4. Gardening for Beginners – Blog Four

So now you have worked out whether your garden is south facing with all day sun or north facing with little sun, it’s time to head to the garden centre and buy some plants.

It can be overwhelming when you go to a nursery or garden centre for the first time but it’s helpful if you are able to recognise the most popular plant types and especially plants that require low maintenance ie can tolerate it if you forget to water or prune them.

There are basically three types of plants: Annuals that have a lifecycle of one year, ie flower once a year, Perennials which can flower for two years and over and Shrubs which can be evergreen or deciduous. Evergreen means the plants keep their leaves all year round and Deciduous shrubs are plants which drop their leaves annually.

Here are some important plants that you need to recognise:

Perennials

Geraniums

Hostas

Sedum

Evergreen Shrubs

Box

Yew

Deciduous Shrubs

Hydrangea

Lilac 

Annuals

Petunias

Marigolds

Love in the Mist

Once you start recognising the basic plants, it will be become easier to know what to buy when you go shopping.