Ready, set, get gardening

Are you the type of gardener who confuses dirt with topsoil, only to leave a trail of wilted flowers and less-than-edible vegetables in your wake?
While you might curse the fates for not blessing you with a green thumb, the experts would say you've got to take some of the blame. Truth be told, being a good gardener is more about attentiveness and less about preternatural horticultural abilities.
"If you're willing to pay attention and look at the plants instead of planting them and expecting them to grow, these are the people with green thumbs," said Trevor Cole, editor-in-chief of The Canadian Encyclopedia of Gardening (DK).
But you need to know what to look for. The first step, then, is to acquire some knowledge.
"You buy gardening books, you read gardening books, and you start small," advised Cole, who served as curator of the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa until his retirement in 1995. "More people get discouraged because they try to do a big garden, and they really don't know what it takes to keep it up."
Before you plant small you'll want to know what kind of soil you're dealing with.
"There are basic rules that apply wherever you happen to be," said Cole of Canada's diverse soil and climate conditions. "If you've got a clay soil you keep off it when it's wet and you try and improve the drainage." If the soil is sandy add humus, or compost, so that it retains moisture and nutrients.
And while generations of gardeners have strained their backs turning their plots with spades, the new wisdom is to leave the earth alone.
"I'm from that old school where you double dig everything, and that's a lot of work," said Aldona Satterthwaite, editor of Canadian Gardening. "Now what they're saying is just throw things on top, and the worms will pull it down into the earth."
Those things can include fish meal compost, aged manure and a little bit of bone meal. Keeping those materials above ground also helps to suppress weeds.
Now that the soil is ready, what to plant?
"If we're talking about people who just bought a new home and are concerned about their garden, I would leave it alone for 12 months," advises Satterthwaite. There might be plants hiding under the surface, waiting to spring vibrant colours upon an unsuspecting homeowner. "Stuff comes up, and you might inadvertently dig up perfectly good plants."
If you know what you've got, and it's time to spruce things up, go for a walk around the neighbourhood and take notes.
"See what other people are growing, and that will give you a clue about what might do well in your garden," said Satterthwaite.
And don't let geography stand in your way. While the most fertile land in Canada can be found in southern British Columbia and Ontario, nature finds a way in the most challenging of environments.
Upon inspecting a crooked carrot while visiting the botanical gardens in St. John's, Cole was told by the locals "that's all the soil we've got. When they hit the rock, they turn sideways." Despite Newfoundland's rocky foundation and a short growing season, people still manage to cultivate beautiful vegetable and flower gardens.
"Canadians, in particular, I think, are mad, crazy gardeners," said Satterthwaite. "They'll garden in any condition whatsoever."