Basics

Whether you're new to gardening or experienced, everyone needs some gardening basics to get going!

In this category, you'll find a wealth of information that spans a wide number of topics. From seed starting to grow bag gardening, pruning tips to raised bed tricks, you'll find the fundamentals of gardening awaiting you here.

While it's optimized towards new gardeners, even a pro can find useful tips in our Basics category. We all need to get back to basics sometimes, and there are always useful tools and tips that other gardeners have developed along the way to add to your own practices.

Our Basics category can inspire you to new gardening heights, too. Those who have experience with in-ground planting can learn about other techniques such as raised beds or vertical gardening.

A potted flowering houseplant with tubular white and blue flowers grows under beginner-friendly grow lights.

Gardening Tips

A Beginner’s Guide to Grow Lights

Grow lights turn the darkest room into a tropical paradise! They’re essential for seed starting, winter houseplant care, and other fun horticultural activities. Keep one in storage—you’ll never know when you may need it. Longtime plant light user Jerad Bryant shares all you need to know to get started.

A red-leaved maple tree perfect for planting from bare root specimens

Gardening Inspiration

13 Trees You Should Buy Bare-Root

Bare-root trees perform well in the home garden! They’re easy to transplant, requiring less maintenance than their potted counterparts. Find them in fall or early spring while plants are dormant. Join native plant gardener Jerad Bryant in discovering the 13 trees you should buy bare-root.

A Korean spice viburnum shrub featuring clusters of white flowers among green foliage.

Gardening Tips

13 Shrubs You Should Buy Bare-Root

Bare-root shrubs lack all the dirt that container plants have around their roots! They’re free to grow, excelling quickly after planting in home gardens. Instead of waiting for leaves to emerge, splurge on these bare-root shrubs during winter to beat the spring rush.

Small, vibrant green sprouts with two rounded leaves emerging from dark soil in a black tray.

Gardening Inspiration

How to Cold Stratify Snapdragon Seeds

Snapdragons are excellent cool-weather perennials with the most enchanting flower spikes. They are great for the cutting garden or any sunny spot in the yard. Gardening expert Melissa Strauss discusses cold stratifying as it relates to these wonderful plants.

A pile of ripe Solanum lycopersicum ‘Italian Roma’ tomatoes with smooth, bright red skin and green stems still attached.

Seeds

15 Seeds to Plant in February

February is a good time in many places to get started with your spring seed starting. With final frost dates on the horizon, it's prime time to prep your plants for the spring vegetable garden. Join gardening expert Melissa Strauss for seeds you can start this February.

bowl of seeds soaking in water

Seeds

7 Tips for Faster Seed Germination

Ready to get your seeds started for spring planting? We have some great tips that will get them started faster and stronger than ever! Join gardening expert Melissa Strauss to talk about ways you can get your garden started in a hurry.

Close up of garden peas with vibrant green pods hanging from stems along with white flowers.

Seeds

13 Seeds You Should Wait to Start Until Late Spring

Are you looking for seeds to start in late spring? From summer harvests to avoiding frosts, there are several reasons why late spring is perfect for planting. In this article, horticulture expert Matt Dursum covers the seeds you should wait to start until late spring.