Not all of us have a green thumb. However, there are easy things you can do around the yard that will help improve the look and value of your home. This is especially great if you plan on selling this year. It doesn’t take much; willingness to get dirty and keep pushing through. Here are some gardening tips you’ll want to quickly start using!

Gardening Tools

The first gardening tip to making a beautiful garden, is to make sure you have the right tools. Every gardener should have these basic tools to help them.

  • Gloves
    Gardening is a dirty job. You also risk getting scratched and splinters. Make sure to invest in a durable pair that aren’t too bulky. When storing them, keep them away from sunlight, bugs, and water.
  • Hand Trowel
    Hand trowels are great to help you dig holes to place plants and bulbs. They also help you dig out weeds. Allow yourself to invest in a nice trowel made of stainless steel or at least has a stainless steel head.
  • Spade
    Spades are great for digging holes or moving dirt from one spot to another. They can be expensive, especially investing in a good steelheadfiberglasshandle spade, but you want a tool that will last you.
  • Rake
    You probably didn’t get all the leaves and debris from the fall. Now that the snow has cleared, it’s time to rake up the leaves, pine needles, and other debris left behind.
  • Hoe
    Are you growing a vegetable garden? You’ll want a sturdy, wide hoe. Growing a perennial garden? Make sure to get a delicate touch, thinner hoe.
  • Long Hose with Adjustable Nozzle
    Water is essential to life. Having a hose with an adjustable nozzle ensures you have the right water pressure and spray every area of your garden.
  • Lopper
    If you have trees or shrubs in your garden, loppers will help you remove branches and trim them. You don’t want overgrown bushes in your garden!
  • Wheelbarrow
    You’ll definitely want to make sure you have a wheelbarrow on hand. This will help you haul large amounts of garden supplies back and forth.

Start Gardening

Plan your garden. Will you be doing a vegetable garden or a flower garden? Knowing this will help you determine where the best spot for your garden is and what types of bulbs you’ll be planting. Mapping it out also helps you determine which plants will do well in spots of your garden that have more or less sun.

Clear the space. After picking the best space for your garden, clear it. Using your rake, clean up all the big debris. Trim any bushes surrounding the area with your loppers.

Loosen the Soil. This will help mix oxygen into the soil and also loosen any weeds for you to pull out. Make sure you don’t overdo loosen the soil so the roots of your new plants can’t hang on.

Shop. Visit your local greenhouse and pick out the plants you like. The tags will usually tell you what kind of sunlight they need. If you have questions, ask one of the florists who works there. They are equipped with knowledge to answer all your basic gardening questions.

Lay Out your Plants. Place your plants around your garden where you plan on planting them. This way you can move them around before putting them in the ground.

Plant. The moment you’ve been waiting for. Start digging holes  2 to 3 times wider than the plant. Pull the plant of out the container and tease the roots. This helps with long term survival. Place the plant in the hole and cover with dirt.

Water. Make sure to water your freshly planted plants because you don’t know when the last time they were watered was. This also helps the soil pack down a little and hold your plant in the ground.

 

Do you have your own gardening tips? We’d love for you to share them with us!