I find a garden journal is a great first step. If you don’t already have one, any book will do (you can tape in envelopes for holding tags, receipts, and warranties), and one with a calendar and space for notes is a great option for planning out your garden.

In your garden journal, plan your Big Plans! Take a look at what you want to accomplish; whether you are an expert gardener or just starting out, we all have big dreams. Figure out what you want to accomplish this year versus what your five-year plan might look like. Remember that gardening is a life-long process, and a garden is never really complete: that’s part of the joy of it! Still, having some sense of what you want to do is a great idea.

Next, in the spaces that you want to work on this year, it’s helpful for us when you come to the garden centre if you have the following information:

• The area you want to cover. Write down your measurements in your garden journal. We need the length and width of your spaces so we can help you pick the plants that are right for you. Make sure you bring those measurements with you!

• The lighting. Figure out what direction the sun comes from, and for how long. Both direction and the length of sunlight hours have an impact on the intensity of your light, which will therefore have an impact on what you can grow. If there are buildings, fences, or very large trees impeding the sunlight, you can make note of this as well.

• Your time commitment. Ask yourself if you want a low maintenance garden versus one that will take more time investment. Keep in mind that this will impact which plants you can have and think of your time commitment in balance with your big dreams!

• Soil quality. You might think soil is soil no matter what, but there are a lot of components in a good quality soil for growing.
  • One thing you can do to quickly check the quality is to hold it in your hand: give it a good squeeze and see what you feel.
  • If soil holds its shape after you squeeze it, you have clay. You will need some gypsum to treat that.
  • If you drive a post into the soil, is it easy to move it through the soil, or do you encounter rocks or roots from nearby trees?
  • If you have a new property, you may have a very simple topsoil that will require things like peat moss or compost. Similarly, a more mature property may require some freshening up! In either case, our Plant Solutions experts can help you figure out what you need.
  • If your soil is soft and workable, you are in luck!

• Your garden’s quirks. We all have them: a weird low spot or awkward tree roots (or, in my case, chalk and broken water balloons from the previous tenants’ children that appear in my lawn every year. True story!). If you have something like a low spot that always collects water, or a space that might require some additional planning, make sure to make note of your quirky spaces!

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• Your vision. Back to your big plans: here are some generative questions you can ask yourself before you start buying:
  • Do you want lots of flowers all season, or combinations that shift and change as the spring and summer goes on?
  • Do you want your garden to be decorative, or will it provide fruits and vegetables – or some combination of both!
  • How will you use the space? Do you anticipate sitting in the morning with a coffee, or in the evening with some twinkling lights?
  • Will you need to do significant landscaping before you do your planting? Things like patios, decks, pergolas, pathways and extra luxuries like hot tubs or swimming pools require careful planning.
• Spring Cleaning tasks. Before you get to planting, make sure you clean out debris from last season, and check your perennials to see what nay need tending and what may need replacing. Some trees, shrubs, and raspberry canes might need pruning.

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• Your budget. I know; I don’t love thinking about it, either! But consider how much you want to spend this year and balance your budget with your gardening dreams. And remember: your garden is always a work in progress, so you can take as little or as much time as you want to make it suit your vision!

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Like art, a garden is only “complete” when you decide it is! You might decide that it’s never fully finished, and that’s ok, too. Having a plan before you get to the garden centre is the first step in getting you to your dream garden.