50 Times People With A Green Thumb Shared Some Awesome Gardening Ideas

We contacted a few avid gardeners to learn more about how to help your plants blossom. "Some consider autumn to be the start of the gardening year but for most people, it's spring," Dan Cooper aka The Frustrated Gardener told Bored Panda. "The soil is warmer, the sun is brighter and plants naturally want to grow. We all feel a sense of renewal and optimism in spring, this year especially. It feels natural to get outside and help nature along. Right now, garden centers and nurseries will be brimming with healthy plants. Spring is when you'll have the most varieties to choose from."

Catherine Hughes, the creator of home & garden blog Growing Family, said that spring is also an ideal time to tackle any garden projects you have planned, so that you're ready to sit back and enjoy your outdoor space once summer arrives. "Once the chance of frost has disappeared, you can sow seeds outdoors and plant tender plants in the garden. It's a good idea to try and stay on top of weeds too, because they can quickly take over at this time of year. You should mow your lawn regularly once it starts to grow again, and if the weather starts to get really warm, you might also need to water your plants regularly."

The Frustrated Gardener agreed that the main tasks for the season are seed sowing and planting the bulbs and tubers of plants such as gladioli, begonias, and dahlias. "If you are planting new beds and borders, or even creating an entirely new garden, now is a good time to plant pot-grown perennials and shrubs," he said. "Planted into warm ground, they'll be growing away in no time. If you're planting half-hardy annuals, exotic plants or vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers, these should be kept indoors or in a greenhouse until any chance of frost has passed. In the UK, for example, that's normally late May."

Acknowledging the importance of planning ahead, The Frustrated Gardener added that it's also critical to watch the weather closely. "This spring has been unusually cold, so wise gardeners have adjusted their plans to avoid tender plants being damaged by frost and snow," he pointed out.

Michael Perry, the man behind the gardening blog Mr. Plant Geek, said if you wait until the summer planting, it would be much more difficult to establish the plants, and you'd need to give them a whole lot more care. "During the spring, you can plant bulbs, you can plant out perennial and shrub plants, and prepare some patio containers. Make sure you wait until all risk of frost has gone for tender plants though."

Interestingly, more and more Americans have started gardening during the pandemic. According to Home Food Gardening: U.S. Market Trends & Opportunities by the market research firm Packaged Facts, 26% of surveyed American consumers noted that they are planting a food garden because of the pandemic. The Washington Post reported that seed companies were "shell shocked" by the huge volume of orders they experienced this year. For example, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds received 4,500 orders daily, twice the usual peak demand of spring, and was forced to close down its website and turn down new orders. Renee’s Garden usually receives a peak of 350 daily orders in the spring, but that number skyrocketed to 2,000 in 2021.

Alison Levey of Blackberry Garden told us that spring is also a good time to divide perennials as they are stirring and ready to grow. But if you're just starting out and all of this sounds like a lot of work, don't worry. Remember what Bob Ross said—we don't make mistakes. Just happy accidents.

"A good mindset for a newbie or any gardener is 'let's try this and see what happens,'" Levey said. "Gardening teaches us something new every day: some things work, some don't. You just have to accept the failures and celebrate the successes as the successes are the best thing ever."

To encourage you even further, The Frustrated Gardener reminded us of a universal truth: plants inherently want to survive and flourish, not die. "Some are tricky to grow, of course, so avoid these and start with easy, inexpensive plants that will reward you quickly, such as colorful annuals," he suggested. "Once you've mastered these, start to spend a bit more and explore different plant types which suit your environment. Don't buy expensive plants unless you are confident about how to look after them. If in doubt, ask an experienced gardener for advice; they will be flattered to be asked and will give you great advice."

Failure is part of the process, so don't be too hard on yourself—you might get plenty of benefits if you stick to gardening. "As well as being fun and good exercise, it is really good for your mental health too," Hughes said. "It gives you the opportunity to engage with nature and enjoy all the mood-boosting benefits that come with this. Gardening can also provide a calm space to organize your thoughts, or just escape from the world for a while. It's a pretty powerful tool to have outside your back door, and spring is a great time to take advantage of it!"

Even though there is increasing evidence that gardening provides substantial human health benefits, not much formal statistical assessment has been conducted to really test this assertion. However, a 2017 meta-analysis by M. Soga, K. J. Gaston, and Y. Yamaura found that participating in gardening activities has a significant positive impact on us. After going through 22 case studies, the researchers concluded that "the positive association with gardening was observed for a wide range of health outcomes, such as reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, mood disturbance, and BMI, as well as increases in quality of life, sense of community, physical activity levels, and cognitive function."

"Don't be afraid of failure. Remember that plants are living things just like people and may not always behave or perform the way you expect them to!" Mr. Plant Geek said. "Feel free to break the rules too. Do what feels right for you in your own outdoor space."