Don't Be Afraid Of Color In The Garden

Do bold colors in the garden scare you? I have to admit I don't get very creative with the color choices in my garden. I like the safe colors and combinations. I guess I'm not much of a garden daredevil, preferring dark colors or the same colors everyone else around me has. Today I took a photo walk with Garden Faerie who was visiting Chicago for a few days. We walked the length of Grant Park taking in the garden sights and characters on the street. One of the places we visited was the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park and afterwards we headed down Michigan Avenue to see the public plantings. The contrast took a bit of getting used to.

If you've ever visited the Lurie Garden in the spring you may understand why the color scheme in Chicago's plantings was a bit jarring at first. We went from a cool and subdued color pallet to something that looked like it sprouted after someone sowed a bag of Skittles.

Advice And Tips For The First Time Gardener

A collection of gardening advice/tips for the person who would like to start their first garden.

Find out what your gardening zone is on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Figure out what type of soil you have and buy a soil testing kit and make amendments.

Decide on the type of garden you'd like to start. Maybe a cut flower garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden? If you can't plant in the ground because you rent- consider container gardening. Just about anything you can grow in the ground you can grow in a container of some kind or another. Maybe some of the recent trends in green living has got you interested in organic gardening and you would like to grow your own food.

Start your garden from seeds using plastic containers like soda bottle to make seed starting greenhouses. If you're interested in hydroponic gardening you can start your garden seeds using plastic baggies, since no soil is involved in the seed germination.

Sit down and plan out your garden taking into consideration plant sizes and the amount of light they need and make a plan of what seeds to plant in what location. If you can't draw you can still design your own garden using something like the Virtual Garden designer from the BBC. It allows you to make a plan of your garden and view it in 3-D. What could be better than a garden design you created yourself?

Going gardening forums like GardenWeb and search the forums for information that you're looking for. Not only are they a great place to learn but you can meet other gardeners who share their tips and gardening ideas and gardening ideas. You can find forums for just about any topic including but not limited to; lasagna gardening, square foot gardening, gardening tools and supplies. Forums like GardenWeb are a great resource for the first time gardener even if you're limited to indoor gardening.

Soon you'll be growing your own food or collecting your own seeds for next year and making gardening gifts for your friends and family.

Do-It-Yourself Garden Design-Virtual Garden

On Monday I was cleaning out my favorites folder and came across a link I had forgotten about. It's the Virtual Garden from the BBC website. I had a problem using the program on the website but I downloaded it and it worked fine for me that way.

It gives you the ability to sketch out your gardening space and design your own garden by planting trees, bulbs, annual and perennials and placing garden items like benches in your design. The plant selection is limited but I can't really complain because the program is free and you can see your design in 3D and move around your virtual garden like it was a video game complete with fluttering butterflies.