There's a mountain of tips for gardening out in the world, so it can be hard to know where to start. Here's what I've picked up over the years...
If you are new to plant care, there’s definitely a temptation to go out and buy the prettiest flower and take it home with you. That was certainly me a decade ago. Living in an apartment with no outdoor space, I didn’t yet understand that plants aren’t quite like pets: they won’t come up to you and meow loudly for attention. That being said, they still can be quite picky and it can take some practice figuring out what they want.
This is why research is your best friend whether you are working with indoor or outdoor plants. There are around 435,000 plant species in the world, and each of them have particular requirements that need to be met in order to thrive. These requirements include (but are not limited to): how much water they want, what kind of soil they want to be planted in (if they even want to be in soil), how much sunlight they need, how much airflow they need, how much heat or cold they prefer, and how much space they need for their roots and leaves.
If all of this seems overwhelming, that’s ok! There’s a reason that the government defines a beginning farmer as anyone with less than 10 years of farming experience. A lot of people end up focusing in and becoming an expert in specific types of plants, whether that be outdoor, indoor, vegetables, fruit trees, native plants, etc. There is always something more to discover, and being a gardener means that you will likely be in a constant state of learning.
There’s a ton of information to know, but sometimes that’s part of the fun. One of the ways that I like to remember information about plant care is thinking about the environment that the plant came from. If I know that a plant originates in a desert setting, or a forest, or a tropical environment, that already can tell me a lot about the conditions that plant is going to enjoy.
The other thing to know about having a green thumb is that it comes with practice. Even if you have an encyclopedic knowledge of plant care and management, plants will not behave the way that you expect 100% of the time. There’s a running joke among gardeners that plants that you have intentionally put in your garden will be much more finicky than that exact same species growing between the cracks of the sidewalk. The secret to having a green thumb… is that you are willing to watch your plants die. There are so many variables involved in plant care, that often the only way to truly learn is to fail. And sometimes you have to accept that there will be some plants that you are better at taking care of than others, or that you simply do not have the right environment to care for them. Let your failures guide you, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help. I have yet to meet a plant nerd who didn’t want to help problem solve why a plant might not be thriving.
If you are struggling with where to start, start small. Pick one plant and learn about it. Try growing it. If it dies, troubleshoot and decide whether it is worth trying again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
So to recap:
Research is your best friend
Expect to be in a constant state of learning
Embrace your failures! (There's no avoiding them)
Start small
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