The Black Thumb Guide to Gardening

Your flowers never grow, but you can’t put your finger on what you’re doing wrong. With these tips, tricks, and techniques, you’ll soon be an old hand at gardening.

Gardening Know-How

17 Tools Every Gardener Should Own
Just what you need, no matter how big or small your plot.

Growing Tips and Tricks

How to Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
Real Simple tested common strategies―a drop of bleach, a penny, and so on―for lengthening the life of the tulip to find out what really works.

How to Care for Potted Plants
Tips for keeping plants healthy; plus our favorite flowers and plants for container gardens.

Start-a-Garden Checklist

Whether you’re itching to plant azaleas or zucchini―or something in between―you need to do a little handiwork before you begin. Here’s what you need to know.

• Assess your exposure. If you are planting vegetables, keep in mind that most need at least eight hours of full sun every day. Flowers and other decorative plants have different sunlight needs, depending on their type. Study what sort of light your yard gets during the day, particularly noting the sunny and shady areas.
• Designate your planting areas. You need a plan before you plant. A four-by-four-foot plot of land is a good start for vegetables. For flowers, decide where you’d like to dig the beds.
• Consider a fence. Fences are especially important if you are planting vegetables (although some flowering plants may be enticing to critters, too). Build it before you plant the garden, so rabbits or raccoons never get a glimpse (or a taste) of that lettuce.

View The Entire Checklist