Gardening for Beginners

Last fall we started making some plans for gardening in our landscaping. Our focus was on planting some trees, but it was definitely an if you give a mouse a cookie situation. I really wanted a “fall tree” or one that would change colors in the fall and lose its leaves. We landed on a Shumard Red Oak and the kids still call it our “fall tree” and it makes me giggle. If you give a girl a “fall tree”, she’s going to want to add beds in the corners of her backyard and plant Texas Mountain Laurels. After the corner beds, she is going to want a Magnolia tree in the front yard. Surely now she will need to add some salvia and sage to the existing front beds…

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Fast forward through the insane Texas freeze and into spring and I was super anxious to keep adding and playing around with our landscaping. And I haven’t really stopped since! I am really loving and learning a lot about plants. My indoor houseplants I’ve been taking care of for a while now, but outdoors is all new to me. I thought it would be helpful to share what I have used and learned as a newbie striving for a green thumb! Some gardening basics if you will.

Picking The Right Plants

These are all (I think) the things I try to consider when purchasing a new plant for our home. Of course sometimes I just get too excited and will throw one or several of these out the window if I really love something. And then sometimes I regret that, and sometimes I don’t!

• Zone
• Annual vs. Perennial
• Size
• Shade/Part Sun/Full Sun
• Evergreen or Deciduous
• Gardening Maintenance
• Price
• Most important: will the bunnies eat it?

Zone

When you are shopping for a new plant you need to make sure it is in your zone! Most things sold at your nursery will be able to grow in your zone, but it is still important to check. I am in zone 8b, you can find out your zone here. It is also important to note that some plants can be an annual or perennial depending on your zone. More on those next!

Annual vs. Perennial

Why is this so hard to remember? Annuals are a once a year thing. Perennials come back EACH (per) year. It’s not that complicated, but I do have to think about it still. They are usually very well labeled at Home Depot and Lowe’s with big signs, but then there is also usually a label on the plant tag as well that says it. It is frustrating when it doesn’t say and you don’t know, but just ask or google it and you should be able to find out. When I am looking at plants I am constantly googling things! It is sort of like looking at reviews though, one negative thing can make me want to put it back. Or there can be a lot of conflicting information and you just have to (gasp!) decide for yourself! Anyways, it is definitely something to consider when planting.

Annuals

You know how much I love flowers so I do tend to gravitate towards annuals because they can be more showy, or more instant gratification. I think annuals are great for filling in holes or spaces you are not sure what to do with yet. But, you have to remember that you will have that same hole next year and will have to buy them again or do something else. They are often a dollar or two so can seem inexpensive, and I think are worth the money if they make it, even when you have to replace the next year. Annuals can be so festive in my opinion. A little sign of the seasons! They can be instant color!

• 

• 

Perennial

Perennials need a little more thought in my opinion. They are hopefully more of a commitment. You have to consider a lot when picking out a perennial because the idea is that they will grow and spread and come back year after year. So the following considerations I am going to talk about should weigh more heavily. Perennials can make gardening and landscaping easier because you will be planting less. A lot of the perennials I have used are very low maintenance as well. I also think they are so special! Especially the ones that die back all the way, and then somehow when spring comes they come back to life. It is so exciting to see and have to look forward to.

• 

• 

Size

Another thing to consider when you are picking out a plant is the starter size and the potential size. You have to consider how tall and wide the plant will hopefully get in your landscaping. There will be spacing information on the plant tag that will help you decide. Don’t forget if it is a slow grower you could use some annuals to fill in the empty space for however long is necessary.

I have gravitated towards fast growers, but have picked a few slow growers I am trying hard to be patient with. My Texas Mountain Laurels were a little bit more of an investment and are slow growers, but they are very pretty and evergreen! I think they will be worth the wait. I also think sometimes getting a larger started plant can be easier to establish. This can be more expensive, but worth it if it makes it. I also find it to be true with houseplants!

Shade/Part Sun/Full Sun

Plant tags are usually very clearly labeled with shade, part sun, or full sun. Sometimes it will even break down the number of hours of even specify morning sun/afternoon shade etc. This is super helpful and pretty straightforward, but figuring out the spot at your home can be a little trickier! You will just have to observe and consider how the sun moves during the day and during the seasons in your landscaping. You also have to take note of larger plants or trees shading areas. Some plants will do fine with more shade, but you might not get as much flowering with less sun. I think some plants have more wiggle room than others with what they need, so it can be a bit of trial and error.

Evergreen or Deciduous

Another thing to consider when gardening is whether a plant is evergreen or deciduous. Evergreen stays green all year or mostly and deciduous loses its leaves in the fall/winter. I have leaned toward deciduous plants it seems. But, if you do not have enough evergreen you have to consider what your landscaping will look like in the fall/winter. We decided on an evergreen for our front yard so it helped things look nice. Evergreens can also help provide year-round privacy. And of course I wanted a “fall tree” so we could see the colors change and we spend more time in our backyard so we get to enjoy that.

We (Barry) actually dug up a lot of our evergreens in the front. They were hollies and the bunnies always ate the bottom of them and they just always looked goofy and drove me nuts. It was really fun filling that in this spring, but we will see how bare it looks come winter. Luckily, our season isn’t very long. There are some deciduous plants that give four-season interest, so even if they lose their leaves they have something like beautiful bark to offer. I was hoping to get this with my oak leaf hydrangea, but it has not been doing very well at all.

Gardening Maintenance

Another consideration is maintenance. Some plants have to be deadheaded to thrive or produce more blooms. Deadheading is when you cut off the flower when it starts to look crummy. This encourages more blooms so it doesn’t begin seed production. It also makes things look neat and tidy! This can take a lot of time, but can also be therapeutic!

Some plants will require more pruning than others or none at all. This is when you want to change the plant’s shape or size.

Some plants will also need to be divided every few years. I wouldn’t mind this kind of maintenance! Seems like a good problem to have. The more plants the merrier! If you need to do this you dig up a “clump” of the plant and replant it somewhere else or gift to a friend! I really like my Ame’s tool for when I need to move plants around, maybe next year I will have some to divide.

After some trial and error this year I think I would like to keep my flowers that need to be deadheaded in my back and in pots. It is an easier task to do when I am out back with the kids. It is also something I have taught them how to do. Hank still likes to pick the pretty flowers though :).

Price

I’ve touched on this within some of the other topics, but price is a pretty big one so I think it’s worth mentioning in its own category too! It is important to think about how much you are putting into things and how much you are getting back. If you are just starting out it might seem like more, but then hopefully once you have some established perennials and your tools down you will kind of know what you want to spend each season or year. Or at least TRY to stick to a budget.

I also think it is worth it to spend more on a plant that you really love, or that is a little bigger to start out. I experienced a lot of transplant shock this year and I do think it was much more frequent in the little quart sized plants. Transplant shock is basically when your plants are mad after being moved to their new home. So, even though those are cheaper, if they die they aren’t really worth it. I actually did take a few plants back to Lowe’s and had no problem returning them. You do need their original container and receipt. They just flat out died and very quickly too. Have you ever taken a plant back? It felt kind of weird, ha!

Bunnies

For you this might be deer, other critters, insects or maybe a combo. But MY BUNNIES ARE RELENTLESS. Even my two year old, Hank, says “bunnies eat momma’s flow flows” I try to go out at dusk and chase them away. We have tried sprays and granules. I put plastic forks all around them at one point this summer.

But anyways…I don’t have the answer here, but I always google that when I’m considering new plants. Any suggestions to try? I kind of know things they aren’t supposed to like…scented and fuzzy for example. But I have still had issues. They seem to leave my salvias, sage, and vincas alone. Vincas are my new favorite annual because of this! Also, they don’t need to be deadheaded which is great for the front. So be aware of your plants predators and plan accordingly.

We did add a green mesh fencing around our boxed garden in the back, but I do not like the look of that for our front yard. I think we might add more to the corners. I have had so much fun watching our zinnia seeds flower, but it has been a battle with the bunnies. Since they grow tall and it is in our backyard I think the fencing might look ok. We also got two raised beds. I don’t know what I will do if the bunnies get those plants ;).

• 

• 

I have also recently had a pill bug problem and am trying Sluggo for that. So far, I think it is working.

Some of my sunflowers and zinnias were showing signs of insects on their leaves so I bought a basic insecticide and also think that has worked, but I haven’t really stayed on top of it. I made sure to get one that was safe for our edible plants too. Not a pretty problem, but not nearly as destructive as the bunnies or roly-polies. Poor Elle loves “polies” I hope she doesn’t see the Sluggo…

Gardening Prep, Weed, and Feed

Soil

After you have decided on what to plant, you need to plant it! In the fall, we got a truckload of some good dirt from a place my friend suggested. It was a lot cheaper this way and then we were able to introduce some better soil and nutrients into our beds. This spring I didn’t add any more soil, but as I planted I mixed in some Black Kow with our soil to add good organic matter. I picked this manure out based on reviews. Some plants might like more of certain kinds of soil like peat moss or special mixtures/combos, but I am not that fancy yet!

Some plants like a more acidic soil, like my azaleas. We have not had our soil tested, have you? I saw a little kit at Walmart I was curious about. Might be fun to try, it wasn’t expensive either. I have not done much in this department, but do plan to and will report back. I have just been focusing on “feeding” my plants this year which is new to me. More on that soon!

Weeds

This year I used Preen to prevent weeds. I followed their instructions and sprinkled it on top of the soil, but I chose to do it before the mulch so the granules were not as visible. You do have to pull existing weeds. It is supposed to be reapplied after three months and I am a bit overdue and do have some weeds popping up, so I would say it works! Costco had a big bucket for a good price this year. I need to reapply asap! Just do NOT use around seeds or seedlings!

Nutsedge (sometimes called nutgrass, but it is a sedge not a grass) has been a really big problem for me. I have spent A LOT of time pulling them which some sources have said can make them come up more (they might be right). So I researched a lot of different products and it seems that two work… I bought the one called Image, but I am just to scared to used it. They list several plants it is safe to use around, but all of mine are not in that list. I really need to figure this out because it is ruining my garden’s aesthetics for sure :(. Any help!?

• 

• 

Mulch

Next, you will need some mulch. You want it to be about an inch thick or deep, and you do not want any kind that is dyed. Whatever is in the dye will leach into your soil and that is not good for your plants. I went with one that had great reviews again. Pro tip: pick your mulch up curbside, so you have more room for plants in your shopping cart ;)! When you finish mulching everything looks SO GOOD. This is always the icing on the cake.

Food

Now that you have given your plants a nice home, you need to keep them alive and thriving! I haven’t gotten fancy with my food either. The main thing they need is nitrogen. All plants need nitrogen! So that is where I started.

I have been using an instant feed (when I remember or have time), and a slow release (every three months). I did buy the little hose attachment for the instant feed and really liked that. The slow release is soooo easy to apply. You just have to remember to do it…I’ve done pretty well, maybe a B-?! I am trying to add things like this to my google calendar as a “task” it is a little more efficient for me, but sometimes it still doesn’t happen.

Next, I need to look into more specific foods for plants like my azaleas and maybe my poor oak leaf hydrangea. What do you feed your plants?

Watering

Sometimes it is hard to know how much water our plants need. And sometimes, they make it quite obvious! When you first get things planted you will probably want to water them daily, and then start to back off after a week or so. I am kind of all over the place with this and it depends on how busy life is.

We have a sprinkler system we can program from our phones and this is so helpful. When we went on vacation this summer I moved all my potted plants to the side of the house so they could continue to be watered. I think considering it was the end of the summer, it worked pretty well. I didn’t think about my big pot that I had morning glories growing onto our porch column from. Oh well, lesson learned.

Make sure your plants are not getting too much water. If they are in a pot, make sure it can drain! I made the mistake of not drilling holes in my hanging fern pots. Since they love moisture I was thinking it would be ok. I don’t think any plant likes root rot, oops. I think they have turned a corner and are looking healthier again thanks to a drainage hole.

Basically I think watering is up to you! You have to watch them and try to figure it out. And of course it will change with the sun and seasons and weather! And every plant is different!

Favorite Gardening Tools

These are my favorite tools I have been using:

• Ame’s Planter Pal (This actually was our pooper scooper in the backyard, TMI? But, I liked it so much I bought a second one for the front yard!)
• Pruner
• Scissors
• Knee Pad
• Gardening Bag
• Soil Moisture Meter
• Gloves
• Slinky hose (I really like the holder this one came with, too!)
• Bucket

Gardening Lessons

It is so easy to learn about specific plants, and you can really go down a rabbit (ugh) hole, but I hope these basics can get you started or give you some confidence to just go for it! You never know what will grow well in YOUR garden and for YOU! I love going for walks in our neighborhood and seeing what other people are growing, and specifically what they are having success with! Pro tip: if your neighbor can grow it you can too!

Another thing I have learned and probably done too much is moved plants! If it isn’t working or thriving and you’ve given it some time, try it in another place! This was especially helpful in the beginning when I wasn’t sure what was going where and what I still needed. If I didn’t like something where it was, I moved it. I really only upset one plant by doing this. It didn’t look too unhappy and eventually perked back up. They don’t seem to be as traumatized as when they die after you plant them right after you buy them. That’s in my little experience at least!

Remember to fill those holes with annuals! You can have a future goal or plan for your garden, but it can still look beautiful now, too!

Don’t be afraid to get rid of something you don’t love! I am so glad we don’t have those hollies anymore. They brought me zero joy, but I just felt so bad doing it. Most of us don’t own a home where we picked out everything that is growing in it…or at least I don’t think? Create a garden you love!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Find your local nurseries and favorite hardware stores and go to them all!!! They all have great things to offer and their own advantages.

Also, I highly recommend you find a master gardener in your area. I have been following Neil Sperry and even ordered his book. I love his weekly emails because one it is exciting and two it kind of gives me tasks or a calendar guide. Who doesn’t love a little guidance sent straight to their inbox!?

I have also recently gotten sucked into some YouTube garden tours. I love the Impatient Gardener (and her name!). Do you follow anybody?

It has been so much fun learning about gardening this past year. I spend a lot of time looking things up, and chatting with my plant loving friends and family. I think it can easily be compared to motherhood. Sometimes you try so hard, and still fail. But, when they bloom, it is so worth it! They are both never ending and have their own seasons. Every plant and child is different. I will say gardening is a bit more quiet, ha.

Do you love gardening? Do you have any more beginner tips to share? Do you have the answer to my bunny or nutsedge problem!?

If you give a girl a “fall tree”…