Gardening Guide

Starting a garden is one of the most rewarding things one can do. Whether you're planting fragrant florals or starting a vegetable garden, anyone can benefit from getting their hands a little dirty. But it can be difficult to know where to start. Our steps ease you into gardening and reward you for your efforts with beautiful visuals, delicious flavors, and colorful blooms. 1. Consider Your Options Do you want to plant a vegetable garden? An herb garden? A flower garden? If you choose vegetables and/or herbs for their contributions to your dinner table, identify which ones your family will eat or is willing to try. If you want flowers for their flair, color, and fragrance, decide whether you want annuals that bloom most of the summer but need to be replanted each spring or perennials that have a shorter bloom time but return year after year. All are valid choices but have different maintenance requirements. One bit of advice: Start small until you know what you’re getting into. Ho

Growing your own salad greens will put a world of fresh ingredients at your fingertips. Whether you are a gourmet salad lover who likes to experiment with interesting greens or someone who just wants to have your own homegrown lettuce, your choices are only limited by the seeds you can find and the space you have. Types of Salad Greens We always think of spinach and lettuce as the main spring greens, but there are many more to choose from. Look to the east—Asian greens such as napa cabbage, tatsoi, pac choi (or “bok choy”), mibuna, santoh, and hon tsai tai are especially suited to growing in cool spring weather. If you have never tasted any of these greens, then you are in for a treat. Some are hot and spicy, while others are quite mild. They can be eaten raw or cooked and will add flavor to any salad or stir-fry. Depending on your taste buds, you can grow mild, tender greens like claytonia, chard, and mache, or bitter greens like endive, escarole, and radicchio. If you want to add a