The benefits of starting a garden are many and varied. For starters, it’s a huge step into self-sufficiency. You get to save money by growing your own fruits and vegetables, which you can then use to cook healthier meals. Gardening is also good for your health because it qualifies as exercise. Plus, it’s incredibly rewarding.

Here are some tips to help you get started if you’re new to gardening:

1. Do your research

Before buying seeds, do your research first to figure out which plants grow best in your region in terms of climate and soil type and quality. Naturally, the right plants will have a better chance of thriving than plants ill-suited to your region.

Once you have an initial pool of plants to grow, look up the different varieties of each plant. Those tend to differ in terms of their growing period and water and light needs. Knowing what each plant needs allows you to better care for them so that they grow tall and healthy.5

2. Avoid invasive plants

Some plants don’t get along well with others. In fact, they may even compete with them for water and nutrients in the soil. Such plants are known as invasive plants, and most of them are considered weeds.

Many beginner gardeners make the mistake of introducing invasive plants to their gardens because those plants generally grow quickly, bloom like crazy and tolerate pests and diseases well. It’s best to avoid growing invasive plants in the first place since the slightest neglect can result in them quickly taking over your garden.

Here are some common invasive plants to watch out for:

• Bittersweet
• Burning bush
• Common buckthorn
• Black locust
• Giant hogweed
• Japanese honeysuckle
• Purple loosestrife
• Butterfly bush
• English ivy
• Barberry

3. Attract the right bugs and insects

Not all bugs and insects will wreak havoc in your garden. Some insects, such as bees, ladybugs and mantises, are beneficial insects you want to attract to your garden. They help pollinate flowers and eat bad bugs. Some beneficial insects also eliminate pests by laying their eggs on or in bad bugs. When their eggs hatch, their larvae feed on the host insects.

Having a diverse set of trees, shrubs and flowers in your garden is a great way to attract beneficial critters. Plants like fennel, yarrow and carrot also attract beneficial insects.

4. Water your plants early in the morning

Don’t make the mistake of watering your plants at noon when the sun is at its highest. The sun can actually dry up the soil too quickly and even burn the leaves of your plants as water evaporates from them.

Instead, water your plants early in the morning when it’s still relatively cool. This allows the water to run down deep into the soil and reach the roots of the plant without too much of it being lost to evaporation.

Watering plants in the late afternoon or early evening also cuts down on evaporation and allows the plants several hours without the sun to soak up water.

5. Plant perennials

Perennials are the backbone of any garden. They typically live for three or more growing seasons and generally require less maintenance than annuals, which live for only one year. With perennials, you won’t need to buy new plants every year. They take a few years to fully develop, so don’t fret if they seem dull the first year or two. They’re setting down a root system to grow bigger and better each year.

Here are some of the best flowering perennials for your garden:

• Balloon flower
• Black-eyed Susan
• Blazing star
• Bugleweed
• Clematis
• Coneflower
• Cranesbill
• Creeping thyme
• Daylily
• English lavender
• Siberian iris
• Giant allium
• New England aster
• Montauk daisy
• Perennial tickseed
• Yarrow

Gardening is a step into self-sufficiency. It’s also very rewarding and good for your health. Follow the tips listed above to get started on growing your own garden.

Sources:

EatingWell.com

DoomsdayMoose.com

Almanac.com

GardenersPath.com