Planning Your First Garden – Beginner-Friendly Guide!

Starting your first garden? Get ready for equal parts excitement and mild panic. Because sure, planting things sounds simple—until you realize you need a garden layout, a planting schedule, and some clue about what actually grows well together. (RIP to my first attempt where I just threw seeds in the dirt and hoped for the best.)

This guide walks you through garden planning step-by-step, so you can avoid rookie mistakes and grow a thriving, Pinterest-worthy garden. Plus, there’s a printable garden planner on this page a few scrolls down, use it to keep things organized. Because trust me, your future self will thank you when your beginner garden layout isn’t just a chaotic plant free-for-all.

Planning Your First Garden

Growing up, my mom always planted a garden and taught us kids the importance of being able to grow your own food. Now that I finally have a home of my own, I am so excited to put this teaching into practice and start my very own vegetable garden!

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As the weather has been getting warmer, I have been doing tons of research on what my first garden should look like in order to yield the best results. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure there will be plenty of mistakes made. But that’s what makes it fun! (Famous last words…)

So today, I thought I would put together a little ‘game plan’ to share how I, a total beginner gardener, plan to set up my garden in case any of you have been itching to turn your thumb green 😉

Garden Layout Planning: Raised Beds

When it comes to planning your first garden, the layout you choose depends on how much square footage you have to work with. So everyone’s layout will be different. But I can recommend these general garden layout ideas:

1. Raised Bed Grid Layout (Best for Beginners & Small Spaces)

No matter the space – raised garden beds are your best bet. Because, you will need a dedicated spot to corral dirt and plant things. My suggestion is to build or buy some raised garden beds. This type of structure ensures good weed control, and optimal drainage. Plus, you can reach all your plants without stepping on (ie compacting) the soil.

I was feeling experimental, so I made my own DIY raised garden beds! See how I did it here! 

Raised garden beds are excellent for controlling soil quality and are easy to maintain. You can place them in a like I did in the image above. Or in U-Shape or L-Shape for a space-efficient design that still lets you reach everything without stepping in your garden.

Other layout options:

• Row Planting – Easy to water and harvest
• Companion Planting Layout – Some plants love growing next to each other,
• Container & Vertical Garden – No yard? No problem. Containers and vertical gardens make growing herbs, veggies, and flowers totally doable even in tiny spaces. Perfect for renters and city dwellers.

Use This Garden Planner

Keep your garden plans super organized with this printable garden planner:

Pick Your Starter Vegetables

The #1 piece of advice I came across while deciding which vegetables to plant was, “grow what you will eat.” Well, duh! This seemed extremely obvious and is exactly how I came up with the list of veggies that will be included in my first garden. Here’s what I plan to grow this year:

• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Zucchini
• Celery

Since I am a total beginner gardener, I am planning on starting all of the plants out as seedlings (or veggie starts). These can be picked up at any local nursery. I am hoping that this will give a higher chance of success as opposed to starting everything out as seeds. I will let you know how it works out!

Mulch

This is an area I know very little about, but I would like to incorporate into this new garden. My favorite resource for this topic has been The Prairie Homestead Blog. Not only does she have tons of really good insight into gardening, but her authentic homestead life is something that I find extremely fascinating! (Be sure to check all of her amazing homemade recipes and homesteading tips, I just know you will love her as much as I do.)

Anyway, back to mulch. I do not have a specific game plan in mind yet for this subject, but I am leaning toward straw or grass clippings. Do any of you use mulch in your gardens? I’d love to know your tips!

Lavender

This is honestly one of the parts of starting a garden I am looking forward to most! I was researching plants/flowers to grow that would be good ‘companion crops’ for a vegetable garden to help with pest control, and was sold when I saw that lavender did the job. Not only is lavender gorgeous and known for its relaxing and soothing properties, but it is a great crop for beginners! It is said to repel mosquitoes, flies, fleas and moths while also attracting pollinators such as butterflies and bees. No mosquitoes paired with beautiful purple blooms? Yes, please!

Final Thoughts: Your Dream Garden Starts Here

Alright, you’ve got your garden layout, your printable garden planner, and a solid plan—now comes the fun part. Getting your hands in the dirt, obsessively checking for sprouts, and probably talking to your plants like they can hear you (no judgment, they totally thrive on compliments).

Starting your first garden isn’t about getting everything perfect—it’s about learning, experimenting, and enjoying the process. Some plants will thrive, some might flop, and that’s all part of it. But trust me, there is nothing more satisfying than growing your own food or flowers and knowing you made it happen.

So that’s my plan for this year’s garden! I am anxious to get started on it and will keep you posted on how it is going! Do you have any experience with gardening? I would love any advice you are willing to offer up! Us gardeners have to stick together.

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