A dear old friend asked me something I get asked a lot, especially this time of year. “How do I get started?” Usually this is a polite way of asking, “How can I start gardening, but without being a maniac who spends every spare moment in the garden like you?”
There are lots of reasons someone might not want to devote a ton of time to gardening; physical limitations, their garden is at a country cottage that they only visit on weekends or simply, people are not ready to dive in at the deep end. Whatever the reason, this column is for you.
A great thing about gardening is getting acquainted with your outdoor space differently than you otherwise would. The gardener pokes their head into the garden to see where rain falls, where sun shines, how the ground is sloped, what trees are growing leaves and how the dirt looking and feels and what is starting to flower or show buds today.
You can garden without even buying gloves or a shovel. Just go out and look at the space where you want to garden and start to notice these four things: sun, dirt, water and what plants are already growing. Sun, dirt, water and plants are the ingredients of a garden.
Sun
Figure out where the sunniest spot in your outdoor space is. There are plants that like shade but the vast majority — even those that do well in partial sunlight — will be happier with more sun. We are trying to keep things simple and fun, so start with the sunniest place you can find. Check in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon. Noon is important because plants that require “full sun” must have sun at noon and at least five hours during the rest of the day.
Take into account trees that will fill in with leaves over the course of the year. I have spots that are full sun in the spring before the leaf cover is fully established, but by summer solstice, my garden is largely part-sun to part shade. If your space has a slope or a wall, that is also important information because south facing slopes and walls tend to get a lot of sun and make good growing spots. After a few days of watching your garden-to-be, you have an idea of where the sunniest areas are.
Dirt
Now let’s think about dirt. If your only sunny spot happens to be a patio or a deck, someplace without dirt, you can try container gardening. Gardening in pots or planters is a great way to get started because it can be less physically demanding and it is more circumscribed. You can grow a lot. One thing to be aware of is that the hard freezes and thaws here in Montreal’s cold can be harder on plants in a planter than in the ground. But some plants will overwinter well in a container. I visited a dianthus in a planter that stayed out and was looking very happy. Other plants won’t like it so much, even if they are generally hardy here. I will do a column on container gardening in the weeks to come so be sure to check back.
If you have a sunny spot that is in the ground, yahtzee! Behold, your new garden! Start small. Clearing and caring for a 5×10 ft plot will be a lot of work and you told me you didn’t want to be out all the time. I want you to have fun and then scale up rather than feel frustrated and throw up your hands in despair. Look at your small, sunny spot and see what is already growing there. You can tidy up around plants you want to keep but often people want to start fresh.
To get rid of plants you don’t want there are two basic methods; smoosh ‘em or dig ‘em up. If you have paving stones, put those on top of plants to smoosh ‘em or else put down a weighted tarp or old carpet. It will take some time for weeds treated this way to die so the best is to let it sit for a year. If you are in a hurry, you will need to dig up and/or pull out anything that is growing. The good thing about this is you get dirty, which is one of the joys of gardening, and you will get to see what the soil is like. Ideally, soil is relatively loose when you put a shovel in. If it is very thick and compacted, dig it up and add some organic material like compost to the soil while you are pulling out the weeds. If it is full of rocks, get the rocks out to at least a depth of 8 inches or so and add soil and compost. This can be pretty physically demanding.
Photo: Getty Images / Chalabala
Water
Before you put a shovel in the ground you think about water. Montreal has pretty damp summers and it is possible to garden using only a watering can, but it will limit what you can grow. We can get two hot weeks with little or no rain, which will frizzle a lot of plants if you don’t water, so ideally you want your garden to be within hose range.
Plants vary a lot in terms of how much watering they need. If you don’t want to water a lot, choose plants that are well adapted. Almost all plants want to be watered when they first go in the ground. A hose makes this all easier, but it is not absolutely necessary.
Plants
Finally, plants. If you like the idea of gardening, maybe you saw plants that you liked and thought it would be fun to grow them yourself. If you saw something growing in a garden in Montreal and you are excited to try, go for it! Most garden centres sell plants that are rated ‘hardy’ for our climate, unless they are indoor plants or annuals (plants that live only one summer). They also tell you some other important things like how much sun they need and how big they are likely to get.
If you really aren’t sure, here are a few relatively easy plants you can try:
Irises: I love irises. They come in all sorts of colours and palettes so most people can find one they think looks lovely (many also can have a nice scent). Lots of varieties will flower in part sun. They don’t require a ton of watering, and they will spread over the years. The same can be said of day-lilies.
Vegetables: If you like veggies, tomatoes are easy to grow (though it is hard to keep the squirrels off them). I grow sorrel, which is perennial, yummy and grows in part sun — and the squirrels leave it alone.
Happy gardening!
I would love to hear your questions about starting a garden or if you have experiences of starting a garden you want to share, please reach out. I will read everything you send. jeremywexler9@gmail.com
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