About Gardens
Gardening is a popular and flexible hobby for people of all ages. The simplest gardens require no more than soil, seeds, water, sunlight, and a few simple tools. With a little planning, almost anyone with a yard can start a home garden. Apartment and townhouse dwellers can't plant a garden directly in the earth, but container gardening allows you to grow herbs or small plants indoors or on a patio.
-
Function
-
Gardens may be practical, decorative or both. Vegetable gardens provide produce fresher than that available at grocery stores, it's often at a reduced cost. Flower beds can improve the appearance of your property and provide you with freshly cut flowers for arrangements. Herb gardens provide fresh herbs that can greatly improve the flavor of your favorite recipes.
Benefits
-
Many flowers and vegetables that can be grown at home in your own garden are difficult to find or expensive at a florist shop or grocery store. Gardening also gives you control over how produce and flowers are grown. Many people practice organic gardening out of health concerns. Composting allows you to combine gardening and recycling. Paper trash and kitchen scraps that might normally wind up in a landfill can be used as a nutrient-rich plant food.
Types
-
Most gardens have a theme, and there are dozens of common garden themes. Vegetable gardens, for example, focus primarily on growing vegetables, but they often include fruit plants such as strawberries, cantaloupes or watermelons. Rock gardens use large rocks to fill the space between cacti and succulents. Water gardens consist of plants, such as water lilies, that grow on a small artificial or natural pond. Container gardens are grown entirely in pots or other containers, indoors or on a patio.
Geography
-
Climate is an important consideration in garden planning. Many plants thrive only in certain parts of the country and require different amounts of sunlight and water. "Cold hardy" plants are sometimes available; these can withstand cooler temperatures than typical varieties. Packaging for most plants and seeds includes growing zone recommendations. These zones are based off of the lowest average annual temperature in each region. Growing zone maps are widely available on the Internet. You can find a great Website for that in our Resources section.
Considerations
-
Gardening can be a time-consuming and laborious process. Many new gardeners plant a far larger area than they can reasonably maintain. These people often give up entirely out of frustration. It's usually best to start small and increase the size of your garden over time. Some people are disappointed to find that they spend more money on gardening supplies than the yield of their vegetable crops would cost at a store. If expense is a consideration, try growing more expensive vegetables, such as red bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs.
-
