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.

A row of kale plants with sturdy stems and curly green leaves grows in a garden bed covered with straw mulch, providing natural frost protection.

Gardening Tips

13 Plants You Should Mulch Now to Protect From Frost

As frosty weather sets in, it’s important to safeguard your most tender plants. Protect them now with a thick layer of mulch to keep their roots insulated and warm through the winter. Backyard gardener Jerad Bryant shares the 13 plants you should mulch now in the home garden.

A garden bed of young spinach plants is sheltered beneath a white frost cloth that drapes lightly over the leafy greens.

Gardening Tips

How to Protect the Garden with Frost Cloth

Frost cloth is an invaluable tool in the winter garden. Use it to blanket your tender plants and protect them from light frosts and freezes. It’s amazing what a single layer of fabric can do! Join former nurseryman Jerad Bryant to discover how to protect the garden with this unique material.

A profusion of reddish-orange composite flowers blooming from native seeds planted in October.

Seeds

15 Low-Maintenance Native Plant Seeds to Sow in October

October is a prime time to sow native seeds. Planting now mimics the natural habits of native plants, and lets the seasons create the perfect conditions for germination. Florida gardener Melissa Strauss shares some seeds you should definitely sow this month for a beautiful garden next year.

A small bird with a chestnut crown, black cheek spots, and brown-streaked back perches on a rose hip bush with glossy green leaves and clusters of bright orange-red fruits, attracting wildlife to garden plants in October.

Gardening Inspiration

9 Bird-Attracting Plants to Grow in October

Attract birds with plants that offer them food, shelter, and a nesting site. Local birds are a sign of a healthy ecosystem, and the garden is a good place to start helping them. These nine trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials are the perfect bird-attracting plants to grow in October.

Young hydrangea cuttings with green, slightly serrated leaves are rooted in plastic cups filled with soil, standing in a garden flowerbed ready to propagate hydrangeas in the fall.

Propagation

How To Propagate Hydrangeas in Fall

While we often associate hydrangea propagation with a spring activity, we can also accomplish it in the fall with a little extra care to overwinter. Cuttings, ground layering, and division are methods to try early to mid-season. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe outlines how to add to our hydrangea display with propagation techniques this fall.