If I could start my garden all over again, here’s exactly what I’d do differently to save money and avoid mistakes. I share my biggest regrets, my biggest mistakes and advice to plan your garden before spending a dime. I tell you how I could have saved money on plants and building materials as well as how to propagate and get plants for free.
Whether you’re a beginner gardener, a busy homeowner, or someone trying to make the most of limited time, these lessons will help you grow smarter, not harder.
If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I’d known that before I started”, this video is for you!
Chapters:
00:00 – 01:11 Create a vision board for guidance and clarity
01:11 – 02:34 Will you sell your home/garden or stay permanently
02:34 – 03:00 Example of slate vs wood decision
03:00 – 03:50 Research the drawbacks of any plants you are considering
03:50 – 04:51 Leaving some areas incomplete in favor of others
04:51 – 06:30 My biggest regret – no designated service area i.e. “She Shed”
06:30 – 07:16 Vision board today and not repeating my mistakes
07:16 – 08:40 The skill that is my final regret!
Please subscribe if you love step-by-step DIY garden design.
#gardenmistakes #gardendesign #DIYgardendesign
36 Comments
I absolutely love your gardening channel and all the good practical advise you give. All your tips in this video are excellent. Great job! š. I also enjoy reading your viewersā comments! I have a lot of propagations and divisions this year so I am excited for Spring of 2026 to get here. Gardening always keeps us hopeful for the coming year and all that Mother Nature gifts us! ššŖ“š„°
Great video! Number 3. I am still pulling up privet seedlings. We didnāt plant them but what an awful plant. Bush. Tree. Now I definitely research everything.
I share the same thoughts. If I were to start from "Zero", I wud plan proper but would definitely keep the garden appear "Unplanned & completely Natural"
Thanks for the video.
Very useful & sensible advice forv any gardener. A seminar once taught us that the most impt.word in gardening is "wait" ! š
Thoroughly enjoyed your video, Kathy and some perfect advice! Felt as though it was directed at me! Any hints on re-doing parenting?? I love the 2 plants you have in pots behind you on the tall table. Please tell me what they are. So pretty. Thank you and I haave subscribed!
If I could start over I would plant fewer large daffodils. Every Spring I enjoy 2 weeks of bloom followed by 2 months of spent foliage.
I would NOT have planted tall-tall-tall trees close to my house. I would have planted privacy evergreen plants around property. I would not have planted soooo many plants under old and big pine trees because the roots suck down a lot of water and other plants suffer. I would have paid for sow for a nice lawn instead of seeding, pulling weeds, putting down soil for decades. I would have researched and NOT used any evasive plants.
Great advance
You just popped up on my screenā¦ great advice! Now Iām a subscriber!
I canāt wait to see the renovation of the side yard. Thanks you for the tips!
Thanks a lot about privet tip. I took some cuttings and was going to install it permanently. About a screen that's evergreen and flowers and has scent: jasmine works wonders and only needs cutting back every now and then, having a 10 cm thickness. My neighbors got that, and I'm very happy. Way better than non-native bushes.
As a gardener of 81 years, may I suggest that you did not make mistakes, you made progressions. You created an excellent presentation. Richard
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OMG, I was planning to order clumping bamboo (Fargesia rufa) to plant as screening all along one side of my property two weeks from now. May I ask what species you planted and especially, what happened?!
Propagation is key to saving money! And donāt buy a ton of the same plant before you know if it works for your space. I will only plant 1-2 and then buy/propagate more the next growing season and itās saved me so much money!
leaving areas unfinished + is this my forever home = great insight – I felt such a sense of relief! I have left an area blank but contoured the land there with channel for a stream, waterfall and basin/pond to go to next steps of pond liner, etc. However, I am fairly certain this is not my forever home. I will kind of finish the same area as an arroyo dry creek just for winter mud remediation and a pleasant appearance. I can live without that delightful sound of falling water for another year or so.
The realtors made me start taking plantings and wanted the fish pond gone. Wrong, the contract wanted nothing removed from the pond. I should have taken more ornament from the pond be for pictures were taken. Leaving the pond but keeping a few things.š
The #2 thing you said, so true! We've moved a few times and I remember so much a house with such an intricate garden, (trimmed animal shapes) it made me go to the next. I knew my capabilities and time available for that. As well as one sad time, we spent 2 years healing a huge Elm tree that had a pretty tree house in it, we fixed the structure as well. When we sold the house the first thing the buyers did was to remove tree and structure to make a pool…. oh well! š¤Ŗ
Your comments are very helpful and I remember them. First, you have a wonderful garden and I have some realization of the amount of work that goes into maintaining. Iām glad gardening brings you such delight and repose. Thank you for posting. I hope to watch more of your videos.
šŗ Thank you! I'm happy I found another gardener to listen to. I love your advice. š
I've been a gardener for decades and I have many regrets!
Thereās so much good advice on here, and not just for inexperienced gardeners. Iāve been gardening for decades and I made a big mistake last year when I took on an allotment which needed clearing and instead of sorting it out in manageable sections I tried doing the whole thing in one go, big mistake as it got me disheartened when things took so long. So know Iām stepping back, thinking first and then going forward with a plan of action. Thanks again. Rich.
Que deprimente todo lo que dice; Āæ va a fallecer ? . . . Se escucha como si ya no serĆ” posible hacer algo para modificar los errores.
If I had to do it over again I would plant more native plants and fewer from Asia. We've been in drought for 4 years and despite my watering, the "foreign plants" have all died
I'm right there with ya! Great advice!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. !
I have been in my home 43 years. I never realized this was my forever home. As the years went on, we made changes. It became a home I could not replace, though I looked constantly at finding a "better" home.
I am 73 and live in Georgiaā¦.all I do is pull up WEEDS all day everydayā¦.why did GOD make weeds???? My back is already crooked with scoliosis and it hurts so I need some ideas pleaseā¦..I love shea butter on my hands and got rid of my face wrinkles with castor oilā¦it really worksā¦.canāt wait to see the rest of your videosā¦.we donāt plant any grasses because snakes love them
Just found your videos and boy you are spot on. I have been a happy garden slave for years and loved every minute of it. Iām slowing down a bit after having a shoulder replacement, thank goodness I had this surgery late October and although I was told I will be out doing what I love soon, I know my limits and itās for the best. Keep up the videos and enjoy watching you. ā¤
Good morning from north Alabama zone 8 yess I was the same way itās pretty u come with me lol and you talking to a former landscaper garden designer of over 20 years retired but do another inside job yess big pots are not cheap but get as nice of pot u can afford what I do great vid ā¤š
Great tips. I do vision boards on my phone. Recently I tried Chat GPT and it helped me plan my garden, divided into different areas, complete with plants that focused on perennials and shrubs. It gave me a 5 page plan that I could print out or refer to online and update as needed. I do have a service area. My lot is small – side yards are only 5 feet. I have been propagating plants for a long time and I sell them to fund my gardening expenditures.Those extra volunteer perennials just go in a recycled pot and get sold. The buyer gets an inexpensive plant and I get money for gardening projects, it a win win.
My garden regret can't be fixed š¢. I sold my home and moved somewhere I thought I would enjoy living at and enjoy gardening more…not so. Trying to make the best of it. Counting my blessings š
Love your videos. ššæš²
I've never seen a vision board for gardens, but I think it's a genious idea, and as a beginner gardener, I'm gonna apply it for my future garden plans. Thank you for the video, I really enjoyed it! Greetings from Romania!š
Love the suggestions, I have so many things I wish I had known or done differently, this will be my third season to seed start, I had no idea how satisfying it would be. Iām also gonna work on a vision board, i love cottage, with a touch of formality as in boxwood hedges around standard trees and fountains. I too have a small garden in a village although I do have a double lotā¦Iām glad I found your channelā¦
YOU ARE So correct about false data on plants. Even some nursery people or tags on the plants are not correct. I moved to FL a few years ago. Just about everything I planted died. Finally I drove around town and looked for unkept yards and looked at their overgrown plants and discovered which plants grow easiest and what happens when they grow. I recommend this for anyone who moves to a different climate.
I've dug up my garden 6 times or more. Enjoying every single remake. I'm walking towards zen. Gardening is a journey like life itself
this is such a great idea……i get so excited with plant pictures that mind just glazes over!! I agree…..we plant the garden for ourselves….not for resale