You want more time to enjoy your garden.

But you don’t know where to start.

And at times, you feel frustrated and overwhelmed.

Intimidated, even.

Growing your dream garden doesn’t have to be a tiring, thorny time-suck.

You can feel confident and proud of your garden…

Even if your garden is in open rebellion, with beds ruled by weedy overlords or total plant anarchy where only the hardiest survive.

The solution is to garden smart, not hard.

And it’s easier than you think!

Meet your fairy garden mother…

Cheryl Spencer, certified gardener

Hi! I’m Cheryl.

I’m a certified gardener born with a plant addiction that has no cure.

I believe you can grow your dream garden and still have time to enjoy it – no matter how busy you are.

That’s why I created Simply Smart Gardening. To help you grow a garden that’s manageable, wows your neighbors, and makes your family say, “more veggies, please!”

I’ve been seen on…

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🌻You can grow your dream garden AND have time to enjoy it!

Here’s why gardeners love Simply Smart Gardening…

Growing a beautiful, productive garden is a grand adventure…

Where should we go first?

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Gardening Basics

Get the help you need to start gardening like an expert. No experience required!

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Ornamental Gardens

Discover how to grow and maintain your flowers and ornamental plants like a pro.

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Edible Gardens

Learn how to grow vegetables, fruit, and herbs you and your family will enjoy.

You’ll find even more help and resources in the shop.

Garden smarter with my most popular digital products and courses.

what to do when checklists

Get the right things done at the right time.

What To Do When

Monthly Checklists for Busy Gardeners

Take the stress, overwhelm, and guesswork out of gardening with these done-for-you checklists.

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Beautifully organize and track all your gardening info.

Smart Garden Journal Pages

Quickly and easily find the important information you need to make your garden a success every year! Buy once, use forever.

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Grow more, work less.

Small Space, Big Harvest

The course for busy gardeners who want to grow a wildly productive vegetable garden without all the weeding, watering, or worrying.

Looking for gardening answers?

These popular blog posts are a great place to start.

spinach growing in a square foot garden

How to Grow Tons of Fresh Spinach [Even If You Don’t Have Much Space]

Thanks to the popularity of square foot gardening, the idea of growing food in a small and efficient space has taken hold. And spinach is one of the best vegetables to get you started with square foot gardening. Spinach is an easy-to-grow salad green that produces large yields of vitamin-rich,…
woman planting roses in a may garden

What to Plant in May: Best Vegetables + Flowers to Grow Now

It’s time to get serious about planting! This is the month when heat-loving veggies like tomatoes and peppers can go into the ground unprotected. Cool-season annual flowers can be planted early in the month, but wait until after your last frost to plant tender annuals. Keep reading to get the full list of…
lettuce under a grow light

Easy Seed Starting Shelves DIY: Make a Grow Light Stand Fast

You want to start plants from seed, and you want it to be easy. So, you get out some pots, fill them with potting soil, pop your seeds in, and water them. As you place the pots next to your sunniest window, you nod your head and think, “that was…
garden soil on a white background

Soil Preparation: How to Create Healthy Soil

Imagine if you did one thing that could prevent 80% of the problems in your garden. Understanding your soil is that one thing. Learning how your soil affects your plants will dramatically increase your odds of being a successful gardener.
April gardening, beautiful lawn with flowers

April Gardening Tips + To-Dos: How to Grow a Garden You’ll Love

It’s time to take advantage of the gardener-friendly spring weather! Getting important garden chores done now will reduce your workload later when the summer heat sets in. April is a busy time in the garden, no question, but this checklist will help you keep on top of things! Keep reading to find out…
leggy seedlings growing in a pot

Leggy Seedlings: How to Prevent and Fix them For Good!

A couple of weeks after starting your seeds indoors, your shoulders sag as you look at your seedlings. They don’t look right. They’re thin, pale, wispy things – all skinny stems, and hardly any leaves. It feels like a seed-starting disaster! And you wonder, “can I salvage these seedlings?” The good news is it’s…

And here are some recent gardening ideas.

corn gluten meal

Corn Gluten Meal for Weeds: Is it an Effective Weed Killer?

Looking for natural or organic ways to control pesky weeds in your garden? If so, you may be wondering if corn gluten can help. Companies that sell organic weedkillers market corn gluten meal as a natural and safe pre-emergent herbicide. Some gardeners swear by it. While others say it doesn’t work at all. So,…
stack of free seed catalogs on a table

21 Best Free Seed Catalogs in 2023 [Vegetable + Flower Seed]

Nothing helps cure a gardener’s cabin fever like a thick stack of seed catalogs. As you page through each one, your garden springs to life in your mind’s eye … green shoots poking up through the soil, seedlings soaking up the sun, juicy tomatoes, ripe and ready for backyard dinners….
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