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Where does a newbie start with gardening?
Dh has been our gardener/landscaper. Well, this year he just. stopped. He decided he was too busy and now our yard is overrun with weeds, and our formerly beautiful garden looks terrible. Weeds are knee high! And many of our plants are overrun by tall grass. I have never gardened in my life but I want to fix this mess in our backyard. Just looking for soem advice as to where to start. I don't know how to prune, what are weeds vs plants, how to get rid of the clover-type weeks which are small but rampant (not like dandilions which are easy to pull). I got a gardening guide for my city but it's above my level of knowldege so I am not getting much out of it.
I have a couple of tomato plants that are dying too :-(
TIA.
ETA: We bought our home 2 years ago, and one of the things we loved was the beautiful backyard. Dh managed it the first 2 summers, but I don't know how well he did as neither one of us had more than a hanging plant before.
Re: Where does a newbie start with gardening?
Married Bio
In the US there are master gardeners extension associated with state universities which are great resources for all the questions you are asking. They are also great because they are local to each area. Most of them have great fact sheets, some have telephone hot lines your can call with questions, soil testing clinics, and help with plant identification. Plus they don't try and sell you anything. You may want to investigate if there is something similar in Canada. You may be able to get rid of the clover, but how many harsh chemicals do you really want to apply and how much time and money do you really want to spend to get rid of it considering it says green, grows low, and doesn't look really weedy like dandelions.
If you want to maintain the garden yourself then why don't you pick your DH's brain about his gardening knowledge? I would take him outside and just start asking what is what so you can figure out what is weeds, perennials etc etc.
I agree with starting section by section b/c it can get very overwhelming. I have gained a lot of my knowledge from Google, magazines, cheap plant books and friends. I will ask a lot of questions when I visit the nurseries about the plants I am buying. It can be very overwhelming to re-claim your garden but once you get in and figure things out it will get easier!! I learn a lot by trial and error. Some plants don't survive and others thrive, I just take it a day at a time!
Most of what I know about gardening came from watching my mom. Perhaps your DH can come out there and tell you what is what.
The rest of what I know came from library books and rugged experimentation.
Thanks everyonw.
- the knee high grass is coming out of the backyard plants (not my lawn, LOL).
- DH didn't really know what he was doing either. We inherited the garden with the house.
- I was thinking of hiring someone who could tell me what I have and how best to care for them, but I am not even sure who would do that.
- I guess I'll just start experimenting, and hope I don't mess things up too much!
Thanks