Notice what you like- in person
Start taking walks around your neighborhood notice the plants you like. Notice what you like about them, and take a note of when they bloom, and what colors they turn in the fall, and whether they are green all year or do the leaves fall. I found that it was too overwhelming to work on my yard when I first moved to my house. We started out with a big yard and a lot of plants that I did not know much about. Looking at lots of gardens and landscaping for other people as well as learning about the habits of the herbs I grown at the farm has helped me learn what to expect from the plants and how to use them in the landscape.
Grow what you Like
If you grow plants that you like for one reason or another, you are more apt to watch their progress, and prune them at the right time, etc. If you plan to use the flower, leaf or root, you will care more about your garden and notice what they are doing throughout the year.
Plan it Out
You still need to think about the big picture in the end- think three seasons or more ahead to know what to plant when... There is a great book called Square Foot Gardening, by John Jeavons that will help you plan what edible food crops to rotate through the garden. I added chickens to the rotation after a few years of the grass getting into the beds and the soil being worked too much. I had already planted Tomatoes in all the major growing areas of the garden, and was getting blossom rot. I have designed and installed other people's edible & medicinal landscapes in the past few years, but this year the farm and the home gardens are getting a makeover!
Write it Down
A garden notebook, a calendar, a blog, or a sheet of paper in the garden shed are all acceptable forms of communicating to yourself later. You should use at least one of these tools to track your major work days in the garden. You can go as far as measuring every pound of food you grow to just writing down the last frost day and when you planted seeds and where they were transplanted and grown in your garden. I am creating the planting schedule for Longfellow Creek Communitiy garden this year based on the past two years' plans I saved. At home, Marc and I decided to turn a larger portion of our backyard into food! Since we used the chickens to clear the way last year, we have really fertile soil! On the farm, I am working with some students this Spring and Summer to start more plants for the edible landscape business, and to plant out the demonstration garden I have designed to complement the Tea Shack. They will also harvest their own herbs to make medicines on the farm. There is no way I could do this properly if I didn't know what happened the year before.
Concentrate your Effort
Sometimes, if you are trying to look at the garden all at once, you can get overwhelmed by it all. Divide and conquer... and stick with it. Try to concentrate on working on one area at a time. That is not to say that you can't look at the whole picture, but if you divide it up into bite sized pieces you are able to accomplish things easier. In one session you can make a small area look neat and have a great head start on the season. Then, another day (or week) you can start on the area next to it and so on. Also, if you are totally overwhelmed, start in pots! You can move them around the garden to where the sun is right and take note of what happens through the season.
Happy Gardening!
Don't forget to have fun and eat as you go. Plant cherry tomatoes and peas for your nibbling pleasure; make tea from chamomile, clover or mint plants. Or purchase some Holy Mama Tincture to add to your soda water or hot water and de-stress! It contains Holy Basil, Wood Betony, and Motherwort- all good for helping you adapt to stressful situations and keep you calm as a mild sedative**. You deserve a treat- and don't forget to bring a chair or bench out so you can take a break in the garden and enjoy your efforts.
Join us sometime- email jayne@sistersageherbs.com
** This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA**
