First, ask yourself a few key questions: Do you have full sun or shade? A rooftop spot or ground-level garden?
“Determine your climate: Rooftops can be hot, ground-level gardens, humid,” explained Cangialosi. If you’ve got shade, buying the pretty flowers that require full sun means they won’t live to see July.
“Look at drainage,” she added. Make sure liquid has a way to escape when watering plants or if it rains. “Plants don’t like their roots wet — it’s like sitting in a wet diaper,” she says. Once you have a proper drainage system in place, then you can shop and plant. (For tips on how to do drainage right, see the next tip.)
Skip the pricey planters
If you’re in the market for a container garden, the costs can add up quickly, with planters running into the hundreds of dollars. Luckily, there’s a cheaper (and chic) option.
“You can definitely skimp and get the less-expensive pots. IKEA has great options — but you have to augment slightly,” said Cangialosi.
This brings us back to drainage. Cangialosi suggests drilling holes in the bottom of pots that don’t come with them, or placing a pot within a pot, with gravel between the two, so the water overage has a place to go.
Invest in perennials
Perennial plants come back each year, while annuals are yours to enjoy for just one season. That’s why buying the latter is an amateur gardener mistake.
“Perennials are roughly the same price as annuals, but you’ll have them year after year,” explained Cangialosi.
In fact, she says, they can return for anywhere from six to 20 years, which is a far better return on your botanical investment.
Bonus: You’ll save time and money.
“If you put enough plants in, they’ll fill your space nicely, and you won’t even have to weed as often,” she said.
Check out more money-saving gardening tips here.
More from LearnVest:
- Fresh Flavors: Growing An Herb Garden
- 10 Dinner Party Shortcuts From the Pros
- 9 Summer Canning Recipes Made Simple
This post originally appeared on LearnVest.com on June 6 and was written by Maureen Dempsey. It is republished here with permission from LearnVest.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.
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