STRATEGIES

Even experienced gardeners can stand to learn a new trick or two in making the most of their landscapes—patios and windowsills count, too!

1. Plan your garden

Even small plots should be carefully considered, to reap the biggest rewards.

GROW IN THE zone

• For the most part, only grow plants—annuals, perennials, bulbs, shrubs, and trees—that will thrive in your zone (as indicated on the plants’ tags); see Gardening Assistance, below, for information.
• If there are plants that you love but are not within your zone, try experimenting on a small scale—annuals and perennials are low-cost investments.
• Zone is less important for vegetables than time to harvest (make sure your season is long enough).

test your soil

• A soil test will tell you the nature of the earth—acidic versus alkaline, for example—so you can amend it with compost or other fertilizers as needed.
• Fall is a good time to test your soil, as is early spring (before planting); be sure to test your soil at the same time every year.
• You can buy a simple, inexpensive test to perform yourself, or send a sample to your local extension office (see right), which may also advise you on making amendments.

select the plants

• First identify any existing plantings—you may want to add more of these, or transplant them to a different spot. What has grown well here (or not so much) is also a clue to what you can plant anew.
• Note the amount of sunlight each spot gets during the growing season. “Full sun” plants require six or more hours a day (not necessarily continuous); “partial sun” means four to six hours. There are also plants (hostas, ferns, and bleeding hearts) that do well in light to full shade.
• Extend the season with a variety of plants—from early spring bloomers like daffodils, tulips, and rhododendrons to echinacea, shasta daisies, and hydrangeas that bloom into fall. Astilbe, delphiniums, foxgloves, and peonies fall in between. “Cut and come again” annuals such as cosmos, snapdragons, and zinnias will proliferate all summer long.
• For a vegetable garden, select crops you like to eat or are hard to find. In a limited space, pick plants that grow up, not out, such as beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Successive sowing of crops ensures produce all season long, from peas to squashes.

Gardening Assistance

When you have questions about what and when to plant (and all other such matters), the Master Gardeners help line at your state university and its local extension offices are there when you need them. Visit the American Horticultural Society (ahsgardening.org) for contact information. Or check with the nearest botanical garden or nursery for classes and guidance.

To help you select the plants that prefer your climate, use the Hardiness Zone Map published by the USDA (planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ PHZMWeb). Because winter cold is, in most regions, the greatest threat to plant survival, the 13 zones are divided by the annual minimum winter temperature.

Martha Must

When rinsing garden tools with a hose, hold them over a bucket so you can use the water for your flower and vegetable gardens and not waste a drop.