The Wave Crew Wave Petunias | Cool Wave Pansies
Interested in starting a garden? Do you have some time on your hands, but don’t know where to start? Want to finally get your hands dirty after reading about all those lovely gardens during quarantine? Let’s do it!
Starting a garden doesn’t have to be difficult. With a few practical steps and a little bit of patience, your spring garden awaits. Just remember, take it at your own pace and you’ll be enjoying a beautiful flower garden right in your own yard.
1. The first step is to determine where you’ll be starting your garden. Remember that with most ‘full-sun’ flowers (including Wave Petunias and Cool Wave Pansies), more sun equals more blooms. Quick tip: A garden bed that faces south gets around 6 hours of sunlight. And it’s not a bad idea to have a garden not too far from your water spigot to make watering easier.
2. Next, prep the soil. Be sure you have some basic tools to start: gardening gloves, pruning shears, a garden rake, shovel and trowel. Get rid of any weeds and remove the sod covering the area you’d like to plant. Or, if you’re choosing to do a raised garden bed, you’ll need a potting soil mix that you can find at your local gardening center.
3. Pick your plants. You’ll need to decide… do you want annuals that bloom most of the summer but need to be replanted each spring? Maybe you want to try your hand at perennials that have a shorter bloom time but come back year after year. Or a combination of both!
Some easy-to-grow sun-loving flowers for beginners include:
Annuals:
Wave Petunias
Cosmos
Marigolds
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Perennials:
Cool Wave Pansies
Black-eyed Susans
Daylilies
Phlox
Coneflowers
4. Get planting. Some cold-tolerant plants, such as pansies, can be planted in late winter, depending on your hardiness zone. Mid-spring and mid-autumn are good times to plant perennials, while most annuals prefer warmer temps. Be sure not to plant annual flowers until the danger of frost has passed.
5. Use mulch. If you’re planting perennials in a garden bed, it’s a good idea to mix in a layer of compost. Then, to help keep the weeds out and moisture in, cover the soil with a few inches of mulch. You won’t have to water as often, but speaking of watering...
6. Watering your plants. Water your newly planted flowers every other day or so, until their roots get established. Depending on where you live, you’ll need to be observant as to how often they’ll need to be watered. Quick tip: Feel the soil 2 to 3 inches below the surface. If it feels dry, it’s time to water. Water until the soil is soaked, and be sure to water in the early morning hours to minimize evaporation.
7. Enjoy your garden. Continue to take care of your amazing spring garden. Take notes of what you like and don’t like, even changing up your flower selection and adding new ones. Take photos of your garden throughout the season to share with others! If you plant Cool Wave Pansies or Wave Petunias, be sure to tag them @wavegardening (Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!), and you might just get reposted on their account! Most of all, be proud of what you’ve accomplished… you’re officially a gardener!