Maximizing Garden Health with Expert Nursery Tips
Long time, no blog. You know how the saying goes: If a website or blog goes 6 months without updating, people assume it’s dead. We appreciate all of our subscribers who have stayed with us despite our hibernation. Thank you for sticking with our journey. We are back with a new segment that is dear to our hearts: Healthy Gardens start at your local Nursery.
Why garden health starts at the nursery
The truth is garden health does not come by accident.
In fact, the U.S. gardening market hit $22 billion in 2024. That number is expected to reach $27.4 billion by the year 2030. Those are large numbers by any standard. If the people spent billions on gardening over the past several years. Most of the money went towards garden products and supplies.
The mistake people make is that they focus on the end-result, but they leave out the missing key factor: how garden starts are selected at the nursery. We will tell you a secret now: your garden will not thrive no matter how much money you throw at it. Your garden will continue to die year after year if you do not have a strong foundation of nursery professionals.
Here at Belle Mead Co-op, we are the local Nursery, Feed and Landscape supply in Hillsborough. We pride ourselves in supporting the community and the local experts around here. We have the experience and the expertise to give you all the professional secrets that you need to make your garden healthy.
Let’s dive in:
How to pick the healthy plants, every single time
Did you know that 80% of American Households have gardens, according to the famous brand, This old house. That is the highest percentage of all gardening statistics in the recent survey of 2024. People spend more money on gardening than they did 10 years ago.
Take your gardening seriously, but the most important factor in starting your gardening project is in fact how garden starts are selected at the nursery.
Walk into your local nursery and look at these three factors:
Look at the foliage: the easiest way to see if a plant is alive or dead is by looking at its foliage. If the foliage is green, bright and beautiful, the chances are that that particular plant is very healthy.
Check the plants for some of these indicators:
Are there yellow, brown or bleached foliage? If so, move on. The plants have some degree of environmental stress and will never recover.
Inspect the foliage carefully for insects like aphids, scales or mites, disease or other problems. If you see blistered, sticky or holey leaves or stems, those plants are already compromised.
Ask the staff to show you the roots of any plant you are interested in. The roots should be white or light-colored, firm and evenly distributed without being overcrowded or so overgrown they are already root bound and stressed. Don’t buy those.
Look at the overall plant structure. Are there damaged stems, excessive pruning or irregular growth? All are signs of underlying problems or hasty solutions.
The choice of your plants is the most important factor in growing a beautiful garden.
The foundation of garden starts — Soil Quality
We have heard it before — it all starts with the soil. The problem is that people are not told what exactly that means. You cannot plant anything in bad soil and expect your plants to grow healthy.
Healthy plants start with healthy soil. Soil provides your plants with all the nutrients that your plants need. Good soil holds the right amount of water without getting soggy and also provides the plants with air and food.
Healthy soil has three major characteristics:
- High organic matter
- Beneficial bacteria
- Ideal pH
Test your soil regularly and keep a note of the PH of your soil. Most plants prefer slightly acidic to neutral PH but some plants have specific requirements. Add compost or organic matter to the soil and use mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds while providing nutrients to the soil.
Apply fertilizer strategically and use organic fertilizer as these will provide long term benefits and increase the quality of your soil in the long run.
Watering is another important factor in gardening
Proper watering is the secret to having a successful garden, but it also has been one of the most difficult parts to get right. Most new gardeners make the mistake of drowning their plants with water.
The soil needs to be wet but not soggy. Plants require oxygen as well, and when you drown your plants with water, you are essentially suffocating them.
When we think about watering, we need to know the season as well as we need to know the type of plant we are watering. Remember your soil has to be wet but not soggy, always. You want your plant’s roots to be getting as much oxygen as they can get.
Choose the proper time for watering. If it is summer time, you need to water your plants in the morning and then in the evening, and do it very early in the morning.
We recommend that you check the soil before watering your plants to make sure that they are not getting too dry or too soggy.
Another important factor that a beginner does not take note of when it comes to watering their plants is the location. When we consider location, we have to consider where the sun is shining in your garden. This is the key to having healthy plants in your garden.
Sunlight is the most important when it comes to growing plants in your garden. Choose the correct location for planting to make sure that your garden will get plenty of sunlight throughout the day. Sunlight is important because it allows your plant to breathe. In short, your plant’s life depends on it.
There is no shame in asking for help
Sometimes you need professional help, and that is OK. In fact, hiring a professional when you need it shows that you are a smart gardener.
You need to understand that the local Nursery professionals understand regional growing conditions much better than you or we ever will. They have been in this line of work for the longest time and have probably seen and experienced it all.
They have all the information, details, tips and tricks that they will be more than willing to share with you as long as you ask the right questions.
The local nursery business, especially our local Nursery, Belle Mead Co-op will help you with these questions:
- Soil testing and amendment recommendation.
- Plant selection to suit your specific conditions
- Pest and disease identification
- Seasonal plant care strategies
- Problem-solving for struggling plants
Don’t just spend all that money buying products and supplies. Don’t just assume that because your neighbor has a lush green garden, you are going to have one as well.
It will never happen that way, but a good foundation of knowledge, working with professionals, will definitely go a long way.
Time to level up your garden
We have finally made it to the end of this post, or should I say at the beginning of your journey to having a healthy garden.
We will stop here, and we will leave you with one last thing, a piece of advice. Remember this is the most important factor to having a successful garden. We will tell you a secret now: your garden will not thrive no matter how much money you throw at it. Your garden will continue to die year after year if you do not have a strong foundation of nursery professionals.
Here at Belle Mead Co-op, we are the local Hillsborough Nursery, Feed and Landscape supply. We pride ourselves in supporting the community and the local experts around here. We have the experience and the expertise to give you all the professional secrets that you need to make your garden healthy.
Go back to the drawing board and start all over again with the basics. Go back to your local nursery and ask for help, ask questions and invest in all the right gardening products that will work for you and for your garden in particular.