Plan and Prepare

Step 1: Plan Your Landscape

Plan the Landscape You’ve Always Wanted

The Denton County Master Gardeners have created the Gardening Basics series to help you start and also move forward on a broad range of topics. Each of our guides provides you with quick, easy-to-implement information so you can take action right away. We will continue to create additional documents on familiar and new topics.
A raised bed garden built to a height of three feet and surrounded by a walkway to better accommodate gardeners in wheelchairs or who have a difficult time bending over.

Accessible Gardens

Accessible gardens are designed to eliminate barriers, allowing people of all ages and abilities to come together to garden. Our Gardening Basic guides will help you design and plan a garden everyone can enjoy.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconAccessible Gardens (Gardening Basics Series)

The Root

PDF iconAdaptive Gardening Techniques (The Root, November 2020)

A young man harvesting a tomato from a children's garden. Children's gardens are designed to provide important learning experiences and fun for children.

Children's Gardens

Children’s gardens offer safe, hands-on experiences that encourage children to learn to enjoy gardening and stimulate their imaginations. Check out our Gardening Basic guides to help you plan and design gardens children will adore.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconMy Child’s First Container Grown Vegetables (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconDo You Believe in Faeries? Create a Garden They Will Love! (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconEngaging Children in Herb Gardening (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconSensory Gardens (Gardening Basics Series)

The Root

PDF iconCelebrate October with Pumpkins (The Root, October 2021)

PDF iconJunion Master Gardener Program (The Root, September 2019)

 

A woman holding a seedling in her hands. Earth-kind gardens take into account many factors and are designed to lower potentially harmful impacts.

Earth-Kind® Landscapes

Earth-Kind® Landscaping combines the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create sustainable and eco-friendly landscapes. These guides from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will help you get started.

See Our Guides

AgriLife

PDF icon10 Ways to Make Your Landscape Earth-Kind® (AgriLife)

PDF iconEarth-wise Guide to Landscape Design (AgriLife)

PDF iconLandscape Design (AgriLife)

An array of vegetables from an edible garden. Edible gardens are planned around vegetables, herbs, and fruits that can be consumed.

Edible Gardens

Our Gardening Basics guides will help you “harvest” all the benefits of growing your own food – saving money, improving your health, reducing your carbon footprint, and more.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconFoodscaping: A Different Approach to Gardening (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconHerbs for Partial Shade (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconPlanting Your First Herb Garden (Gardening Basics Series)

The Root

PDF iconSpring Vegetable Gardening (The Root, March 2020)

AgriLife

PDF iconTexas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide (AgriLife)

Grass and shrubs burning in a wildfire. Careful plant and shrub choices help mitigate the flammability of landscapes surrounding homes and other important areas.

Fire-Wise Landscapes

A Firewise landscape design creates a defensible space around your home to give it the best chance of surviving a wildfire. Learn how to plan a Firewise landscape using our Gardening Basics guide.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconLandscaping to Reduce Fire Risk (Gardening Basics Series)

A bluebonnet blooming in a Texas field. Using plants that are native and/or adapted to the local environment creates more sustainable gardens.

Native Gardens

Plants that are native or adapted to the harsh North Texas climate have the best chance for survival and are beautiful, too! Our Gardening Basic guide will help you learn about using native or adapted plants in your landscape.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconNative Plants for North Texas Landscape (Gardening Basics Series)

Native Plant Society of Texas, Trinity Forks Chapter (NPSOT)

PDF iconFlowering Plants Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconGrasses Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconGround Covers Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Butterfly Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Shade Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Water Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Water-Wise Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Wildlife Habitat Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconNative Plants for Winter Gardens (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconShrubs Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconTrees Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconVines Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

PDF iconWetland Plants Native To Denton County Texas (NPSOT Series)

A bee on a flowering echinacea in a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardens are designed to attract more pollinating insects and make an important contribution to the urban ecosystem.

Pollinator Gardens

Pollinator gardens are not only beautiful, but they also attract pollinating insects with nectar and pollen-producing plants. Learn how to plan and design a pollinator garden in your landscape with our Gardening Basics guide.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconBuilding a Garden for Pollinators (Gardening Basics Series)

Native Plant Society of Texas, Trinity Forks Chapter (NPSOT)

PDF iconNative Plants for Butterfly Gardens (NPSOT Series)

Photo of lush foliage and flowers in shade garden.

Shade Gardens

Do you struggle to grow a lush lawn under shade trees? Many beautiful plants grow well in shade in North Texas. Check out these guides to help you solve that problem with a shade garden.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconGroundcovers for Shade (Gardening Basics Series)

The Root

PDF iconPlant of the Month – Native Ground Covers (The Root, March 2023)

PDF iconGround Covers for Shade Areas (The Root, November 2021)

AgriLife

PDF iconShade Gardening (AgriLife)

A series of containers with various flowers and shrubs mixed into each. Container gardening works well in small spaces and is water efficient.

Small Space & Container Gardens

Don’t let a lack of space keep you from having a wonderful garden. Our Gardening Basics guide will help you learn to get the most out of the space you have to grow plants for color and food.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconContainer Gardening (Gardening Basics Series)

A drip irrigation emitter positioned above a flowering ice plant. Drip irrigation systems help gardens use significantly less water by more precisely apply it to thirty plants.

Waterwise Landscapes

Waterwise landscaping conserves water and protects the environment. Learn methods for implementing these best-practices from our Gardening Basics guides.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconRain Gardens for North Texas Landscapes (Gardening Basics Series)

Native Plant Society of Texas, Trinity Forks Chapter (NPSOT)

PDF iconNative Plants for Water-Wise Gardens (NPSOT Series)

A yellow finch perched on a cone flower as part of a wildlife garden, a type of garden designed to attract animals and birds.

Wildlife Gardens

A wildscape landscape is designed with the primary purpose of attracting and supporting wildlife. Our Gardening Basics guides will help you learn to choose the right plants for a wildlife habitat.

See Our Guides

Gardening Basics

PDF iconHummingbird Feeder Plants (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconLandscape Maintenance Is for Living Things (Gardening Basics Series)

PDF iconPlants That Bring Nature into Your Landscape (Gardening Basics Series)

Native Plant Society of Texas, Trinity Forks Chapter (NPSOT)

PDF iconNative Plants for Wildlife Habitat Gardens (NPSOT Series)

Sign Up for Our E-Magazine

Grow Your Skills

Conquer your landscape! Start getting our best how-to advice today. Sign up for our free monthly e-magazine, The Root. Receive expert tips, easy-to-follow plans from experienced gardeners, and learn new techniques you can put into practice right away.

Subscribe Now. It's Free!