Gardening brings natural beauty and enjoyment to life

When all of campus goes up in bloom, students wanting to get in on the action should just go home.

That's right. Go home, find some worms and soil, and start a garden.

Now is the time for student gardeners to start thinking about preparing for a profitable growing season, though Mark Hodesh, owner of Downtown Home and Garden, cautioned against getting too used to the recent warmth.

"We are still on the front edge of the season. There is still some cool weather moving in," he said.

But as April begins, student gardeners should start thinking about getting ready for another profitable growing season.

EMILY NATHAN/Daily Gardening can reap many rewards when beautiful blossoms such as this enhance the enjoyment of nature.

Most flowers require at least some consistent warmth and sunshine, so choosing the right starting time is crucial. Hodesh suggested making sure you can "work the soil," as this is a test most experienced gardeners perform to make sure the soil is not too cold and hardened to host plants and flowers.

In the meantime, would-be gardeners should begin making appropriate plans to make the most of the space set aside for gardening. One of the best ways to go about doing this is by speaking with a professional horticulturist, who can often be found at any garden store or nursery.

Christopher Turner, owner of Turner's Greenhouses and Garden Center in Dexter, suggested being prepared to answer questions regarding the size of the area you are going to garden and whether it is sunny or shady. Turner also said gardeners should be ready to honestly answer the question, "How many beers do you normally dump in your bushes and lawns a day?" All of these things effect the kind of things that will be able to grow well in a garden.

OK, so the planning is done and you are way too excited about starting your garden to wait until May 14 when the weather is traditionally more stable to start planting your perennials. Don't panic, you still have some options. Vegetable gardens, for example, are a perfect way to begin the season. Leaf crops such as radishes, carrots, onion sets and seed potatoes can be planted just as soon as the soil is loose.

Richard Tuttle, owner of the Saguro Rare Plant Nursery in White Lake, suggested beginning a vegetable garden with sweet peas. "Sweet peas can deal with the cold, which makes this plant the perfect one to begin the spring with," he said.

For those who are still too nervous to begin planting outside, Tuttle suggested getting started with cell packs, which can be purchased at any nursery or garden supply store. These test-tube-shaped containers let gardeners begin to plant without their seeds having to face a frosty fate. Later, when all signs of frost disappear, the growth can be transplanted from the cell packs into the appropriate place in the garden.

Many students in apartments and in homes without yards face a big problem if they wish to start their own gardens. Turner suggested making use of window boxes, which take up no space and are relatively inexpensive.

If using window boxes to maintain your garden, it is crucial to have an idea of the space required for the kind of vegetables you want to grow. For example, Turner said that "one tomato plant requires a 3-foot-square area," obviously making such a plant a ridiculous choice for a window box. Herbs seem to be the more appropriate choice for window boxes, because you can squeeze five or six different varieties into the same space needed for one small tomato plant.

Hanging plants are yet another alternative to deal with the space issue. Tuttle has found "an increase in students filling indoor space with plants to get through the Michigan winters, bringing us back to trends of the mid-70s." This may be the best bet for students not into getting down in the dirt.

Even flowers that require little pruning (such as begonias, impatiens, petunias and marigolds) require love and attention from their owners. Gardeners should choose a nice sunny slot they will be able to keep an eye on all summer.

The many benefits of gardening are well-documented. Hodesh said, "It makes you feel great. You can put your hands in the dirt - the sun is out and the birds are chirping." Tuttle described gardening as "the best counterpoint to indoor, high-stress jobs. It's therapeutic."

If you have the time, space, energy and commitment to grow your own garden, the psychological and physical benefits of this endeavor will quickly become evident, experts say. The best way to ensure that you will be a gardener for life "is to have good results," Turner said.

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