Secrets of a master gardener

Having a beautiful garden, takes understanding the various components that go into having happy, healthy plants.

Here are 10 steps you can take to help your garden flourish:

1. Get a soil test. (PDF 138kb)

2. Know how much light each part of your yard gets throughout the day.

3. Pay attention to areas that get direct, afternoon sun to avoid planting plants that cannot tolerate such conditions.

4. Read care instructions before planting to ensure that you have chosen the right site for the plant.

5. Water deeply once a week instead of lightly several times a week to develop plant’s roots.

6. Water in the morning to help prevent disease.

7. If you must transplant during summer, do so on an overcast day to help avoid transplant shock.

8. When moving indoor plants outside for summer, be sure to keep them out of direct sunlight for a week to let them acclimate to their new surroundings.

9. After summer solstice, trees start preparing for winter;
fertilizing after June 21 is not in their best interest.

10.  Familiarize yourself with invasive plants and rid them from your yard.

Questions about your yard?
Ask our resident Certified Master Gardner.