Why aren't you getting dirty? A reflection on my own change of attitude.

If you asked me two years ago to start my own garden, I would have said "no way, I can't grow anything." Every house plant I've ever kept has died—even unkillable bamboo. Even now, I'm not even meagerly proficient at house plant maintenance. But outside is a different story. Maybe its more natural for plants to live outside; maybe mother nature watches over them (okay, sorry, I'm going off the deep end.) Whatever it is, I have learned that the main pitfall to my own gardening was my own nay-saying.

Here's what I used to think (and here's my current advice):

1) How can I start a garden? I've never grown anything! I'll risk a cliche and say "there's a first time for everything." There is such little risk (and even knowledge) needed to begin, why not give it a whirl.

2) How can I start a garden? I don't know where to begin! When I said just before that there is little knowledge needed to begin, it's really true (though I have immersed myself in garden literature over the last year and love learning about the vast world of botany/agriculture). When I started, I simply had the desire to see some pretty flowers in my backyard. So I went to Home Depot to buy some plants. What do you need to buy your plants (other than money?) Essentially, all you need to know is how much sun your garden plot gets. You can figure this out in a day. Is it sunny (6 hours+ of sun), partially sunny (4 hours of full sun), or shady (2 hours or less)? Sure, I can describe more of the technicalities of planting sunlight, but it's unnecessary to begin. Really, your main goal is to just get a damn plant in the ground so make an obvious observation about your lighting.

All plants come labeled with sun recommendations. There ya go. Buy the right plant for your sunlight. Put it in the ground. Water it regularly (duh...I sorta think that this is a no-brainer). Watch it grow.

Lamb's ears

3) How can I start a garden? I know my plants will die! First, try looking at the situation with a glass-half-full attitude. Gardening should be a stress-relieving activity! Now, let me revise a previous statement—buy the right plant for your sunlight. No. Buy an easy plant for your sunlight!

Some plants will thrive (survive) even at the mercy of the most ignorant gardener. I'll give you a few to try that have proven hardy at my own, inexperienced hand.

Day lilies

If you want plant-'em-forget-'em flowers, lilies are excellent choices. Day lilies are fantastic beginner plants and will spread year after year with no maintenance. Unless a deer or a dog digs up your lily bulbs and eats them (yes, deer DO dig), you cannot kill these plants. Case in point. My neighbor gave me a wheelbarrow full of day lilies that he thinned from his own garden. I didn't have space for all of them all so I threw the remainders (bulbs exposed) in the corner of my property to rot away during the winter. As I was doing garden clean-up this weekend, I came across the pile of lilies, and saw that they started growing! They were exposed to below freezing temperatures and endless snow all winter, without any protection from soil, and they were growing! If a New York winter can't kill 'em, you can't either! (P.S. Most lilies will grow in full sun or partial shade).

Black-eyed susans

Daisies and black-eyed susans. These classic wildflowers like full sun, but will survive through both drought and rainy seasons. These also spread rapidly, so your flowers will become more beautiful year-after-year with no effort whatsoever.

Hostas

Hostas. For shady places, these beautiful leafy perennials are a must have. They are sold as either starter plants or bare roots and grow bigger and fuller each year. They are often slow to come up in the spring, so be patient before you panic, thinking they died over the winter. They come in a variety of green or variegated shades, even some blues and whites.

Lamb's ears. These flowers feel exactly like their name suggests—the foliage is super-soft with a silver layer of "fur" on each leaf. My two-year-old daughter loves picking off the leaves and rubbing them on her cheeks. Yes, they are that soft. While these plants to send up spikes of purple flowers, they are grown for the foliage and is typically used as a ground cover or  border. Again, these plants spread rapidly, come back every year (perennial) and don't require much water, though they do need full sun.  

3) How can I start a garden? I don't have time. Whereas I love tending my garden on a daily basis in the summer, gardening need not be a time-sucker. Start small. Plant only a small area close to your house to begin. Depending on how many holes you have to dig, this can take a few minutes or a few hours, but once it's done, it's done. Once established, flowers really only need water every few days, and often nature's own rain will take care of them (if it is really hot or dry, water in the morning or evening so the plants can actually drink it before it evaporates. With a small garden this should only take you 10-minutes or less). Too keep weeds out, mulch your garden. You can also use the Brilliant Blooms fertilizer/weed preventer under your mulch to keep weeds to a minimum. That's pretty much it—I guarantee you spend more time in the bathroom (doing whatever you do), than a garden requires!

4) How can I start a garden? It's too expensive!  Check out yesterday's post and try mail-order gardening if you want to fill an area that requires more dough than you're willing to spend at your local nursery. OR, find a garden buddy! Many perennials can be easily divided out of your friend's or neighbor's gardens...more on this tomorrow.