Getting over your fears of killing plants can be one of the hardest parts of getting a garden started. During the eight years I spent working at plant nurseries and helping customers one of the most common questions I was asked was, "Where should this grow?" The thing is, with regards to many species of plants they can grow in all sorts of environments. Yes, each species has a specific environment that it would do the best in, but you would be surprised as to how resilient most plants are. They want to survive.
I've broken many "rules" of gardening and found out most of the time that I could get away with it. You never know until you try it. I've seen so many people say, "Wow! That plant is beautiful. Where does it grow?" And when I tell them where it should be planted for optimal growth they say, "Oh, I could never grow that." WHY! You just learned about it having never seen it before and like that you have become a botany expert? Try it if you like it. Obviously there are some things that you won't be able to grow in the garden no matter how badly you want to but that is a different conversation.
Now, there is nothing wrong with having questions, but just keep an open mind and remember that if you always follow the rules your garden will look just like everyone else's. I've got dozens of alternatives to the generic and common plant choices. I'm not saying you should avoid asking questions either, quite the opposite. You can't learn unless you ask.
If you've got a plant related question that's been bothering you...ask me. If I don't know the answer, I know someone that will.
Comment on this blog or e-mail me directly with the topic: Garden Question.
My e-mail is - JMILLER@TV7-4.COM
