Gardening Secrets to Success

Summertime is finally here! ‘Tis the season for lounging by the pool, long hikes, and backyard barbecues. In the new era of outdoor hosting, there is nothing like a vibrant garden to spice up your patio this season. Learning how to plant, tend to, and elevate your garden can be an intimidating task. That’s why our team of experts have compiled a list of easy-to-learn gardening tricks to help turn your backyard into an outdoor oasis. Here are six summertime gardening tips for beginners: 

1. Know Which Plants Are In Season

A common mistake when starting a garden is planting the wrong seasonal flowers. Having a garden of winter plants in the heat of the summer is the fastest way to kill your new garden. Set yourself up for success by choosing summer-specific plants like dahlias, tomatoes, cucumbers, daisies, and so much more. There are also wonderful all-season plants that are good to grow all year long. These annual plants include: asters, ardy begonias, flowering cabbage, pansies, etc. What’s the easiest way to get the right seasonal plants? Ask the garden store employee! Oftentimes, the garden store employees are highly knowledgeable about not only plants but how plants grow in the specific region in which you live. They are your best friend when it comes to choosing the plants for your sustainable backyard garden. 

2. Avoid Dry Soil
Summertime brings on rising temperatures and scorching sun. It’s very easy for soil to dry out this time of year and dry soil will lead to wilted plants and overgrown weeds. Watch out for these signs of a dehydrated plant as you tend to your garden. If you are unsure if the soil is too dry, you can repot your plant with fresh gardening soil. 

3. Be Smart About Watering 
Don’t let the dry soil threat scare you. You won’t need to spend every hour watering your plants. In fact, over-watering is a frequent flower killer. The typical rule of thumb is to water flower beds twice a week with plenty of water. Each plant will have its own unique watering schedule. It’s important not to water your plants at night, as the plants require water through the hot parts of the day. The best practice is to water your plants first thing in the morning, before work, to ensure they have the hydration for the day ahead.

4. Prune Your Plants
Even plants need a good haircut every now and then. It’s important to remove any dead branches, leaves, or debris from your pot. Cutting your plant down helps provide a healthy future growth, as it ensures a consistent air flow. Summertime is weed season so it’s important to be vigilant about eliminating pesky weeds that will steal nutrients from your plants. 

5. Feed Your Plants 
The summer brings strong sun exposure and dry conditions so it’s important to give your plants extra tools for success. You can buy plant food at a variety of garden and home improvement stores. Adding a 3-inch layer of plant food to your soil every two to three weeks can help the soil retain moisture and keep plants insulated from high temperatures. It will also provide your plants with nutrients that will encourage healthy growth. 

6. Add Some Shade
We all learned that plants need sunlight and water to live. But sometimes, direct sunlight is too harsh for more fragile plants. Make sure that there is a component to shade to your plant’s exposure. For example, place a plant next to your shed so that it experiences direct sunlight for half of the day and a cool shade for the other half. Pro tip: trees, fences, and bushes make the perfect natural shade providers for plants.