Turn Your Space into a Paradise of Plants: Gardening for Beginners
Plants are wonderful things. They can bring joy to our lives and gardening even has amazing health benefits.
However, for the first-time gardener, it can be daunting to start, maintain, and look after your very own garden. Windy Willows is always willing to give you, the green thumb-in-training, some advice.
A Guide to Planting Your First Garden
While gardening may seem like a gargantuan task to a beginner, it’s best to separate the task into easy-to-follow steps.
1) Choose the location:
First things first, before you can start planting anything, you need to know where your garden beds are going to be as this will inform many of your decisions down the line. Plot out where you have gardening space and then make note of the condition of the general environment (this will guide you during plant shopping). You will also need to start thinking about what size your garden beds are going to be. When plotting out the placement, bear in mind that it must be easily accessible for watering and general maintenance and that the soil should be habitable for growing plant life.
2) Check and Prep Your Soil:
Before you can begin planting, you will need to know what type of soil you have at your property and check its quality. You will need to be aware if your soil is sandy or more clay-like. Also, check its pH levels to know if it is more alkaline or acidic. This could influence which types of plants you will be able to plant and could even prevent you from planting anything if the soil is contaminated. We offer a range of planting mediums and additives to treat your soil and turn it into the ideal habitation for your greenery. In fact, it is always advised to prepare your soil adequately before planting.
3) Choose Your Plants:
Now comes the fun part – choosing what plants you would like to fill your garden with. This is where you can get creative and incorporate your preferences into your garden. For example, do you prefer a colour burst of flowers or do you rather want to try your hand at a veggie patch? Remember to take your environment into account and make sure that you buy plants that can thrive where you live. For example, is your garden sunny or shady? This is one factor that will determine your choice of plants. Windy Willows makes this hassle-free with our handy plant selector, which allows you to select different criteria (like “light” and “water”) to help narrow down your search.
4) Buy Gardening Tools:
No true gardener is complete without their tools. This may seem like a no-brainer, but having the right tools can make all the difference when it comes to a fun gardening experience. So, keep these requirements in mind when it’s time to shop for your garden.
5) Start Planting:
Now that you have everything in place, it’s time to start planting! Here are a few helpful tips for planting:
If you bought directly from the nursery, then a good rule of thumb is to plant your plants at the same depth as the container you bought them in.
If you bought seeds, then you will need to dig a hole about three times the depth of the diameter of the seed itself. Most seeds will come with instruction packets though, and it’s worth following these to ensure a healthy and happy plant.
6) Maintain Your New Garden:
Now all that’s left is maintenance. To keep your new plants thriving, spend time nurturing them. This includes regular weeding, watering, and feeding the soil with nutrients, like fertiliser and compost, from time to time. Maintaining your pride and joy won’t seem like work at all when you see your lovely oasis come to life before your very eyes.
Are you excited about starting your gardening journey? Then contact us today and find out more about how we can assist you.