Susan’s Gardening Tips

This guest article should give any beginning gardener encouragement to jump right in! It sets out the pros and cons of gardening – but most of us gardeners would agree with the author that gardening brings us contentment. Sure, there’s physical effort involved, and that’s a good thing. But it also keeps us mentally active, and relatively stress free. And, that’s a very good thing. So, beginning gardeners, take heart and read on…

Have You Always Wanted to be a Gardener? Follow These Tips!

Figuring out which gardening tips to follow can be quite a challenge. Even finding the time to sort through all of the different (and conflicting) hints and tips can be difficult. Remember, there is a lot more to growing your own garden than simply dropping seeds in dirt and watering them every few days. Gardening takes attention. It can be time consuming. As you work to grow your plants and flowers, you will learn that even though it is hard work, gardening can be quite rewarding. Here are some gardening tips to help you grow the garden of your dreams! Read the rest of this entry

This is a nice guest article about all the benefits of bird watching, and offers some great gardening tips for attracting birds to your backyard garden.

Birdwatching in Comfort in Your Own Backyard

The bird watching backyard craze has become very popular with a select group of hobbyists.  It has some very real advantages, as well as some drawbacks .  It has all the conveniences of your own backyard and none of the inconveniences of tramping through fields or forests in search of  birds to watch .  If there are irritating bugs or other less than desirable company, safety is just a few steps away… just go back inside . Read the rest of this entry

Grasshopper chomping on grass

Quick… what pest controls should you use?  Wait! Not all bugs are bad… some actually contribute to lawn health. Only a few will actually damage your grassy corner of the world. 

Accept the fact that not all bugs are bad guys. Sure, we probably swat at them all. In reality, some insects are known as “biological insects”… they can act as exterminators against others. Some can even help control your lawn’s thatch level, and save you lots of time and energy… and money. Heck, a lot of them are gourmet meals to a lot of insect-eating birds.

If you see dead, brown patches in your lawn, then you probably have “bad” bugs. The first thing you need to do is figure out exactly what you are up against.  Read the rest of this entry

A family flower garden...

One of the most important beginning gardening tools is information… such as deciding what kind of garden you want.

There are three key questions to consider in deciding what kind of garden is the right choice for you:

1. What purpose will the garden serve?

Curb Appeal… This type of garden is usually in the front of your property, easily visible to passersby (and your neighbors).

Cutting Flowers… This is often called a “cutting garden”, and is dedicated to plants that do well in flower arrangements indoors. The size of your lot, however, may dictate that you integrate them into the rest of your garden. It requires a bit more planning, but it can actually add variety.

Food… Vegetables and fruits and nuts can be in a dedicated area of your property, or (just like flowers) they can be integrated throughout. In fact, this is often the best way to take advantage of microclimates on your property that are advantageous to specific plants… flowers, shrubs, vegetables, or fruits. Read the rest of this entry

 Happy gardening… Susan Nelson Hopkins
Check out all the lawn articles and videos at
Susan’s Lawn Gardens,
and the garden articles at all of
Susan’s Gardens

Just a personal note from me… it’s been a long while since my last post. Life in general, and winter in particular, just got in my way. You know, typical “gardening blues”… or should I say, “gardening blahs”?

Anyway, my posts were in a now-closed blog (Susan’s Lawn and Gardening Tips) on Blogger. I want to continue blogging, but just a bit differently.

So, gardening buddies, I’m launching Susan’s Gardening Tips. You’ll find all the posts from the old blog, and much more!

Sunny regards,

Susan