3 Easy Tips for Starting Your Self-Care Garden

When it comes to gardening in my yard each year, I am the neighbor that sips her coffee and stares at her impressively tall dandelions that have taken over the lawn and garden beds. Gardening takes a bit of discipline and taking care of my two kids seemed daunting enough for me. Anyone else in this boat with me?! 

This season, I desperately needed an activity to get my quarantine nails dirty. I decided to take a stab at growing a veggie/fruit/herb garden. It wasn’t easy, but I started small. I’m 5 weeks in, and this whole time I thought I was growing broccoli. Turns out, it’s purple cauliflower. 

I’m here to help you take a small leap into turning your backyard into a small oasis for you to enjoy each day. 

1. Starting a fruit, veggie, or herb garden?

At your local nursery, grab 3 different sets of food your family enjoys. You don’t need to go all out and build your own wooden garden beds. Grab a few larger plastic containers and set them out on your back patio. If you are confused about the care needed for your plants, ask questions at the store! They are happy to help you. Things to think about are: sun, soil, watering needs, and will the animals nibble at them? 

2. Need to dress up your back patio?

I love to hit up Home Goods this time of year. They have several different outdoor planters at a fraction of the price of what they would be elsewhere. Fill your planters with potting soil, and layer different plants within the pots. Choose flowers and plants that are different heights and colors you love. The most important thing to remember is to water the pots every other day! 

3. Taking on garden beds around your home?

Conquering your home’s landscaping can seem impossible. Trust me, I decided to accomplish that task this season too. If you aren’t fond of gardening, fill your garden beds with evergreens and perennials. Evergreens stay green all year round and perennials come back each year. Some of my favorite evergreens are boxwoods, pines, and cedar bushes. With perennials, you can choose flowers you love to clip for bouquets. I chose to add a few peony bushes, hydrangeas, and azaleas.   

Having plants to care for has given me time outside of our house to just think and get my hands dirty. It has turned into self-care, but I would have never thought in a million years I would be tending to my garden each day. It’s refreshing and life-giving. If gardening has seemed like an impossible task to conquer, I hope I have given you some encouragement to tackle it! You will probably have a few dead plants. But that’s ok! You are trying something new.

by Laura Williams

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