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How to Start Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide

Before you buy those seeds or pull out the shovel, read up on the essential plans and skills you’ll need for your first (or first successful) garden.

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Amy Maoz

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Image by Cavan Images/Getty Images

The Fun Part: Choosing the Right Plants for Your Space and Lifestyle

A great garden should have a healthy mix of perennials and annuals, both for aesthetics and for ease of maintenance.

Why Native Plants Are Better for Birds and People

Bird-friendly landscaping provides food, saves water, and fights climate change.

How to Choose the Best Location for Your Garden

Garden location determines not only what you can grow and how easy the garden will be to maintain but also the visual impact of the garden on your landscape.

Gardening 101: How to Sprout a Seed

It’s simpler than you may think.

How to Fertilize Vegetable Gardens Without Chemicals

Fertilizer manufacturers would like you to believe that it’s impossible to grow a vegetable garden without chemicals, but gardeners and farmers have done it successfully for hundreds of years.

Seedling Care: Transplanting, Thinning, and Preventing Disease

Step-by-step instructions and helpful tips.

The Proper Way to Water Your Garden

Keep your plants (and wallet) happy: Here are the top 10 dos and don’ts for efficient irrigation and resource conservation.

The Only Weed Identification Guide You'll Ever Need

Don't let these pesky plants crash your garden party!

How to Reduce the Number of Harmful Insects and Bugs in Your Backyard

Stop mosquitoes, ticks, and spiders in their tracks.

A Newbie-Friendly Guide to Starting a Vegetable Garden

For when you’re interested in growing your own food, but are feeling overwhelmed.

Is It Time to Prune Yet?

That depends on what you’re growing — and what your goal is. Here’s a short refresher.

How to Build a Simple Raised Garden Bed

You can provide perfect conditions for whatever you’re keen on growing.

Gardening Is Actually a Sneaky Form of Meditation—Here’s the Reward You’ll Get From It

“When we’re involved in something like gardening, we are very much able to, in the meditative sense, let go of our thoughts and be focused in the moment on what we are doing.”

BONUS READ: The Non-Gardener’s Guide to Happier Houseplants

Expert advice on leveling up your houseplant care, from choosing the right specimen to recognizing when your greenery needs more (or less) attention.