Most people begin gardening by mimicking their neighbors. Mrs. Jones plants impatiens--you plant impatiens. Hers live—yours die. You think to yourself, "I have a black thumb." And at this point you may want to concede defeat. However, this is not the time to give up. It’s just that the reality hasn’t crossed your mind that maybe you have planted the right plant in the wrong place. Just cheer up and follow my three simple rules.

Rule number one
Plant the right plant in the right spot.

Rule number two
Water! Watering is a balancing act between watering enough to fully saturate the roots and over-watering, drowning the plant.

Rule number three
Simply add fertilizer. Use a bit of granular fertilizer to prevent shock from the initial transplanting when you bring your new plant home. To help the plant recover transplanting and to encourage future flowering use water-soluble fertilizer every seven days.

Now that you understand the importance of these three simple rules to gardening, the next step is planning.