As a new gardener or even a keen experienced gardener, one of the most exciting things that you can do in life is to go plant shopping.
There are a couple of things that you can do to prepare yourself before you jump in the car and head out that door with your credit card at the ready and a big sense of joy in your heart.
Here are 5 tips to successfully purchasing plants for your garden.
Tip 1 – Research What Plants You Really Need
Spending some time doing some research and developing a seasonal garden plan will save you heaps of money in the long run and your garden will be much more organized and you are bound to have greater success. You will not be tempted to grab everything that looks pretty and then have no place for it when you get home.
Tip 2 – Find The Right Shop
This may sound obvious but deciding on where you should spend your hard-earned cash should actually be a considered choice.
Developing a relationship with the staff at your local garden centre will not only support small business but will also benefit you. The staff at your local garden centre will get to know you and your garden and will be able to order things in for you as you need them. They will also help you to research and plan your garden for you. Knowledgeable garden centre employees really know their stuff, unlike hardware stores where plants are an extra, not an integral part of their core business.
Tip 3 – Purchase Plants That Are In Season
Buying plants that are at their best and in season will show you how a plant should look when at its super healthy best. It may be in flower or in leaf or if it is a deciduous tree you may wish to buy it in the Autumn so that you know exactly what it will look like when it colours up in your area, not what the tag says it might look like.
Tip 4 – Buy Healthy Plants
Don’t be tempted to buy plants on a discount table. It is likely that you will never be able to breathe life into them, you may but this is risky and if you’re new to gardening it may lead to disappointment and pouring a lot of resources and time into something-flogging a dead horse so to speak.
Tip 5 – Get The Job Done!
Plant your new plants straight away, the same day that you buy them.
Take the advice of the staff at your local garden centre, if they say use Mature Compost to plant your tree for example, then that’s what you should use. They know what they are talking about. If you leave your new plants a few days or weeks before you plant them then they will no doubt not be as healthy as the day you bought them and may struggle to survive and thrive. So, make sure that you have enough time to plant everything you have purchased within a few days-try not to overburden yourself with too many plants on the one day.
Most of all, embrace the plant shopping experience of adding some new treasures to your collection whether it’s indoor plants or plants for your garden, buying new ones can be one of the most fun parts of the journey.
