Design & Plan Your Garden

What is Full Sun, Partial Sun, and Part Shade? (How to Grow Happy Plants)

sunflowers growing in full sun

The sun can be both a generous friend and a relentless foe. Ever planted a full sun diva in a shadowy spot or exposed shade lovers to the unforgiving sun? You probably ended up with a full sun plant huddled in the shadows, pining for the light, and your shade-lover looking as crispy as a potato chip. But this post will help you avoid those mistakes. You can create a garden filled with happy, healthy plants by understanding the difference between full sun, part sun, and full shade. So let’s dive in and explore what it all means!

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Succession Planting: The Best Way to Grow a Continuous Harvest

a gardener succession planting lettuce

Ever wished you could hit the “pause” button on the rollercoaster ride of veggie harvests? I get it – the struggle is real when everything ripens at the same time! In. One. Big. Harvest. There’s got to be a better way. Right? Imagine enjoying a steady supply of your favorite veggies without feeling overwhelmed or wasteful. Seem impossible? It’s not when you succession plant. It’s like a magic backyard pantry that always keeps its shelves stocked with fresh ingredients for your next meal. Instead of a flurry of produce and a race against time to use it all, you spread out your harvests. It’s all about timing. Instead of planting everything in one big batch, you stagger your plantings. So, you can get your veggie fix at every meal. Sound good? Keep reading to learn how to keep the harvest train chugging along all season long. We’ll explore the best crops to plant, how to time your plantings just right, and some helpful tips to ensure your harvests are the stuff of garden legends.

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When to Plant a Fall Garden: How to Choose the Best Dates

vegetables growing in a fall garden

Picture this: as the leaves change color this fall, a chilly breeze whispers through your garden, and you step outside, crunching through the leaves to harvest fresh ingredients for tonight’s dinner… Sound like a pipe dream? It’s not! And it’s easier than you think. But right now, you’re not sure where to start. You may be wondering: What are the best crops and varieties to grow in a fall garden? As my summer garden continues to produce, how do I make room for fall veggies? When should I start seeds? How do I deal with unpredictable fall weather? Don’t worry—I’ve been there.

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Sun Mapping Your Garden Will Help You Pick Perfect Plants

a completed sun map of a garden

Want to do a better job of choosing the right plants for your garden? A sun map of your yard will help you do just that! It helps you choose the right plants for your garden based on the amount of sun they need. Which means, you’ll avoid problems like sunscald or lanky, stretched-out plants. Mapping the sun exposure in your yard is simple. All you need is a few common tools and a sunny day. When you’re done, you’ll have a map to use as a handy guide when selecting and placing plants in your garden. Keep reading to see how easy it is!

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Top 21 Free Seed Catalogs in 2024 [Flower + Vegetable Seed Catalogs]

stack of free seed catalogs on a table

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. There’s a lot to look forward to in your garden this year, and it all starts with a few good seed catalogs. But how do you know which ones are right for you?

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Low Maintenance Gardening

gardening venn diagram of gardening happiness

You want a beautiful garden, but you don’t want to spend all your free time pulling weeds, dragging your hose around from plant to plant, or drowning Japanese beetles in soapy water to keep them off your roses.
Maybe you’re busy with work, a family, and piles of laundry, or you’re getting older and slowing down a bit, or perhaps you just want to join the lazy gardeners’ club.

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What You Need to Know About Garden Microclimates

sunflower and a partly cloudy sky, depicting microclimate factors

As a beginning gardener, one of my biggest frustrations was getting things to grow in parts of my yard that were too dry, shady, hot, or windy. Sun, shade, heat, wind, slope, precipitation, and soil type all work together to create microclimates in your yard. Do you struggle to understand your garden’s climate and microclimates? There’s more to it than knowing your gardening zone. I came up with five steps to track and measure my garden and learn more about the different microclimates. This helped me tremendously when I planned and planted the garden at our current house. And I’ll share the five steps with you.

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Garden Design How To: DIY Garden Design for Beginners

garden design drawn in colored pencil

Have you ever watched a landscape makeover on TV and thought “how hard could it be to design my own garden?” They do make it look easy, don’t they? Good landscape design adds value to your home without breaking the bank. And it creates a space you and your family can enjoy for many years. But before you run out and buy a bunch of plants, follow my step-by-step instructions for designing your garden. You’ll learn a few basic design principles. And I’ll help you avoid the mistakes most beginning gardeners make.

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