Planting a Garden

Planting a garden can bring beauty to your yard, exercise to your body, lovely scents to inhale, food to your table and peacefulness to your mind. What Alfred Austin wrote in the late 1800’s still holds true today, “The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”

Planting a garden whether it be a flower garden, basic herb garden, rock garden or vegetable gardens can be an easy thing to do if you don’t let it overwhelm you or start too big. It’s important to enjoy the process. There are a lot of gardening methods out there. If you read about all of them as a novice gardener before starting a garden, it can be overwhelming, so give yourself a break and just do a small amount first. Then, build from there.

We’re going to cover some of the most important gardening information to be aware of when planting a garden. We’ll give a quick overview of the areas below. Then, you can click on an area for more information.

Garden Plants

Choosing a garden plant, or two, or three, or more is such a fun part of planting a garden. You will need to decide what you want to grow. Maybe a flower garden? Vegetable gardens? Enter here and peruse the possibilities of planting a garden.

You may want some sort of a garden planner when it comes to planting a garden. It can be as simple as drawing on paper. Or there are a lot of computer options available these days if that is something you’re interested in. Your garden planner should also include the amount of sun your yard gets and a way to list the garden plants you want.

The ever important planting zones are a big part of planting a garden. Are you in a hot zone 10 or a cold zone 4? If you haven’t already checked out your zone so you know what plants will grow in your area, do that here. This section will also give a few ideas about how to extend your zone when it comes to planting a garden.

When planting a garden, you may want a general understanding of organic gardens. Basically, organic gardens do not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Growing organically means looking at your garden as part of a whole system, a part of nature. You help your garden grow by working with nature and not adding things that wouldn’t normally be there.

Hmm…garden soil…soil is soil, right? Actually, knowing how to prepare soil is important when it comes to planting a garden. So much depends on all the wonderful activity and nutrients in the soil. There’s nothing better than a dark, rich soil – except the fabulous plants that will grow (with a little attention of course).

Garden fertilizer can be a confusing subject. Does it matter if you use organic fertilizers or synthetic? What’s with the three numbers on fertilizing package…is it really that important to do a soil test? What about using animal manures or green manures? Spend a little time reading this section and your garden will thank you, Planting a garden can and should be fun.

When it comes to planting a garden. Compost will help to create a healthy soil. It adds nutrients and can help with how easy the soil is to work and grow plants. Learn how to start a basic compost pile, and soon you’ll have your own “black gold” to add when planting a garden!

Garden mulch helps to retain moisture, keeps weeds at bay, and can add nutrients into the garden bed as it decomposes. How’s that for benefits! There are many options to use for garden mulch, and they are definitely worth learning about. Don't forget about mulch when it comes to planting a garden.