Best Flower Gardening Books For Beginners

Zone 10 gardeners don't have to put their gardens to sleep with a fall cleanup, giving them ample time to grow even more produce. But with a year-round growing season comes some challenges.

Growing your own food is incredibly rewarding, but it's not always clear how soon you can expect to start harvesting. This guide outlines some of the fastest-growing greens and food from seed so you can start sampling tasty greens and veggies as soon as possible!

Time to get the seedlings in the garden, right? No!

Using bamboo for attractive and functional structures in your garden.

If you and your garden have entered the midsummer doldrums, here are a few tricks to perk you both up.

There are dozens of techniques for mulching your vegetable garden. For best results, match the mulch to the crop, weather conditions and soil.

How to store the summer harvest for the winter kitchen.

Instructions for using Tomato Booster Mulch.

Diabetic neuropathy couldn't stop this gardener.

The results from our test garden.

Left on their own, tomatoes will grow into shrubby, multi-stemmed plants that topple under the weight of their fruit. Proper pruning will help prevent this problem.

These quarter-inch beetles and their larvae feed on young asparagus spears; damaged spears often develop blemishes and a shepherd's crook appearance.

Techniques for prevention and control.

Tips for growing the Three Sisters: beans, corn and squash.

Despite a small, shady yard, cool weather and some challenging wildlife friends, Cindi Coffen is able to produce an abundant harvest.

Meet Marvin Dunn of Miami's Roots in the City.

The increase in vegetable gardening has also fueled an increase in gardeners donating produce to local foodbanks and hunger-relief organizations. Learn how you can help.

If you love asparagus and want to grow some yourself, waste no time in getting an asparagus bed planted.

Learn to grow sweet potatoes in garden beds, raised beds or our Potato Grow Bags.

Cowpots are biodegradable, keeping plastic waste out of the landfill. And they're made from a renewable resource and take a potential pollutant out of the waste stream.

Use Super Hoops to support garden fabric, row covers, shade netting and bird netting. Protect your crops from pests, insects, diseases and extreme weather.

Patented fabric air-prunes and aerates roots. Handles make them easy to move.

Raised beds are the easiest and most productive way to garden. They're easier to plant, tend and harvest than in-ground beds -- and now they're easier to water, too.

I'm passionate about pickles. That's why caring for my cucumber crop tops my list of garden chores.

Sometimes, our customers come up with a great idea and our designers take it to the next level. The most recent example is our Cedar Cold Frame.

Orchard mason bees are small bees native to North America and are very good pollinators for flowers and fruit trees. They visit as many a 1,000 blooms per day.

Meet Barbara Eiswerth of Tucson, Ariz., winner of a Garden Crusader Award.

What's an "herb spiral"? Imagine a long garden row, about 25 feet long.

Seeds germinate fast when the soil is already nice and warm. For delicious, picture-perfect fall crops of spinach, lettuce, peas, kale and broccoli, late summer is the time to plant.

Apply water just where you want it -- and not where you don't. With the Snip-n-Drip Soaker System you can easily create a customized watering drip system.

Apply water just where you want it -- and not where you don't. With the Snip-n-Drip Raised Bed Soaker System you can easily create a convenient and streamlined watering system for your raised beds.

Grow delicious tomatoes in just one square foot of space! Our newest Tomato Grow Bag uses less planting mix, and top-to-bottom nylon handles make it easy to move.

Should you soak, drip or spray? Here's how to choose the best way to water each of your gardens.

How to get started with your Elevated Cedar Raised Bed.

Think of the straw bale as a large container with a volume of 40 gallons. Bonus: the bale is transformed into a partially composted mass of organic matter that's teeming with life.

Hardiness ratings are handy guidelines that can help you select perennials plants, trees and shrubs.

As a gardener, you can take a few simple steps—some of which, you're likely already doing—to help the planet.

Confused about sizing for garden gloves? It's usually based on a hand measurement that is actually pretty simple.

When you're new to gardening it can get overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin. You may have a million questions.

Arugula is a crop that tolerates cool weather. There are several factors to consider when deciding when to plant your garden.

In a perfect world, Mother Nature would provide an inch of rain each week to keep our vegetables and flowers perfectly happy.

Raised beds are easier to tend and produce bigger harvests. This buyer's guide will help you choose the best raised beds.

Fill your garden with the types of vegetables you like to eat. If you're big on salads, plant head lettuce, a lettuce cutting mix, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots.

Join us in our mission to improve the world through gardening. Just doing one thing on this checklist will get you well on your way to making a huge difference in the health of people and planet.

Note: This contest is over. Thank you for sharing your photos!

If you want to get your vegetable garden off to a fast start, you need to plant your seeds in soil that's warm enough to ensure good germination.

When stored correctly in their own papery wrappers, some types of onions will maintain their quality for as long as a year.

If you have an abundance of onions, make caramelized onions and store them in your freezer.

How to choose the best cooking techniques for the variety you have.

Weed-blocking cloth keeps garden pathways looking sharp.

During the hottest part of the summer, it's especially important to make the most of every drop of water. Learn the five common myths about watering.

How to use the Aquacorner to create new raised beds or retrofit existing beds.

The exclusive Tomato Halo delivers water directly to plant roots while suppressing weeds and thwarting cutworms. The raised inner pot adds planting depth for stronger root systems.

Learn how to plant raspberries in a step-by-step slideshow.

You don't have to reside in the Sunbelt to grow citrus. Dwarf varieties are well-suited to containers, allowing gardeners everywhere to enjoy the benefits of homegrown citrus trees.

By planting heirloom varieties, you can start a tradition of seed-saving in your garden. Start with a few selections from one of the founders of the Seed Savers Exchange.

Vegetables and fruits have taken center stage in the American landscape -- at last. And why not?

How to build custom shapes with Raised Bed Corners and In-Line Connectors.

Guillermo Vasquez Contaminated soil, poverty, pollution and acres of pavement are just a few of the many things that make it difficult to garden in a large city. In San Francisco, Guillermo Vasquez is helping hundreds of people overcome such obstacles by calling on a surprising source of knowledge: indigenous culture.

We asked kitchen garden expert Ellen Ecker Ogden to come up with planting plans for a couple of our Elevated Raised Beds. The results, both beautiful and delicious, are here.

Two theme gardens showcase herbs, edible flowers and greens. When planted in elevated raised beds, the harvest is at a comfortable height, and often the planter can be set up right outside the kitchen door.

Growing a small garden is like living in a small house: it is not as easy as it looks. Choose the right plants and you'll have a bountiful harvest.

Assembly video for Award-Winning VegTrug -- a convenient, all-in-one growing system.

Apply water just where you want it with the Snip-n-Drip Garden Row Soaker System. You can easily create a convenient watering system for your vegetable garden.

Video shows how you can link two raised beds in a single, efficient watering system.

We've harnessed the power of mycorrhizae in our new and improved potting mixes. For gardeners, this translates to healthier plants with up 35% higher yields compared to soil mixes without mycorrhizae.

Raised beds offer gardeners many benefits over in-ground gardening. They come in all shapes, sizes, and materials — including wood, wood composites, and metal.

One of the quickest ways to create thriving healthy soil for a garden and to reduce the amount of lawn you have is to sheet mulch.

At Gardener's Supply, we believe that healthy soils are the foundation for healthy gardens, healthy people, and a healthy planet.

With more than 700 different tomato varieties in cultivation today, it can be difficult to choose the variety that's best for your garden. Learn how to narrow down the list.

Techniques for prevention and control.

Meet Rick Brooks of Madison, Wis.

Meet Bill Dawson of Columbus, Ohio

There is no magic "green thumb" that you must possess to have a thriving garden. As with all things, it can be broken down into simple steps.

Guide for using fabric row covers to protect your plants from cold, sun or pests.

Once temperatures have cooled down in early fall, it's time to plant all over again for a second harvest that will be ready by early winter.

How to make sure your soil is rich in beneficial micro-organisms that keep plants thriving, pest-free and beautiful.

Loofah, also spelled Luffa, are in the cucurbit family—along with cucumbers, melons, squash, and other gourds—and grow on long vines. They require a long, hot growing season.

Fire Island is a patented variety of bleeding heart. All photos by Suzanne DeJohn.

Techniques for prevention and control of cutworms.

If you find yourself with more vegetables than time, here are a few of the super-quick, after-work solutions for saving some of summer's bounty for cold winter days.

Fencing is the only sure-fire way to keep wild and domestic animals out of a prized garden.

How to build fertile, healthy garden soil.

Broccoli is a good companion to dill. Mediterranean gardeners have always put basil and tomatoes together in the kitchen as well as in the garden.

Gardener's Supply offers a wide range of raised beds, from aluminum corner kits for which you supply your own lumber, to complete raised bed kits in cedar, composite wood, recycled plastic and galvanized steel.

A comprehensive guide to growing herbs in the garden and in pots and planters.

On a hillside northwest of Los Angeles, firefighter Mike Nava takes us on a tour of his lush cooking garden.

Berries and other so-called small fruits generally don't require as much space as full-size fruit trees, and by growing several different types, you can enjoy home-grown fruit from early summer through late fall.

In all but the hottest months of the year, you may be able to plant and harvest almost continuously. Gardening in zones 7 to 10 can be even more challenging than gardening in the North, because planting times vary so much.

Densely planted raised beds don't require as much weeding as regular garden beds. Shown here is our All-American Garden in late June.

In this 4-part video, our friend and gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi explains how to make the most of your raised bed garden.

No time for a traditional, in-ground vegetable garden? A raised bed is a shortcut to a plentiful harvest, even in the first year.

We visited a remote-working engineer who gardens on his Chicago balcony to learn more about the challenges of urban gardening.

Speaker and author Toni Gattone helps gardeners find creative, adaptive solutions to physical challenges and mobility issues.

Watch a video and read about how Carrie transformed the backyard of her new home into a thriving garden with Gardener's CedarLast raised beds and obelisk.

If you are new to growing vegetables in containers, or have had limited success, here are a few tips to help you succeed.

If you want to avoid using broad-spectrum poisons in your garden, the key to success is taking time to observe and try to understand what's really going on. It's the single most important action you can take.

In summer, most berries demand nothing more than picking. But when it comes to raspberries, some pruning sets the stage for bountiful berries again next year.

Learn how to repot your tomato seedlings when they've grown too large for the original pot.

You can enjoy your herb garden harvest all year with one of several easy techniques.

Finally shaking its reputation as a lowly salad bar garnish, kale has become trendy – in the kitchen and the garden. You can grow kale in almost any zone, and even compact gardens have room for kale – it's just a matter of choosing the right variety.

Upgrading your front yard to a vegetable garden is sure to raise a few eyebrows, but if you do it right, you'll impress the skeptics.

Gardeners across the country look forward to the thrill of picking their first ripe tomatoes. Here are six ways to get a jump on the growing season.

If you have a small-space garden, consider these pre-planned gardens, which are based on square-foot gardening techniques. Each set of five plans is available in PDF; download the set that matches the size of your garden:

Homegrown herbs can play an important part in supporting your health. Here's a sampling of herbs to grow and use in healing teas, tinctures, and salves.

Too many gardeners plant salad greens just once a year. By planting continuously and thinking creatively about how to establish microclimates, it?s surprisingly easy to eat beautiful, delicious, home-grown salads almost every day of the year.

Although cucumbers have sprawling vines, you can grow them in containers. The key is to choose a compact variety and train those vines up a trellis.

Planting fall crops is a great way to get the most out of your garden space and increase your harvest. With just a little planning, you can extend the harvest into the fall and even winter.

How do you find tomatoes that thrive in smaller spaces yet still produce abundant, delicious fruit? A group of dedicated seed-savers has found the answer.

Yes, you can re-use the old soil in your pots, planters and raised beds. Just start the season with a special boost of fertilizer and nutrients to ensure good results.

Proponents suggest that, just as the moon's gravitational pull affects the tides, it also has a more subtle but still relevant effect on soil moisture, pulling it toward the soil surface. If this is true, then perhaps more moisture near the soil surface could improve germination.

Drinks made with just-picked herbs, fruit, and vegetables as flavorings and garnishes are the toast of the summer party season.

With well-designed, innovative pots, planters and raised beds, you can cultivate a healthy, homegrown, freshest-ever harvest, just steps from your kitchen.

Gardening gets more difficult as we age. However, by using the right tools and techniques, gardening remains in reach at any age.

If there's anything more enjoyable than spending time in my garden, it's spending time visiting someone else's.

New to gardening? Here's our list of essential tools every gardener should have in their collection.

How to grow potatoes using the Potato Grow Bag.

Watch how to assembly one of our most popular elevated planters.

Raised beds were the winner for this Cincinnati gardening family.

Learn how to create a seed-starting schedule. By starting seeds at the proper time, you'll have strong, well-rooted transplants when spring arrives.

This guide offers six ways you can make spring come earlier than ever in your garden.

Techniques to help plants survive periods when rainfall is insufficient.

Learn how to create a vegetable garden that showcases the plants and invites exploration.

Hot weather is tougher on plants than it is on people. It?s easy to understand why, when you consider that our bodies contain about 60 percent water and most plants are 85 to 90 percent water.

Katie Stagliano, 2010 Garden Crusader Katie tends one of the fields in a program called Katie's Krops. Volunteers at work on Katie's Krops, which has already provided thousands of pounds of produce to homeless shelters.

If you're trying to keep birds from your crops, any scare device will work for a few days. But the most effective technique is exclusion.

How to understand the differences between potato types and what you can expect in the kitchen.

Dreaming of a backyard berry patch? An asparagus bed?

Using our Grow Bags, you can grow a crop of crisp, sweet carrots almost anywhere.

If basil is part of your herb garden,make pesto part of your pantry with these recipes.

Learn how the Aquacorner system works. Raised beds are the easiest and most productive way to garden.

The trick to harvesting melons is figuring out when that moment of peak flavor occurs. Learn how to tell when your melons are just right.

Let this be the year that you carve a jack-o-lantern that you grew in your own backyard. Pumpkins are not difficult to grow – even in raised beds.

Raised beds are easy to set up, plant and maintain, producing high yields in a compact space with less digging and weeding. And now you'll find just the right size and shape bed for your needs.

Plans for our urban garden: a front-yard showcase of vegetables and edible flowers.

Rejoice in the piles of nutrient-rich leaves that trees generously shed every autumn — they're a gift for your garden.

In 2021, we pledged to donate $50,000 and create an army of employee volunteers – because no man, woman, or child should ever go hungry, feel isolated, or despair for their future. Join us in further impacting millions of lives by making a donation of your own, volunteering with one of our project partners, or gifting some of your own bountiful harvest to a local hunger-relief organization.

Well-fed plants are healthier, more productive and more beautiful. This article covers the basics of why and how to fertilize your garden.

How to grow your own vegetables and keep your plants healthy and vigorous.

What's wrong with my tomatoes? Learn how to diagnose and treat tomato problems.

Learn about some of the members of our gardening community, including Gardener's Supply employee-owners, customers, and garden testers.

Moon gives a tour of her raised bed and container garden in Westchester County, NY. Moon has been a customer of Gardener's Supply Co for years, and was one of our first testers.

When you garden in raised beds, it's easy to keep every square foot in production from early spring right through summer, fall and early winter.

Learn the pros and cons of different tomato supports and watch a video of tomato plants on four different supports as they grow through the season.

By using a few simple season-extending techniques and plant-protection devices, you can shield your plants from extremes of weather, and stretch your gardening season by two, three or even six months.

It's possible to dramatically reduce your consumption of water, lower your water bill and still have a beautiful, productive garden.

Watch the assembly video for our best-selling elevated planter.

If you're living in an apartment with a little balcony, a townhouse, or even a smaller single family home, there are plenty of ways to grow some of your own food. All you have to do is adjust your gardening strategy based on your unique growing environment.