Gardening For Beginners
There are lots of reasons why you might want to take up gardening. You might want to spend more time outdoors, brighten up your balcony or simply fancy trying a new hobby. Or, it might be more of a necessity — you’ve just moved into a lovely new home, but you’ve never had to deal with a garden before! Where do you start?
Whatever your motivation to get into gardening, in this article, we’re going to look at the basics to help us beginner gardeners take those first steps towards getting out green fingers.
Photo by Helena Dolby
Step 1 — Get to know your outside space
Before you start any projects, it’s a good idea to get to know your garden. Try asking yourself questions such as:
Which parts of my space are sunny and which are in the shade?
Which areas get the sun and which times of the day?
Is my soil quite wet or quite dry?
Having an awareness of the light and soil conditions in your outdoor space throughout the seasons will help you make good choices about what to plant. For example, sunflowers enjoy full sun and a well-drained soil, whereas your easy-to-grow snapdragons prefer partial shade.
Step 2 — Think about what you want to achieve
A good starting point is to think about what you would like to achieve from your gardening. Are you wanting to grow vegetables? Sow a few seeds to brighten up your borders in summer? Put in bulbs for a bit of spring colour? Or create a nice to space to sit and enjoy the sun? The answers to these questions will form the basis for which plants you might choose, what tools you need and what time of the year you’ll need to get started.
Step 3 — Make yourself a plan
Before you get going, it can be helpful to sit down and draw out a rough design for your garden. Use what you know about your sun and shade to help you do this. For example, a veg patch should get about five hours of sun a day and should ideally be positioned away from other plants, which may house slugs or pests that could attack your produce — nothing worse than all your hard work getting eaten!
Likewise, if your aim is to be able to sit out and enjoy the sun surrounded by your beautiful flowers, think about what time you’d be mostly likely to head outside and where would be a good spot to sit. In lots of gardens, the sun is in a different place depending on the time of day.
Step 4 — Invest in some tools
Visit any garden centre and you’ll see a huge variety of tools available. But as a beginner gardener, where should you start with building up your collection? Here are our top five basic tools:
Gardening gloves: For many gardeners, these are an absolute must. Cotton options are great for sowing seeds and planting containers, whereas a tough rubber or leather version can protect your hands from splinters and thorns. Some are also water-resistant, which is great for gardening in spring or autumn, when the soil is likely to be a bit damp.
Trowel: A trowel is a trusty all-rounder which you can use for planting containers, transplanting bedding plants or vegetable seedlings, digging out small weeds or planting bulbs. Choose stainless steel for a hard-wearing option.
Spade: Whether you’re digging holes for plants, edging your lawn or moving earth or compost around, the spade is essential for any garden.
Rake: Not only is this very handy for clearing up leaf debris in the autumn, the vegetable-growers among us will also need it to level and remove lumps from the soil before sowing any seeds. You could also use the tip of the handle for making shallow trenches ready for your seeds.
Secateurs: Secateurs are a must for keeping plants under control and are also just what you need for dead-heading flowers to encourage them to flower for longer, as well as for pruning shrubs.
Finally, you might be wondering where to buy your tools. This might vary depending on your budget, so it’s worth doing a bit of research online if you can. Supermarkets and shops such as Wilko often sell basic gardening equipment at very reasonable prices, while DIY stores offer a more comprehensive selection for a range of budgets. Garden centres stock lots of good-quality tools, but these will likely cost you a bit more — look at these as more of an investment.
Step 4 — Decide what to grow
Photo by Helena Dolby
Your choices here will very much depend on whether you’re focusing on containers, borders or vegetables, but there are plenty of easy and generally successful grows to recommend for beginner gardeners. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
For spring colour, try bulbs such as snowdrops, crocus, daffodils and tulips. Remember that your bulbs will need to be planted in autumn or early winter.
For summer colour, annuals (plants that complete their lifecycle in one year) such as sweet peas, snapdragons, marigolds and sunflowers are easy to look after and are satisfying to grow from scratch. Sweet peas and sunflowers do get quite tall, so make sure you’ve got some bamboo canes and twine ready to tie them up once they get a bit bigger.
When it comes to vegetables, sugar-snap peas and runner beans can be started off indoors and make a real treat come harvest time. Potatoes can be started off early in March, as can radishes and lettuces, which can even be sown again in July for a second crop. If you have a greenhouse or windowsill, home-grown tomatoes are also incredibly tasty – opt for a shorter “bush” variety to avoid having tall, unruly plants inside.
Step 5 — Plan your timings
A question that many beginner gardeners ask themselves is, “When should I get started?”
Spring is generally a good time to start sowing seeds, weeding, preparing your soil, putting in new plants (once the frosts have passed) and having a general tidy up ahead of starting your projects.
However, the cooler days of autumn are also good for settling new plants (they can get their roots established over winter) and putting in spring-flowering bulbs.
Gardeners would generally avoid planting new plants in the height of summer, as the ground tends to be much dryer and your plants would need a lot of extra watering to get going. However, there are still jobs to do — weeds never stop growing and dead-heading keeps your flowers looking fresh and vibrant.
Where to start with sowing seeds
Sowing your own seeds can be a cost-effective way to add colour to your garden. With a sunny windowsill and a bag of compost, you’ll be good to go.
If you’re wondering what to grow your seeds in, there are several options available. Plastic seeds trays offer a re-usable option that you can keep for next year. As they often have drainage holes in the bottom, it’s also a good idea to get a tray to go underneath. This will catch any water and protect your windowsill from damage.
However, you can also use newspaper pots or loo roll tubes to start off plants that don’t like having their roots disturbed (also a very eco-friendly option). Old ice cream tubs are a great solution for holding these upright.
After that, it’s simply a case of filling your pots with compost, sowing your seeds as per the instructions on the packet (different seeds need to be sown at different depths), and watering regularly. After 10 days to 2 weeks, you should see your first little green shoots appear – this is called “germination”.
Where to start with containers
Whether your space is limited or plentiful, being able to plant up containers is an essential skill for every gardener. Pots give you the freedom to create interesting displays no matter the season.
To get started, you’ll need to choose your containers. To do this, think about what sort of size pot would work well in your space (ideally as large as possible to give your plants plenty of space) and what material you’d like them to be. Clay or terracotta pots look attractive, but be sure to choose “frost-proof” options so they don’t get damaged over winter. Plastic pots come in a fantastic range of colours and can offer great value for money, while other options such as metal or wood are also available. However, rotting or corrosion can be an issue with these, so might not be such a long-term investment. Just make sure any pot has holes in the bottom.
Next, you’ll need to fill your pots about three-quarters full with some peat-free multi-purpose compost. Add your plants and top up with more compost if needed. Leave a 5-cm gap between the top of the pot and the soil to give you space for watering.
Where to start with veg
For those of us with dreams of our very own veg patch, it’s a good idea to start small while you get a feel for it. Cover any areas you want to leave until later with some cardboard or weed-proof membrane.
If you want to create a raised bed, then 1.2 x 3 m is an ideal size to get started, while a depth of 30 cm will suit most vegetables. You’ll need to fill it with a mixture of regular topsoil and compost to give your plants the nutrients they need.
While you’re preparing your outdoor space, you might be able to start off some seeds indoors on a sunny windowsill. This will give your plants a head‑start and means that you can harvest sooner. Just remember that they’ll need to be hardened off (get used to being outdoors) before being planted out.
Finally, whether you’re sowing your seeds inside or out, a watering can with a sprinkler attachment is ideal, as the fine jets of water won’t flatten your delicate seedlings.
Finally, all that’s left to do is enjoy your garden and appreciate all your hard work. You’ve done a great job!
If you are interested in getting started and would like a helping hand, why not come along to one of our growing workshops at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.
A huge thank you to Amy Wilcock who wrote this blog post for us.