However enthusiastic you are about gardening and even if you spend long hours talking to and nurturing plants, it is not guaranteed that your garden will flourish. The reason need not necessarily be that you do not have a green thumb. Rather it could be that you have not done your research properly. Choosing the right plants to grow on different soils is the key to successful gardening. When you choose a plant to grow - e.g. petunias or beans, you must know the type of soil, location, moisture content in the soil and hardiness of the plant.

Here are a few types of soil, their essential differences and the plants that can grow well in them:
• Clay soil
• Sandy soil
• Chalky soil
• Peaty soil
• Silty soil
• Loamy soil

Clay soil is sticky, lumpy and wet. It will not drain out the water and when dry it will become rock hard. It is very difficult to cultivate clay soil for it is heavy with few air spaces and warms very slowly in spring. If you wish to grow plants in clay soil, the drainage must be excellent. Then plants will grow well, for clay soil contains lot of nutrients compared to other soils. Some flowering plants that grow in clay soil are hardy ones like Aster, Helen's flower and Bergamot.

Sandy soil drains easily, warms quickly in spring, is easy to cultivate, dries quickly and is gritty to feel. It lacks nutrients which are quickly washed away. Tulip, hibiscus and sun rose grow well in sandy soil. Chalky soil as the name suggests has a high alkaline content; is stony but drains freely and has bedrock of limestone in some areas which could make cultivation difficult. Nutrients are poor and gardeners need to add a lot of fertilizers. Lilac, Madonna lily and Dianthus are some common plants that grow well in chalky soil.

Soil with high peat content is acidic and prevents decomposition. Hence this dark colored soil has very little nutrients. However, it is highly water retentive and warms quickly in spring. This means that if the right fertilizers are added, peaty soil is excellent for growing plants like Camellia, Heather or Rhododendron. Silty soil as the name suggests is well drained soil that retains moisture and has high nutrient content. It is heavier than sand and smooth to touch. If properly managed, gardeners can grow lovely plants like in Ornamental vine, Hakonechloa a type of grass or Mahonia a flowering shrub in silty soil.

If you have loamy soil in your garden or backyard, consider yourself lucky. For this is the perfect soil for growing a wide variety of plants. It has good structure, retains moisture, drains well, is easy to cultivate and is chalk full of nutrients. It warms quickly during spring and retains moisture and doesn't quickly dry out in summer. Creepers like Wisteria, tubers like Dog's tooth violet and perennial flowering plants like Delphinium thrive in loamy soil.

Whatever the soil or plant you choose, look up gardening tips on the Internet and you will see what each plant needs, details about the flower, color, how to plant, water and care for them. If you want to start gardening, the first thing to do is test the soil. Water a part of the soil to test it. If the soil is gravelly or sandy, it will drain out faster than clay soil. The next method is to test the soil by feeling it. Clay soil is sticky and lumpy, peaty soil will feel spongy, gritty feel indicates sandy soil and loamy soil is smooth and soft.

There are other ways to test the soil and these ideas can be found on gardening websites or magazines. To test the pH level of the soil, you can take a sample and either test it using a home testing kit or send it to a professional to test it. Select your plants based on the acid level - e.g. camellias and azaleas are acid loving plants. To change the acidity, add compost to balance out the pH level.

Inspect the location and make sure you know how much of sun and shade each plant needs. The landscape is also important - hilly areas can have trees, windy areas plants with strong roots like boxwood or lilac. Finally, choose plants based on the moisture content of the soil and the look you wish to achieve. Borders of patios can have shrubs; poolside can have vines climbing on trellises and such. Once you get the basics right, you can have a glorious garden.