From Chapter I of Clueless in the Garden
You look out the window and there it is: Your bare, neglected, overgrown (circle the one that applies) yard yawns before you.
Visions of perennial borders, sun-ripened tomatoes, and fragrant flowering shrubs tempt you, but you know that anything you plant is doomed — you weren't around the day they passed out the green thumbs.
Even if you knew what to plant — and that's a big enough hurdle — you wouldn't know where, how, or when. And as for that weedy, compacted, tree-root-infested, muddy — or dusty — dirt you've got, won't any plant just turn up its toes anyway? Besides, isn't it a lot of work?
Well, yes, work is a four-letter word — but you can have a garden and a life too, and no, it's not too late to grow a green thumb.
Actually, as one of my favorite garden wits, the acerbic Henry Mitchell, once put it, "There are no green thumbs or black thumbs. There are only gardeners and non-gardeners. Gardeners are the ones who ruin after ruin get on with the high defiance of nature herself, creating, in the very face of her chaos and tornado, the bower of roses and the pride of irises."
So relax, take a deep breath; help has arrived. No, I'm not coming over to help you dig your flower beds — I've got my own garden, thank you very much —
but this book is the next best thing. Stay with it to
find out what you need to know.
But don't get too hung up on to-do lists. The main reason starter gardeners fail has less to do with being clueless than with the fact that they don't pay enough attention to their gardens.
Yes, you need to know the how, why, and when stuff — but even more important, you need to get outside. That way, you're more likely to notice if the seedlings are getting parched or something's been chewing your favorite shrub or that Vigorous New Perennial is overtaking everything in sight.
Noticing these things while there's still time to do something about them is one of the keys to success. And the more time you spend in the garden, the sooner you'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
No, this doesn't mean moving into the garden shed during the growing season. Just pay your garden a visit several times a week and really look at what's going on — what's growing well, what needs a nip and a tuck, and, oh, better pull out that weed right now before it goes to seed.
As for the work part, I call it "playing in the garden." Self-deception? I don't think so.
Gardening should be fun — it's really creative play. There's enormous pleasure to be had growing things and putting good-looking plants together — gardening is a bit like matchmaking, you know.
And what's wrong with losing a few pounds digging? I'd rather burn calories while getting a chance to smell the flowers and watch robins splash in the birdbath than on a dreary treadmill at the gym.
From Clueless in the Garden (Key Porter Books, 2003)
© Clueless in the Garden, Yvonne Cunnington, 2003
Clueless in the Garden - Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Rolling Up Your Sleeves
How to Get Started
Tools of the Trade
Make Yourself Comfortable
Chapter 2: Climate Control: Gardening Where You Live
Come Sun, Come Wind, Come Rain
A Hardy Plant is Good to Find
Which Way Does the Sun Shine?
Is Your Soil on Acid? Soil pH
Before You Get Out Your Spade...
Chapter 3: Breaking Ground: Soil 101
Checking Out Your Soil
Making Your Bed
Black Magic: Making Compost for Your Garden
Much Ado About Mulching
To Fertilize or Not to Fertilize?
Chapter 4: Getting Your Feet Wet - Water-Wise Gardening
Giving Plants What They Need—Without Wasting Water
The Better Way: Soaker Hoses
First Things First: Watering Priorities
Why Plants Love Rainwater
Chapter 5: What's in a Name? Botanical Names in a Nutshell
Last Name First: Genus and Species
So, What’s a Cultivar?
Attention: Plant Crossing
Chapter 6: Bringing Home the Green - When and Where to Buy
How Ornamental Plants Are Sold
Home, James: Transporting Your Purchases
Buying by Mail Order or Online
Chapter 7: Home Turf - Lawns and Lawn Alternatives
Mow, Mow, Mow Your Lawn
Break the Deep Watering Rule
Give Your Lawn a Boost
Starting a Lawn from Scratch
Lawn Alternatives: A Case for Ground Covers
Another Kind of Ground Cover: A Prairie
Chapter 8: Color Your World - Planting a Flower Garden
Your Paint Box: The Plants
Arranging Flowers in Your Garden
Ready, Set, Plant
The Well-Groomed Flower Garden
Divide and Conquer
Flower Garden Tune-up
Chapter 9: Made for the Shade - When Your Garden Doesn't Get Much Sun
The Secrets of Shade Garden Soil
Planting Your Shady Garden
Light By Degrees
Leaves of Shade
Queen of the Shade: Heavenly Hosta
Coping with Dry Shade
Chapter 10: The Big Picture - Trees, Shrubs, and Vines
So Many Trees, So Little Space!
Choosing Compatible Trees and Shrubs
When to Plant Trees and Shrubs
Shopping Checklist
Ready, Set, Plant
Prescription for the Care and Feeding of New Trees and Shrubs
Pruning 101: A Clip in Time Saves Nine
Up, Up, and Away: Climbing Vines
Chapter 11: Taste Buds - Growing Good Stuff to Eat
KISS Your Veggie Patch
Veggie Garden Basics
Avoiding the Dreaded Zucchini Syndrome
Tips on Harvesting
You Say Tomato...
Want Your Own Asparagus Patch?
Spice Up Your Garden With Herbs
Chapter 12: Pot Luck - The Joys of Container Gardening
Choosing Containers: Au natural Is Best
Spice Up Your Planting
The Container Plant Hit List
No Soil?
Ready, Set, Plant
Keeping Them Growing
To Keep or Not to Keep?
Chapter 13: The Yuck Factor - Weeds, Pests, and Diseases
Weedy Matters
A Cure for What Bugs You
Remedies for Sick Plants
Oh Deer, Oh Deer
Chapter 14: To Everything There Is a Season - What to Do When
Early Spring
Mid to Late Spring
Early Summer Midsummer
Early Fall
Mid to Late Fall
Winter
Chapter 15: Mission Possible - From Ho-hum Yard to Glorious Garden
It Takes More Than Plants
Getting to Know Your Garden Patch
Hiring a Landscape Pro
Gardening Terms: Hort-Speak Demystified
Resources: More Help for the New Gardener
From Clueless in the Garden (Key Porter Books, 2003)
© Clueless in the Garden, Yvonne Cunnington, 2003
CLUELESS IN THE GARDEN Buy Online
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