Beginner Gardening Tips Blog

Despite the rather chilly temperatures this past long weekend, I still managed to get out in the garden and cross a few tasks off my list. It’s not very often I have two straight days in a row to get things done. So with a new pink pair of gardening gloves that I got for my birthday, I set out with my basket of tools to weed, plant, prune and dig.

This is what left me with a sense of accomplishment:

1. We planted two five to six-foot cedars: I bought these about a month ago and have been waiting for a chance to dig them in. Fingers crossed that they make it. They still look lovely and green.
2. I dug out a ton of dandelions and other annoying weeds that magically appeared after all that rain we got these last couple of weeks. Talk about eco-friendly pest control, it was also a workout!
3. Give my boyfriend a pair of loppers or pruning shears and I come back to a twig with a root, so I kindly pointed out what I wanted pruned and how. Lorraine Flanigan’s article on how to prune spring-flowering shrubs, was helpful for my forsythias.
4. I spread around some compost in a couple of my beds to prepare them for the lovely plants I have in store for them.
5. I’m not sure if it was the fungus gnats or the fact that they’d outgrown the little peat pellets, but all of a sudden, my seedlings were looking sad and limp—and they didn’t need water. So I transplanted my seedlings into bigger pots until I’ll be able to plant them right into the garden.
6. I have always felt bad about tossing away those wooden mandarin orange containers, so this winter I kept them because I knew they’d come in handy for something. And in one of them I planted salad greens. Yesterday the squirrels made a couple of holes in it, but if things start to grow, I’ll take a picture.
7. I had some herb plants I was trying to protect from frost, but I just couldn’t wait any longer, so I planted them.
8. I dug out a ton of lily of the valley and their network of roots—they are so pretty and smell so nice, but they’re a pain in the butt every spring when they’re in the middle of my garden and I’m wanting to plant things. So I had to be ruthless.

And that sums up my list. A few tasks down, a few hundred to go!

Happy New Year!

Besides giving my thirsty indoor plants lots to drink in this cold, dry weather, I haven’t done much thinking personally about my own garden – that will change in the coming weeks as I’m really excited for spring.
However I have been busy editing and uploading content to go with the new special issue that is being mailed to subscribers probably as I write this! The theme is “Fantastic eco-wise Gardens.” With municipalities banning the use of pesticides and enviro-minded garden gurus reminding gardeners everywhere about the benefits of “green” gardening, this will be a fantastic resource to get you in the eco-friendly spirit for spring.
We also have lots of great eco-friendly content online…
For the new year, Jennifer Murray, my fabulous web producer, put together a helpful list of realistic eco-gardening resolutions.
If you’re looking to add some earth-friendly titles to your gardening library this year, consulting editor Lorraine Flanigan has compiled an extensive list of resources.
Plus, you can determine how green you are with Stephen Westcott-Gratton’s “Determining your green thumbprint” quiz. It might inspire you to adopt at least one of the eco-gardening resolutions – even small steps can make a great difference.
My eco resolutions include:

1. Setting up my composter to actually produce compost! Currently it is just full of grass clippings. All the good stuff goes out in my green bin each week.
2. Trying to find an effective, “green” way to get rid of the army of ants who call my property home.
3. Plant a couple of trees in my yard. This will be win win as my neighbours behind me plan to build a second story on their bungalow - I’ll need privacy! Plus it will be good for the environment.

What are your eco-gardening resolutions?