THINGS I’VE LEARNED

      What some may refer to as "The Basics". What can I say? I learn things the hard way. Those who know me can vouch for that. I rarely trust anyone, and then when they're proven to be right after all, I'll get mad at them for not insisting that I listened to them to begin with. I'm a hands on learner. So, several hundred dollars and multiple seasons later, I can attest to the following:

1.   Don’t rush to plant things after you buy them. Put them in their   containers where you want to plant them for about two weeks to see if they will get the right amount of sunlight there, and test out how much water they’ll need in that amount of sunlight also.

2.   This will sound like a no brainer to some of you, but you should dig your hole and plant the plant so that when you set it in the ground, it is level with the earth. Don’t leave any of the original ball of the plant and the root showing. There are roots that often begin at the very top, and if they become dried out the part of the plant supplied by those roots will eventually die.

3.   As a follow up to that point it’s important to dig your hole, and then fill the space around the new plant (once you’ve set it in the ground) with some of the dirt that you've just dug up and some Miracle Gro, or other plant food, to really pack it in. It’s imperative that you don’t leave air or space around the plant. I learned this the hard way in the beginning when I would spend a lot of money on something fantastic, and then be afraid to pack dirt in around it because I didn’t want to squish it or even touch it. The truth is that if you’ve got it in the right type of dirt and in an area with the right amount of sun, and you water it properly, as soon as you get it packed in, it should perk up and look sturdy in the ground. There are probably very few plants that you could hurt by pressing the soil into the newly planted roots, if you’re doing it firmly and not throwing all your weight onto it.

4.   A lot of plants can get too much water pretty quickly, especially if they're not in a well drained area. For some reason, I seemed to think in the beginning that the more I could water something, the faster and better it would grow. Not always so. Pay attention to each plant, and only water as much as needed. If they look healthy and full and not dry and...crispy?... you’re doing good and just stick with whatever routine got you there.

5.   Watch out for ants. And mosquitos.

6.   And wear sunscreen. And fun gardening gloves. And cute clothes.