10 pointers every gardening novice should know

With the huge variety of plants, tools and growing techniques, starting out as a novice gardener can be daunting. Here are 10 invaluable garden tips that will help you go from beginner to expert in no time.

If you are nervous about beginning a garden, just remember that even the best gardeners started out as a novice like you. So just keep it simple, ask your fellow gardeners lots of questions and have fun!

1. Start with a small garden area that you can easily maintain. It's easy to expand later if you wish.
2. Make paths or lay stepping stones to provide quick, easy access to all your garden beds and to utility areas such as the tool shed, compost, garbage bins, garden tap and clothesline.
3. Choose plant varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases. Also, select varieties grafted onto hardy under-stocks, as these usually perform better than species growing on their own roots.
4. Consider how much work you're willing to do. Immaculate lawns, sculpted hedges and swimming pools are not only expensive, but also require a great deal of time and energy to look after. Try to minimize the number of areas with high-maintenance needs, such as annual beds, vegetable gardens or potted plants.
5. Group plants with the same needs together. For example, cluster low-water users such as succulents and ornamental grasses or shade-loving plants like ferns and sedges. Mulch all plants well to reduce their need for water.
6. Fill your garden beds with plants, leaving no room for weeds to grow. Grow prostrate shrubs and spreading groundcovers between larger shrubs. Use organic mulch or pebbles to cover any bare soil.
7. Plant informal hedges and screens that don't need clipping. Abelia, grevillea, Indian hawthorn, murraya, nandina, oleander and plumbago are all good choices.
8. Use a mulching mower on your lawn. It doesn't have a grass-catcher, so you won't have to keep emptying the clippings. The cut grass is scattered onto the lawn as you go, returning nutrients to the soil.
9. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area without water restrictions, use an irrigation system. A carefully monitored one with an automatic timer is more efficient than hand watering and wastes less water.
10. Save time and money by using a slow-release fertilizer. It will last for months and won't burn the root system. It is also kinder on the environment as nutrients are made available at a rate at which they can be taken up, and less fertilizer is lost in run-off.

Maintaining your garden is a lot easier if you keep your gardening tools in good working order.

Keep cutting tools – such as pruning shears and spades – sharp

• Blunt tools are hard to use and take longer to do the job. More importantly, they may also damage your plants.
• Sharpen them with a sharpening stone or sharpening tool.

Save time by marking the handles with fluorescent tape

• They're easier to locate if dropped.

Gardening is an excellent way to spend time outdoors and connect with nature. You may not become an expert gardener overnight, but there's a good chance you'll develop a passion for gardening quicker than you think!