Whether you are a seasoned gardener or are just getting started, there is always something new to learn about how to make your garden more productive. The best time to start looking for help and ideas is during the planning stage. A number of challenges can be avoided if you plan ahead.

This section of tips is full of ideas and information that will help you make the most of your garden, and possibly avoid some problems. From tilling your soil manually to using the right gardening gloves, you'll find some tips to make you enjoy the time you spend in your garden.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Garden Helps' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Attract and Feed Wild Birds In Your Garden
You can attract birds to your yard by various methods. Keeping your birdfeeders and birdbaths clean and beautiful will invite birds and help to keep them healthy. You can also create delicious bird treats that will keep birds coming back again and again.

   Attracting Butterflies
Butterflies are wonderful little creatures that can serve several different purposes. Not only can they help increase the beauty of your garden, but they can also help in the propagation of that garden. The trick lies in attracting butterflies to your garden.

   Caring for a Winter Garden
While an actual winter garden is only possible in certain climate areas, caring for a winter garden is a vital skill that any gardener should know. The reason for this is that the same basic tasks carry over, no matter whether you are currently growing plants, or simply preparing for the next year. To get started, all you need to do is follow a few simple guidelines.

   Choosing a Landscape Contractor
If you would like to have a yard that looks as if it has been expertly landscaped, then why not call an expert? Landscape contractors are specialists that have been trained in getting the best results out of your yard. The trick though, lies in choosing a landscape contractor. Here's what you do.

   Choosing a Nursery
If you love growing plants and working in a garden, then you will love rambling the walkways of a nursery. Choosing a good nursery to meet your needs is key to getting the most out of the money and time you spend in your garden.

   Choosing a Potting Soil
Knowing the difference between potting mix and potting soil will help you better determine which mix to use for the plants you want to grow. Whether you purchase pre-mixed potting soil or mix, or make your own, both or intended for potted plants, and not for plot gardening.

   Choosing the Right Sized Flowerpot
Flowerpots are convenient because they are mobile, and they are also decorative. When choosing the right flowerpot, be careful to think of what will look nice in that area of your home. You also need to keep in mind the needs of the plant. Some plants like to have their roots all in one tiny area, while other plants like to have a wide space for their roots to grow.

   Cleaning Your Garden
Starting to think it's time to clean out your garden? This happens when spring fever starts to affect us. Spring cleaning can be especially important if you didn't prune the perennials last fall. Here are a few ideas that can make cleaning your gardening more productive.

   Collecting and Storing Seeds
If you are really interested in making your garden successful, you may want to think about collecting and storing seeds. Not only will this help you save some money, but it will also help to expand your gardening skills.

   Common Garden Diseases
If you are a gardener, or even thinking of gardening, you will need to be able to identify some of the more common garden diseases. By knowing what these diseases are, you will also know a bit about how to prevent them. This is definitely some information that you will need to know to ensure that your garden is a success.

   Cooking Garden
Is there really anything better than creating a wonderful meal directly from your own garden? A cooking garden is something that any serious gardener needs to consider at least once in their careers. Here are a few things that you should consider when creating your own cooking garden.

   Creating a Butterfly Garden
You will need to do some research if you want to build a good butterfly garden for your area. Seek out which butterflies are in your area, then read up on which plants those butterflies need to survive. If you plant the flowers that the butterflies need to eat and lay their eggs, butterflies should visit you in no time. Remember that the butterflies will eat the plants in the garden, so don't be surprised if your plants look a little shabby.

   Creating a Home Nursery
There are all kinds of business opportunities out there simply waiting for the right person to come along, and jump at it. One such opportunity is creating a home nursery. Like any home business, this will take some serious effort on your part, but it is entirely possible, as long as you get started on the right foot.

   Creating the Right Soil Mix for House Plants
House plants are a wonderful way to bring the beauty of the natural world into our homes. If you would like to be able to get your house plants off to the best possible start, then you should also look at the soil mix you use. Creating the right soil mix for house plants is surprisingly easy. Here's what you need to do.

   Deciding on What to Plant
For many people deciding on what to plant in their garden can be one of the most difficult steps to creating a new garden or landscape. Instead of using this decision to panic and throw your hands up in despair, why not use it to answer a few questions? By simply answering these questions you will soon know exactly what plants you are looking for, and will have made your decision.

   Deciding on When to Plant
Deciding on when to plant can often be one of the trickiest things for new gardeners to learn. While it may be a little difficult at first glance, by following a few simple guidelines you will quickly learn when to plant your garden.

   Differences Between Nodal and Sectional Cuttings
Cutting is perhaps one of the most common method of plant propagation around. Typically two types of cuttings are the most common types used, which are nodal and sectional cuttings. But what are the differences between nodal and sectional cuttings?

   Gardening Gloves
Working in the garden is hard on your hands. Protect your hands by using gardening gloves. With the many different options you have out there, take your time to make sure you get the best gloves for you. Remember, better quality gloves tend to be more expensive, but will also last longer and tend to be better for your hands.

   Gardening in Chalky Soil
There are all kinds of problems that you could potentially have with your soil, one of the more interesting ones is to try and deal with chalky soil. Luckily, gardening in chalky soil is possible. Granted it will take a bit of work, but it is possible.

   Gardening in Deep Shade
Shade gardens can be an overwhelming concept if you don't know where to start, but with a guide to which plants are shade resistant and an idea of how to create the illusion of light, they can be a beautiful addition to a once dreary spot.

   Gardening In Limey Acidic Soil
Gardening can be difficult enough, without adding the problems that can come from less than desirable soil conditions. One such situation is when you can find yourself gardening in limey acidic soil. Here are a few suggestions about how you can either improve the situation, or play the cards you have been dealt.

   Gardening in Limey Soil
One of the more common problems that a gardener can find themselves faced with is trying to garden in a limey, or alkaline, garden soil. Gardening in limey soil doesn't need to be all that difficult, particularly if you keep in mind a few simple precautions and steps.

   Gardening Limitations
There are times when gardening is more of an art than a science, and it can always be a little confusing or difficult to find out where that line is. However, if you take the time to learn what your gardening limitations are, then you will be well on your way to having a truly magnificent landscape or garden.

   Gardening Services
If you have ever needed the help of a professional gardener, tree doctor, or similar specialist then you know exactly how helpful they can be. Whether we want to admit it or not, there are times when professional gardening services are actually needed. When those times crop up, use these guidelines to help you pick the best.

   General Garden Calendar
One of the most important parts of gardening is learning when you should and shouldn't do certain things. The easiest way that you can do that is by learning a little bit about the gardening calendar. Here is a general garden calendar that you can use to begin learning the basics.

   Getting the Right Soil pH
The pH value of your soil is a crucial variable to consider before planting a garden or lawn. Stabilizing soil pH levels ensures the most favorable growing conditions for your plants.

   How to Choose a Great Nursery
How can you tell a good nursery from an incompetent one? There are a few things you need to look for, and taking the time to perform a little research will pay off in the end. Here are some great guidelines for how to choose a great nursery.

   Identifying and Repairing Soil Problems
One of the keys to a successful garden is being able to identify a potential problem before it becomes a reality. The soil that you have in your garden can be one of those problems. That is why it is why identifying and repairing soil problems is so vital.

   Organic Gardening
Gardens are not only an essential space for supplying food, they provide relaxation and a refuge from our hectic lives. Organic gardens ensure that the foods you grow are safe and free of chemicals, and simultaneously improve your local habitat and our whole environment.

   Planting Seeds
Growing your own fruit, vegetables, and flowers can be loads of fun and a very satisfying project. It is even more satisfying if you start the entire process from seeds. Learn how to plant seeds properly to get the best possible start for your plants.

   Post Harvest Cleanup
Once the harvest has come and gone, your work isn't finished. There is still a little bit of post harvest cleanup left to do. In fact, this step in the gardening process is just as important the planting and growing of your crops. Make sure that you know how to do it the right way.

   Recycling in the Garden
If you are looking for ways to both save money, and make a positive impact on your local environment, then try doing some garden recycling. Recycling in the garden isn't that difficult, all it really takes is a little bit of imagination. That, and to follow some fairly basic precepts that are listed here.

   Saving Money on Gardening Supplies
Be creative in your ways to find free or inexpensive gardening supplies. You'll be amazed at what you can find for little or no money. Here are some great tips for saving money on hardening supplies.

   Soil Cultivation Basics
Most beginning gardeners have a tendency to overlook one important aspect of gardening that can really help them out, soil cultivation. Learning, and implementing, soil cultivation basics is a great way to help increase the success rate of your garden. Luckily, it's not particularly difficult a task

   Thinning Your Garden
Thinning is the gardener's way of helping nature with the survival of the fittest process. By removing small, deformed, or overcrowded plants you will help the healthier and vigorous ones survive and thrive. This is especially true in vegetable gardens.

   Tilling Soil Manually
Without question, using a power tiller is the quickest and most efficient way to till soil. However, for small jobs, it is sometimes easier to till the soil manually. Follow these great tips for using your hands and tools to manually till your soil.

   Transplanting Large Plants
A garden full of vegetables can be fun and healthy way to stretch your food dollars. It doesn't matter if you are starting the garden from seeds or plants from a garden center; they still need to be transplanted. Before transplanting any vegetable plants into the garden it is very important to wait until the threat of frost has passed. The seedlings should be about six to eight weeks old, and about six inches tall (give or take a couple of inches).

   Treating Plant Malnutrition
For some reason when most people think about taking care of their garden, lawn, or other plants, they only really think about bugs and maybe some disease. Very rarely does anyone really stop to think about plant malnutrition. Luckily, treating plant malnutrition isn't all that difficult as long as you keep a few guidelines in mind.

   Trenching Your Garden
There are many different ways that you can go about cultivating your garden. One of the more interesting methods that you can use is called trenching. Interestingly enough, trenching your garden is great for getting some deep down garden preparation. Yes it will require some serious digging, but the results speak for themselves.

   Understanding the Gardening Calendar
There is a wide variety in planting times, growing seasons, and harvesting times. Generally speaking, all of these times in conjunction can be considered the gardening calendar. Understanding the gardening calendar isn't all that difficult, and in fact it is so easy to do that you can make your own. All you need to do is follow these simple directions.

   What are Cuttings?
If you're wanting more plants in your house or garden, but don't want to spend the money then you might want to look into cuttings. By just using a piece of an existing plant, you can easily and cheaply grow a whole new one. But what are cuttings? Read more to find out the answer.

   What are Hardy Seeds?
What are hardy seeds? Well, depending on whom you ask you may get a completely different answer than you would expect. That being said, there are a few guidelines that you can use to help you answer this question for yourself.

   What is Dibbling?
Cultivation is one of the most important aspects of gardening. After all, before you can grow and harvest your fruits, vegetables, or flowers you need to plant them. One of the cultivation methods available to you is dibbling. If you are wondering what dibbling is, then you only need to keep reading.

   What is Vermiculite?
Whether you know it or not, vermiculite is one of the more common materials that you can find around the garden. In fact it is so often used and recommended, that you can find it mentioned in just about any gardening how to book, television show, or encyclopedia. But what is vermiculite? Keep reading to find out.

   When to Use Cuttings
Plant cuttings are useful in many situations. You can use them for everything from saving money to trying to save a diseased plant. Read this article to find out not only what situations can use plant cuttings but what time of the year is best to use them as well.

   Why Do Plants Grow?
There are several different questions that almost all children ask at some point in their lives, and one of the most popular ones is why do plants grow. Well, do you know the answer to that? The answer is a little more detailed than simply saying because.