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Planning your garden has many benefits including:

• Reducing the chance that your vendors will be sold out of product

• Prioritizing your list of things to do

• Taking out the peaks in the work load

• Assuring survival for plants that need transplanting because you do it at the appropriate time

• Making good use of your budget

• Making the most of your time available to gardening

• Giving you information needed to make changes for the following year

• Identifying items that are blooming now that may need changing or adding to for next year

There are some basic steps to follow and questions to ask yourself that we would suggest to ensure you are happy with your garden.  Start of with:

1. Daydreaming - When you see something on a television program, read an article in the newspaper or see something at a friend's garden or botanical garden, make notes about it in a gardening calendar / notebook.  Pay special attention to mark down when you would need to plant it or where it needs to be planted so that you don't forget them.  Also, be sure to include why you liked it and how you think it would fit into your own garden plans.

2. Recruit family members, friends or neighbors to help - Discuss with them what you have in mind and how it could benefit your garden or a recreational area and get their input and ideas.  What concerns do they have and how will your plan affect them?  If the project is too big, divide it into smaller pieces.  First do the front of the house, later the back, etc.  You could end up with a two or three year plan, but having them "buy into" the project will help ensure some help when the time comes to get started with the manual labor.

3. Break ground - Once you have the list created of things you want to change or create, do some research!  Is the plant material suited for the area I have in mind?  When do I transplant items to a place they will be better suited?  What do I need to do to ensure good drainage?  If the planting area consists of heavy clay or is very sandy, you need to add some compost or peat moss into the soil.  Do I need to take care of the weeds first before I can start planting?  Keep in mind the wind and sun/shade that you have during the day.  You can find answers to these and other questions at your local library, gardening magazines or by asking gardening professionals.

4. Collect building material - Having your plan on paper makes it easy to monitor flyers, newspapers and email offerings for specials that become available.  You can always ask your local garden center or other sources for special deals on certain items.  Talk to friends and neighbors about dividing and exchanging plant material.  All of these will help you maintain your budget and avoid overspending on impulse purchases!

5. Lay a foundation - At this stage of the plan, discuss with your "crew" where you are with the project and available times to implement the different stages of your dream.  Many hands make light work and having your plan in order about where you want things to go will make implementation more productive.

6. Build the garden - When the day arrives to execute your plan, everyone will be excited to get started.  There has been a lot of buildup to this day - from the dream, to the research, to the acquiring of materials - and that feeling of satisfaction will be inspiration enough to get you through the physical part!

7. Enjoy - Once you have completed the project, make sure that there is enough time so that all can enjoy the fruits of their labor!  Doing things together like gardening and working on a collective plan everyone agreed to will make for a satisfied crew, both for the project being completed and for the time spent together.

Following a process such as the one outlined above will help you keep things in perspective and allow you to be happy with the outcome.  We wish you success in generating a plan to make your gardening dreams come true.

As always, all orders over $50.00 receive 10 FREE Gladiolus and, when you sign our guestbook, you will get a 10% discount on your first online order.