Tips on Gardening for Beginners – THE BEST IDEAS FOR 2023!

Tips on Gardening for Beginners will give you advice from those who have already been in the garden trenches and lived to tell the stories.

If you’re looking for more ideas on starting your own garden, How to Grow a Tea Garden and The Best Cottage Flowers to Grow will help you get started on your journey.

In one of my gardening groups, the question was asked – “What is your best advice to a beginning gardener?” The answers were brilliant. 

Seasoned gardeners imparted their best tips and tricks to the question.  

I thought my readers would love to know these gardening lessons for beginners. I put together the best answers for you in this post.  

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”

Alfred Austin

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Here are the Tips on Gardening for Beginners:

Planning Your Garden

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #1 – Start with a small garden

If you’re anything like me, when you start a project you want to go big.  It’s exciting to start something new, but gardening is a marathon.  

Becoming overwhelmed is easy if you do too much at once.  There’s a lot to learn to get the best results.  

Spend a little more time planning out your garden, and start with one corner and see how that goes.  

Gardening for Beginners Tip #2 – One gardening project at a time

Start with one thing and become a master of it.  Then move on to the next plan.  

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #3 – Stick to a garden schedule

If you make a routine and follow it, you’ll obviously have more success.  

Check your plants regularly and water, mulch and feed them on schedule.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #4 – Don’t use chemicals

Learn organic gardening ideas to deter pests by companion planting and natural recipes for keeping pests at bay.  

If you go the organic route, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful butterflies and bees.  

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #5 – Know your garden zone and what that means

Growing a garden has different rules, depending on where you live.  Knowing what your garden zone is and what that means for your garden is starting your oasis on the right foot.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #6 – Learn from other gardeners

Find local gardening clubs and organizations near you.  You can trade plants and seeds with members and absorb their collective wisdom.  

I’m moving to a new state at the end of the year, one of the first things I’ve done in preparation for that move is to join the state’s gardening group board on Facebook.  

I pop into the group every day, and I’m learning so much about the area already before I even go there!

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #7 – Walk around your neighborhood 

Get some fresh air and look at your neighborhood in a different light.  Your new mission is to see what type of plants are doing well and to find out what garden look you like. 

An extra bonus of this tactic is you can strike up conversations with your neighbors and gather more wisdom and even start new friendships. 

Design Elements for Beginning Gardeners

Gardening for Beginners Tip #8 – Don’t expect a magazine cover garden immediately

Creating a beautiful garden takes time.  Be patient. New gardeners sometimes want immediate results. Gardens are a work-of-art, they take time.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #9 – A small garden doesn’t have to be boring

You can create a themed garden, section your garden off into rooms, or even fill your space with container gardening.  

Adding birdbaths, statuary, arbors, and lattice dividers can all add the “wow” factor to any garden.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #10 – Gardens are a constantly changing canvas

Your garden will evolve over time after you give your plants time to grow.  

Just because your garden doesn’t look the way you want it right now, doesn’t mean it isn’t going to turn into an oasis that you’ll love.

Tools and Equipment for Beginning Gardeners

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #11 – Always where gardening gloves

Your hands need protection.  Wearing garden gloves is an essential step in gardening safety.  

Make sure you purchase gardening gloves that fit your hands, avoid big, bulky garden gloves.  

Magid Glove & Safety Professional Rose Pruning Thorn Resistant Gardening Gloves with Long Forearm Protection for Women. 

Gardening for Beginners Tip #12 – Buy the correct gardening tools

Find good-quality garden tools and take care of them.  Decide how big of a garden you’ll be starting with, and then research the best tools for the job.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners Tip #13 – Buy a good quality garden stool

A garden stool is money well-invested.  This purchase will help save your back and knees from wear and tear.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #14 – Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts

Protect yourself against ticks and mosquitos by covering yourself up.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #15 – Wear sunblock and a hat when you garden

Protect yourself from the sun.  Getting a sunburn is easy when you’re distracted with so much to do in your garden.

Make sure you prepare before even heading out the door with sunblock and invest in a garden hat that becomes part of your “uniform” when you start digging.  

Gardening for Beginners Tip #16 – Buy a book that goes through the gardening year month-by-month

A good resource like a monthly gardening to-do list is invaluable for such a low cost.  It’s like having your own gardening coach to cheer you on your journey.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #17 – Buy good garden shoes

This is the fun part.  You’ll love the choices they have now for gardening shoes and how comfortable they are.  

 It will be one of the best gardening purchase you make.  

Amending Your Soil Gardening Tips

Gardening for Beginners Tip #18 – Build healthy gardening soil

The soil is where the magic happens.  Make sure your soil is the perfect building block for creating your dream garden.  

Take a soil test and amend the soil before you do anything else.  

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #19 – Mulch like crazy

Garden mulch is your friend.  Use it.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #20 – Learn your garden fertilizers

Seaweed, fish emulsion, and worm juice are just some of the terms you’ll be learning on your new hobby. 

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #21 – Turn your kitchen waste into compost

Coffee grounds, egg shells, leftover fruits, and vegetables are no longer something you should throw away.  

They are pure gold for your garden.  Learn why.  

Gardening for Beginners Tip #22 – Nourish your garden early in the morning

Watering and fertilizing should not happen in the middle of the day.  You can burn your plants.  

Early morning hours are the best time to water and fertilize your garden.  

NEVER water your plants in the hot sun!  You’ll burn them.  

Choosing the Right Plants for Beginning Gardening

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #23 – Use native plants from your area

Native plants are easier to grow than other choices.  Talk to your local garden center about native gardening ideas, and you’ll make your life way easier.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #24 – Don’t plant your plants too close together

Make sure you realize how large the plants and trees you pick will grow before planting.  You don’t want to have to move things around after they’ve become established because they outgrew the space.  

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #25 – Start with inexpensive plants

You don’t want to spend a lot of money at the beginning of gardening until you realize what works and what doesn’t. 

One of my most expensive lessons was all the rose trees I bought.  I envisioned rose trees dotting my landscape, so I went overboard and bought ten pricey trees. 

Not one of those trees survived a year.  All my rose bushes did live.  I still don’t know why they died, but I learned a very valuable lesson.  

I saw what worked in my yard and planted more of those plants and bushes.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #26 – Be careful about the selection of trees you plant

Not only do you have to know how large the tree gets, but you also need to educate yourself on the root system of the tree.  

You don’t want tree roots to cause damage to the foundation of your home.  Remember that even a 30-foot tree was once a tiny sapling.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #27 – Learn about the benefits of planting ground cover

Ground cover protects the roots of your plants, aerates and fertilizes your soil, brings beneficial insects to your garden, and helps keep in the moisture.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #28 – Educate yourself on invasive plant species

Mint is an herb that will completely take over your garden if you plant it in the wrong place. Find out what plants are garden hogs and either plant them in an area all by themselves or put them in containers.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #29 – Pay your bills before going to the garden nursery

This was my favorite answer, hands down.  Why?  Because gardening is addicting and once you get started, you might have a real problem keeping your plant buying under control!

Tips on Planting Your Garden

Gardening for Beginners Tip #30 – Label all your garden plants

Over time you probably won’t remember what you planted, so take the time to label your plants.  

Visitors to your garden will be guaranteed to ask what type of plants you have, so make it easy on yourself by labeling everything right out of the gate.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #31 – Group plants together that have the same nutritional and watering needs

Make things easy on yourself by saving yourself a few steps.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #32 – Plant the right plant in the correct spot

Each flower, bush or plant each has its own unique needs.  If the plant needs full sun, believe it and place the plant accordingly. 

Tips for Caring for Your Garden

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #33 – Make sure you don’t overwater or underwater your plants

Finding the perfect balance to keeping your garden happy and healthy is a process.  

Know the signs for each plant if they aren’t getting enough water or if they are getting too much water.  

Gardening for Beginners Tip #34 – Keep a garden notebook

Keeping notes on what you plant and each one’s needs will make things easier.  Starting a garden notebook can keep you on track.  

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #35 – Deadhead your garden plants frequently

When you deadhead your plants, you’re encouraging new growth.  Read up on each plant and how you often you do this.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #36 – Remember that some plants go dormant

Just because a plant doesn’t show signs of life, doesn’t mean it’s dead.  Find out if your plant goes dormant during the winter season before discarding the plant. 

Low Cost Gardening Tips for Beginning Gardeners

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #37 – Become a seed saver

Not only will you save money by saving your seeds, but you’ll also create an even closer bond with all of your plants because you’re part all the seasons of the plants.  

Best Advice for Beginning Gardeners – Keep Going

Gardening for Beginners Tip #38 – Visit your garden every day

Enjoy the changes your garden will go through as your garden flourishes.  Do everything with love and your garden will respond in kind.  

You might even want to document the progress with photos.  You’ll be happy you did once your skill set improves. There will be evidence that you too were once a beginner!

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #39 – Be patient with your garden

Probably the number one response to the question was to be patient with gardening.  Realize that killing a few plants is a normal part of the process, but the rewards outweigh the frustrations. 

Gardening for Beginners Tip #40 – Watching gardening channels on YouTube

Gardeners’ World on YouTube was frequently mentioned as a favorite channel.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #41 – Never give up

Everything you do is a learning experience.  It takes time to cover all the bases in gardening.  

Not every flower will bloom.  Try it again and again until you get it right.  

Gardening for Beginners Tip #42 – Have fun

You’re going to have some wins and some losses, but learning is part of the fun.  Know in advance this isn’t going to be a perfect experiment and you’ll be better off.

Tips on Gardening for Beginners #43 – Gardening is never dull

There’s always something new to learn, which makes this a very interesting hobby.  At the same time, it challenges you.

Gardening for Beginners Tip #44 – Experience all the seasons of your garden before making big plans

If you’re able to wait a year before making drastic changes to your yard, this would be a smart plan.  

During that time, you would test and amend the soil, learn what the shade patterns of your garden are, and identify the plants you want to grow and what they require.

We’ve reached the end of Gardening for Beginners.  I hope you enjoyed it. 

Let me know in the comments below how you liked Tips on Gardening for Beginners.

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Thanks for stopping by.  I’m so happy you found us!  

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