Basics

Whether you're new to gardening or experienced, everyone needs some gardening basics to get going!

In this category, you'll find a wealth of information that spans a wide number of topics. From seed starting to grow bag gardening, pruning tips to raised bed tricks, you'll find the fundamentals of gardening awaiting you here.

While it's optimized towards new gardeners, even a pro can find useful tips in our Basics category. We all need to get back to basics sometimes, and there are always useful tools and tips that other gardeners have developed along the way to add to your own practices.

Our Basics category can inspire you to new gardening heights, too. Those who have experience with in-ground planting can learn about other techniques such as raised beds or vertical gardening.

Dry autumn Rudbeckia flowers stand tall in the garden, their browned petals curling around dark seed heads.

Gardening Tips

7 Ways to Encourage Your Favorite Plants to Self-Sow

Self-sowing plants are a boon for us gardeners! They reseed themselves so we don’t have to plant them. Some sprout readily with little help, while others benefit from some care to grow their best. Use these seven methods to encourage annuals, perennials, and shrubs to sprout new seedlings throughout your garden.

An autumn garden, framed by a blue wooden fence, features blooming pink chrysanthemums, young trees with brown dry foliage, and a strawberry bed in front of a freshly dug-up garden bed with a large garden shovel, showcasing steps to prepare garden beds for planting in spring.

Gardening Tips

How To Prepare Next Year’s Garden Beds for Planting Now

Although winter frost steadily approaches, it’s not too late to start thinking about next year’s garden! Some simple actions now can help boost your harvests next summer and fall. Now, let’s try these seven easy steps from backyard gardener Jerad Bryant and prepare the garden for next year.

Light purple-blue flowers with five delicate petals bloom in clusters, each supported by slender green stems and narrow leaves, creating a wispy texture against a blurred, leafy background.

Seeds

17 Native Plant Seeds You Can Direct Sow in November

Even with the season’s change, we have plenty of time to sow our native plant additions this month. Many benefit from being sown directly in the ground as temperatures turn chilly, even in winter. November is perfect for scattering and tucking; it's easy on the seeds and the gardener. The challenge is narrowing down what to grow! Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in favorite natives to direct sow this month.