Many friends of mine have flirted with the idea of taking up ‘gardening’ as a hobby (and here I use the term ‘gardening’ loosely as growing plants). But the single issue that seemingly prevents them from doing so lurks in the question; ‘What if I kill them?’ There seems to be an almost irascible fear, or at least a mental block, amongst many would-be plant lovers about killing their charges.
Despite the constant scientific facts pointing to the numerous benefits of plants for our physical and mental health, gardening still seems to be within the realm of the older generations. This is perhaps a little odd considering our generation’s love of all things health – physical and mental – somewhat illustrated by the huge number of non-dairy ‘milk’ and gluten-free beer, bread and pasta available on our supermarket shelves, as well as the latest fitness trends and mindfulness practices.
Now I don’t know if this stumbling block around gardening is a Millennial problem that stems from the trauma of accidentally killing one’s Tamagotchi for the first time (a 90s kids thing) or a more general issue with our world’s fear of failure, but anyhow, the fear exists nonetheless.
The main point of this blog really is to say, ‘It’s OK to kill plants!’ It is how we learn. At the risk of sounding too preachy, I believe failure is one of the most important events we can come across. It helps us learn where we went wrong and to try another method. Whenever one starts baking they get good at baking by failing at baking, whether that’s burning cake, over-proofing the bread, or making an incredibly bland caramel tart. Failure is an inevitable part of our lives, and we need to be more comfortable with the term rather than shying away from it, or worse, pretending it doesn’t exist. No one learns anything from constantly being risk-averse, and as a society, being risk-averse is, in and of itself, risky (it stymies innovation and technological advancement and makes our mental health as a society incredibly fragile). I think plants are a good, none fatal, and pretty much constant platform to dealing with confronting failure, learning from it and normalizing it.
Gardening books rarely help people get into gardening. They overcomplicate nearly everything with overly stuffy scientific or just cryptic terminology (such as tender, half-hardy and hardy) and the frequent use of dead languages with sometimes ridiculously convoluted words (case in point Foeniculum vulgare, or Fennel to you and I). Although most of this is in my eyes unnecessary, there are a few basics that are good to know.
Knowing the basics
Focus on these four basics and intuitively grow from there.
At the risk of taking you back to those dull-as-dishwater biology classes, here are a few things that you should know…
Light:
In many books and on plant labels you will find the terms; full sun, shade, and half shade. This refers to the optimum conditions for your plants’ health and growth – full sun meaning that it gets more than 6 hours of sunlight per day, half-shade means 3-6 hours per day, and shade means less than 3 hours of light per day. This should be taken in the same way a cookbook lists a ‘pinch of salt’, acknowledged but not obsessed over. If you have absolutely no idea what the plant is, then as a very general rule of thumb the bigger the leaves the more shade a plant is happy with, and the smaller the leaves, the more sun the plant is happy with.
Water:
Water is possibly the main cause of anxiety for new gardeners. And here’s the thing: Many more plants have died due to overwatering than under watering – too much love and attention in other words. Now if you know what the plant’s name is, look it up. The origin of a plant alludes to the conditions it has evolved to grow in; arid, temperate, tropical etc. for those lucky enough to have a garden and are considering planting plants directly in the ground then this question has a lot to do with soil conditions in your area. But for those growing plants in pots and using ordinary multipurpose compost then there is a simple solution; stick your index finger into the soil, if it is dry up to the second knuckle then water the plant. If the surface of the soil feels damp then don’t water the plant.
When it comes to watering, plants prefer a deep water rather than a frequent ‘splash and dash’. Deep watering when needed makes the roots grow deeper into the soil, thus making it more able to withstand drought conditions (aka when you forget) and decreases the chances of soil-borne diseases or harmful fungi.
Temperature:
All plants have a minimum winter temperature that they can endure and, nearly always, this is broken down into three main categories; tender, half-hardy, and hardy. In very general terms tender plants can survive temperatures down to 5°C and very briefly 0°C. Half-hardy plants survive temperatures of 0°C to
-5°C and hardy plants survive temperatures down to -10°C (or more).
Unless you live in a country with regular summer temperatures over 40 degrees Celcius and very low humidity, you don’t need to worry about high temperatures for the vast majority of plants other than making sure the soil around them is moist.
Soil:
Soil is both a major source of plants’ food and also their home (at least for their roots). And, just like some of us with our different dietary requirements and living conditions, different plants sometimes require different soil conditions. It is important to note that, with the exception of extreme conditions, the majority of plants will survive in any of these soil conditions but it is still important to be aware of your soil type.
Although there are others, broadly speaking there are three main soil types; clay, loam, and sand. The easy way to understand what soil you have in your garden is to go out there and dig a bit up. Make sure it is slightly moist, and then clump it together in your hands. If you can make a solid ball out of it then you have a clay-based soil. If you can roll it into a ball and then crumble it easily in your hands then it is loam-based, and if you struggle to make a ball at all then it is sand-based. Clay holds a high concentration of nutrients, but the soil gets waterlogged easily and is very difficult to work in both damp or dry conditions. Loam has a good amount of nutrients, is very easy to work with, and has good drainage. Sand has a very low amount of nutrients and is incredibly well-drained and, without constant rain, is very likely to dry out completely.
You can change your soil structure over time if you have clay or sand by just adding organic matter, by which I mean either multipurpose (peat-free of course), better yet homemade compost, or mulch which may be anything from woodchips to shredded leaves, paper or cardboard. If you have loam there is less to do, although it is always good to ‘feed’ the soil, especially with annual layers of composted mulch – by in large you’re good.
There is another caveat to the whole soil saga and that is pH. Most soils in the UK are generally neutral (pH7) but it is worth getting a cheap pH soil testing kit from Amazon (other providers exist…). For the most part, do not worry too much about it unless your soil pH is extremely acidic (e.g. pH4 or below) or extremely alkaline (pH9 and above), as the vast majority of plants will thrive in the ‘middle ground’. There are of course exceptions to this such as blueberries and rhododendrons, which prefer acid soil (gardening books and centres would call this soil ‘ericaceous’).
The important thing to remember is that plants are generally incredibly versatile. You don’t need to be a green-fingered genius to keep plants alive or indeed watch them thrive. I grow almonds that are from sunny California on my fields in grey Cumbria and they are thriving. Incidentally, Cumbria is also famous for growing damsons, which also grow in the ancient orchards outside Damascus. Plants truly are amazing.
Other Terminology Decoded
Annual:
Usually, fast-growing plants that are sown from seed, grow, flower and seed within a year (mostly dying back in winter)
Biannual:
Plants that establish themselves over the first year, then flower and die in the second year
Perennial:
Plants that live for more than two years, producing flowers and seed every year
Herbaceous perennials:
Small/medium plants and shrubs that die down completely in winter and re-emerge again in the Spring
Cast-iron plants to get you started:
Herbs: your popular Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, oregano, and rosemary are very tough plants that are easy to grow and can virtually be left to their own devices.
Herbaceous perennials: Sedums, Heleniums, Hemerocallis and Achillea are all incredibly hardy plants that look great and are tolerant of differing conditions.
Cacti and succulents: great starters for indoor plants provided there is good light, and can virtually be left to their own devices, so you don’t need to trouble your neighbour with watering them whilst you’re away.
My last piece of advice is time management. Always remember the eventual size of your plants (they won’t stay small forever), don’t go crazy, and don’t create a rod for your own back. Keep it manageable and slowly experiment and build from there.
Ultimately gardening is, at its heart, an organic art form that is constantly changing, growing and evolving. Take your knowledge of the basics and don’t worry too much about whatever else the books say. Be less the scientist and more the artist; embrace that creativity within you. You will soon get a feel for what works and what does not intuitively for your plants in your space.
If you kill a plant, yes you did something wrong (either directly or indirectly), yes you are to blame, yes you did fail, and that’s OK! Learn from it, and expect to fail in the future. Persistence is the key, and enjoyment will follow. You will gradually notice that your successes begin to greatly outweigh, though never entirely eclipse, your failures. Congratulations! You can now become the green-fingered plant guru you had hoped to be. Just never forget to keep experimenting and keep pushing the boundaries of what you can grow and what you can get away with.
I will end with a quote from the immortal Gertrude Jekyll:
“A Garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust”.
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