Monthly Gardening Tips

MAY 2026, GARDENING TIPS
My Experience

We've all heard of the 3 D's of pruning (dead, damaged, and diseased). While thinking about garden tips, while I was looking around my gardens and remembering how I (we) started, I came up with the P's of gardening.👨 🌾
It got a little out of hand because I was coming up with so many words that begin with the letter P! Here is my list.

PLANNING (we all know about that)

PREP (I've done covering -once with cardboard and another time with plastic- cardboard worked better. It takes a season) Then there's soil testing -I didn't always- but should ideally) weeding, amending.

PLANT I believe PERENNIALS provide the bones of the garden - returning every year, usually bigger and better, providing more plants for propagating elsewhere in the garden. And so true-Native plants!! They are healthier and withstand extremes more readily. (annuals for color)

PATIENCE ( I've become quite so with the gardens, but continue to work on it in other areas of my life)

PERSISTENCE I've moved plants (once 4 times! -a fancy miniature Hydrangea - don't know its name and Tiara twice and finally the plants did great! Then some never did like a New Jersey Tea shrub here.

PROPAGATE ( I was happy to have success with layering and division. Then there's self-sowing 😊 which can be quite pleasing or PREPOSTEROUS- how can two plants turn into hundreds?? So if they are in the right place, OK. If not? See below!

PLEASING (Yes)

PEACEFUL The best 🙏

(Whoops, forgot PRUNING - see beginning

Oh, and if you've never planted PEAS, try them 😋

Settle with imperfection! There will be weeds, pruning needs, empty spaces, and overgrown areas from self-sowing. ☺

THE PLANTS PROVIDE
PERFECTION