Gardening for Dummies


Starting a home garden that boasts greenery and vivid colored flowers sounds so interesting in today's stressful life. It is wonderful hobby, by which you get to perform mild physical activities. For elderly persons, gardening of any sort is an ideal way to remain active and involved in relaxing activities. Regarding gardening for dummies, it focuses on planting instructions and guidelines for beginners.

When it comes to gardening, no one is a dummy. Apart from selecting the plant varieties and garden type (indoor, container, flower and vegetable gardening), the other tips remain the same. Remember that even an experienced gardener must start as a beginner. With time and experimentation, anybody can become an avid gardener.

Vegetable Gardening

Planting fresh vegetables and watching them grow are very interesting. And if you taste home grown, garden fresh tomatoes and corns, you will no longer want to buy tasteless vegetables sold in the market. Required steps pertaining tovegetable gardening for beginners are:
  • The first and foremost thing is to select the plantation site or in short, planning garden layout. Opt for areas that receive ample amounts of sunlight for maintenance of healthy vegetables.
  • Prepare the soil in the selected area. Using an appropriate garden tool, loosen soil and remove weeds or unwanted grass. Expose garden soil to sunlight for a few days before planting vegetables.
  • In case the planting site is large, you can separate it into garden rows. Between two rows, leave a small space for easy access to the plants. This will provide space for performing gardening activities.
  • Following this, plant vegetables or sow seeds, as per your choice. Types of vegetables that require least maintenance are tomato, cucumber, spinach, onion, garlic, carrot, squash, beet, herbs, etc.
  • Water the planted vegetables whenever the upper soil layer turns dry. Frequent watering is essential for dry climates. Remove diseased parts (if any) and uproot weeds from your vegetable garden.
Flower Gardening

Whether you say rose gardening for dummies or flower gardening for beginners, the basic guidelines remain the same. Maintaining a flower garden requires some basic steps, such as selecting varieties specific for the season, soil preparation and extra care for timely blooming. Step-by-step instructions for planting flowers are:
  • Planning for flower garden layout is a bit tricky, as your overall garden appearance depends on it. You can start with preparing soil and creating equal sized rows in sunlit areas. The most crucial part is selecting flower varieties perfect for the current season.
  • For choosing flowers, the best way is to talk to your local horticulturist and take his opinion. Apart from the flower size, flower color and plant height, take a note of the level of maintenance. As a beginner start with hardy flower species.
  • Decide the plantation area according to flower color and height. You can also create a border for the flower beds with a contrasting flower color. Once you are done with this layout plan, proceed with growing plantlets.
  • Grow flowering plants with reference to your plan. Then, practice the regular plant care tips to ensure timely flowering and production of healthy blooms.
Organic Gardening

Generally speaking, there is no virtual difference between a regular garden and an organic garden. The only distinguishing point is using chemical free soil and organic plant cultivars in the latter type. To be more precise, organic gardening is focused on establishing an environmental friendly garden. Thus, farmyard compost, natural fertilizer and chemical free pesticides are used in an organic garden.

So, this was a brief information regarding gardening for dummies. If you do not have a plot or yard, consider learning container gardening for dummies. You will need large pots, potting mixture and plantlets or seeds (whichever applicable) for gardening in containers. Move or rearrange the potted plants as required. Last but not the least, do not forget to involve kids in gardening activities. That way, they will understand importance of plants in nature and ecological balance.

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