Ichi's Garden: growing Hibiscus Flower to create Sunbird's habitat in the urban area - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Indeed in this article, I am going to talk about gardening tips for the beginner as I wrote my project Sunbird to create a habitat for sunbirds in the urban area before. Therefore the focus is on what should someone do if it is the first time walking into gardening activities.
I am trying to propagate my Oxalis - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
1. Trying to grow 1 or 2 plants
I fully understand that when you see your family member, relatives and neighbors fill their life with gardening, some of you might feel want to do the same thing because of the greeny views and colorful flowers hanging around their houses looks tranquil. However, you have to retain your excitement before buying a bulk of plants and flowers along with gardening materials. Why? Firstly, gardening needs lots of work which draws our energy; are you ready to devote some of your time to it? A beginner might think it is easy peasy to plant and grow vegetables for example after watching YouTube, reading gardening books, or seeing your neighbors. The fact is that after a week, and months, starting feel tired and frustrated because one by one the plants struggle and then die eventually. Therefore, if we are new to the garden work, let's try to grow one or two plants first and see how it works out for you. Especially when we reside in an apartment. At this point, we do not have to lose a mount of money, in this case, when gardening is pricy. Another thing is that planting only one or two plants for trial, will measure our capability to handle plants; including time as I mentioned above. Sometimes some people do not realize that gardening needs a mountain of work since maintenance is necessary to keep the plant healthy. Hence, I have always said that this particular activity is not a hobby but a work.
2. Choosing a native plant or flower
Whatever your desire, the first step if you are a beginner in the garden work, the next step is to pick native plants before extending them to a wide range variety of vegetation. The reason is that I presume that native plants are suitable for the environment and temperature where we live, in another word, much easier to take care of as those are familiar. This step is good to prepare ourselves for the garden's work. Compared if we buy non-residential flora, it could discourage you, for instance, I choose to plant the Gerbera flower without considering that I live in a humid and hot weather country. In this case, I should grow native flowers such as Jasmine, or Hibiscus flowers. Why do I recommend this step on your gardening journey? Well, I think everyone wants smooth sailing throughout this journey, isn't it😉 So, residential flowers could better work for the beginner at this point.
3. Learn the sun's position
If we live in an apartment, learning about the sun's position is a crucial point as every plant needs sunlight despite how much they need; some obtain morning sunlight, and others might be suffering without direct sunlight et cetera. Once we decide where our gardening spot would be, we have to know the sun's position in this particular place. Fortune for you if morning direct sunlight bath the garden's space because the choice of a variety of plants could stretch longer. Conversely, only specific flowers and plants would survive in partial light, or without direct sunlight. While growing one or two native floras, we can make an assessment of the garden's spot with the sun's position. After learning this step, we are able to choose which plants that could survive in the garden area. Why this is important? It is definitely to save your energy and money as well. Picking the wrong flowers could consume our time because we need to replace the dying plants. Besides, often buying new flowers for the replacement purpose will drain out our pocket, isn't it? That's my concern. You bet, gardening in Singapore is expensive, for example, good quality potting soil is about $ 4 and above. So, we have to be careful.
4. Pick the right plants
Based on my experiences, making the right choice of what kind of floras we want to grow is a crucial part of the gardening activity in an apartment. Some issues may occur if we grow the wrong vegetation. For instance, the plants or flowers won't grow, capture a disease, and eventually die. Some of you might think, "well, it is fine, I can buy another plant" but how long you would do the same mistake? Besides, it is tiresome as we want to see the flowers bloom, or we can enjoy a little greeny view from our window. Therefore, what is the point of keeping the same mistake; buying the wrong plant or flower then they die in the end? When we will be able to relish our garden work? Observe the florist or flower and plant shop nearby, which the plant and flowers that are suitable for your garden's space requisites. Sometimes, the florist doesn't care about the customer's concern as what they need is to sell as much as flowers and plants in their shop to gain more profit. Therefore, this is your task as a gardener!🤞😉 Remember, gardening is not a hobby. I have believed if we treat this kind of activity as a hobby, we may end up collecting only particular plants. For instance, captivating only Begonias that are not able to grow in your garden space condition in a hot sunny climate with the sun soaring above 30 Degrees at noon. The aim is to create a green view at home, isn't it? For that reason, we must choose the right plants for some benefits, it could be to make a shade from the sun, a beautiful scene because of the flowers we grow, or attract small birds.
5. Keep Learning
In order to obtain gardening skills, we must keep learning during the process. Indeed, it would take some time, however, the result may surpass your expectation which is great, right!🤗 Imagine, at first you only want to grow Portulaca flowers; while trying to plant them, you study these cute flowers. As a result, you are able to propagate Portulaca and when to replant them, knowing the soil condition that is perfect for them, and soon. The knowledge that we can gain from gardening activities is amazing, right? By doing so, we are able to extend a wide variety of plants in the garden space we have at home, of course, with some consideration on how much time we do have to take care of the plant at home.
I have had this Aglaonmema since 2015!😊 - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Some of my neighbors said that my plants are quite good, others think that I have always bought a new one because my plant looks pretty and healthy. But the key is that I did 5 things that we discuss in this article. Therefore, if you are a beginner in this work, especially living in an apartment, make sure to know how much time you have to maintain the plants because gardening consumes time. Another pertinent thing is that start 1 or 2 plants by choosing native floral to figure out how it works for you. Then learn whether the sun hit your garden room to pick the right vegetation that suits the condition. Lastly, do not get bored learning while doing the garden activities. Happy gardening!👍😁
Growing this Epiphyllum from a single leaf that I found on the street - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Read one of my stories that I resume on the Rising From The Ashes: Quiet and Outdated Girl Yet Popular and Become A Role Model here https://ichi-journey.blogspot.com/2022/07/risng-from-ashes-quiet-and-outdated.html
Note:
- Written by Acik Mardhiyanti
- Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
- Do not copy this article without permission
- Do not reuse these photographs anywhere else without permission
