GARDENER BUZZ
Garden Planner
GARDEN PLANNER
Some people can’t wait to sit down and start planning their garden. Others would prefer to just “wing it” and put a garden plant here and a garden plant there. Regardless of which type of person you are, there are a few things that will help to make your gardening experience successful.
GOT SUN?
First, in order for your plants to grow to their full potential, you need to know how much sun or shade different parts of your yard receive. You can simply observe your yard at different times of the year, as well as noticing what kind of plants currently grow well in different areas.
Perhaps you already know you have a yard that is completely open and rarely has anything but sun. However by observing, you may see that on the north side of your house, garage or other outbuilding, there could be a wonderful patch of shade just waiting for a hosta or hydrangea that can do well with just a little sun, but not too much.
Or you may have a yard that is completely shaded over with tall trees and shrubs (or even other buildings). In that case, it will be important to observe carefully. Is there a spot maybe by the front drive or entrance that receives sun? Maybe along a south side of a building? If there is no sun shining anyplace in your yard, you will need to makean a couple of decisions. Either you will need to plan for plants that thrive in the shade, or see if you can open up area by removing a tree or shrub. It’s always desirable to leave trees in place that are not a danger or invasive because they do so much good for our earth, but you may have to make the decision about whether you can remove a tree or two in order to plant vegetables and herbs for your table.
One of the best ways to keep track of the sun your yard gets is to include a sun chart in your garden planner. It can be as simple as the following:
Use paper to draw your property including buildings, trees, shrubs and current garden areas (graph paper works nicely).If you’re able to make a copy, that’s always a good idea because they will come in handy when planning your garden beds.
Get three different colored pencils.
Then, on a sunny day go outside three times – say at 9:00am, 1:00pm and 5:00pm.If you have a lot of shade and your yard only receives sun when it’s higher, go out at 9:30am, 12:30pm, and 3:30pm.
The first time you go out use one colored pencil and draw lines wherever the sun is shining.The second time use a different colored pencil and do the same.The last time use the third colored pencil.
Now, look at your drawing.Do three colors overlap anywhere?That’s where you get the most sun.Use the chart to plan where to put appropriate garden plants.
Try to chart the sun two or three times throughout the year, since the sun shifts with the seasons.April, June and the end of August are good times to observe.
GARDEN BED PLACEMENT
Once you know how much sun different parts of your yard receive, you can start planning where to put your garden beds. You can use the same drawing you made for the sun chart, or there are gobs of garden planner programs online – some even free. We’ll list some of them below. If you decide to go with an online garden planner, you may be able to print a copy, so that you could even do your sun chart using that template.
At first, you can just draw the beds and note if it is a sunny bed or shady. Then…
GOT PLANTS?
Now, it’s time to start deciding which garden plants to put where. There are so many ideas out there about garden designs from foundation planting, edible landscaping, companion planting, mixing flowers with the vegetable garden, having a basic herb garden where it is easily accessible. But for now, look at the overall picture of your yard. Is there a place that would showcase flowers nicely? That is convenient for an herb garden? Gets lots of sun for a vegetable garden? You don’t necessarily have to pick the plants yet. Just get a general idea of what type of plant you want to go where – pencil it in.
Then, pick one area to start on first. Remember to not overwhelm yourself. What do you really have a hankering to work on? Select that! Enjoy it!
You may want to keep track of the plants you start or purchase, so you can include that in your garden planner. Many garden planners have a plant list page that helps you keep track of the characteristics of plants, when you planted them, how they did, etc.
Go to our Garden Plants page for more information about selecting garden plants.
PLANTING DETAILS
A garden planner should include a way to keep track of when to plant different plants. For example, in a vegetable garden, peas should be planted in early spring (whatever time during the year that may be for your region). Whereas, peppers should not go out until it warms considerably. If you’re working on a vegetable garden it will also help you to keep track of any succession planting and crop rotation.
GARDEN PLANNER LIST
FREE online garden planners:
Gardener’s Supply for Square Foot Gardening
FEE BASED online garden planners:
GARDEN PLANNER KIT FOR PURCHASE:
OURS
Finally, even if you are the type of person who wants to create a free-form, informal garden, (it is your garden to do so after all) it’s still important to do a little planning in order for plants not to struggle. At a minimum, you should notice where there is sun and shade, as well as your planting zone. That way you can select plants that will thrive in your yard. The best way to keep track of those things is with some sort of a garden planner – even if it’s just a sheet of paper showing where the sun shines in your yard or if you’re a real planner with all kinds of notes and drawings. Either way, the final result will be plants that that will sing with joy as they grow abundantly in your garden!
Happy planning!
