Easy gardening with Van Meuwen

When you're new to gardening it can be difficult to know where to start! There are lots of books and websites giving plenty of detailed advice - but sometimes that can be daunting in itself. So we thought we would put together a few easy gardening ideas to get you started as painlessly as possible!

The first step is to choose easy plants to grow!

It may be obvious, but trying to grow something difficult is a sure way to discourage you from gardening! It is better to start with plants which are easy to grow - you can always try more challenging varieties when you have a bit more experience. Throughout the website you will see varieties marked with this "Easy Gardening" symbol. You may want some bright and cheerful bedding plants for your borders, baskets and patio containers, some perennials which will come back year after year and even some fruit plants. With our recommendations and easy growing guides you can be confident of good results

Take a look at our Easy Gardening plant ranges:Top Ten Bedding Plants, Reliable Perennials and shrubs, Fruit Plants for Containers

Don't try to do too much at once

Start with one small area of your garden and a few plants - it is better to get one area right and then gradually take on more. You will learn as you go and your garden will get better and better! If you try to do too much at once it is easy to become overwhelmed with how much you have to do.

It is tempting to fill your garden with colourful annual bedding plants, but this can be expensive, a lot of work and you will have to do it all again next year! For an easy garden, it is better to have a balance of different plants: Â? Plant evergreen shrubs to provide interest in winter and a background to more colourful plants; Â? Add perennials and bulbs which will come back every year - saving a lot of planting; Â? Use annual bedding plants in flower beds and containers to provide a bit more colour through spring and summer.

Planting up a hanging basket can give an impressive display - see our useful guide to get you started

Grow your own

Growing your own fruit and vegetables can be very satisfying - a delicious reward for all your hard work! And you don't need lots of space - potatoes are easy vegetables to grow, and fruit plants, both of which can be grown in containers on the patio too. See our guides:How to grow potatoes and How to grow fruit on the patio

Food and water

To give your plants the best chance of success you will need to feed them - our guide and video tells you about the different types of fertiliser and how to use them. Watering is always important - most plants prefer to be in moist (but not waterlogged ) soil or compost and not allowed to dry out. This is especially important for plants in containers, which will need watering everyday in warm weather.

A picture paints a thousand words!

It's always better to be shown how to do something rather than just being told, so we have produced a great range of helpful video guides to help you on your way.

How you will receive your plants

We supply our plants in different forms as appropriate for the variety - ranging from small plug plants to large pots. You can find out more about how you will receive your plants here: How we send your plants

Most of our bedding varieties are supplied as plug plants - baby plants which are ready to grow strongly once you have potted or planted them. Take a look at our guide and video how to grow plug plants

Perennial plants are often supplied as bareroots or in pots. See our guide How to grow perennial plants