Gardening 101

How to Start a Garden

Open your order as soon as it arrives and check it over. Seeds and bulbs are living products, so a careful start protects the whole season.

Choose Planting Site

Watch the spot for a day before you commit. Seeds and bulbs want much the same thing: six to eight hours of direct sun, soil that drains after rain instead of holding puddles, and no competition from established weeds or tree roots. Choose a bed you can reach easily with a hose, because the first few weeks decide the season.

When to Plant

Timing follows your growing zone more than the calendar. Spring is the conventional window for annuals, but plenty of varieties do just as well sown in summer or early fall. Check your last and first frost dates before sowing, and for fall planting wait until a couple of hard frosts have passed so the seed stays dormant until spring.

Storing Seeds

Heat and humidity shorten a seed’s life far faster than time does. Keep packets somewhere cool, dry and dark — a drawer or a lidded box in an interior cupboard is ideal. Fold opened packets closed, and keep your planting notes in the same place so next season’s plan is already half written.

Storing Bulbs

Open bulb orders as soon as they arrive and look them over. Healthy bulbs feel firm and heavy for their size, and a little surface mould is normal and brushes off. Keep them loose in a cool, airy spot, never sealed in plastic, and get them planted within a few weeks. If anything arrives soft or light, that is what the Grow Guarantee is for.