Getting the Garden Ready

[ILP]

OK Kia, Green Biscuit and other Green Thumbers...
want to get the garden ready for summer.
what kinds of things should i be doing now to get ready

planted some bulbs back in the fall. the package said they would bloom spring and part of summer. I am not a green thumb at all, but i like to look at pretty things.

Come with tips, short cuts, etc. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[SandiF]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

What zone are you in?

First advice is to start planting all danger of frost has gone. Select plants based on growth needs...full sun, partial sun/shade or full shade. Not to forget watering needs. Select plants based on colour, texture and blooming period.

If you're new to garden, I recommend going with native plants. Establish your plant list FIRST before you go to the garden store and then you start going hog wild...just grabbing plants and have no clue what are the planting requirements! (Sandi speaking from experince.) If you're into all season bloomers then you'd want to have a mixture of annuals and perennials.

Lots of info on the web, but if you stick around here, you can get the same info.

Oh, go to Better HOmes & Gardens website and you'll find some excellent garden zone maps http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?ca...ps_07032001.xml

[ILP]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Zone? Mi nuh know what daht mean [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img]

Let's see. I like flowers that come back year after year. Guess that is the laziness in me. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif[/img] I have a butterfly bush in front of the house [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] and a rose bush, but the rose bush get on my nerves cah mi haffi prune it back too much. Mi nuh inna di prune ting atall. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img] Mi nuh undastan di poin or annuals (dem dead afta one season?).

Anyway, I like ease and things that will not succumb to my skills (as I have none) and I am not trying to waste my money. I am going to check out the site you posted [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[SandiF]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

The hardiness zone defines what plant life are ideal for the various temperate climates. Perennials may be ideal...they come back yearly and have pre-determined blooming seasons. Natives plants may be more ideal since they're adjusted to conditions of your locale and provide easy care.

Keep pruning the rose bush.

[Green_Biscuit]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Sandi has some good advice there! Start with a little basic education. Then we go from there. How about some photos of your yard? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[jaith]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

i'm done with all the foolishness....this year i'm planting nothing but wave petunias on my balcony....those suckers go crazy....

[loops]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

ok ILP...if you have an interest...you just may have a green thumb just ready to sprout.

if you'd like to create a small garden...now is the time to ready your soil. pick a small part and remove all the turf and go get some stuff to amend your soil. It's best to add some organic matter to the soil, like compost, bone meal and manure.

start small and add a few perennials you really like, that work well with the amount of sun you have in your area. I think you should add some lily bulbs, both asiatic and orientals. the asiatics will bloom first followed by the heavenly scented orientals. yes, the lilies will come back next year.

perennials have short bloom times, but the bonus is that they'll come back next year. consider your perennials your plant collection...that you'll add to each year.

while you're waiting for your garden to fill in with perennials, i suggest you add some annuals for year round color....like the wave petunias jaith just mentioned. Containers are great to add here and there as well, they're fun to do, and you can try different annuals each year in them. For container planting i like to wander around the greenhouse and see what looks good, and i steal ideas from the planters they have planted.

well that may be a lot for you for starters...so i'll stop. It's early yet, buy some gardening mags and look them over. I get lots of great ideas from them.

[MsExced]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Hi Loops what's a bone meal?

[loops]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

bone meal is purchased in a package at the gardening store...it's a mixture of crushed and coarsly ground bones used as organic fertilizer. It adds phosphorus to the soil, works fairly slowly, and is most often used when planting bulbs.

[MsExced]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Thanks loops!

[ILP]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Get the soil ready [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img] already daht is too much work.
OK....sigh....since mi cyan afford to hire smaddy...
I [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] Azaleas (sp), but have no idea if they will grow at this new house.

Dont you have to replant annuals each year?

I [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] Lilies [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bannana_purple.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bannana_purple.gif[/img] but dont think I can grow them on my own. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img] but I'll try.


Thanks for the tips. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[MsExced]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

iluvportland lilies are really easy just dig the hole and put them in, they will come back year after year and multiply too.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: iluvportland</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Get the soil ready [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img] already daht is too much work.
OK....sigh....since mi cyan afford to hire smaddy...
I [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] Azaleas (sp), but have no idea if they will grow at this new house.

Dont you have to replant annuals each year?

I [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70377-loveeyes.gif[/img] Lilies [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bannana_purple.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bannana_purple.gif[/img] but dont think I can grow them on my own. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img] but I'll try.


Thanks for the tips. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img] </div></div>

[loops]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

yes ILP...you DO have to replant annuals every year. I'm saying just a few annuals to supplement your perennials...as the perennials will not bloom for you all summer...but the annuals will.

as your perennial collection grows, you'll need to purchase less annuals for year round color...theoretically at least.

azaleas should do fine in maryland...try one.

and trust me...you'll have no trouble growing asiatics or oriental lilies...you could try daylilies too...they're way easy.

[kia027]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

mi see mi name call but ILP mi is nat the gardener dat a mrKia

im a decide fi grow plants from seeds and grafts.. so we have some pansies whe a grow from seed.

im did plant lettuce & did tek ie to the office but when im bring it home did figet it inna de back seat.. needless to say ie did freeze dead.

mi will ask mrKia whe else im a do and share wid you mi dear [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[ILP]

Re: Getting the Garden Ready

Quick question do you put down fertalizer to get the ground ready BEFORE you plant.

Oh and I also ordered mulch [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/helpsmilie.gif[/img]