Learning about plant varieties
The best way to learn different plants is to go to your local nursery. My observation is 90%, if not more, of what you and your neighbours have in your yard is the same as what is available in your local nursery. If you go there a few times and spend time looking at the different names you will start to realise that the variety is not that large.
We have a huge nursery nearby and I would suggest they wouldn't have more than 100 "types" of plant e.g. grasses, fruit trees, regular trees (maples etc.), succulents, roses, azaleas, camellias etc. You only need to know these larger groupings to know how to care for your plants. Then once you are familiar with the larger groupings you can start to learn each variety e.g. within fruit there are oranges, apples, mandarins etc.
Basic needs
Most plants have very basic needs: food, water and sunlight.
If a plant is put in the right place you usually don't have to worry about food and sunlight and in most cases water.
The problem is if you bought a house which has a high maintenance garden. For example you have many flowering plants which are planted in a location where they get too much sunlight and require daily watering. In this case you will notice many thirsty plants wilting in the sunshine.
What can you do
The best thing you can do until you start to get the hang of it is to ensure your plants have enough water. If you notice water is pooling at the bottom of the plant and is still quite moist the next day, then hold off watering in that location. With a decent watering routine your garden should be able to stay in a reasonable condition.
Then start reading and learning.
After that you can start picking up some advanced techniques:
- Pruning
- Pest and disease control
- Mulching
- Feeding
