Is it a mere coincidence that plan precedes plant in the dictionary? We think not. As any master gardener will tell you, a thoughtful plan is as indispensable a tool as, say, your gardening spade. And, as any sun-starved gardener will tell you, the snowy/rainy days of early spring are the perfect time to strategize for the growing season to come. To help guide Stepping Stone residents in all their upcoming gardening adventures—especially those who have recently moved into a new home that needs a few final landscaping touches—we’ve gathered the helpful links below.
Your first stop is actually very close to home at Stepping Stone’s Pinterest Garden Ideas board. Container gardening is a smart choice if your yard is small, or maybe you just need some color and texture for your porch or patio. Chances are good that you’ll find a terrific solution from these 108 Container Gardening Ideas or these suggestions that focus on heat- and drought-tolerant succulent container plants, complete with instructions on propagating from the mere pinch of a neighbor’s plant. (Talk about economical.) If you long to grow a bit of your own food, but don’t want to lose a chunk of your yard, try vegetable container gardening. You’d be surprised how much yield you can get from small spaces. Wondering when it’s safe to plant those veggies? Keep this planting guide handy, and you’ll know not to plant your tender peppers and eggplant until June 1.
Let’s say you do want to make some changes to your yard. (Of course, before your shovel hits the dirt, run your plans by the Stepping Stone HOA, which collaborates with residents to keep the community landscaping consistently gorgeous.) To put an overall plan in place, read this article on Houzz, which is packed with tips, from choosing the right plants to creating a space-saving vertical garden to clever storage for your garden tools.
Colorado is known for its weather extremes and heavy clay soil, so region-specific tips are super helpful. The Denver Post’s What to Do This Month Calendar will keep you flawlessly on track. For example, April is the time to sow broccoli, lettuce, carrots, spinach, and other cool weather veggies, while May is when you should seed or sod lawns as well as prune lilacs and other spring-flowering shrubs.
Sunset magazine, with its focus on the western US, is always a rich source of gardening knowledge too. 11 Secrets to the Easiest Gardens Ever is sure to get your creative juices flowing with topics such as how to effectively use color, contrast, and repetition in your gardening design, and how to grow a room divider that separates, say, your patio from your firepit area—all with low-maintenance shrubs, grasses, and perennials.
If you really want to keep things simple and stress-free, use this list of 10 Best Houseplants to De-Stress Your Home and Purify the Air. Some work so well that they received NASA’s stamp of approval for clearing out toxins for cleaner breathing.
