Beginning plant suggestions for a newbie gardener?
Julia Sifers
I was wondering if any of you more experienced gardeners out there would
be willing to make a few suggestions to a newbie gardener. I'm going to be
moving in two weeks, and will *finally* have a place to start growing things
outdoors.
The only garden I've ever had by myself was an attempted flower garden.
I bought a kit from a gardening company, planted everything, but come
weeding time, was a little confused on which was which. I tried my best
guesses, but nothing bloomed :-( so I think I must have pulled up the wrong
ones.
This time, I want to try just a couple easy, eager-to-please flowering
or landscaping plants and get good at keeping those ones alive before moving
on to more particular varieties. I have looked at many books on gardening
from the library, but they all offered so *many* suggestions that it's hard
to know which ones are right.
I'm in Northern Virginia (zone 7) and the soil in this area is fairly
silt-heavy (though I will ammend with organic content) with good drainage.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Julia
sarahandpaul
well in their gardens. There is a good chance if it looks good in their
garden it will look good in yours.
Paul
JMooreTS
>or landscaping plants and get good at keeping those ones alive before moving
>on to more particular varieties.
Julia,
Try your hand at some annuals (although, if you become smitten with a
particular perennial shrub or plant, go for it).
You should get satisfaction and color from geraniums or petunias. Both come in
many colors and can be grown either in the garden or in pots. Both like sun,
although the petunias will do OK with sun for only part of the day.
If you have shade, you might try impatiens. They bloom non-stop till frost,
are easy to care for and come in about every color but blue or yellow.
Buy the plants at your local nursery or garden center. It's a little late to
start seed for most annuals. And, you're likely to have better luck starting
from plants than seed (at least, until you have a little more experience . . .
or a neighbor who can help you).
The plants which are "right" are the ones you like. Wander through the ailses
and see what looks or smells right to you.
I suggested annuals to start because they will more likely give you quick
results. However, don't be afraid to purchase perennials. Ask the nursery if
they are likely to do well in your area/soil/light conditions.
Good luck,
John Moore
(just north of you in WV)
Tyra Trevellyn
This is wonderful for you. It's an ideal time to be moving to a new garden
(although you'll probably have to live inside at some point ;>) This time of
year you can see what's already there, if anything, get a sense of what will
grow and look fabulous around the area, get to ask lots of questions from
residents .... who are usually only too happy to help newcomers with garden
questions. You can visit all the local nurseries and garden centers. You can
check out all the gardening books from the local library (as long as you're not
moving to my town....). Most important, though, you can get your soil in shape
for real planting. This is a first step that will determine how well your
garden does for as long as you have it. Trust me, it's very hard to 'retrofit'
soil once you've done a lot of planting. (I'm in the process of trying to do
that this year.....) Please....put all the initial bucks into that .... the
earth. And meanwhile, plan and design and read and look.....and be willing
to take chances. And you'll still have time this year for some late blooming
annuals (you've had suggestions for things that are still available) and
perennials (chrysanthemums will bloom for you this fall, and you'll have a huge
choice in July and August, of these and many other plants). Best is that you
can now plan a fall planting of bulbs and perennials, and look forward to the
most glorious spring, after a winter of going through the catalogs and e-stores
and going nuts with the rest of us.
Joy to you..
Best,
Tyra
z6b nj
Joann M. Hnat
Hi, Julia!
In addition to all the good ideas you've already received, I would
suggest that you grow a couple of simple vegetables. Maybe a tomato
plant, a basil plant, and a zucchini. There's nothing like picking some
of these things you've grown and sauteeing them into a simple pasta
sauce.
Good luck!
.. Joann
Wagner Mitchell Family
Happy gardening, too!
If you want success, try finding a flowering or landscaping plant that's
native to your zone, perhaps try a plant that's becoming more difficult
to find. I think there are a lot of native plant societies in North
America. You should be able to find a website or email address or
snailmail address for one in your state.
I live on the Canadian Prairies and one of the moms at my children's
school planted a 'prairie garden' at one end of the playground. It's
beautiful! It's very low maintenance after the plants are
well-established (two or three seasons).
B-)
Night23
I have always wondered what it is like to live in such vast isolation.
i.e. Looking around and seeing grass streteching off into the horizon.
Not a another person for 100 miles around. Must b wierd.
KrisHur
clay) and are very hard to kill (bloom times are for my Z6 garden so you
would see them earlier) :
Hemerocallis "Daylily"--(full sun, some bloom all summer) I left some that I
dug up exposed on the pool deck over winter and in spring they tried to
grow! I love the widely available "Happy Returns"; a clear yellow bloom that
stays open at night.
Anemone "Honorine Jobert" (part sun, L Aug to Frost) very pretty white
flowers w/yellow centers at the end of the season
Buddleia "Butterfly bush" aka summer lilac (full sun, July to
Nov.)--butterfly magnet! Purple, pink, yellow--your choice.
Centaurea montana "Bachelor Button" (part to full sun, M May to Frost)--a
real workhorse, covered w/ purple flowers all season long!
Clematis: "Hagley Hybrid" (full or Part sun, E June on old wood, Sept on new
growth) Lots of very pretty pink blooms and one of the easiest clematis to
grow--one of the few that bloom prolifically in less than full sun.
Lilium "Lily" (Full sun, asiatics bloom in L June, Orientals in Aug-sept)
Very fragrant (not the asiatics), large blooms in all kinds of colors and
patterns. I've heard squirrels may go after the bulbs, so far mine haven't.
Good Luck!! and enjoy.
"Julia Sifers" <halfs...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9gtmp5$8m1$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
Julia Sifers
link in a couple of weeks if I have any success...
- Julia
Wagner Mitchell Family
250,000, where every tree comes from a planted tree and every hill is
one created by humans!
And, I don't think there's any place where there's no one around for 100
miles in every direction. It's also impossible to see grass stretching
out in every direction: everything's given over to crops and pesticides
<cough-cough> around here. A little further south, though, it's more
isolated. We'll be heading there later this summer.
B-)
--
--------------------------------------------
Visit the Wagner Mitchell Family on the WWW
http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/mitchb
--------------------------------------------
Wendy B G
is a way to have a great show next year.
1. Double-dig your garden plot. This means digging to at least 12" deep, and
mixing in 1/3 of the volume of organic material, such as grass clippings,
shredded leaves, manure, etc. Since you won't plant for several months, this
will compost right in the ground. You can stick in some annuals for quick color
if you want.
2. In September, dig holes about 24" back from the front of your flower bed.
Plant daffodil bulbs in clusters of 10 bulbs each, spacing them 3" apart. These
will bloom in April. You have to leave the foliage after the flowers are gone
to wither naturally in order to get flowers every year. The rest of the plants
will hide the foliage. Get both early-season daffodils (such as Ice Follies and
King Albert) and late-season daffodils (such as Cheerfulness).
3. Between the holes with the daffodils, plant divisions of black-eyed susans,
sedum "Autumn Joy," and asters. These will come up in the late spring, when the
daffodil foliage is dying back.
4. In front of the daffodils, plant daylilies. My favorite varieties are Stella
de Oro, which blooms from Memorial Day to frost, and Strawberry Candy. The
daylily foliage will hide the daffodil foliage behind them.
5. In the very front of the bed, plant crocus and grape hyacinth bulbs in
clumps. These come up in March, for the first taste of spring.
6. In the back of the bed, plant gladiolus and true lily (Lilium) bulbs 8"
deep. These are tall plants, with spectacular colors.
All the above plants are carefree perennials, drought-resistant and hardy in
your Zone.
6. Plant pansies in late September for beautiful color all fall, through the
winter, and into spring. I get 9 months of flowering from pansies, more than
any other flower. Pansies are annuals that can't stand heat, and die in the
summer.
If you have space, use shrubs that bear beautiful flowers and berries. Azaleas,
rhododendrons and andromeda are best for the shade. For sun, floribunda roses,
variegated wiegela, glossy abelia, spirea, buddleia (butterfly bush), viburnum,
forsythia, caryopteris, and nandina are classics.
Wishing you much enjoyment from your garden.
Wendy
Wilmington, DE (Zone 7)
Suja
Hi Julia,
I also live in N.Va, and should tell you that although it is officially
classified as zone 7, it can occasionally act like zone 6. So, whatever
you plant, make sure that it would be hardy enough to live in zone 6.
Our soil here isn't the greatest, so like a lot of people said, amend,
amend, amend, and just when you think you're done, amend some more.
The plants I have that seem to like it here in spite of the soil are
yarrows, monarda, shasta daisies, clethra, butterfly bush, ornamental
grasses, daylilies, lambs ears and scabiosa for the sun, and ferns,
tricyrtis, and astilbe for the shade.
Since it is getting a little warm right now, you might want to focus on
preparing the soil for fall planting and use annuals for temporary
color. If you do go ahead and plant, make sure that you water them
regularly when it doesn't rain.
Suja
Tom Burkhard
hand at propagation. Just cut a piece off and stick it in the ground
or in a pot and by next year you'll very likely have another plant.
The only problem I've had is the finches in our yard have decided to
munch on it occasionally.
Tom Burkhard
Columbus Ohio USA
USDA6a
"Julia Sifers" <halfs...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<9gtmp5$8m1$1...@bob.news.rcn.net>...
Polar
<halfs...@hotmail.com> wrote:
[...]
> I'm in Northern Virginia (zone 7) and the soil in this area is fairly
>silt-heavy (though I will ammend with organic content) with good drainage.
>Any suggestions?
Welcome! Always great to have a new gardener join the NG.
World's (second) most rewarding recreation.
Re: your soil, you are definitely on the right track by amending it
with organic content.
But what, actually, is wrong with silt? Isn't the fertility of the
Nile Valley based on silt from the annual flooding (at least till
they built the Aswan High Dam and ****ed up the ecology of the river
and adjacent fields).
--
Polar
Fil
their garden. I got a large number of responses and received lilies, Shasta
daisies, black eyed Susan's, hostas, and some that I don't even know what
they are. I even got a Rhodo from someone. People love to be generous with
their divisions. It is also a great way to approach your new neighbors.
People love to help. Also look for perrenial bulb sales. Annuals can be
done later as fill. But perenials give you the most bang for your buck in
the first year. Good luck!