Where do you even start if your dream is to turn that blank slate into a gorgeous garden? You’ve just moved into a new house. The keys are in your hands, you’re staring at your front door and also at a lot of lawn and maybe some unappealing landscaping. Good thing, plant friends, that I got to dive into this question with ecologist, writer, and new author Becky Searle (@sow_much_more), who just wrote Grow a New Garden! The book is all about how garden design can work with instead of against nature, so you can create the most low-maintenance, balanced garden possible. Let's get started!

 

In this episode, we learn:

• [02:49] How Becky’s background in ecology shaped her gardening style
• [03:45] Writing Grow a New Garden during lockdown
• [06:03] Becky's different homes and the changes to her garden
• [07:37] What’s the one rose that follows Becky to every home?
• [09:16] Propagating roses: soil vs. water cuttings
• [11:23] Native vs. diverse plantings: what really helps pollinators prosper?
• [12:47] Why is biodiversity important?
• [14:28] How I let nature lead instead of controlling it
• [15:24] Give your plants the best with Espoma Organic's chemical-free soils, fertilizers, and plant foods!
• [16:36] Move from overwhelm to action with the Square Foot Gardening Planner!
• [18:05] Why you shouldn’t design a garden like an interior space
• [19:09] How to survive the pest invasion phase?
• [20:46] What steps should you take to get your garden functioning as an ecosystem?
• [24:18] How to track light and shade before you plant
• [25:41] The LEGO hack to visualize sunlight throughout the year
• [27:25] What to build first? (sheds, ponds, greenhouses, and compost areas)
• [28:37] Why potted plants help you “test-drive” your design
• [29:39] How to choose the right plants for your soil, light, and climate
• [31:28] What are plant communities?
• [32:55] Becky’s favorite combo: rudbeckia, grasses, and alchemilla mollis
• [34:37] Common beginner mistakes in garden design
• [38:38] Where should you look for inspiration to design your garden? (beyond Pinterest)
• [40:46] Why talking to local gardeners beats Googling every question
• [42:16] Becky’s advice for first-time homeowners starting their first garden!
• [43:19] Where can you find Becky and her book Grow a New Garden?

 

 

 

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Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

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Gardening for the Ecosystem, Not Just Aesthetics

Becky doesn’t chase trends or Instagram-picture-perfect gardens. She’s all about building an ecosystem where she focuses on what works in the space: soil, light, plant life, and the wildlife that visits.

She finds it very exciting to provide a space where everybody’s welcome! She likes it to look nice, but that hinges on what the conditions of the garden are. Still her rule of thumb: to choose open-centered flowers and lots of different shapes for diversity. More biodiversity means more balance, fewer pests, and more time to simply enjoy your garden.

 

 

Starting Garden From Scratch: Where to Begin

So what do you do when you’ve got the keys to your new home and an empty yard?

Step 1: Test Your Soil

You need to understand what you’re working with before deciding what to plant. You can get a soil test through your local extension service or do a quick jar test with water, dish soap, and patience.

The worst thing is if you decide you're going to have a beautiful hydrangea hedge and you absolutely cannot grow hydrangeas because the soil is completely wrong or the climate is completely wrong. Where I live in Florida, my backyard is all sand! It's unbelievable, to the point that I'm going to grow in containers because I don't even want to deal with amending how much sand I have.

 

Step 2: Map Out Your Garden

Becky uses Google Maps. She zooms into her plot, prints it out, and sketches directly over it. She said that she doesn't have time to measure everything, so she “cheats.” But I'd call that a life hack!

 

Step 3: Think About How You'll Use Your Garden

Then think about how you’ll actually use your garden. Will it be a veggie patch, a play area for kids, or a peaceful flower retreat? If your husband likes barbecues and you’ve got six kids, you’re going to have to think about how to make everyone happy.

 

Step 4: Understand Your Sun and Shade (LEGO hack)

When you're thinking about these things, you need to think about where the light's coming in so that you can understand where the sun is going to be in your garden. And once again, I recommend people just grow in containers for their first year because you don't know the patterns yet.

Becky shares what she calls a LEGO hack. Basically, you borrow your child's (or husband’s) LEGOs and build a mini version of your garden, complete with fences and trees, then shine a flashlight over it to mimic the sun’s path. Then you will see where light and shade will fall.

 

Step 5: Remember You Can Change Your Mind

You can move things. If you're just planting perennials and small shrubs or annuals, you can move those. So if you're concerned about where you're going to put something large, absolutely place it in a pot so that you can get a feel for it.

 

 

The Rule of Threes: Making Your Garden Look Cohesive

When it comes to plants, Becky swears by buying at least three of everything because this is how you make it look natural.

You can create plant communities with 3 to 7 different plants that work well together, and then plant that same community over and over again in your bed. She called these “plant communities” or groups of species that grow well together.

For example, she loves combining Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm' with Pennisetum grasses (fountain grass) and Alchemilla mollis (Garden Lady's-mantle) for texture. Then she gradually switches to new combinations by swapping out one plant at a time.

 

 

Common Mistakes When Starting a New Garden from Scratch

• Buying one of everything: We’ve all done it. Going to the garden center and coming home with single specimens of plants we just couldn’t leave behind. Instead, pick your favorites and repeat them.
• Forgetting about seasonality: Make sure something is in bloom (or at least visually interesting) in every season, and don’t forget the foliage. Foliage provides the backbone that ties everything together.

 

 

Finding Inspiration and Why You Should Stay Local

Pinterest and Instagram are great, but local inspiration is even better. All you need to do is visit nearby botanical gardens, peek at your neighbors’ yards, and talk to local gardeners. For example, if you went to Florida for inspiration, you’d come home with so many ideas, but none of them would work if you live, for example, in the UK.

My most successful garden moments have come from chatting with local plant lovers, aka the neighbors who hand you cuttings over the fence, the elders who share what grows in your microclimate.

 

 

Start with Your Why

If you are looking at a new patch of lawn, if you are in a new property, give yourself time. Do your research. And Becky advises to just brainstorm first what you want to get out of the garden. What do you want from it? What would be your ideal situation? How are you enjoying that space? If you've got other members of your family, how are they enjoying the space?

As soon as you start thinking about how you're going to use the garden, it's inspiring. And it narrows down your choices somewhat so that it's not quite so daunting. Then hopefully, if your family are also going to get a really nice space out of it, they'll be willing to help.

 

 

 

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Grow a New Garden by Becky Searle

 

 

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Espoma Organic

Set yourself and your new garden up for success by using organic gardening products! Espoma Organic is dedicated to making safe indoor and outdoor gardening products for people, pets, and the planet. They have an amazing variety of high-quality, organic potting mixes, garden soil, fertilizers, and pest control products that are organic and eco-friendly. To top it all off, they have a huge sustainability commitment with a 100% solar-powered plant, zero waste manufacturing, and eco-friendly packaging.

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

Quarto: The Square Foot Gardening Planner

Starting a garden can feel overwhelming, but The Square Foot Gardening Planner helps turn that blank yard into a thriving, organized space. Created by the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, this three-year planner includes templates, logs, charts, and trackers to guide you through every stage of planting, growing, and harvesting. It’s designed for real action — with grids for layout planning, seed inventories, succession planting sections, and harvest journals to help you make the most of your space.

Pre-order The Square Foot Gardening Planner (coming October 21, 2025) at quarto.com or find it wherever you buy gardening books — and start transforming your blank space into a flourishing garden.

 

 

 

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