Flowers for New Gardeners – Turn a Black Thumb into a Green Thumb

I grew up in an apartment, where gardening meant keeping a few begonias, some African violets, and the occasional cactus alive. Later housing choices didn’t encourage planting a garden: I lived in more apartments, then in suburban homes where the neighborhood norm was foundation plantings and a swath of lawn. Finally, I moved to a house on nearly two country acres, bought from the family of a florist. His gardens, once beautiful, had long since gone to seed and weed.

The first year, I pulled up weeds and planned where things would go. But what things? All I knew was that I had a vague desire for a perennial garden that followed the English garden style of asymmetrical semi-informality. Beyond that, I was in the dark.

Today, seven years later, I have five distinct gardens filled with healthy plants that bloom from June through late October. Here’s the quick and easy path I took from weed patch to mature garden.

Take a Gardening Class, Read a Gardening Book

My modus operendi has always been “Take on something new, buy a book!” So I picked up a Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gardening, along with a guide to perennials, and a month-by-month primer to gardening in my region.

Even better than a book is a real live gardener taking you through the steps and demonstrating various tools or techniques such as dividing plants or pruning. Community colleges, universities with agriculture departments, botanical gardens, and local garden clubs are good places to look for workshops: I took classes on caring for perennials and landscape planning, and attended garden club events and property tours.

Preparing the Soil

A soil test kit is inexpensive and provides two crucial pieces of information: the pH (acidity/alkalinity) of the soil, and its nutrients. You can then use supplements to balance pH and to add necessary nutrients. Organic fertilizers and compost are healthiest for the soil and for you. Some products are specifically meant for particular plants such as Rosetone (for roses); others, like Flowertone, can be applied more generally.

Weeding is the obvious first step. The more time you spend on this seemingly thankless task, the more you’ll thank yourself in years to come. Once you plant your flowers, you’ll also need mulch, which keeps roots protected from hot sun, slows down evaporation, and controls weed growth.

Beginning Gardener’s Guide to Climate Zones – The First Step to Choosing the Right Plants

For choosing plants, start with the USDA’s plant hardiness zone map. Most plants survive – or not – based on the lowest temperature to which they are exposed. The zone map tells you the lowest probable temperature for your area. In New England’s zone 5, where I live, the lowest “probable” temperature is between – 10 and – 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This doesn’t mean it will always get down that low, but it reasonably could. The plants you choose should be able to survive that temperature. (Note that microclimates, including altitude, may change your climate zone; also, most zones are divided into A and B sections.)

Don’t try to buck the system: Long-stemmed roses just won’t survive in Zone 4, and that’s about all there is to it. If you can’t live without them, you’ll have to treat them as annuals. Digging up and bringing big thorny rose bushes inside is just not practical!

You also need to consider when to plant. If you are planting in spring, wait until after the last frost. Your local gardening store can tell you when that usually is. You can also plant perennials in the fall, anytime before the first frost.

Another tip is to buy plants that are not only for your gardening zone, but from it. Plants raised in your zone (instead of having been imported from warmer climates where they have been coddled) will acclimate more easily to their new home.

More About Choosing Flowers – Sun, Soil, Native Species, Pest Resistance

Beyond soil and climate zone, there are several other factors that determine the success of your flowers:

• Sun: The little tags that come with your flowers tell you how much sun the plant needs. Full sun is more than five hours a day, and if a plant needs full sun, it needs it, no compromises, no exceptions! Be aware that sun and shade patterns change as the season progresses. Part shade/part sun plants are the most forgiving.
• Drainage: Some plants like sandy, well-drained soil, some like having “wet feet” (roots). Some need acidic soil, some need alkaline soil. Those little plastic tags usually contain information about soil preferences.
• Native species: Look for garden shops that specialize in species native to your area. Native species are hardier than hybrids. For example, my yellow yarrow cheerfully pop up every summer, but the more exotic hybrid paprika and pink varieties have slowly died off. Even more, native species belong in your ecosystem and often are pest resistant. I know that the blueberries I plan to plant will flourish, because I’ve got acidic soils, and wild varieties grow just up the mountain.
• Keeping up with the Joneses: If your neighbors all seems to plant acres of salvia or hydrangeas, there’s probably a good reason for it. Before investing in plants, I drove around and took notes. Whenever someone said “Careful about that plant; you can’t kill it, and it’ll take over” I made a point of getting it! (Remember, I had a lot of ground to cover with flowers, so the prospect of the yarrow or day lilies taking over was not unpleasant.)
• For all-season beauty, consider colors and blooming times. But don’t over-stress this: You can add plants, move them, and correct the look of your garden in years to come.

Pest Resistance

Pests include (but are not limited to) rodents such as chipmunks, squirrels and woodchucks, rabbits, and (in the country) deer. Some insects, such as slugs, can attack plants such as hostas; rodents go after bulbs. Choosing deer-resistant species is one answer. Deer repellents may help. Check with your local gardening store, university extension agent, or the successful gardeners in your neighborhood.

I may have over-done it with my enthusiasm: With five distinct gardens, and two more in the works, I have a lot of weeding every spring, and a big clean up every fall. But my hardy Zone-5 appropriate shrub roses have lasted five winters now and are spilling over the split rail fence I put in to support and showcase them. The rhododendrons I once carted in a wheelbarrow are taller than I am, and the hostas are so thick a weed couldn’t find a spot in between them. All of which mean that with the right plants, some sound advice, and patience, a black thumb can indeed turn green.