--- title: The 4 Ps from an Organized Gardener description: This is a fair warning! If SHEs (Sidetracked Home Executives) aren't careful and plan ahead, we can get into a lot of trouble at the garden nursery. image: https://blog.housefairy.org/hubfs/DSC_1539.jpg --- Hello, Friend[Access Your Account](https://www.housefairy.org/my-account) ### Happy Kids,  Happier Moms [![facebook](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-422096398-png/social_buttons/facebook.png "facebook")](http://www.facebook.com/therealhousefairy) [![twitter](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426374790-png/social_buttons/twitter.png "twitter")](https://twitter.com/HouseFairyPam) [![pinterest](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426359165-png/social_buttons/pinterest.png "pinterest")](http://www.pinterest.com/thehousefairy/) [![youtube](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426364010-png/social_buttons/youtube.png "youtube")](http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeItFunVideo/featured) [The House Fairy](https://www.housefairy.org/) ## [The 4 Ps from an Organized Gardener](https://blog.housefairy.org/the-4-ps-from-an-organized-gardener) # Yay! It's spring! Yay! But if we SHEs (Sidetracked Home Executives) aren't careful and plan ahead, we can get into a lot of trouble at the nursery. All the more reason to be organized not just with housecleaning, but with gardening. This time of year the nurseries are teaming with flowers that beseech us like friendly puppies at the Humane Society to take them home. And we're like busy bees around those beautiful flowers. After all, we survived winter and we’re sick of gray and ready for sunny colors.  **Green** thumbers have four rules: **Plan, Prepare, Purchase, THEN Plant**. If you try to prepare and plant at the same time, you’ll poop out and then those plants that you’ve taken into your care face possible death. Of course it’s not premeditated, but the plants will be just as dead. ##  **Death by good intention** Have you ever seen a honey bee that’s got so much pollen on her feet and thighs that she can barely fly? I often wonder if ![Bee.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Bee.jpg?width=300&name=Bee.jpg "Bee.jpg")some of them never make it back to their hives they’re so overloaded. You can make it back to your hive (unless you forgot to get gass) but without the 4 Ps of gardening, you could set yourself up for death by good intention.  ![DSC_1539.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC_1539.jpg?width=300&name=DSC_1539.jpg "DSC_1539.jpg")But like those bees, we can get carried away buying more than we can plant. We fly home with our trunks full of flats of flowers and the optimism we’ll plant them all in a day. But so often we poop out in the middle of the planting and the remaining purchase is at the mercy of our next planting mood which can easily result in death for the remaining purchase. Death by good intention.  ## 4 Steps all start with a **P**  ## **Step 1 Plan~** Divide your yard into zones. When you divide up a project into manageable parts you won’t get overwhelmed. Figure out what you’d like to have brighten each zone and write down how many of ![DSC_3993.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC_3993.jpg?width=300&name=DSC_3993.jpg "DSC_3993.jpg")each plant you want. It’ll be like making a grocery list. Don’t plan another zone until you’ve finished planting one you’ve planned. I like to add at least one perennial each year (those are the plants that come back) in each of my zones.   ## **Step 2 Prepare~** ![DSC0069.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC0069.jpg?width=300&name=DSC0069.jpg "DSC0069.jpg")Prepare the soil by digging it up and getting the weeds out. Dig the holes **before** you head to the nursery. Get your kids involved with making holes! Kids love to play in the dirt and when you start them gardening early in their childhood you'll be introducing them the the joys of gardening. Let them have their own little shovels and show them how to dig the holes a little bigger than the plant that'll go into it, so they can put potting soil under and around each plant. You could even get those plant markers and to put on the plants with your child's name on them, so the child feels ownership in the project.  ## **Step 3 Purchase~** Take your list and limit what you buy to the amount of holes you’ve already dug. Don’t be tempted ![DSC_0334.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC_0334.jpg?width=400&name=DSC_0334.jpg "DSC_0334.jpg")while you’re in the beauty of all the colors and fragrances. You don’t have to stick to the exact kind of flowers on your list, just the number of plants.  ## **Step 4 Plant~** When you actually get to plant, (which is as soon as you get ![DSC_2926.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC_2926.jpg?width=300&name=DSC_2926.jpg "DSC_2926.jpg")home from buying the plants since you have already prepared where you want to plant them) you’ll be so happy with yourself for digging all the holes first.  And you won’t have the guilt that comes with unintentionally killing innocent life by leaving those beautiful plants out in the sun without water. Be sure to let your kids plant!  Every year I turn one of my pet peeves into an advantage. We have a big meadow and every spring the moles convene like they’re at some kind of Mole-A-Rama. Their underground social network rivals Face Book. They seem to converge on our meadow about when the grass starts growing. Years ago I discovered what a blessing these little rodents ![DSC_3292.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSC_3292.jpg?width=300&name=DSC_3292.jpg "DSC_3292.jpg")were when I walked through the grass and inspected the hills and  noticed how rich the dirt was and I thought, ‘I should use it when planting flowers in the beds that have a great deal of clay.’ I went to my local nursery and asked what I could add to the dirt to make it as good as a potting soil. The master gardener said the dirt is already fabulous, because moles go where the dirt is good because that's where the worms are! You won’t want miss this video where I show you how to turn mole hills into potting soil. Love, ![newestsig.jpg](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-2613289110-jpg/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/newestsig.jpg?width=75&name=newestsig.jpg "newestsig.jpg") P.S. In case you didn't know, I'm closing out all audio CD book sets and I have a great offer. Buy the CDs and get the printed book for free. Just click on the book you want and it'll take you to the order page, then click on the CDs for the set you want. I'll watch for your order to come in and I'll make sure you get the printed book free! . [![GOOD_Book](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-1391867177.jpg?width=180&height=269&name=file-1391867177.jpg)](https://shop.cluborganized.com/the-good-book-get-out-of-debt)[![Mouth_Trap_lo_carb](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-1389655811.jpg?width=180&height=272&name=file-1389655811.jpg)](https://shop.cluborganized.com/the-mouth-trap-the-butt-stops-here-low-carb) P.S. Just so you know I'm not the perfect gardner, here's a blog you should read. [http://blog.cluborganized.com/last-week-we-showed-me-planting-a-vegetable-garden](https://blog.cluborganized.com/last-week-we-showed-me-planting-a-vegetable-garden)  - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Subscribe to Pam's Blog! ### Follow the House Fairy ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Month - [June 2020 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2020/06) - [March 2020 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2020/03) - [September 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/09) - [July 2019 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/07) - [June 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/06) - [May 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/05) - [April 2019 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/04) - [August 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/08) - [June 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/06) - [February 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/02) - [November 2017 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2017/11) - [May 2016 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2016/05) - [November 2015 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/11) - [September 2015 (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/09) - [August 2015 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/08) - [December 2014 (12)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/12) - [November 2014 (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/11) - [October 2014 (13)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/10) - [September 2014 (9)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/09) - [August 2014 (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/08) - [July 2014 (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/07) - [June 2014 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/06) - [May 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/05) - [April 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/04) - [March 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/03) [see all](https://blog.housefairy.org/the-4-ps-from-an-organized-gardener#) ### Posts by Topic - [Tools for Moms (11)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/tools-for-moms) - [Being a Mom (10)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/being-a-mom) - [Raising Children (10)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/raising-children) - [Entertainment for Mom (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/entertainment-for-mom) - [Family Games (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/family-games) - [Cooking Videos (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cooking-videos) - [Fitness (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/fitness) - [On Being Organized / Disorganized (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/on-being-organized-disorganized) - [Playing with Kids (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/playing-with-kids) - [Recipes (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/recipes) - [Chores and Children (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/chores-and-children) - [Happiness (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/happiness) - [Cleaning (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning) - [Daily Thought, (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/daily-thought) - [De-Cluttering (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/de-cluttering) - [Habits (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/habits) - [Manners and Children (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/manners-and-children) - [Health (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/health) - [House Fairy Videos (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/house-fairy-videos) - [Children's Rooms (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/childrens-rooms) - [Great job mom (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/great-job-mom) - [How to Clean Videos (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/how-to-clean-videos) - [Organization (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/organization) - [Relationships (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/relationships) - [appreciation for moms (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/appreciation-for-moms) - [de-junking (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/de-junking) - [faith (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/faith) - [peace of mind (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/peace-of-mind) - [succeed (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/succeed) - [thank a mom (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/thank-a-mom) ## Subscribe by RSS ![rss-icon1](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-570749489-jpg/social_buttons/rss-icon1.jpg?width=50&name=rss-icon1.jpg) [Mom's World Feed](https://blog.housefairy.org/blog/rss.xml) [Privacy Statement](https://www.housefairy.org/privacy-statement) **About The House Fairy** The House Fairy is the brainchild of New York Times bestselling author Pam Young. A stay-at-home mom of three, stepmother of two and grandmother of 12, Pam has enjoyed most of her life surrounded by happy children of all ages. With a major in drama (not in college, but in life) Pam has always been able to see with the eyes of a child. Writing a shelf of “self-help” books to inspire disorganized moms, Pam’s focus has always been on solutions to the challenges mothers have in life.