A garden supply store is a haven for finding the right tools and materials for your gardening projects. Once you have some idea of what you want to achieve, it’s time to visit the garden supply store to get inspired and acquire what you’ll need to make it happen. Here’s a guide for selecting the right seasonal materials at a garden supply store in the State College and Harrisburg, PA areas.

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Observe Your Garden

You may know it well, but getting to know your garden area better could help your ability to improve it. Take notes throughout the day and see which areas receive sun and for roughly how long. Try to remember how much sun exposure that area had during the early spring and late autumn. Sun exposure is one of the ways you’ll know which species to plant in which location.

Likewise, become acquainted with the level of moisture in the soil in various parts of your garden. You can easily tell this during the winter and spring by seeing which areas retain snow much longer. Drier areas tend to have much different environments than where the soil is moist. This factor, combined with sun exposure, can tell you volumes about how your garden can spring to life.

Prioritize Native Plants

The plants that are native to Central Pennsylvania are much better suited for the weather and seasonal changes of our region. Their evolution has placed them at a superior position to more exotic plants. While exotics might be gorgeous and famous for their beauty, they typically require far more maintenance and care than their native counterparts. You don’t want to be agonizing over a plant that doesn’t belong. You can find many native plant varieties that will give your landscape close to as much color, fragrance, and beauty as exotics.

Encourage Pollinators

The healthiest gardens tend to attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. A wide range of flowers are attractive to these essential species, which can diversify and strengthen the plants in your garden and the surrounding area. Many shrubs and trees are flowering, too. Plant these at the backs of your garden areas to give plenty of shade for some groundcover plants. Creating many layers of flowers can keep your neighboring pollinators busy and your garden bright and flourishing.

Encourage Diversity

Flowering plants and their gorgeous colors don’t need to be the complete focus of your garden. The healthiest gardens often have a wide range of plants with different purposes and restrictions, and they all work in a biological symbiosis. Trees and shrubs provide shade and help trap moisture for nearby plants. Meanwhile, the groundcover plants help encourage a healthy, pest-free environment. Many commonly used fruits and vegetables can be grown in your garden, too, and they provide some nutritious sustenance, but also the pride of growing your own delicious food.

Pay Attention to Seasonal Suggestions

The experts at your local garden supply store are well-equipped to give you the right suggestions about what you should plant in your garden and when you should plant them. Some plants take to the soil first thing in the spring while others are better suited to join your garden during the heat of summer or in the cooldown of fall.

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