This may end up being an unpopular post but I have had a long few weeks and my patience is waning. I had a dog on hospice.

Gardening is not an exact science in my opinion, and it is a LOT of trial and error. And while it fine to ask for suggestions, if you really want to garden and learn you need to also do some research yourself. And some of that research means going out and LOOKING at stuff in nurseries and public gardens and arboretums. It will HELP you learn what you LIKE and don’t like at a minimum. So for example if someone suggests shrubs or trees or perennials they like, go LOOK at them live face to face. After all, you also know your own property.

It’s long past time for a YES you can do this, a YES you can garden post. And how.

For people moving to a new home or having just done that, if you have something you absolutely hate, get rid of it but then try to live with your new place a bit before making major changes – see what comes up, how the light moves, etc. I will use me as an example- when I moved in to where we are now, we had these hideous yew bushes that were so overgrown that you couldn’t see first floor windows. Along with azaleas that almost reached the height of the base of the chimney flashing. There were literal ponds of just pachysandra which I really don’t like. And lots and lots and lots of weeds.

First thing I did on settlement day was pay a company called DelVacchio landscaping to yank the yews. Then I gave the azaleas their first trim in 50+ years. I love azaleas, but I really don’t like yews.

Next, it was October, so the weeds were dying which made it easy to yank stuff. Except the poison ivy. There was so much darn poison ivy. This is why when a couple of years later I discovered Umar Mycka – Poison Ivy Horticulturist I was so happy and still am. They completely have cut the invasives down and I use them every year.

Then we did the first initial tree work we had to do. Again, like the unkempt azaleas, no actual real tree work in 50+ years unless something fell down. But we had woods and we needed to be responsible because of our home AND the trees. No one likes paying for tree work, but it’s a responsibility one should not shirk because the cost of deferred maintenance is far greater.

The first tree guy I did not like. He was a tree cutter, not an arborist. He was chauvinistic and somewhat arrogant. He suited our immediate needs which was felling dead trees and taking down a couple hundred foot red oak that was literally leaning at a 45 degree angle OVER our house. No it wasn’t uprooting, it was allowed to grow like that for decades. But this tree guy? He left a mess in the woods that included piles of tree trunks that he never came back to chunk smaller.

After that we found an arborist who worked solo we used for years until he moved. He got us through the ice storm of 2014 when a giant beech slammed into our house. The irony is that was a tree already scheduled for spring pruning.

After our solo arborist moved, we tried a couple of other arborists that were meh, and then I met the owner of Treemendous Tree Care. So yes, I have used them exclusively for my tree work and healthcare since then.

Tree work and a good arborist are essential. It has made an enormous difference here, and trees I wasn’t sure would make it are healthy and happy. To follow are photos a friend of mine took recently. A tree on a local property had to come down in an emergency situation because it was cracking as in splitting, because the property owner had ignored the fact that it needed to come down for years. The reason I’m showing you these photos is how crazy rotted it was.

Now…back to the start of the garden. I had to mention tree work first because we settled on this house the week of or week before Hurricane Sandy. It was a miracle that none of the trees we had to initially deal with landed on the house in the fall of 2012. Yes, there was realistically that much deferred maintenance.

So after the initial tree removal of dead trees was done, the yews yanked, and the tree that was leaning over the house was no longer there, we did a couple of things that very first fall. One was plant a willow tree on the half of the lawn where there was no well/septic. It was the part of the lawn that was super soggy. Ever since the willow was planted there has been no soggy lawn – and a dry garage. Willows don’t go where the roots can grow into water/sewer/septic pipes…because they will do that.

The willow was enough of a size that the nursery we used planted it – it was Woodlawn Nursery which is now where Sauders Nursery in Malvern is now. I miss that nursery and that is where some of the first plants for my current garden came from, but I really like Sauders as well. And I only went in there on a whim because I had been up the road at Main Line Gardens or whatever it is called is, and when I went in to check them out first I was ignored for almost half an hour and then someone who worked there was rude enough that I literally have never gone back since 2012.

And that is my next point: not every nursery is for every person. I am pretty simple about things – I know I won’t necessarily find what I am looking for every single time, but it’s all how I connect with the people where I do go. I like people who are happy to see customers, any customers, even if it is not a giant sale.

So that first plant buying trip back in 2012 was a willow tree, a black pussy willow, a leather leaf viburnum, and 3 variegated red twig dogwood. They went in that first fall and then I started pulling pachysandra and bishops weed.

The pachysandra was so rampant there were literally ponds of it and nothing else. There was so much pachysandra that it literally grew OVER a laid concrete path from the front door to the garage. I didn’t even know there was a path until I started peeling back layers of pachysandra. And then there were the planting beds that were all bishops weed. I was gardening there even before we moved in.

Having a few months to watch the light etc was very helpful. But yes, the following spring I was raring to go.

Yes, I have been gardening pretty much since I was in elementary school, but this was my largest garden space and the most different and a lot of it was woods. So I relied on gardening books, things I saw and liked and it has been a lot of trial and error since the fall of 2012. But it has been worth it.

Anyone can garden. It’s like cooking: if you can read a recipe you can actually cook something. Same with gardening. But what’s the most important thing is making your garden, your vision. And trying. By trying yourself you learn.

So spring is here, but hard frosts are not gone. Bear that in mind as you are plant shopping. Some things won’t be bothered but tender annuals and warm weather vegetables will be for example.

Also, a tip for when you do go to nurseries if you’re trying to figure out how things will look together get those plants grouped together you can always put them back in their individual rows in the nursery, but you can put them together to get an idea of how they’re going to look for size and color and texture.

Going to public gardens and arboretums and on garden tours is a great way to see things you are interested in. Going to Jenkins Arboretum for example, is how I fell in love with Chestnut Oaks and native and mountain azaleas.

Also Pinterest is great for virtual vision board for gardens. Here is the link to my garden idea/inspiration board on Pinterest: https://pin.it/5E5i2N0wL

I have planted a few shrubs that arrived, and six bare root roses. Again, I plant bare root own root roses. I also soak my bare root roses overnight in a solution of liquid, seaweed and water before I plant them.

They new roses all seem to be doing well, but now I need to feed all of the established roses. I planted David Austin roses and antique roses. I have to note that the antique roses are so much tougher than modern roses that I find them to be a good choice in a garden that is somewhat complicated. And the thing about growing roses is all you have to do is establish a routine. You improve the soil , you use good mulch, you feed them regularly, and you treat them for pests and disease.

The daffodils were fabulous this year, and the late ones are still blooming as the lilies come up and the peonies. The tree peonies will be blooming sooner rather than later and for the first time the serviceberries or Amelanchiers I planted bloomed. Serviceberries are a native. George Washington planted them at Mount Vernon.

Now a plug for you who are afraid to take chances with containers and hanging baskets but are sick of the same old same old. Just mix it up. You can plant so many things in a container. And hanging baskets. I have two hanging baskets with sedum and hostas (smaller scale hostas and sedums) that yes even survive the winter.

Ok enough out of me. The theme of the day is most simply put you don’t know unless you try.

Happy gardening.