I am going to share with you some tips which have worked for me. The Internet, gardening clubs, books, magazines and the help of your local nursery are all great caches of gardening tips. The most important is how much sunlight can you expect for your plot, what type of fertilizers you should use, the mulch and the type of soil. You would also want to know the types of tools you need along with the kind of tiller and watering system that are required.

Tip #1: Pull out the paper and start planning your garden because the time this will save will be huge. A second opinion helps. Also if there are any sprinklers needed. This is over and above other points you may think of.

Gardening Tip #2: The way you have prepared your soil can decide whether you succeed in your gardening efforts. Take into consideration that soil quality varies according to plants. Using organic fertilizers for vegetables and herbs is a must, if you wish to retain the natural flavor of the food. A good compost or even wood chip mulch is preferred over the ordinary fertilizer.

If you think that having a compost heap at your backyard is a near-impossible idea, think again. Fresh home brew compost is an excellent source of nutrients for your vegetarian or herb garden but sometimes it’s totally unrealistic. Mulch is a good substitute for a home compost mixture but make sure to use the softer woods like redwood or pine because the faster it breaks down the better. Irrespective of what you use, mulch, compost or fertilizer, these must be mixed well to get good results.

Gardening Tip 3: When you have the soil all prepared it is very smart to lay out the plants on top of the soil before planting them to get a good look at how it’s going to turn out just in case you need to make any last minute changes. I believe that plants having similar characteristics should be planted together. For instance, plants with larger radii should be clubbed together. Segregate taller plants from the shorter plants and plant the former at the back – so that you can see all the plants.

Gardening Tip #4: Never forget to water your garden. If your house is very big, then watering a garden can be very hard work. Use an automatic watering system, if you want your garden to grow on its own. An automatic system can range from a large sprinkler to a timer attached to a hose sprinkler. Gardening is a rewarding hobby, which not only provides shade, beauty and sometimes food also!