How to Choose the Right Plants for your Garden

Visiting your local garden center during the growing season can be really exciting with all the different plants and plant combinations, but all this excitement can be a lot to take when it comes down to choosing the right plants for your garden. This video by P. Allen Smith presents several tips to help you have a blissful and successful shopping experience:

The first thing you should have in mind is where do you want to plant, and perhaps what kind of design are you thinking about and how much time you can dedicate to gardening. And of course, what’s your favorite color? Doing just a little planning will put you way ahead and save you a lot of time and headaches in the long run.

Take pictures of the locations where you want to plant with your phone. Use them to compare color combinations around your home and garden. It’s also a great tool to help you keep up with the dimensions of your flower beds or even the number of containers that you’ll need.

If the garden center were a classroom, the tag in the plant is the ultimate cheat sheet. As simple as it may seem, the plant tag contains all the vital information you need to know about that plant. Tags cover the basics like the common and botanical name. The zone is particularly vital when considering perennials or shrubs. Does the plant do well in sun or shade? How much space does the plant need? using the information on the plant tag can really help you narrow down your selections.

Once you narrow down what works best for your garden, it never hurts to give the plant a look-over. Darker foliage and upright stems indicate good health and proper fertilization. Here’s a tip for when you get home – feed your plants every third time you water them.

If you want a more relaxed experience, visit your garden center on the off times. Coming on a weekday is often the best time to shop because there are fewer people, garden center staff is more available to answer your questions, and your selection of plants is usually greater. Plus by shopping on a weekday, there’s nothing like waking up on a Saturday morning knowing you have everything you need to start your garden project without having to leave the house.