Philadelphia Backyard Gardening: How to Start with Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, and Herbs at Home in Pennsylvania

When it comes to gardening, you must figure out how to give your plants just the correct amount of water, sunshine, and healthy soil to help them flourish. It is also about giving in to your passions, so choose plants you are enthusiastic about. If you utilize these resources as a starting point, you’ll have a stunning garden in no time. Because there is such a large amount of work involved in efficiently starting and maintaining a garden, inexperienced gardeners are sometimes daunted by the process.

Various gardening topics are covered, including how to improve your soil with organic matter and how to prune bushes. Below you will learn about Philadelphia backyard gardening, climate and USDA hardiness zones of Philadelphia, a complete guide to starting a backyard garden in Philadelphia, when to start planting in Philadelphia, and about different vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs that can be grown in the backyards of Philadelphia.

How is the climate, and what are the USDA hardiness zones of Philadelphia?

The city of Philadelphia is situated within the 7A and 7B hardiness zones. Going to the webpage for the hardiness zone map maintained by the USDA and entering your zip code into the search field provided there is the most effective method for determining your hardiness zone. In Hardiness Zone 7b, temperatures range from 5 to 10 degrees F.

During the winter, the temperature can drop to as low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Continental weather prevails in Philadelphia year-round, with frigid winters and warm summers. Around 90 kilometers (55 miles) between New York City and Washington, the state’s capital, and the Atlantic Ocean. Philadelphia is situated in a region referred to as the Delaware Valley, and it is surrounded on three sides by rivers: Delaware, the Schuylkill, and the Wissahickon.

The city’s location in the Delaware Valley and its proximity to three rivers contribute to the city’s high humidity level, particularly noticeable during the warmer months. A humid subtropical climatic zone covers much of the city’s northern perimeter. Still, the Trewartha climate classification classifies the city as having a temperate marine climate constrained to the north by the continental climate.

Summers are frequently hot and humid, autumn and spring are normally warm, and winter is relatively chilly. Temperature extremes of 0 to 10 °F (-18 to -12 °C) correspond to the plant hardiness zones 7a and 7b, respectively. It’s not uncommon for winter snowfall to range widely, from a dusting to a foot or more in some years. 22.4 inches (57 cm) of seasonal snowfall is typical, with occasional snowfalls between November and April but no lasting snow cover.

During the winters of 1972–73 and 2009–10, seasonal snowfall accumulations varied from trace amounts to 78.7 inches (200 cm). Seventy-eight centimeters of snow fell in a single storm in January 1996, the most ever recorded in the city. The average annual precipitation is 44.1 inches (1,120 mm) and occurs across eight to eleven rainy days each month, ranging from 29.31 inches to 64.33 inches in 2011.

At Philadelphia International Airport, 8.02 inches of rain fell in a single day in past. The city of Philadelphia has a climate that is considered to be fairly sunny, with an annual average of 2,498 hours of sunlight and a percentage of sunshine that ranges from 47% in December to 61% in June, July, and August.

Philadelphia Backyard Gardening: A step-by-step guide to starting a backyard garden in Philadelphia

Choose the correct location in your backyard

Growing plants in your own house or garden benefits you and your community and can help minimize the amount of carbon imprint you leave behind. There are many ways to grow crops at home, from a single pot on your balcony to a whole garden. Pick the most suitable place for your garden, which is close to your house and offers convenient access.

Your family’s and your community’s dietary requirements and the amount of space and time you have available for gardening will determine the size of the garden you plant this year. Map out the intended location on grid paper and sketch it to scale. Ensure that the location is exposed to the sun for a minimum of six and a maximum of eight hours every day. Full sun is best for all plants. Root and leafy crops can survive under shaded conditions.

When growing a large number of plants, not getting enough sunshine might make disease issues worse. Place plants that will be trellised or very tall on the north side of the bed so they won’t shade the shorter plants. Ensure that there is an accessible and sufficient water supply in the neighborhood of your garden. Choose a spot that is level and with soil that drains properly. To raise the soil quality and increase crop yields, it can be improved by adding compost or some other kind of organic matter.

Plant spacing should be based on the mature plant’s size; the leaves should only be touching when two plants are placed side by side. Most plants have a broad window of opportunity within which they can be planted. After you have harvested the first crop, you should start additional plantings.

Select the right plants for your backyard

Because plants develop slower and harvests are less frequent in the autumn and winter, you should sow twice as much as you would in the spring and summer. Make a point of growing foods that everyone in your household enjoys, and make sure to plant enough of each. Choose kinds that are resistant to disease. Think about when the plant will mature and how much it will develop compared to the available area.

Make sure that the types you choose are suited to the climate in which you live. To find new favorites, try a few different kinds of plants. If your crop has a limited harvest season, you can stagger harvests by planting it more than once or using different types. When planting in the spring at intervals of three weeks apart, the harvest will be delayed by about two weeks.

Short-season crops may need replanting after the first harvest, so keep this in mind while planning your garden. Compared to transplants, seed-grown plants need an additional 4 to 6 weeks of maturation. You should begin seedlings four to six weeks before the target planting date if you wish to grow your transplants. Prevent soilborne pests by not repeating a crop in the same location for more than two years.

Tomatoes, maize, beans, and squash can be included in a four-year cycle. It is best to plant perennials from the areas where annual vegetables are grown and harvested more often. The most efficient use of space is to grow plants. Grow vertically on trellises if you don’t have a lot of room, or choose kinds that don’t become too big.

Prepare the soil in the selected spot

Plants need 6-8 hours of daily sun to grow. If you have a lot of room in your yard, you should look for an area with a lot of sunshine throughout the day. Drive garden pegs into the corners of your yard whenever you locate an area you like. At least 40–50 square feet should be the minimum size of your vegetable garden so that you can grow various crops. Soak the soil for 8–10 inches (20–25 cm) to loosen it.

Dig a hole eight to ten inches deep into the earth using a straight spade or a shovel. You should flip the soil over so the topsoil is at the bottom of the plot. When all the plot’s soil has been loosened, break up any large clumps of soil that may have remained in the soil. Grass or sod should be removed from your plot before you begin to loosen the soil. If you need to loosen the soil rapidly, consider using a motorized tiller or cultivator. Equipment rentals are available at many hardware and landscaping businesses daily.

Protect your hands from soil and plants by wearing gardening gloves. Squeeze a handful of soil firmly between your palms. When squeezed forcefully, the soil should crumble into a loose ball. As a general rule, if the soil hardens into a ball, you have clay soil, which is too dense for plants to thrive. The soil is too sandy if it cannot be rolled into a ball. Gardeners should conduct soil tests in several areas of their plots since the soil composition might change.

Three weeks before you want to plant, amend the soil. The best time to grow plants is when the soil has had time to absorb nutrients. At least three weeks before you want to plant, turn the soil so the topsoil is at the bottom. For your plants to establish strong roots, ensure that the soil clods are all the same.

If you have time, improve the soil in autumn or winter before planting. Clay soil can benefit from adding gypsum mineral, which helps loosen it. On a 100-square-foot garden plot, add 3–4 pounds of gypsum. Combine gypsum using your shovel or spade. Gypsum is sold at the garden and home improvement stores. Use gypsum on sandy soils solely to make them looser. Compost up to 10 cm to amend sandy soil or reduce pH.

Adding manure or compost to your soil can help replenish its nutrient supply and lower its pH level. In addition to helping your plants stay healthy, compost may aid improve drainage in any soil. Compost should be applied to the soil and mixed in with a shovel. If you want to go further, you can add two inches. Compost can be purchased from gardening supply shops or made at home.

Don’t put meat or animal items in your compost bin since this might harm your veggies. After adding compost or manure, test your soil’s pH to see whether it needs extra additions. Fertilize soil to provide nutrients. Using an NPK fertilizer, you can ensure that your plants get the necessary nutrients. If your area is 100 square feet, add 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of 10-10-10 fertilizer. Before planting your plants, incorporate the fertilizer into the soil. You risk weakening your plants by applying fertilizer to soil already rich in nutrients.

Plant your backyard garden

Plants that thrive in colder climates, like pansies and kale, can be put in the ground in the fall or even toward the end of winter. Most annual flowers need warm weather, so wait until the risk of frost has gone before planting them. The middle of the spring and the middle of the fall are both appropriate periods to plant perennials. Many types of annuals are simple to grow from seed that is planted straight in the garden.

Make sure you read the seed packaging to find out when to plant the seeds, how deep to put them, and how far apart they should be. Seeds can be started inside a few weeks before the last frost date if you’re a curious newbie. Garden centers often have seed-starting soil mixtures and specialized pots or flats explicitly built to grow seedlings. If you don’t take the proper care of the seeds and seedlings, they might decay if they don’t get enough moisture but not enough.

Purchasing young plants, sometimes known as set plants or transplants, can make establishing your garden much simpler. Following the directions on the tag, dig holes in the bed that you have prepared. To remove the plants from the container, start at the bottom and work your way up. Before placing the plant in the hole, use your fingers or an old fork to untangle some of the outside roots if the roots have developed into a large ball. This condition is known as being root-bound. First, the earth should be patted around the roots, and water should be soaked into the soil.

Water your backyard garden

Water early in the morning. This prevents water loss and allows the leaves to dry before sundown, preventing disease development. The temperatures that range from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit are optimal for the growth of fungal diseases, and the fungi only need two to four hours of exposure to warm, wet environments to begin their development. One must water thoroughly and sparingly, but not too often.

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Philadelphia Backyard Gardening — Image Source

As far as the soil is moist to the base of the shovel, just water enough to pass the shovel test. You’re also wasting water if the water is dripping. Wide watering bowls assist in direct water to the roots of plants. Applying water to the soil in an organized manner reduces the amount of runoff that would otherwise be produced. Spraying using sprinklers can result in runoff and evaporation losses beyond the plant’s region of application.

Drip watering systems provide water evenly and slowly to the plant’s root zone, ensuring that the plant receives almost all of the water applied. Due to the tendency of emitters or drip holes to get clogged with microscopic particles or salts found in the water supply, drip water systems should use affordable cartridge-type filters. From basic perforated tubing and soaker hoses to high-tech self-cleaning emitters, drip irrigation systems come in various forms.

There are three soil types: sandy, loamy, and clay and the depth of water that may be absorbed by one inch of water depends on the density of the clay. Most plants’ roots are 2-12 inches deep, but bigger plants like tomatoes may have roots that extend 3 feet deep. Clay soil can be watered deeply for two to three days since it is so compact. If the soil’s pore spaces are filled with too much water, the roots will be drowned out.

Don’t stroll across your garden after watering to avoid compacting the soil. Paths should be made using stepping stones and either straw or mulch. Plant health may be maintained by weekly overhead watering to keep leaves clean, but you should never put your foot inside a growing area.

Plastic bottles can be reused as drip watering containers by recycling them. Reduce their size by removing the bottom third of the plant. Then apply water and fertilizer to the top third of the plant before burying it. If you want to water your plants thoroughly, be sure you bury your gallon and 5-gallon containers nearly entirely to their rims; add a shovelful of manure or compost every time you water.

Fertilize your backyard garden

Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for plants. Organic fertilizers and inorganic chemical fertilizers are both available. Often, combining the two methods yields better results than using just one on its own does. In low concentrations, organic fertilizers usually supply several mineral elements required for plants and some nonfertilizer chemicals that help improve soil structure.

Apply manure weeks or months before planting and work it deeply into the soil to enable decomposition and salt leaching before sowing or transplanting. In most cases, one pound of a dry steer or dairy manure per square foot of soil surface is adequate. Avoid overdosing your plants with chicken manure, which has a higher concentration.

Using manure that includes litter, you should apply commercial nitrogen fertilizer to promote breakdown and prevent tying up soil nitrogen. Many different chemicals and concentrations are available in chemical fertilizers. Only inorganic nitrogen fertilizer will be required if you treat the soil with manure or other organic components. Ammonium sulfate is the most frequent and least priced nitrogen fertilizer used in a home garden.

Apply no more than 1 pound of fertilizer per 100 square feet of land. Pre-planting nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization, such as ammonium phosphate, is often recommended without organic matter amendment. 5-10-5, 5-10-10, 8-16-16, and 12-12-12 are common potassium-containing inorganic fertilizers on the market today. Per 100 square feet, use 1 to 2 pounds of product. The second fertilizer application should be made once the seedlings or plants have reached a height of three to four inches.

Fertilizer is often required for crops that develop for more than four months if manure is not used. You can apply fertilizer by scattering it throughout an area or placing it in a narrow band buried along the plant or seed row. After applying it, quickly rake the soil and hydrate the area thoroughly. All that’s needed for regular water to dissolve the fertilizer is banding.

Pest and disease management for your backyard garden

Your backyard garden should limit how much damage your plants can sustain before you feel the need to intervene. Just how much damage can the plants endure before you have to take action to reduce their population? How much yield can you sacrifice? This capacity for tolerance varies greatly from one individual to the next. Some gardeners can’t take the sight of even a single bug or blemish on a leaf, while others make it a habit to grow more than necessary to compensate for the inevitable losses.

Start with the least damaging activity possible, such as splashing pests with jets of water. If the issue continues, more damaging measures, such as using pesticides with a restricted range of activity for specific issues, should be used. If you don’t do these intermediate procedures first, you’ll kill beneficial insects and pests with the same “one-spray kills all” strategy. When you need pesticides to control insects, your first choice should be one of the less toxic insecticides listed below.

These insecticides cause few injuries to people and organisms other than the target pest. Always examine the product labels to ensure that the product is registered for the plant or insect problem you are dealing with. Insecticidal soaps are effective against aphids, whiteflies, and mites; they are packaged in spray bottles that are simple to apply; they need the total covering of the pests; and, in some cases, they need to be applied more than once.

Whiteflies, mealybugs, Aphids, spider mites, scale insects, spider mites, psyllids, lace bugs, and thrips may all be eradicated with insecticidal oils. It is necessary to have a sufficient covering of plants. Do not apply when temperatures are over 90 degrees Fahrenheit or to plants experiencing water stress. Products such as superior, supreme, limited range, and horticulture oils are examples of oils made from petroleum.

When to start planting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

Philadelphia is a great spot to grow your food. Vegetables can grow in a Philadelphia garden. A longer growing season is ensured by the city’s location in USDA Zone 7, according to the USDA. In most years, the final frost occurs in April, whereas the first frost normally occurs in late October or early November.

Generally speaking, the latest frost date in the downtown region is April 20. The farther you are from Center City, the later you will see your last frost. When designing a Philadelphia garden, timing is crucial. Peas, for example, need a head start, while tomatoes and peppers must wait for warmer temps before growing properly.

Spring planting

Cool-weather plants should be planted in the ground in the early spring, between the middle of March and the beginning of April. Many of these plants can be grown directly from seed, so you don’t have to bother starting them inside and then transferring them. Turnips, fava beans, Peas, and cabbage are among the best to plant around the middle of March in the Midwest.

In late March, plant any carrots, radish, or lettuce you want to grow. You can sow new seeds every two weeks or so until the middle of May to boost your crop since these veggies grow swiftly and can survive higher temperatures than peas or fava beans. Late March and early April are the best times to plant greens like spinach and chard.

Work in the garden in Philadelphia can start as soon as there is no longer a danger of frost setting in. It’s best to plant your tomatoes, peppers, and other hot-weather crops in the late spring. Cucumbers, Summer and winter squash, and melons can all be grown from seed in early May. Squash, cucumbers, and melons can take up a lot of room in a backyard garden.

Eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers should be transplanted into the garden around the middle of May. Transplant your indoor seedlings, or buy some from a nursery to plant in the backyard or a container. You have a few choices. If you don’t get your summer vegetables planted in the ground by the end of May, you still have time to do it safely and have them ready for harvest in the summer.

Fall planting

Consider the latter part of summer a second chance to eat all those spring vegetables. You can safely plant cold-season crops in your garden when the weather begins to chill. Begin sowing a second crop of carrots, radishes, and chard in July. They prefer colder temperatures but can withstand a small amount of heat.

Lettuce and peas can once again be planted now that the heat of the summer is starting to fade. The soil temperature must be below 80 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate lettuce seeds. Cold-loving greens like mustard and kale are best planted in August and September.

Top vegetables to grow in Philadelphia’s backyards

It is possible to grow a diverse range of veggies in Philadelphia’s backyards, such as tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, broccoli, swiss chard, radishes, turnips, onions, beets, celery, squash, peppers, eggplants, rhubarb, asparagus, okra, and other vegetables.

Cucumbers: If you have a vegetable garden, now is an excellent time to sow the seeds for your cucumbers. Simply press 2 or 3 cucumber seeds into an inch of soil, maintaining a distance of 18 to 36 inches between each planting. The seedlings will emerge from the earth within a few short days if the soil is warm and sufficiently wet. Once your cucumbers are mature enough for harvesting, you can prepare a brine and your very own pickles on your own!

Tomatoes: During May through August, tomato plants have a good chance of flourishing in the garden in Pennsylvania. They like a great deal of sunshine and a respectable quantity of water. Build a fence or grow your plants in an enclosed area to avoid bugs and wildlife from eating your produce.

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Peppers: Both sweet and spicy bell peppers are simple to grow and provide very few challenges in the garden. Because peppers spread out, they only need to be spaced about 18 inches apart when planted, and they need between 6 and 8 hours of sunshine every day. If you want a good harvest of peppers from your garden this summer, water them right after planting and consistently throughout the season.

Beans: In Pennsylvania, this is the best time to plant green beans since the soil has warmed up and the risk of frost is over. Planting green beans in the ground require just a little effort and should be done around one inch deep. As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to plant around 10 to 15 green bean plants for every person living in your family while you are doing your gardening. You can pick some from the garden when they are ready and have a delicious side dish with your meal.

Lettuce: Lettuce is a wonderful plant for the yard, but it can also thrive when grown in a container. It has a shallow root system. It is ideal for those who like fresh vegetables but do not have enough room to store it.

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Top fruits to grow in Philadelphia’s backyards.

It is possible to grow a diverse range of fruits in Philadelphia’s backyards, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, pawpaw, mulberries, persimmons, figs, apricots, cherries, chestnuts, and other fruits.

Figs: This may seem to be a strange place to begin. Isn’t figs a beautiful fruit? Also, in our local hardiness zone 7, they’re doing as a plant. You’re not alone if you have a ficus tree in your living room. That’s a fig tree, but it’s one that rarely bears fruit in an indoor environment.

If you want to grow your own luscious, jammy figs in your backyard, Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ is a proven self-pollinating cultivar that requires just a few easy conditions. Some shade but full sun is ideal for this plant. If the weather has been dry, you’ll need to top-dress with extra compost each year. Impress your friends by eating fresh or dried figs!

Blueberry: What could be more enjoyable than going blueberry picking in your backyard? If you have a raised bed and gather them together instead of spreading them out, you’ll receive a greater harvest. You’ll also obtain more fruit if you grow more than one kind since cross-pollination will help you acquire more fruit.

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Blueberries thrive in acidic soil. If the soil in your garden is too alkaline, you may make it more acidic by using pine needles and pine bark. Pinch off blossoms and fruit in the first year to stimulate root development. You may wish to cover your mature harvest with netting to deter hungry birds.

Strawberries: They’re a breeze to do and quite gratifying. Burpee, a local gardening goliath, is your best bet if you’re in the market for some new plants. Regular watering is necessary since they have shallow roots, and the most prolific types, dubbed “June-bearers,” yield their fruits in early July. When it comes to long-lasting and day-neutral types that produce for a longer period, they are less productive. Again, keep your eyes peeled for birds.

Apples: Okay, so a real tree is the only option! Did you know there are three different sizes of fruit trees? Dwarf plants are best for a city garden. Remember to consider pollination while planting, and seek trees that have many types grafted onto their trunks.

All of these fruits thrive in direct sunshine. However, you’ll have to trim and fertilize if you decide to go this way. If you want to take your apple tree to the next level of sophistication, you can train it to grow in an espalier pattern against a wall or fence.

Citrus: Overwatering will result in yellowing and dropping of the leaves. A citrus fertilizer should be used every month, and you should also be on the lookout for spider mites and scale insects. These pests leave behind a substance known as “honeydew,” which causes the leaves to become glossy and sticky.

Indoors and out, we need plenty of sunshine. With a little work, you can have lime gin rickeys for everyone! The seedlings of citrus trees may be grown as a pleasant hobby for children to participate in at home.

Top flowers to grow in Philadelphia’s backyards.

It is possible to grow a diverse range of flowers in Philadelphia’s backyards, such as roses, lantanas, petunias, phlox, black-eyed Susans, white morning glory, orange daylily, beard tongue, and other flowers.

Black-eyed Susans: Long-blooming perennial black-eyed Susans are simple to grow and can remain in bloom for up to two months. It has a propensity to spread, so you will either need to give it some space or spend a lot of effort moving it away from the other plants in your garden. As a rule of thumb, Rudbeckia is a 2-foot plant that blooms from mid-summer to the autumn. Sunlight is ideal, but some shadow is tolerated. One of my favorites in a spot where it can take over, but it requires some attention if it is near other plants.

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Phlox: Phlox’s newer cultivars are much superior to older types in disease resistance. Rhododendron phlox has upright stems that reach 2 to 3 feet in height and huge, showy flower heads. There are many colors to choose from, lasting for weeks in the summer. Among summer perennials, phlox is one of the most eye-catching. It’s essential to get a disease-resistant variety of the plant. Phlox thrives best when placed in direct sunlight.

White morning glory: It is a tangled vine with leaves ranging in length from 2-4 inches. The white blooms, violet, and pink are shown singly on the vine. Floral arrangements are arranged in a funnel shape on long stock. Flowers bloom for approximately 2-3 months, from the middle of summer to the end of autumn, and they typically open in the morning. The aroma of the blossoms is scarcely discernible. A capsule holding two seeds is formed as the blooms fade away. Self-seeding plants produce dark brown or black seeds.

Orange daylily: The five-inch tawny orange blooms of the Orange Daylily open for just one day. Deadheads that have spent their lives on the plant seem cleaner. It thrives in various soils, humidity levels, and summer temperatures. Divide the clusters when they become too big. These indigenous are devoid of pests, grow swiftly, and are simple to maintain.

Beardtongue: Two white, tubular blooms with two mouths on top are arranged in panicles on tall, inflexible stems. Root rot can develop if the soil is too moist or poorly drained, but the disease or insect issues associated with Beardtongue are non-existent. In rare cases, it can also be affected by leaf spots.

Top herbs to grow in Philadelphia’s backyards

It is possible to grow a diverse range of herbs in Philadelphia’s backyards, such as thyme, oregano, lavender, rosemary, mint, basil, sage, chives, and other herbs.

Basil: One of the simplest plants to grow, basil thrives outdoors and inside. To germinate seeds, you can start them inside or outside after the risk of frost has gone. Additionally, established seedlings bought from a garden store can be planted. Keep pinching off the plant’s growing tip to encourage bushier growth and avoid woody stems. Pinch off the basil plants’ leaves six weeks after being planted. When coupled with tomatoes, basil is an excellent ingredient in many gourmet creations.

Oregano: Oregano grows well in poor soil and is perennial. Starting oregano from seed or split is possible. Trim plant stems to promote fresh growth. Pick oregano leaves as required, or store them in a jar for later use. In Italian cuisine, oregano is widely used to flavor pizza and tomato sauce.

Thyme: The ease with which it may be grown, the fact that it can live for many years, and the rapidity with which it can spread make thyme a popular herb. Seeds or cuttings can be used to grow plants. Thyme doesn’t need fertilizer or frequent watering.

Mint: Mint is a fast-spreading perennial that thrives in both full sun and partial shade. Mint can be produced from seed or cuttings, although many prefer to buy mature plants from garden shops. Remove the leaves by pinching them off. Various meals and beverages may be flavored using tea leaves.

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Sage: There are two ways to grow sage: seed or cutting. Perennial, it may grow to a height of several feet and has a propensity to spread rapidly. Place the container or garden in an area that receives full light. Before or during blossoming is the optimal time to harvest leaves for the finest flavor. Trim the sprigs of herb once it has bloomed. As a spice, sage is often used to enhance the taste of meats like chicken and pork.

Conclusion

When a crop is ready to be harvested, look for signs such as carrots sticking out of the soil or lettuce that can be picked and left to grow again for future harvest. Tomatoes can be harvested when they are fully ripe and readily detached from the stem. Harvesting is ideal during the early morning hours when the dew has evaporated but the midday heat hasn’t yet set in. Soil, plants, growth techniques, and weather conditions all play a role in a gardener’s success. Growing native species is a good start for beginners before moving on to more complex approaches.