It’s no secret my family enjoys the outdoors and gardening. After all, our two little ladies are named after our love of plants, so naturally, we have curated our lifestyle with plants and gardens abound! I’m here with some encouragement if you feel that caring for plants isn’t your thing.
Gardening Does Not Have to Be Intimidating
It can be as easy as placing a tiny pot with an herb from the grocery store on the kitchen windowsill, a container garden with one vegetable to harvest, keeping up with weekly watering of your favorite houseplants in that one sunny spot in your house, or even as simple as maintaining the natural plants in your yard!
My Favorite Type of Gardening to Try
Vegetable gardening is one of the most fun and rewarding types of gardening there is. One of the best things about gardening is being able to share with your friends and neighbors. (We were blessed with tomato plants to begin a container garden and collard greens that we were able to cook for dinner right away!)
A tip to start vegetable gardening is to focus on the food you enjoy and ONLY grow that at first! This helps to alleviate any sense of overwhelm, as learning how to care for many different types of plants can be too much to start.
In our house, we are fully committed to eating one of these vegetables multiple times a week (thanks to our toddlers’ palates): cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and okra!
This year we decided to go all out and begin with cucumber seeds! We started by purchasing seed starter kits. To get my toddler involved, I asked her to count out three to four seeds per seedling starter kit.
This year we began by really understanding our zone. In Charleston we are in zone 8b/9a; simply search online for all the options you can choose from that grow best in our zone!
For Inspiration on Getting Your Own Garden Started
- Visit one of the Lowcountry’s many Botanical Gardens!
- Magnolia Plantation & Gardens – West Ashley
- Charleston Tea Garden – Wadmalaw Island
- Cypress Gardens – Moncks Corner
- Visit one of Charleston’s Local Garden Centers and start your own garden!
- Meeting Green – Charleston
- Abide A While Garden Boutique – Mount Pleasant
- Hyams Garden and Accent Store – James Island
- Roots and Shoots Nursery – West Ashley
Don’t sweat it. If you aren’t good at gardening the first season — guess what? There are three other seasons for gardening. Growing plants is a year-round hobby! I am no expert; gardening is all about learning and cultivating — trial and error!
I love that gardening is for the entire family, no matter your age or ability — watching and caring for a plant while it grows brings pure joy!
