This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.
Last Updated on October 25, 2024
Looking after a garden is one of the healthiest ways to spend your free time. If you’ve got a little gardening space to tend to and care for, you put time and positive energy into your surroundings. And once those seeds start to sprout and those buds open up, you’re left with a tangible result of your efforts to spur you on!
Beginner gardeners, however, often feel like they can’t do much else than pot new seeds, water every now and then, and wait for them to grow. How are you supposed to become a better gardener if that feels like all you can do?
Indeed, as far as a skilled hobby goes, gardening can be one of the most intimidating to branch out with! But whether or not you have a full outside space or just a couple of window boxes to fill, there are more ways to sharpen your gardening muscles than you’d think.
Learn What Plants Wildlife Like
Gardening is all about spending time in nature and giving back to it. That means, if you’ve not done much more than use a few grow bags or water trays in a greenhouse, now’s the time to understand the relationship your hobby shares with wildlife.
When you learn what plants wildlife like, you can then begin to plan what creatures you’d like to bring into your garden. Want more bees, or butterflies, or even some frogs? Focus on creating the kind of garden they’re going to like!
And make no mistake, even a tiny garden can be packed to the fence tops with critters! Plus, the more you learn about bringing in diverse species, the easier it’ll be to make use of the space you have.
Put Together Your Own Gardening Kit
One of the best ways to build your feeling of capability in the garden is by putting your own tool kit together. So, what tools do you like to use? Then what tools do you use most often? And beyond this, what would you like to learn to use in future? These are the three questions that should help you put together a personalised gardening kit.
Indeed, if you’ve got the tools in the shed, you’ll be far more likely to try new things in your hobby – if only to make sure the investment doesn’t go to waste!
If that means you want to buy yourself a chainsaw and learn how to hack off tree branches that hang too low, or even cut back the entire tree to get it to grow stronger in a few months, don’t trick yourself into thinking you’re not ready for the job.
Ask Friends and Family if You Can Work on Their Gardens
If you don’t have much garden space to work with, or you already feel like you’ve achieved the kind of landscape you’re happy with, ask around your friends and family. If they have gardens but have no time or want to work on them, you can both transform the space and get some practice hours in. It’s a win-win!
Of course, make sure you double check with the owner about what’s OK and what isn’t. Safety concerns will always come first, no matter what it is you want to practise. For example, you don’t want to create a pond near the back of the garden if your friend has young children that use the space who could fall in!
But aside from that, draw up your landscaping ideas, get the go ahead on them, and then get to work whenever you have the time.
Understand How to Care for Soil
Soil isn’t just something to dig around in and keep watered when you’ve got something planted in it. You need to know the type you’re working with, if there’s any imbalance in it, and if there are plenty of insects keeping it healthy day by day.
Worms are some of the most important bugs for soil health, but if the soil in your garden is too stiff, clay-like, or feels packed underfoot, it’s time to put some TLC in! And that’s not where your soil care should stop either. Focus on the temperature of the soil, as it being too hot or cold can either burn or freeze anything living in it.
Indeed, the more you know about soil care, the better your gardening efforts will be.
Decorate Your Pots and Planters
If you’ve got a lot of plain pots and planters in the garden, grab yourself some wood paint and a set of brushes and get to work on decorating them. In doing so, you’ll learn a lot about the supplementary decorations that pull a garden together; it’s not just plants that make your outside space look amazing!
From here you can make changes to the look of any stone walls, fencing, and even the deck or patio, and keep brushing up on your garden DIY.
Find Your Favorite Gardening Magazine
Do you read a gardening magazine every month? If not, this could be the best thing for brushing up on your gardening skills. There are plenty of gardening magazines out there, and all you need to do is find one that presents new gardening ideas and tips and tricks in the most accessible and entertaining manner.
Read up on a few, find your favorite expert columns, and have some fun finding out new and interesting ways to approach your garden. A good magazine can make all the difference in the way you think about gardening, and seeing images of real life gardens and the methods that made them can make the hobby seem all that bit more approachable.
If you’re a gardening beginner and you’re feeling a little bored with your usual upkeep, try out any of the six methods above to sharpen your skills. The more you try gardening, the healthier both your indoor and outdoor space will become! And remember, it’s OK to make a few mistakes along the way.
Share
Ask Gemini
File
Edit
View
Tools
Help
