4 Tips For Outdoor Garden Landscaping If You Lack a Green Thumb

I absolutely love to garden… obviously 🙂 It did, however take me quite a while before I learned how to plant stuff that would make me feel like a gardener! You really don’t have to have a green thumb to have beautiful landscape gardens and pots. You just need the right place, plant, and some water!

1. Location, Location, Location

The majority of my failed plant attempts were due to not paying attention to the amount of sun my plants would get. It is actually super important to plant stuff where it can be happy and successful at growing… which in turn makes you look like an incredible gardener!

Most plants are happiest in part to full sun locations. If you are able, plan where you are going to create your gardens accordingly. If you already have gardens, like next to your house for example, pay attention to how many hours of sun the garden spot gets. For example, the south side of your house will likely get full sun, especially if there aren’t any trees or other buildings that provide shade to the area.

Full sun equals 6-10 hours of sunlight per day, preferably on the higher end (8-10 hours).

Part sun/ part shade equals around 3-6 hours of sunlight per day. Aim higher in this range for part sun and lower for part shade.

Shade plants typically don’t like a lot of direct sunlight, especially the hot afternoon sunlight. Aim for less than 4 hours of sunlight for these plants!

2. Pick the Right Plants

I can’t even count how many plants have not been able to survive at my house. Trust me… it’s a lot. I started to like gardening more and more when I found plants that were able to survive in my gardens with little fuss. If you live in the Northwestern United States, more specifically Minnesota area, I can help you out with my favorites, but if you are from another area you may need to do a little bit of your own research too!

In this area, I highly recommend Marigolds or Petunias for outdoor pots. I would purchase them from a local greenhouse if you are able, because they already have a good start to their life! They are pretty tolerant to be planted anywhere with sunshine! If you are needing a shade plant, try Begonias or Impatiens.

For landscaping, I love to use Hydrangeas and Hostas. Both of these come in many, many different varieties. Some love sun, and some love shade! Do a little research or check out the tag that generally is stuck in the pot at the greenhouse.

3. Remember To Water

Whenever you plant something in a new location, be sure to give it a drink of water. It will take a little bit of time for the plant to establish its roots in its new home. Whenever I plant a new perennial (comes up every year) in the ground, I like to water it like I would if it were in a pot for the first summer that I have it. Usually I water my potted plants every 2-3 days depending on the weather. In general, once perennials have established themselves they will need very little care.

4. Finish It Off

If you have extra space around your landscaping plants next you your house or something, it helps with the weeds if you add some weed blocking fabric with mulch or rocks on top! I, personally love the look of mulch, so that is typically what I use to help keep my weeds at bay. Some people like to lay the weed block before planting their plants. Remember to tear a hole large enough for your plant to get water! Cardboard or newspaper works well for weed block, too.

I am not a professional gardener and I don’t have incredible full-backyard landscaping. I have gardens that I think look great (and really you will see it most so plant your gardens for yourself!) and are no too difficult to maintain. I like to garden, but I like free time to do other things too. Most of my landscaping gardens are Hydrangeas and Hostas surrounded by mulch, and I love it :). Don’t be scared of planting a landscape garden, just be sure to set yourself up for success! 🙂