Whether this is you first effort at creating a garden or you want to brush up on your skills, the following articles contain useful information to make you a better gardener.
Choosing Plants
Selecting plants is one of the toughest gardening tasks, simply because there are so many to choose from. Here are some lists and resources to help you focus your search:- Plant Profiles
- Plant Zones & Choosing Healthy Plants
- Grow Award Winning Plants
- Garden Catalog Shopping
- Clay Busters - Plants for Growing in Clay Soil
- Easy Care, Low Maintenance Perennials
- Long Blooming Perennials
- Deer Resistant Plant Lists
- When to Start Seeds - Growing Your Own Plants from Seed
- Seed Starting - How to Successfully Start Plants from Seed
- Taking Cuttings from House & Garden Plants to Make More Plants
Starting a Garden
Where to begin? A good place to begin a garden is with the soil. As the saying goes: “Feed the Soil and the Plants Will Take Care of Themselves”
- Making a Garden - How to Start a New Garden
- Amending Your Garden Soil - Making Good Soil Out of Bad
- How Much Soil or Amendment Will You Need?
- Reading a Fertilizer Label
- What is Organic Gardening?
Garden Design
Designing a garden is an ongoing process and half the fun of gardening. Even so, there are some basic principles that will get you started off right:
- Garden Design - Designing Next Year’s Garden
- Garden Design - Garden Structure in Black & White
- Elements of Garden Design - Working with Color
- Xeriscaping - Planning a Water Wise Garden
Garden Tools
Tools for in the Garden and for Getting You There:
- Garden Tools - The Right Tool for the Right Job
- Glossary of Gardening Terms - useful Terms to Know About Gardening
- Selecting Garden Pruners
- Comparing Bypass Garden Pruners
- What is the Cooperative Extension System?
- Gardening Web Sites with Really Useful Information
- USDA Garden Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Maintenance
There is always something to do in the garden. Some plants are more demanding than others, but garden maintenance is a given.
- Staking Perennial Flower Plants
- How to Divide Perennial Plants
- Profiles of Some Common Organic Pesticides
- Garden Calendar - Things to Do in the Four Season Garden
