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Gardening is so relaxing. I think I've learned a lot from it as well. I'm still pretty clueless about a lot of things to do with gardening, but I'm learning. What are the most important things for beginners like me to learn? Here is a picture that shows a little bit of my first garden ever that I planted last year! I was going to take pictures of my current garden, but it has been too rainy outside.

PiperMckenna 6 June 26
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1

Beautiful! I love sunflowers

Livinlife Level 9 June 28, 2019
1

Youtube is a treasure trove of gardening videos, North American, British, Irish, Australian & New Zealand. There are tv episodes on gardening and landscaping. A lot of them make their way to youtube. Also, a lot of independent youtubers have made instructional episodes for their own youtube channels. Some are awesome. So play around with some searches. They can add inspiration.

I agree with the first comment of soil being key. Close behind are water and sun. Start taking notes on your sunlight patterns, which are sure to change on your property depending on the time of year. Important to know how many hours of direct sun a given spot receives and at what parts of the year. Use this info as you read up on specific plants you might want to try. I second the earlier advice to start with easy, forgiving plants. Your public library should have some plant books with informative care guides on a host of various garden plants. I find it fun even just reading about them. Annuals of various varieties are cheap if you buy seed packets, and you can quickly learn which are happy where you sew them and which not so much. I actually scattered perennial and annual flower seed mixes in my new garden this year, and it is fun seeing some stuff thriving that I thought we'd be too hot for. Other plants are getting too crowded and have to be thinned out. Still others I know I won't try next year. It has been good just to be exposed to all these varieties.

As for soil, drainage it so important to pay attention to, rich loam being the jackpot winning type we all want. But some plants actually like clay. Some do best in sandy, low nutrient soil. Go figure. If you have a local agricultural center, they can usually test your soil's pH level if you send a representayive sample. ...for a fee. What I did instead was plant mophead hydrangeas. They bloom pink if your soil is alkaline, blue if it is acidic, and lavender or mauve if more or less neutral. You can then add amendments to nudge the pH closer to where your chosen plants will do best. pH effects how well plants are able to absorb nutients from the soil.

Awesome advice! My backyard gets so much sunlight I'm having a hard time finding places for partial sunlight plants to grow. I finally found a place and I'm going to see how they do. It seems like peppers, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and herbs do the best in my soil from what I saw last year. I've planted other plants that barely came up. I also have a deer problem though, so that may have been some of it. So I'm working on fencing ideas to keep them away.

@PiperMckenna Oh dear! Deer! I just have raccoons, but since I don't have chickens, no tragedies to speak of; mostly they dig around in my compost pile, which I can live with.
I would really check out some gardening books for their pest management sections. They sometimes have tips for deer. There are various ornamental plants deer don't like at all.

@MikeInBatonRouge The deer are horrible! I mean, they are so pretty but they just eat up everything! They even come up on my deck! We have raccoons around too. And bunnies. I'm experimenting with natural animal deterrent. So far it has worked.

@PiperMckenna I know! And they are BIG and can just tear out some barriers like netting. My central gardening passion is roses; I have grown them over 40 years. Deer would just destroy them---which is why I am glad I don't have them in my,suburban neighborhood. There are sprays that make plants unpalatable, but they have to be constantly reapplied, anytime it rains, for example.

@MikeInBatonRouge So far I use the sprays. Homemade, but they seem to work well. I have to apply every 2 days. So it's a bit of a hassle making it up and going out and spraying the plants. But yumminess is so worth it.

2

Have a browse through all the postings in the group. There also more than 120 videos that have been posted.

FrayedBear Level 9 June 27, 2019
1

The best advice is. If a plant does not do well, don't worry about it, just treat it as a chance to try something else. Easy.

Fernapple Level 9 June 27, 2019
1

Just play in the dirt and have fun! Every property is it's own little eco system, and plants that work on the other side of town may not be happy in your space, and vice versa. Research plants that you like or want to see if your growing parameters are likely to work, and just do your best. My gardens change a bit each year, sometimes just trying something because it looks interesting!

Thanks for the tips! I love the freedom of gardening! I think I'll continue to try different plants.

1

Sunflowers good for BlueJays to eat 1 seed at a time out of the flower

Sunflowers are my absolute favorite flowers! The birds they attract are so lovely!

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