, and gardens for inspiration, read books or watch YouTube videos and dream up the space you’d like to create one day. With a quick Google search, you can find so many resources at every price point that will help you gain knowledge while waiting.
Just because you don’t have the ultimate goal right now doesn’t mean you can’t collect skills and knowledge in the meantime. And, of course, this can apply to many things outside of gardening. Recognize when you are in the waiting room for a dream and take advantage of that stage - don’t let it go to waste.