Guest Author - Katelyn Thomas
Starting a garden is a fun and exciting venture, but if you donīt start off right, you may grow to be frustrated and exhausted. Before you plop some plants in the ground, there are several things you should do.
First, you will need to decide on a location for your bed. Do you like Hostas, Ferns, and mossy benches? You will want to look for a spot with at least 50% shade. Do you long for Roses, Lilies, and water gardens? You will want at least 6 to 8 hours of sun a day. Take a look at the amount of sunlight that falls on your selected area throughout the day. You may find that it is too shady or too sunny for the garden you had in mind. If possible, look at the garden site throughout the year before you plant. The sunny winter spot you have chosen may have heavy shade in the summer months.
Next, check your locationīs environment. Is it at the bottom of a hill? You may find that your garden becomes a stream bed in heavy downpours. At the top of a hill, you may find that some plants canīt tolerate high winds and cold winters. Is the bed going to be located right at the edge of a busy street? You may be plucking basketballs and bicycles from the bed instead of dandelions.
Once youīve decided on a location and know what problems the location will cause, its time to test your soil. No, you arenīt handing it a multiple choice exam. When you test your soil, you are finding out the acidity of the garden. A PH of 7 is perfection. Below 6.5, you will have soil Alkaline enough to really affect your plant choices. Above 7.5, your soil will be acidic enough that it will also harm some plants. You can try amending your soil to change the PH, but it will be a life long war. The soil will revert back and need to be re-amended frequently. Instead, you may want to look for plants that thrive in your soilīs conditions to have truly lush and vibrant gardens.
Finally, look at the quality of your soil. If your garden is heavy clay or very sandy, you may need to add a lot of compost to make it easy to work with. Heavily amending soil with compost is never a mistake. Your soil will hold water better if it is sandy, drain better if it is heavy clay, and have more nutrients with either type.
