Gardening Tips - Learn All About How To Make A Beautiful Garden Easily! When you begin to plan your garden, whether its to be a perennial, annual or a combination of both one of the first and most basic of gardening tips is to know your hardiness zone.
For annual gardens the hardiness zone isn't really important because your plants and flowers only last for the one season.
But for those perennial plants it is OH so important! By hardiness zone we mean how gold it gets in the winter.
Your perennial plants and/or shrubs will be left outside throughout the winter so they must be able to survive until the next season.
There are two universally accepted hardiness zone maps; the first is the USDA map and the second is the United States Hardiness Arborteum Plant Zone Map.
Both will give you excellent gardening tips on your hardiness zone and very good insight on which plants will grow well for you when you get to that point in planting your garden.
Gardening tip - Whether you are buying your perennial plants or starting them from seed, be sure to buy those that are hardy in your zone.
If you are tempted to buy plants or small shrubs, and you will be, that are not hardy to your zone, you can make them container plants and keep them over the winter indoors.
Perennial plants that are hardy to you zone can be planted in the ground and maintained over the winter season.
The second most important gardening tips is to know your soil.
In most areas you can send a sample of your soil into your local area conservation agency.
In most areas there is a lengthy turnaround time for this service and generally a small fee.
Gardening tip - You can pick up soil sample kits at many farm and lawn stores, garden center or online and test your own soil immediately! After testing your soil you will have to make whatever adjustments are necessary depending on your soil type.
Most of the soil sample kits you purchase will tell you what you need to do to amend your soil.
Whatever you need whether it be lime, fertilizer or whatever you can purchase at a nursery or lawn and garden store.
Nursery store owners are very frequently your best source of information on soil amendments as they are very familiar with the type of soil in your area.
The third most important of gardening tips is the amount of sun your plants will be getting.
This is as important for annuals as perennials as each will tolerate sun, partial sun/shade or shade.
An additional gardening tip - If you don't have a perfect garden spot to plant your garden, consider a raised bed garden.
This type of garden can be built in almost any location, in any shape you wish and can be planted with shrubs, perennials, and annuals.
This may be the best of all worlds.