I have a yard, now what?
If you've spent most of your adult life in rentals, apartments, or condos, moving in to a place with an actual YARD can be super exciting, especially if you've been dreaming of having a garden one day.
My friend Miranda is experiencing this at the moment. After years of living above a dentist's office with barely a window she could grow anything in (let alone a yard), she's now the owner of an adorable yellow heritage home with a massive yard just outside Kingston, Ontario. Since she and her family moved in last October, she's been impassively waiting for spring to get her hands in the dirt (after what seemed like the longest winter EVER).
There's nothing quite as exciting as a blank slate. There's also nothing quite as intimidating.
A colleague of mine who is also experiencing her first spring in a new home recently expressed this intimidation (trepidation? overwhelm?) to me in passing. Phrases like "I don't have a green thumb" and "I just don't know where to start" are pretty common among new home owners. I remember this feeling well - and as such, this post is dedicated to Miranda, my colleague Alice, and the rest of you out there for whom the initial excitement of a yard is rapidly transitioning to the gardener's equivalent of writer's block.
A colleague of mine who is also experiencing her first spring in a new home recently expressed this intimidation (trepidation? overwhelm?) to me in passing. Phrases like "I don't have a green thumb" and "I just don't know where to start" are pretty common among new home owners. I remember this feeling well - and as such, this post is dedicated to Miranda, my colleague Alice, and the rest of you out there for whom the initial excitement of a yard is rapidly transitioning to the gardener's equivalent of writer's block.
In an older or previously owned home, watch and wait...
If you've moved into an older or previously owned home, there are probably some pretty cool surprises hiding below the soil. Even if you moved in in the middle of summer, landscapes change so much throughout the seasons that you'll want to make sure you've seen what comes up for an entire year before making any major decisions. Shrubs and perennials flower at different times of year, so something that you didn't love during the summer may be stunning in the spring or fall (burning bush, for example, turns bright red in the fall but is pretty boring throughout the rest of the year). There may be spring bulbs that only appear for a short time, and it would be a shame to rip them out unknowingly.
You may be super eager to get going on your landscape the first year that you are in your home, and that's fine - but remember - plants are expensive. If you rip everything out right away, you'll end up having to purchase new plants. Many shrubs can be pruned back and moved with a little effort, and splitting or moving perennials to a new location is a breeze - but you can't do it effectively if you don't know what's there in the first place!
That said, if you do decide to wait it out before changing anything, make sure you have a method for recording what is where. A journal works, and if you're a visual person, you can even plot out your beds on paper. Another option is to tag the plants as they come up using Popsicle sticks and PERMANENT marker (your work will go to waste if you don't use permanent, since it'll be there over winter).
If you're planning on making new garden beds or perhaps a raised bed for vegetables, the reason you'll want to wait is to determine where the sunny and shaded areas of your yard are throughout the growing season. A sunny spot in July may be entirely shaded in May or September, and direct sun is too important to overlook. Most fruiting (zucchini, beans, tomato) or root (carrot, parsnip) vegetables require full sun...only some vegetables grown for their greens can withstand shade, so this is critical. That said, if you have no trees, you're probably good to go!
Above all, try to be patient. Let your gardens reveal their secrets. Use the time as a chance to learn about the different types of shrubs and plants that grow on your property. Invest in some reference books (I particularly like the Lone Pine series). Trust me - it'll be worth the wait.
If you've moved in to a brand new build, it has likely been minimally landscaped for you. Perhaps the builders threw in a few hardy shrubs. Your biggest issue is likely to be the quality of your soil. Like sunlight, good soil is too important to overlook.
If you were to throw vegetable seeds into the ground in a newly developed neighbourhood, you might start off thinking you've been successful (the plant will probably grow), but you'll likely run into problems in a hurry. Root vegetables will be stumpy or under-developed, plants will only fruit minimally or not at all, and perhaps worst of all, your plants will be weak, making them susceptible to problems and pests that could potentially come back to haunt you year after year once established.
One way to strengthen your plants is to use a water-soluble chemical fertilizer like Miracle Grow...but here's the catch: THESE DO NOT IMPROVE THE SOIL, THEY JUST FEED THE PLANT. So your plant may thrive, but it will continue to deplete the nutrients in the soil without adding anything back. So go ahead and use these fertilizers, but you'll have to take other measures to improve the soil.
I'm not going to get into soil PH or composition anything like that. That just complicates things. Here's what you need to do: ADD ORGANIC COMPOST. Start your own composter if you like. Add vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and sawdust if you have it. But if this is your first year in a new build, you're going to want something right away, and compost takes time.
Your easiest bet is to purchase some composted sheep or cow manure...and by some I mean enough to cover your garden beds at a depth of about 4 inches. It's a lot, so try to get it on sale. You can usually order ahead for easy pickup.
A lot of municipalities that have a green-bin program will provide free compost (bring your own recycle bin to fill up) sometime in the spring. If you log on to your local municipality's waste management website, you'll probably be able to find a schedule and locations. It's worthwhile to take a peek.
A third way to access compost is via a local animal farmer if you're lucky enough to know one. It never hurts to reach out and see if they can help!
You may be super eager to get going on your landscape the first year that you are in your home, and that's fine - but remember - plants are expensive. If you rip everything out right away, you'll end up having to purchase new plants. Many shrubs can be pruned back and moved with a little effort, and splitting or moving perennials to a new location is a breeze - but you can't do it effectively if you don't know what's there in the first place!
That said, if you do decide to wait it out before changing anything, make sure you have a method for recording what is where. A journal works, and if you're a visual person, you can even plot out your beds on paper. Another option is to tag the plants as they come up using Popsicle sticks and PERMANENT marker (your work will go to waste if you don't use permanent, since it'll be there over winter).
If you're planning on making new garden beds or perhaps a raised bed for vegetables, the reason you'll want to wait is to determine where the sunny and shaded areas of your yard are throughout the growing season. A sunny spot in July may be entirely shaded in May or September, and direct sun is too important to overlook. Most fruiting (zucchini, beans, tomato) or root (carrot, parsnip) vegetables require full sun...only some vegetables grown for their greens can withstand shade, so this is critical. That said, if you have no trees, you're probably good to go!
Above all, try to be patient. Let your gardens reveal their secrets. Use the time as a chance to learn about the different types of shrubs and plants that grow on your property. Invest in some reference books (I particularly like the Lone Pine series). Trust me - it'll be worth the wait.
In a new build, give your soil some love...
If you've moved in to a brand new build, it has likely been minimally landscaped for you. Perhaps the builders threw in a few hardy shrubs. Your biggest issue is likely to be the quality of your soil. Like sunlight, good soil is too important to overlook.
If you were to throw vegetable seeds into the ground in a newly developed neighbourhood, you might start off thinking you've been successful (the plant will probably grow), but you'll likely run into problems in a hurry. Root vegetables will be stumpy or under-developed, plants will only fruit minimally or not at all, and perhaps worst of all, your plants will be weak, making them susceptible to problems and pests that could potentially come back to haunt you year after year once established.
One way to strengthen your plants is to use a water-soluble chemical fertilizer like Miracle Grow...but here's the catch: THESE DO NOT IMPROVE THE SOIL, THEY JUST FEED THE PLANT. So your plant may thrive, but it will continue to deplete the nutrients in the soil without adding anything back. So go ahead and use these fertilizers, but you'll have to take other measures to improve the soil.
I'm not going to get into soil PH or composition anything like that. That just complicates things. Here's what you need to do: ADD ORGANIC COMPOST. Start your own composter if you like. Add vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and sawdust if you have it. But if this is your first year in a new build, you're going to want something right away, and compost takes time.
Your easiest bet is to purchase some composted sheep or cow manure...and by some I mean enough to cover your garden beds at a depth of about 4 inches. It's a lot, so try to get it on sale. You can usually order ahead for easy pickup.
A lot of municipalities that have a green-bin program will provide free compost (bring your own recycle bin to fill up) sometime in the spring. If you log on to your local municipality's waste management website, you'll probably be able to find a schedule and locations. It's worthwhile to take a peek.
A third way to access compost is via a local animal farmer if you're lucky enough to know one. It never hurts to reach out and see if they can help!
Now, go get started!
My hope is always to keep gardening simple and enjoyable for the folks who happen to read this blog. My bottom line is "just throw something in the ground and see what happens" - so all of the above suggestions are just that - suggestions. Nature is remarkably resilient, and gardening is a constant learning experience where you will always learn more by DOING than by reading this budget-ass blog. So if these suggestions help, great. If they overwhelm you, ignore them and learn as you go.
Good luck!
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