When it comes to getting started with your garden, you have two choices; planting seeds, or buying entire plants. Both have their own benefits. If you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. However, this method is a lot more risky. I can't tell you how many seeds I've planted and never seen any actual plants.
If you choose to buy the plant from a nursery and plant it in your garden, it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process for plants.
It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant has grown up in improper soil, or has harmful bugs living in it, you can tell from the holey leaves and wilted stems.
If you're browsing the nursery shelves looking for your dream plant, you want to exclude anything that currently has flowers. Plants are less traumatized by the transplant if they do not currently have any flowers. It's best to find ones that just consist of buds. However if all you have to choose from are flowering plants, then you should do the unthinkable and sever all of the flowers from the plant. It will be worth it for the future health of the plant. I've found that transplanting a plant while it is blooming results in having a dead plant ninety percent of the time.
Always check the roots before you plop down the money to purchase the plant. Of course if the roots are in absolutely terrible condition you will be able to tell by looking at the rest of the plant. But if the roots are just slightly out of shape, then you probably won't be able to tell just by looking at it. Inspect the roots very closely for any signs of brownness, rottenness, or softness. The roots should always be a firm, perfectly well formed infrastructure that holds all the soil together. One can easily tell if the roots are before or past their prime, depending on the root to soil ratio. If there are a ridiculous amount of roots with little soil, or a bunch of soil with few roots, you should not buy that plant.
If you find any abnormalities with the plant, whether it be the shape of the roots or any irregular features with the leaves, you should ask the nursery employees. While usually these things can be the sign of an unhealthy plant, occasionally there will be a logical explanation for it. Always give the nursery a chance before writing them off. After all, they are (usually) professionals who have been dealing with plants for years.
So if you decide to take the easy route and get a plant from a nursery, you just have to remember that the health of the plants has been left up to someone you don't know. Usually they do a good job, but you should always check for yourself. Also take every precaution you can to avoid transplant shock in the plant (when it has trouble adjusting to its new location, and therefore, has health problems in the future). Usually the process goes smoothly, but you can never be too sure.
We often buy plants on impulse and then find there is nowhere in the garden that is suitable for them. Before buying plants examine your garden with a careful eye to guage how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is windswept or sheltered.You'll then be more than satisfactorily equipped to go and shop for the best plants to suit your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-loving ones for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas, which may be either sunny or or in the shade, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained areas.
There's still one vital thing to do before you go on that plant-shopping trip though: test your soil first, to determine its pH level and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acidic or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that require alkaline soil to grow. It is possible to alter the soil's pH level, but a much easier strategy is to choose plants according to the soil you already have.
You have tested your soil, and bought suitable plants, so you are almost ready to start planting. There remains, however, one more consideration. Are you going to plant singly, or in groups? If you take an eclectic approach and buy one of everything you see, your garden may seem rather disorganised. Group plantings are organised, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest. Planting in groups makes your garden seem much more harmonious and integrated, but you can still vary the types of plants you group together to maintain a sense of variety.
Before planting, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to get an idea of how they will look when in place. This way you can rearrange them until you find a look you are pleased with. Alternatively, you might consider container gardening, which allows you to move your plants around with ease, while still looking great.
Grouping plants in odd numbers, usually sets of threes or fives, gives off an overall better effect than planting in groups of even numbers. Ensure that you have an interesting and varied combination of colors and textures. Tall plants should be planted to the rear, or the centre if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Keep your plants away from trees, if possible. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture you intend for your flowers.
The right color scheme is one way to maintain harmony in your garden. To avoid mistakes, try to imagine the color of the flowers when they are in full bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. The color of the foliage is also important. Many flowering plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still very attractive even out of blooming season, and so have added value for your garden.
Both Laurie Lindsay & Christopher Byrnes are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Laurie Lindsay has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dog Pet Food, Health and Pets. Get your FREE reports "Guide To Organic Gardening" plus "Rose Types and Care of Roses" and more by going to: