How to Get *Halfway* to a Green Thumb

After trying desperately to become a good gardener myself for many years, while I still have many challenges, my successes have come down to a few basic principles that anyone can grasp.

First of all, pay attention.

Many, if not most, of the things that go wrong happen because I'm not paying attention. Until you officially have earned your green thumb, it's good to keep only as many plants as you can reasonably watch very closely on a regular basis. It's amazing how fast things can go south in your garden, or even if you have houseplants. If you're keeping an eye on plants, you're likely to catch a problem before it escalates. You might not realize your plant soil has dried up and it's on the verge of dying from lack of water. But if you're checking on the plants periodically, you'll catch it. If you're busy and not paying attention, and that dried up soil goes another day, it might be the end of the plant. If you've got a pest and catch it early, you might be able to save the plant. If you're not paying attention, you might end up with an infestation. All kinds of things can happen and catch you off guard, that throw your plants into trouble. The other day I realized I had some potted plants getting too much water and the pot saucers were full and keeping the soil waterlogged. By checking frequently I was able to catch this, remove the saucers and let much of the water out.

That's not to say if you're paying close attention to your plants that something won't happen. But I started noticing how often I would lose plants just because I got busy and wasn't keeping an eye on things, and it was a substantial part of my "losses."

The second part of getting better with plants involves selecting the right type of plant. You can do this one of two ways.

Look at the kinds of plants people are growing in your area. They are in everyone's yards (well, not everyone's). Plants grow better or worse in different areas. And often, they don't grow in some areas at all. In New Mexico, you might not see peonies frequently, if ever. But in Missouri, they are in every other yard. In New Mexico, every other yard has an oleander bush. However, people grow plants like roses and hibiscus in both locations. So if you're growing what grows well in your climate, you're more likely to have success.
Some plants are very durable and grow well for most people, even those with a black thumb. For example, most people can probably handle growing plants like zinnias and bachelor buttons. Even with the worst gardeners, there's a chance these plants might still survive! The same goes for indoor houseplants. I've neglected some houseplants and they just never die, like snake plants (Dracaena trifasciata). So if you want to be a plant person and grow interesting and unique plants, pick something super hardy like this as you get started. Then find interesting varieties of those plants if you want something a little more special. What you don't want to do is get seduced by a gorgeous specialty plant that costs a fortune, then deal with the loss of that plant because you just weren't ready yet.

If you start out from those principles, you'll have a better chance at success. And like many things, once you realize it can be done, you get better over time. You need to build a foundation to get started. This can mean making mistakes. But before you know it, you'll have a green thumb.

The Aley Acres seed shop on Etsy.

Dahlias, Notes from a Gardener book on Amazon.

Floral Art and Landscape Painting Etsy shop.

TikTok, some gardening posts.