When your kids start a new school year, you buy them a backpack and school supplies. When you start a new job, you might buy new clothes and get your hair cut. If you’re moving to a new home, you have a lot of packing and planning to do beforehand. These activities all come with things we need to do as we get ready for the transition.

Moving into a new garden season also comes with a list of things we can do to make the most of this transition time. While you can certainly just jump in, your garden will be more successful if you do a few key things beforehand.

Let’s look at what you can do to set the stage for a successful garden. These don’t have to be done perfectly to make progress. But following these steps will move you toward a simple, productive, and enjoyable garden year.

6 Steps to Preparing for the New Garden Season…

Step 1: Plan Your Garden

I know I sound like a broken record. But before you purchase your first plant or pack of seeds, plan your garden for the year. This is easier if you’ve taken the time to assess last year’s garden. If not, here are a few questions to ask yourself.

• What was your favorite plant or flower from last season? Maybe you want to grow more of those.
• Did you have any plant failures in your garden last year? Do you know why they failed?
• Did you wear yourself out maintaining all that you planted? By mid-season, were you exhausted from trying to keep up?
• Is it time to refresh some of your garden beds with new plants or decor?
• Do you have any major problems that you need to deal with? Pests, weeds, or plants in the wrong areas are just a few potential problems.

Here’s a sample of the planning I’m doing this year. We have a rodent problem in our garden. For the past few summers, they’ve been feasting on my tomatoes, so this year I’m moving my tomatoes to a new area of the garden in hopes they won’t discover them. And I’m working on my plan to eliminate the rats.

When you plan your garden in advance, you can make better decisions that will hopefully lead to a more vibrant and successful garden. This doesn’t have to be exhaustive. Just think through what you would like to grow in each area and decide how you will grow it. Will you grow from seeds or from transplants? What chores do you need to do before you can plant? And what changes do you want to make?

Step 2: Simplify Your Tasks

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how much you need to do to get your garden ready to plant? If so, simplify your gardening tasks. Try these ideas to ease into the gardening season.

• Create a schedule to follow. Break your tasks into short 30-minute blocks to tackle each day.
• Enlist help for the heavier chores. We need to accept that as we age, we might not be able to do everything. Ask for help from family or consider paying for a little extra help.
• Plant more perennials in your garden. While these flowers will need a bit of maintenance each year, they are much less time-consuming than planting annuals.
• Stick with a few basic plants instead of a large variety. For example, choose the same mix of flowers for your containers rather than planting different flowers in each flowerpot. This makes it easier to keep up with the plants when your containers all have the same requirements.
• Ask yourself this question when you’re tempted to overdo it: “Do I really need to add more to my garden?” Maybe this is the year to say no and plant less.

Read: Bring Joy Back Into Your Garden This Year

Step 3: Gather Your Supplies

Once you’ve created your plan, gather seeds, potting mix, fertilizers, containers, and other amendments. Don’t purchase plants until you’re ready to plant them in the ground. Check your calendar so you can time it right for your last frost date.

In order to gather supplies, you need to think about what your garden beds might need. Do you want to put down fabric as a weed barrier? Should you purchase mulch for your garden beds? Or do you want to add a layer of compost to the growing areas? Do you need to make repairs to any garden structures?

Seed companies can sell out of the most popular varieties, so purchase as soon as possible. Also, prices often increase on products as we move into the more active growing season. Getting your supplies early might save you some money, and you’ll be assured that the products you need are still in stock.

Step 4: Prepare Your Planting Areas and Containers

This is one of the most important tasks you’ll complete for the new garden season. Preparing your planting areas will set the stage for healthy plants.

Preparing the garden beds and containers is the first task to be done when you’re ready to move outside. The preparation process involves cleaning up the beds, preparing the soil, adding compost and mulch. Do this before you plant your seeds and transplants.

Follow the steps in this post to complete your bed and soil preparations… Get Your Garden Beds Ready for Spring.

Step 5: Encourage Wildlife

You might wonder how encouraging wildlife will help you prepare for the new garden season? It’s vital to create a garden that will attract pollinators. This helps to improve plant health and production. Many plants need help with pollination to produce an abundant crop.

Having more wildlife in your garden will also be a benefit to you. Watching pollinators can help you relax and even reduce stress and anxiety.

Okay, so how do you attract wildlife? Here are three important ways to bring more birds, butterflies, bees, and dragonflies into your garden.

1. Plant pollinator-friendly flowers and herbs.
2. Add plenty of water sources to your garden areas.
3. Give them places to nest or make a home.

Now, a word of caution. Not all wildlife is welcome in our gardens. Those rats are certainly not welcome! Bunnies, squirrels, and rodents can wreak havoc on your garden. Deer can devour your favorite plants. So you might need to fence the bunnies out of their favorite vegetables. And limit food sources for the squirrels and rodents.

Think through how you will control these “problem” critters. You might not mind the rascally rabbits. And maybe you enjoy watching the antics of the squirrels. But you’ll still need to prevent damage to your plants.

Read: 10 Proven Ways to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden All Season Long

Step 6: Be Realistic About Your Garden

Where do you get your ideas for what the perfect garden should look like? For me, I look at magazines, garden books, and YouTube creators who have picture-perfect gardens. You might also find beautiful gardens on Instagram or Facebook.

I often use those images and ideas to create beauty in my garden. But sometimes the desire to have a wonderful garden can send us on a journey that keeps us wanting more.

Rather than feeling envy for those other gardens, strive to love your garden for what it is. That doesn’t mean you don’t have dreams of improving your garden. But be realistic about what you can accomplish each growing season.

Here are a few tips to maintain a balance between what you have and what you want:

1. Be grateful for your garden as it is. Being thankful for the beauty right in front of you can bring you more joy for what you currently have.
2. Remind yourself that adding more will mean more work. Do you have the time and energy to do more garden maintenance?
3. Make the most of what you currently have before you add more. Clean up your garden areas so they look their best, and you might decide that what you already have is amazing.
4. Limit your time looking at those picture-perfect gardens. If looking at magazines, books, friends’ gardens, YouTube videos, Instagram, etc causes you to criticize what you have, then consider limiting the time you spend looking elsewhere.

When you follow these six steps, you’ll set the stage for your new garden season. The transition into spring will be easier. And before you know it, the garden will be planted, growing, and just waiting for you to enjoy it!