Novice gardeners may be quick to throw in the spade when their flowers or vegetables fail. The good news is, that’s completely normal!
Organic gardener David Whitwam says the number one thing newbies should know before picking plants for their gardens is you have to get “real comfortable with killing stuff!”
Trial and error, Whitwam says, is part of the gardening process. But there are ways to give your garden a fighting chance. The first step is to plant yourself on the couch, and dig around online, to determine your neighborhood’s microclimate – or, the climate of a very small area.
“What can be grown in Brooksville during a certain time of year might be completely different from what can be grown in Bradenton,” Whitwam says.
Then, get outside and figure out how much sun, or shade, your garden will get in winter, spring, summer and fall.
“You need to figure out where the sun’s going to be throughout the entire year,” says Whitwam.
Next, the Florida Friendly Landscaping website, for a “green” thumbs up or down on whether your preferred plants will pass or fail.
Finally, before heading to the nursery or big box store, consider these cost-saving measures: for annuals, seeds save cents, if you’re patient. For perennial plants, ask a pal to share cuttings or bulbs.
Says Whitwam, “You might have a neighbor who has some landscaping plants that you might be able to cut a branch from it.”
One more thing: well-prepared soil with organic matter works wonders. Whitwam makes his own: he has a backyard pen with a couple of happy rabbits. Says Whitwam, “the bunnies eat weeds, then they poop, then the poop goes in the garden!”
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