Even still, I would like to go through them for any beginner gardener out there. If you remember a few week ago, I wrote a post on the beginner gardener: getting ready. By now I am sure that you have had lots of time to think about your garden, what you want and how much time you have for it. I also know that growing season is coming to an end but if you are planning on putting in some bulbs or even starting in the spring, you should look at buying your tools now when the end of season sales start. For this post, I am just going to look at the tools you use for planting and digging and I will go over tools that you use for trimming later.

So without further ado, let’s look at the tools.

The Spade:

Every gardener needs a spade and the type of spade really depends on what you are going to use it for. Generally, you will use your spade for digging. For this reason, you will want to have a spade with a shaft length that is comfortable for your height. Gardening can be backbreaking work, so don’t make it more so by buying tools that are too short for you. The best spades are ones with stainless steel blades since they have a longer shelf life than steel spades and they also cut the soil much easier. Spades are used for the heavy digging when you are removing weeds or putting in trees.

The Trowels:

This is an item that I always called a spade, especially when I started gardening. For years, when I was mostly working with containers and annuals, it was pretty much the only tool that I had. These are the small shovel (or spade-like) tools that you use for scooping out the soil to create holes for new flowers, seeds or bulbs. Again, like the spade, the best type of trowel is one that has a stainless steel blade instead of forged steel.

The Forks:

If you are sticking to small beds or simply using containers, then chances are you will only need a hand fork. These aer used for working in tightly planted areas, removing weeds and also for transplanting seedlings. You can purchase hand forks with three or four prongs and there really is no difference in how they work. Basically, you want one that is comfortable to use, whether it is three or four prongs.

If you are going larger, a garden fork will be something that you may need to purchase one. There are different forks for general digging and others that you can use for working around potatoes. Again, stainless steel is the best option when you are purchasing a garden fork and you will want to find a shaft length that is comfortable. Garden forks can be used for digging and they can also be used for aerating a lawn, moving compost and cultivating a garden.

The Rakes:

Yes, rakes and forks are different and you will need both, especially if you are planting a vegetable garden. Rakes come in many different sizes and you can find wooden, plastic and metal heads for the rakes. Most people prefer rakes with a steel head for their gardening needs. Other than picking up leaves, don’t use a steel head for this since it can damage your lawn, forks can be used to level the soil or for aerating your lawn.

The Hoes:

Occasionally it seems like there are way too many tools for the same job in a garden but each one has a reason for their use. A hoe can be found in several different types such as the draw hoe and the dutch hoe and you may find that you will be purchasing more than one. Again, the best blade is the stainless steel variety but don’t feel that you need to purchase them in stainless steel since they tend to be more expensive than forged steel. You can use your hoe for weeding, breaking up the surface soil, building up mounds for vegetables and also for making a seed furrow.

And there are some of the tools of the trade. You can also purchase a wheelbarrow but they are only necessary if your garden is large. I find my kids wagon is perfect for lugging bags of top soil around the yard to each of the planters but if I am moving loose soil or debris, the wheelbarrow is perfect.

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. Pruning Shears – One Among The Four Must-Have Gardener’s Tools
2. Be Prepared – Five Basic Tools for your Rose Garden
3. The Main Purpose of a Garden Spading Fork

But enough of winter, the snow will be upon us (or some of us) soon enough and we’ll be relegated to indoor gardening or greenhouses for those of us who have them.  Late summer has a number of tasks that should be done in the garden and below is a helpful list.

• Weed your flower gardens and continue with the general maintenance of your garden by dead heading all the flowers and removing pests.  Check out our post on organic weed control.
• Fertilize any plants that seem to need it. 
• Plant any bulbs that you have that bloom in the fall.
• Sow any of the vegetables from your garden that are ready in the late summer.  Another task for your vegetable garden is to dry off your onions and store them.
• Harvest your herb garden (if you have one) and dry the herbs.  See our article on “Do It Yourself Microwave Herb Drying”
• If you are planning to have strawberries next year, this is the preferred season to plant them.

And lastly, enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. Early Summer Gardening Tasks
2. The Beauty of a Summer Vegetable Garden
3. Some like it cold: It’s not too late to get your fall veggie garden growing

The reason was that the plant couldn’t survive or thrive in my zone.  Winters are a bit too cold and I would have to bring a lot of plants inside in early fall just to accommodate them.  It took me a while to understand what the zones were and why I couldn’t ignore them.  Today, I understand zones, although I don’t always like them, and on Savvy Gardening, we frequently mention zones.  For that reason, I am going to take a quick look at zones.

What is a zone?

A zone, also known as a hardiness zone, is a geographical area that is classed together for the purpose of growing plants.  Some plants thrive in one type of temperature and die in others.  It is the way plants, and for that matter, the  world is made.  Zones can be large, or small but the main quality that the zone has in common is the minimum temperature that is reached each year.  Zones are numbered from 1 to 11 with the coldest starting at one and the hottest starting at 11.   Below are links to maps for various countries and hardiness.

• United States
• Canada
• Europe
• South America
• Australia

Now it is important to add that although zones help in deciding on plants, it is not the definitive.  Plants that may grow in your climate, may not grow in your garden.  There are many different things to look at including amount of annual precipitation, soil composition, acidity in the soil and the natural light that your garden has.  The zones are merely a starting point to finding the best plants for your home.

Below is a listing of the minimum temperatures for each zone:

• Zone 1: below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 46 degrees Celsius
• Zone 2: minus 50  to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 46 to minus 40 degrees Celsius
• Zone 3: minus 40  to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 40 to minus 34 degrees Celsius
• Zone 4: minus 30  to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 34 to minus 29 degrees Celsius
• Zone 5: minus 20  to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 29 to minus 23 degrees Celsius
• Zone 6: minus 10  to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 23 to minus 18 degrees Celsius
• Zone 7: 0 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 18 to minus 12 degrees Celsius
• Zone 8: 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 12 to minus 7 degrees Celsius
• Zone 9: 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 7 to minus 1 degrees Celsius
• Zone 10: 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 1 to 4 degrees Celsius
• Zone 11: anything above 40 degrees Fahrenheit or  4 degrees Celsius

Related posts:

1. How to Decipher Zone Rules when Planting Roses
2. The Best Roses to Grow in your Climate
3. Gardening Climate Zones Are A Selection Guide

Am I too busy?

This is the most important question that you should ask yourself before anything else?  You shouldn’t worry about the soil, the cost or even the tools.  You shouldn’t think about the space or what you want to see in it, that all comes later, but truthfully answer the question about your time.  Do you have the time to tend your garden and if so, how much time do you have?

It may be surprising but the amount of time that you actually have will greatly determine the type and style of your garden.  If you have limited time, you may simply opt for a container garden where maintenance is kept to a minimum.  If you have more time, you may decide on a full garden with flowers, vegetables and a continuous emergence of new ideas and plants.

Basically, the more time you have, the more elaborate your garden will be, especially if you enjoy the activity.

What style do you want?

Now that you understand how much time you can give to your newest hobby, you really need to look at the type of style that you would like.  Remember that it isn’t limited to container or rock or even a water garden but it can also include a wide variety of ideas.  You can go with a Tuscan garden, a green retreat or even a haphazard garden that gives a whimsical feel to the space.

What type of space do you have?

Finally, although there will be other questions to answer after these, you will need to figure out the space that you have and all the limitations and benefits that it has.  If you are not sure of what those benefits are, you can always ask an expert.

From there, you can begin to truly understand the garden you are creating, what will work and what you will need to create the space of your dreams.

Hope this helps in getting you ready for your garden and look for more beginner tips in the weeks to come.

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. The Beginner Gardener: Knowing the Tools of the Trade
2. Gardening Ideas for Container Gardens
3. Organic Container Garden: Growing Your Own Food At Home

I find, personally, that it is better to look at a garden in small bursts.  Sure there are many things that I will need to do throughout the summer when it comes to keeping my garden healthy and eventually getting ready to bed it down for the winter but when there are only a few jobs to do at each period of time, the amount of work put into a garden seems almost insignificant to the amount of enjoyment you get out of it.

So here is a list of a few garden tasks that you should do in early summer:

The Flower Garden:

• Place supports in the garden for any perennials that need it.
• Fertilize the plants
• Remove all the deadheads from the plants
• Water regularly
• Prune any plants that need to be pruned.  Most will only need to be pruned after flowering, depending on the plant.
• Deal with any pests if they are present in the garden.
• With any shrubs and perennials, you can take softwood cuttings.
• Thin out the annuals
• Weed the beds.

The Vegetable Garden

This depends on what plants you have in your garden.

• Weed the garden.
• Thin out any plants that need to be.
• Provide supports for plants that require them such as beans, and tomatoes.
• fertilize the vegetable garden.
• Place up screens to protect vegetables from pests.
• Water regularly
• Sow any plants that require sowing

And these are just a few jobs to make summer gardening a little easier and you will find that you spend more time enjoying your garden then struggling to keep up with its care.

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. Late Summer Gardening Tasks
2. Early Vegetable Garden Planting: Starting Seeds Indoors
3. The Beauty of a Summer Vegetable Garden

I didn’t think much about gardening at that point, really at 17-18 the big draw are the patio parties, but I did wonder if it would be okay to plant a few flowers in the planters available.  I didn’t though partly because I wasn’t sure what plants to use, partly because I was a young and poor and partly because I wasnt’ sure if it was okay to do so. 

Since then, I have found that planting a garden in a rental property is something that many renters wonder about.  I have met many avid gardeners that are just waiting to sign the dotted line on their own mortgages so they can get out into the yard to start setting up the garden they have been dreaming about.  This very same gardeners that have been keeping flowers to a minimum, mostly in planters, and are always in despair at how sparse their rented yard looks.

When it comes to a rented house, there really is no reason why you should avoid the joys of having a rented garden.  Most rental boards have a policy that property should be enjoyed as though it is yours and not a rental, barring major redesigning however.  Most rental properties have flower beds already dug into them and some even come with an assortment of perennials already in place.  There is nothing hindering a renter from moving into those flower beds and creating a whole new theme.

About 10 years ago, I moved into another beautiful 3 bedroom house, I preferred 3 bedrooms for some reason.  Anyway, this house was set in an older Italian neighborhood and every yard had full gardens, fruit trees, flower beds and grass to make even the most cared for golf course envious.  I jumped into the fact that I now had places to plant flowers, fruit trees to tend to and an assortment of other ideas to put into place.  I was still very hesitant about starting new projects but I enjoyed the rose bushes that were already in place and the space that was provided.  As I became more comfortable in my rented space, I began adding flower beds to the yard and quickly started designing a garden I could enjoy completely.

And that is what every gardener who rents should know.  It is okay to add flower beds and other garden areas.  If it is a big project, such as a pond or walkway, I would strongly suggest speaking to the home owner before you do.  More than likely, they won’t have a problem but in the off chance that they do, you won’t risk eviction by talking to them first.

When you decide to plant your rented garden, I would recommend a few things to alleviate any worries or potential problems.

• Ask the landlord:  I already mentioned this but if you are adding anything, it doesn’t hurt to ask or even just to mention that you are planning to expand the flower beds.
• Plan for leaving:  As with all rented spaces, there will be a time when you will move.  This may not always be in the summer so if you don’t want to loose money on perennials, stick to annuals instead.  You can have very nice gardens with only annuals and although it can cost you more money in the grand scheme of gardening, you won’t have to worry about losing an $80 perennial.  If your lease runs from summer to summer, plan to use perennials that can handle being transported.
• Make the garden easy to use:  Although we all have ideas of what we want in a garden, it is important to create a garden that can be up-kept with relative ease.  The next renters may not have any interest in gardening and if it can be taken care of with very little effort, the landlord will appreciate you all the more and will send out great references if you are renting again.
• Don’t think of it as rented:  Don’t spend all your time thinking about the garden as rented. Simply enjoy it now and put in the things that you want in it.  Sure you may leave it behind but you can always look forward to a new blank canvas to try new ideas.
• Make use of containers:  Yes, I know that not everyone wants to stick with containers but it can minimize the amount of money you are putting into a rental.  When you move, if you have cared for your containers, you can gather up your pots and keep a piece of your investment when you leave.

So these are only a few tips but the main point that I am trying to get across is that you do not need to feel stuck with no gardening enjoyment if you rent.  Maybe you won’t be able to do as much as home owners but you can still have magnificent gardens that have guests and passer-byers whispering, “I wish my garden was like that.”

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. Flower Garden Ideas For A Small Garden
2. Formal Garden Design Ideas
3. Making Beautiful Flower Gardens