Deciding on What to Plant

Have you ever noticed that deciding on what to plant can be perhaps one of the most difficult choices to make in gardening? It really doesn't matter if you are planting flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, or something else entirely. Eventually you will need to make your final decision. To make the process as easy as possible, all you really need to do is answer a few simple questions. Write your answers to the following questions on a separate piece of paper, and by the end you will have the guidelines you need to make the decisions on which plants you should be planting.

• How much time will you spend gardening? Just how much time exactly are you planning on devoting to your new garden? If you don't' plan on spending all day, every day puttering around outside, then you may want to choose plants that are as low maintenance as possible. The more time that you are willing to spend outside, then you can increase the difficulty level of your plants.
• What is your gardening budget? Not all plants will cost the same to purchase and care for. This means that you will need to decide prior to starting your planting how much you are willing to spend not only on the plants themselves, but the care necessary for each plant. This budget should also include any tools, fertilizers, and pesticides that you will be using.
• What are the growing conditions in your area? Prior to purchasing any plants be sure that you know what the specific growing conditions in your immediate area are like. Where does the sun travel through your yard? What areas are the shadiest? How will the trees and houses around you affect things like wind and rain? How wet and dry does your yard get?
• What look do you want? There are several different kinds of gardens that you could end up going for, and each will require different kinds of plants if you want it to be a success. For example, a formal garden will often have different kinds of plants in it than a vegetable garden, or even a country garden.
• What is the style in your region? You don't want to choose a garden that will look out of place for the region that you live in. In many ways by choosing a garden style that doesn't go well with the area you live in you can dramatically increase your workload. For example, try imagining the work it would take to create a lush English Cottage Garden in the middle of the Arizona deserts? Probably would require a lot of expense and work, don't you think?