If you are new to gardening but not blessed with a green thumb, fear not! Use our gardening for beginners tips to arm you with all the basics you need to get started.
Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby to take up! It gets you outdoors and what could be better than eating food that you have grown yourself? Gardening isn’t a hard thing to master, either. But if you are first-time gardener, there are a couple of things you should know.
Continue reading to discover our 10 simple gardening tips for beginners…
1. Know where to grow
Our first gardening tip for beginners is to simply observe your garden and figure out which spots receive direct sunlight versus partial sunlight or full shade.
For anyone learning to garden, misjudging the sunlight is a common pitfall, so be sure not to skip this gardening tip! In order for your plants to thrive, check the plant labelling to assist you in picking the correct spot.
Most edible vegetables and fruits need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day, whilst pretty flowers such as the Foxglove thrive off dappled or partial shade.
2. Use the right gardening tools
Take the hard work out of gardening with our next simple gardening tip: stocking the shed with the right tools!
It can be easy to go overboard on the gardening tools, so we have some suggestions for any budding beginners.
Essential gardening tools include water-resistant gloves, pruners, a hand towel, a high-quality hose or watering can, a garden fork and a wheelbarrow.
3. Choose the right plants for your soil
Before taking a trip to your local garden centre, it is important to know your soil type. There are six different soil types: clay, silty, loamy, peat, sandy and loamy. It is important to know the difference as many plants thrive better in one type than they do in others.
Test your soil by simply looking at it and feeling it, observing whether it is sticky, gritty, friable or slimy to find the answer.
If you are still not sure, you can pick up a simple pH test soil kit in most garden centres. These tests are easy to use and offer useful information to base your gardening design around.
Moreover, plant labels and seed packaging will tell you what grow best in what soil. Perfect for gardening for beginners!
4. Plan your design before you start digging
Starting a garden is all about location! Plan to start your garden where you will see it regularly. This way, you can admire it from indoors and are more likely to want to spend time in it.
Now that you know where to grow, you have the plants you want and your new gardening tools in hand, it’s time to map it all out before you start digging! Gain a bigger picture of your garden by placing of all your bulbs and plants on the soil surface, moving them around until you are happy with your arrangement.
This gardening tip for beginners will enable you to plan your colours wisely, helping you to create a garden that looks great at any time of the year.
5. Label and organise
Our next simple gardening tip for beginners is to label your seeds, bulbs and plants! For first-time gardeners is can be easy to forget what you have planted and where. So this is a great gardening tip!
As you are planting, take a moment to write out a plan label and pop it in the ground, next to your plant.
6. Pick low-maintenance plants
Whilst this may be an obvious gardening for beginners tip, it can be tempting to pick up delicate flowers such as Roses, which are notoriously high-maintenance.
Low-maintenance flowers does not mean that they are less visual appealing! In fact, choosing easy-to-care-for plants can add visual drama, make interesting focal points and form a sound backdrop.
If you tend to forget to water your plants, choose Sage or Lavender. If you do not have time for clipping and pruning, Topiary is a plant that only needs care once or twice a year.
7. Feed and water plants regularly
If you are feeling brave and have opted for more high-maintenance plants, knowing when and how to feed and water plants is important.
The general rule is to water the root, rather than the foliage. This offers the best chance for your plants to trap the moisture and absorb the soil’s nutrients.
Feeding is also important and should be done fortnightly during the spring and summer. This is essential for healthy growth and colourful displays!
8. Give your plants space to grow
Giving your plants space is another simple gardening tip when it comes to starting your garden.
Young plants need personal space to allow both the root and foliage to grow. If you plant seeds too close together, they are more susceptible to disease, since airflow is limited.
Plant labels will tell you how much room they need, but be careful not to put them into a container that is too big. This is called, overpotting, meaning water sits in the soil rather than being absorbed by the plant.
9. Be kind to wildlife
It is easy for gardening beginners to see wildlife as the enemy. Insects can strip the leaves off a plant and birds can eat your growing fruit, however, wildlife can be useful in the garden!
Birds eat the insects that could harm your garden and bats keep the mosquito population down. Bees are crucial for pollination, so while they may look like “pests”, they can sure do wonders for your garden.
To attract birds into your garden, set up a bird feeder and to attract bees, plant colourful flowers, especially those of the blue variety.
10. Enjoy your garden!
Our final gardening for beginners tip is to make time to enjoy your garden!
Allow yourself to experiment and try new things. Create a seating area where you can sit back and admire your work, or get your kids involved in your gardening journey.
A garden can be a refuge from the rest of the world, so it is so important that take the time to enjoy it.
Did you enjoy our gardening for beginners tips? Get closer to nature further by taking a look at the top destinations in the UK for walking holidays. Do you have any simple gardening tips to share with us? If so, let us know on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.