Gardening is a thing people have loved for hundreds of years. Some people do it as a hobby, while others do it to feed their family. This article brings more of the joy of horticulture to your life.

Find some plants that will give you a higher yield. A hybrid designed for your weather, and resistant to local diseases, will give a better yield than non-hybrids.

Start your seedlings in pots inside and then transplant them into your garden. Your plants will be more likely to mature this way. This is also a good way to tighten up your planting schedule. Your seedlings will be ready to go in as soon as you remove the previous set of mature plants.

Use both annuals and biennials to add a splash of color to your flower beds. By utilizing quick-growing biennials and annuals, not only will you be brightening up your flower bed, you can also alter its look each season and each year. They are very useful for filling in the gaps between perennials and shrubs in a sunny area. There are plenty of varieties including petunia, marigold, cosmos, sunflower, hollyhock, and rudbeckia.

Check the soil before you plant anything in your garden. You can actually get an analysis of soil for a little fee, and with the report you get back you can figure out how to create a vibrant garden by enriching it properly. Many offices of Cooperative Extension will do a soil analysis, and it is important to know how to improve soil so that all crops can grow in it.

When you are tending your garden in the fall, be on the alert for stink bugs. They like beans, peppers, tomatoes and many fruits. If you do not check, they do a lot of damage to plants so try to get rid of them if you can.

Set your mower blades higher, so you don’t cut the grass too short. If you leave your grass a bit longer, the roots can grow deeper. This results in a lawn that is stronger and less likely to dry out. If you have short grass, you will have short roots and you will dry out your grass.

Your vegetable garden should get at least six hours of sun daily. Most vegetables that can be grown need that much sun to grow well and quickly. This is true for flowers as well.

To help young plants, try pouring boiling water on top of nearby weeds. Water is cheaper than chemical herbicides, and less hazardous to humans and soil. One simple layer across the weeds with a pot of boiling water will take care of the problem, but you have to remember the same applies to your plants, as well. The weeds’ roots will be damaged by the boiling water; normally, this prevents them from continuing to grow.

Use natural pest control when possible. Planting marigolds or onions around the border of your vegetable garden will help repel slugs. Wood ash also makes a great insect deterrent; simply use it as mulch around your shrub and tree seedlings. These are methods you can use to get rid of the need to use pesticides.

Think about planting evergreen plants that will produce berries in the backyard. These evergreens will color your lawn, even when other flowers are not blooming. Some evergreens that will add life to your yard in the wintertime are the American Cranberrybush, Common Snowberry, Winterberry, and American holly.

To draw good insects to your garden, plant heather. Bees are naturally attracted to heather for its nectar. In addition, beds of heather are usually left alone. Because of this, insects that are good for your garden often make them a home, such as beetles or spiders. For this reason, you should always remember to put on your horticulture gloves when tending to your heather.

As we mentioned before, you can find much enjoyment in gardening, as people have done for centuries. Back in the day, horticulture was a necessary in order to survive. Now people either do it for necessity, pleasure, or to make some money. What you read here can make horticulture more pleasant for you. Have fun horticulture today!