Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Advice For Beginner Gardeners

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There are few better hobbies than gardening. Gardening allows you to improve your living space, be outside enjoying the sunshine and fresh air without leaving your home, and it is an active and rewarding hobby. These are just a few of the main benefits of gardening as a hobby, but it is also something that can be challenging to get started with. Therefore, it is helpful to be aware of a few tips that will help you to get started with gardening and hopefully allow you to enjoy these many benefits. Keep reading to find out a few handy tips for beginner gardeners.

Create A Plan

Before you get started, it is important to get to know your garden and then plan how you want to use it. You need to know important factors like areas that get the most (and least) sun, what direction it faces, and the type of soil that you have, just as a few important factors. With this information, you can then create a floor plan for your garden and figure out what to plant and where and how to really make the most out of the space.

Learn How To Plant & Nurture Plantlife

Gardening is all about knowledge, so you need to make sure that you know how to plant and look after different types of plant life to make sure that they grow properly. Fortunately, the internet is a brilliant resource for gardeners as you can find out how to grow just about anything online with various different websites, blogs, and podcasts. Additionally, you might find it helpful to join online communities where you can get advice, ask questions and engage with other gardeners.

Protect Yourself

When you start spending a lot more time outside and in the sun, it is important that you protect yourself. Being outside is good for you in many ways, but there are dangers, so you should always wear sunscreen, try to avoid spending too long in the sun, and wear UV contact lenses. UV contact lenses will protect your eyes from harmful UV rays and prevent you from needing to wear glasses, which will often fall off when gardening.

Start Off Small

As with any home improvement project, people often get over excited and bite off more than they can chew when it comes to gardening. Instead, you need to start off small by simply working on one area at a time. This will make it much easier to manage, help you to stay organized, and gradually improve your garden. You also need to avoid overdoing it as gardening can be physically demanding and tiring, so taking regular breaks is important.

These tips should come in handy for anyone that is looking to start gardening as a hobby. Gardening can improve your home and your life in many ways, but it is also a hobby that can be tricky to get started with, and you will want to know these basic tips before you begin.

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Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.