Knowledge. More valuable than your spade.
From plant profiles, to peer-reviewed articles, use the resources at your fingertips to turn your thumbs green!
COMING SOON!
Know your ecosystem.
A good gardener is an amateur biologist, at least a weather aficionado, and preferably a bit of a chemist. Knowing the environment in which your garden grows is essential for long-term success. Local temperature, precipitation, soil composition and chemistry, and the interaction of native wildlife are all factors that the gardener should be expertly aware of. For gardeners growing non-native plants, the preferred native climates of such plants should also be studied and known, as well as the plant's potential impact in your ecosystem. Your garden is part of the ecosystem, and ensuring that your garden 'fits in' is imperative for the benefit of both.
Temperature
Local average temperatures are good to know, but maximum and minimum temperatures are essential to know. A plant's cold hardiness is it's ability to survive low temperatures. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the US, and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK, have created recommended ratings that can be assigned to plants corresponding to what regions they can survive in.
The USDA has created a map of graded Zones defined by minimum temperatures found across US localities.
The latest USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map can be found here:
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
Or download as a PDF by clicking here.
The RHS has created a rating system also based on minimum temperatures found in UK localities.
The latest RHS Plant Hardiness Ratings can be found here:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/trials-awards/award-of-garden-merit/rhs-hardiness-rating
Or download as a PDF by clicking here.
Furthermore, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) National Weather Service keeps detailed historic US climate data.
https://w2.weather.gov/climate/
Similarly, Her Majesty's Meteorological Office (Met Office) keeps historic UK climate data.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate-historic
Precipitation
April showers bring May flowers, but may drown semi-xeric plants in Spring. Precipitation is essential for garden plants, and whilst water can be carefully managed in times of low precipitation, there is little that can be done to mitigate the affect of annual rainfall totals. Knowing your region's average annual rainfall, like knowing your hardiness zone, is a must for anyone cultivating plants outdoors.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) National Weather Service keeps detailed historic US climate data.
https://w2.weather.gov/climate/
Similarly, Her Majesty's Meteorological Office (Met Office) keeps historic UK climate data.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate-historic
Properly maintained rain gauges can be attractive garden features that assist in the close monitoring of rainfall in your garden. Simple to elaborate personal weather stations (PWS) can also be utilized. Some PWS also have the capacity for wireless connectivity with software to track and record various data-points - handy for the aspiring meteorologist. These stations can be equipped with thermometers (or thermocouples, resistance temperature detector (RTD) probes, or thermistors for temperature), hygrometers (for relative humidity), barometers (for barometric pressure), rain gauges (for measuring rainfall), and anemometers (for wind speed and direction). A quality PWS, with proper placement, calibration, and monitoring can give you exceptional insight to your microclimate.
Soil
https://www.rhs.org.uk/membership/rhs-gardening-advice/soil-analysis
https://nifa.usda.gov/land-grant-colleges-and-universities-partner-website-directory
Wildlife
Note: In general, the information and discussions on this site are tailored towards USDA zone 6 (unless otherwise noted), as our trial gardens are situated in North America in USDA Zone 6a (similarities to RHS H7) with approximately 42 inches (107 cm) of annual rainfall. So site information is predominantly relevant to temperate, mostly mesic, regions, but that's certainly not to say tropical and xeric plants won't be discussed.