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by: Rose Hillbrand
Hopefully you are enjoying this article series on starting your own sustainable
garden. If you've missed any articles, check the resource box below.
Choosing the Right Plants for Your Garden
Many times we purchase plants on impulse only to find there is nowhere in the
garden that really suits them. Before buying plants, you should carefully
examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets (more on this in the
next newsletter!), whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether
your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You'll then be better equipped to go and
buy the best plants for your situation: shade-loving plants for the sheltered
areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched
areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the
poorly-drained parts.
But first, it's a good idea to test your soil, to determine the pH level of your
soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or
alkaline? Most plants take soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that
must have alkaline soil to grow. You can alter the soil's pH level, but it's
much easier to simply plant for the soil you have. (Keep your eye out for more
on soil preparation in a future issue!)
Now you are ready to plant. Well - almost.... Will you be planting in groups or
singly? If you buy 'one of everything' your garden may seem rather spotty. Group
plantings are organized, harmonious and you can vary the flower or foliage color
for visual interest.
Picking Healthy Plants
When it comes to getting started with your garden, you have two choices;
planting seeds, or buying pre-started plants. Both have their own benefits. If
you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more
rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. However, this method
is a lot more risky. I can't tell you how many seeds I've planted and never seen
any trace of whatsoever, or else the seedlings germinate, but don't grow very
strong or very quickly.
If you choose to buy the plant from a greenhouse and install it in your garden,
it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have
found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the
future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have
adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the
bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process
for plants.
It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your
prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly
judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no
diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant
has grown up in improper soil, or has harmful bugs living in it, you can tell
from the holey or yellowed leaves and limp stems.
If you're browsing the greenhouse shelves looking for your dream plant, you want
to leave out anything that currently has flowers. Plants are less traumatized by
the transplant if they do not presently have any flowers. It's best to find ones
that just consist of buds. However if all you have to choose from are flowering
plants, then you should do the unthinkable and sever all of the blooms. It will
be worth it for the future health of the plant. I've found that transplanting a
plant while it is blooming results in having a dead plant seventy to ninety
percent of the time.
Always check the roots before you plop down the money to purchase the plant. Of
course if the roots are in absolutely terrible condition you will be able to
tell by looking at the rest of the plant. But if the roots are just slightly out
of shape, then you probably won't be able to tell just by looking at it. Inspect
the roots very closely for any signs of brownness, rottenness, or softness. The
roots should always be a firm, perfectly well formed infrastructure that holds
all the soil together. One can easily tell if the roots are before or past their
prime, depending on the root to soil ratio. If there are a ridiculous number of
roots with little soil, or a bunch of soil with few roots, you should not buy
that plant.
If you find any abnormalities with the plant, whether it be the shape of the
roots or any irregular features with the leaves, you should ask the nursery
employees. While usually these things can be the sign of an unhealthy plant,
occasionally there will be a logical answer for it. Always give the nursery a
chance before writing them off as horrendous. After all, they are (usually)
professionals who have been dealing with plants for years.
So if you decide to take the easy route and get a plant from a nursery, you just
have to remember that the health of the plants has been left up to someone you
don't know. Usually they do a good job, but you should always check for
yourself. Also take every precaution you can to avoid transplant shock in the
plant (when it has trouble adjusting to its new location, and therefore has
health problems in the future). Usually the process goes smoothly, but you can
never be too sure.
Also, before transplanting your new plants outside, place your chosen plants
about the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them
until you are satisfied.
When planting flowers, grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks
better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an
interesting combination of colors and textures. Tall plants should go to the
back, or the center if your garden will be viewed evenly from all sides.
The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden.
Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash
with others, but can still be grown side-by-side if they have a different
blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have
silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This
means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have
added value.
Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely
competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your garden.
Hopefully this will help in choosing the right plants to put in your new garden,
and making sure you get the healthy ones, if you purchase them pre-started.
In our next article, we'll be covering proper soil preparation methods, to
ensure that your new plants grow healthy and strong.
About The Author
To learn more about starting your own sustainable garden, please visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html.
You can also find other articles in this series on our blog located at: http://newholisticliving.wordpress.com/
-- just click on the "Sustainable Gardening" topic.
The author invites you to visit:
http://www.newholisticliving.com
Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/hobbies/article_1804.shtml
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