Garden thread

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  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I really want to do a better job with flowers this year. Need to spend some time planning this weekend.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,142 Member
    @lemurcat2 what kind of flowers? I usually pick up annuals at the store and that's it, now that I'm swapping at plant stands I'm branching out. I started some from seed then have pin cushions, bachelor buttons, anoushka dahlias, poppies, cosmos, zinnia, then my herbs. Oh and I picked up Columbine and rock rose at a stand today, I plan to put a bunch of rock Rose's by the driveway.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited April 2021
    Don't know yet -- that's why I'm behind. I have some periennials, but not well planned. I bought some others (mainly annuals) last year and killed a bunch (my veg grew fine).I'm going to look at my yard, my seeds, and my gardening books over the weekend and try to figure it out. I'd like to have periennials that worked together as one bed is great in the spring/early summer and then blah.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Katmary71 wrote: »
    @kshama2001 Thank you for all the house plant tips! So this beast I brought home needs it's own light? It looks like a pretty plant but I don't know about all that! I may just put it in the shady spot on the deck with the succulents and mist it a couple times a day! It's in a plastic see-through planter that sounds sufficient but from what I read it gets really big.

    I went to a plant stand and on the way home there was a sign that said plant sale every day and I swear the steering wheel turned on it's own and went down the street! I became possessed and got so excited at $5 succulents I brought home 8 plants! I had a gardener in the neighborhood pick up a jade cutting and she brought me some as a gift and I've always liked them because of their weird flowers. My backyard is turning into a farm!

    Have all my tomatoes staked but they're probably moving, they're in 10 gallon grow bags on the walkway, I'm hoping the oak trees will be trimmed enough that I can use the trellises I built that are now in the shade. I'm a little overwhelmed but I'm having fun. Unfortunately it barely rained this year so we're going to have to cut back on water. I'm been thinking now that my pain condition came back worse and I'm not reliable as far as formal work if I learn enough I'll start growing and selling my own plants. Just an idea but it would be something I enjoy so I'll see how it goes.

    What's your houseplant?

    I've learned that plants will suffer if I don't give them the light they require. Sometimes they will survive but not thrive. For example, I got some crocosmia bulbs that never did much in part shade but were great once I moved them to full sun. I had some lamium and hosta in the same part sun area that did much better once I moved them to mostly shade.

    At my last place I had a few limbs removed from an oak tree which gave some much needed sun to that side of my garden.

    Soil requirements are very important as well. I struggled to grow portulaca until I put some in my neighbor's bed which has terrible sandy soil and infrequent watering. They do great there, lol.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Don't know yet -- that's why I'm behind. I have some periennials, but not well planned. I bought some others (mainly annuals) last year and killed a bunch (my veg grew fine).I'm going to look at my yard, my seeds, and my gardening books over the weekend and try to figure it out. I'd like to have periennials that worked together as one bed is great in the spring/early summer and then blah.

    So you are looking for later summer/early fall perennials?

    I like sedum autumn joy. Will flower in part shade but get much bigger in full sun. They will flop if not "pinched" back early, which is a great way to start more plants or have cuttings to give away.

    https://thefabulousgarden.com/blog/2017/06/13/pinch-back-sedum/

    nyaxqmn0wov3.png

    Montauk Daisy also blooms late, will also flop if not pinched, and also are easily propagated from cuttings. I got one plant from a plant swap two years ago and now have 6 plants.

    r2snvi3jh5jx.png

    I'm not crazy about white flowers though, so am going to look for some pink ones that are also late bloomers that I see around here the same time of year.

    These "Pump up the Jam" blend dahlias were spectacular until killed by the frost. I got them at a local discount store, Ocean State Job Lot.

    10f392f939b905fe1213ca479b093a08.jpg
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    Last year we planted marigolds up and down our front walk because when we moved up here 39 years ago, they had them and they were beautiful. Well, we also have a Flowering Crabapple tree from the same time and of course it's grown some in 39 years. :) So very little sun left for the marigolds and they pretty much fizzled away. :( Any suggestions for some shade loving flowers that would brighten up our sidewalk area without a lot of cost/upkeep? All I can think of are Impatiens?
    Annuals or perennials, not too big, just a sidewalk decor and maybe all summer bloomer?
    I will google it but wanted to ask here as well. Thanks all!!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited April 2021
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Last year we planted marigolds up and down our front walk because when we moved up here 39 years ago, they had them and they were beautiful. Well, we also have a Flowering Crabapple tree from the same time and of course it's grown some in 39 years. :) So very little sun left for the marigolds and they pretty much fizzled away. :( Any suggestions for some shade loving flowers that would brighten up our sidewalk area without a lot of cost/upkeep? All I can think of are Impatiens?
    Annuals or perennials, not too big, just a sidewalk decor and maybe all summer bloomer?
    I will google it but wanted to ask here as well. Thanks all!!

    For the pretty deep shade directly under my own Flowering Crabapple tree I have:

    Perennials:

    1. Lamium (a ground cover with green and white foliage and pretty pink flowers)
    2. Mouse ears hosta (miniature hosta - I didn't have the space for big ones but if you do these are a nice border)
    3. Astilbe (these come in a variety of colors)
    4. Columbine (ditto.) The common purple one self seeds easily and I now have many many plants from one plant - enough to share with my neighbor.
    5. Foxglove
    6. Early spring bulbs or rhizomes: crocus, daffodil, those purple 6 petal flowers, early tulips, Bloodroot
    7. Coral bells
    8. Japanese Painted Fern

    Tender perennial that I bring inside in the fall:
    1. Oxalis

    Annuals:

    1. Pansies or violas. I only plan on them looking good until it gets very hot, at which point they get scraggly but are hidden by other perennials anyway.
    2. Begonia
    3. Coleus

    I don't do impatiens under the tree because of their higher watering needs and rain doesn't penetrate the foliage well once the tree is fully leafed out. Of course, during last year's drought I hand to spend a lot of time hand watering, and the lamium suffered for the first year ever despite all my watering >.<

    I do mulch to help keep the moisture in.

    Also go to a local *garden center* (not big box store) and ask about *easy* shade plants.

    Or you could see if you have a local gardening group. Mine does giveaways this time of year. Anything we are giving away is de facto easy - that's why we have enough to give away :lol: For example lilies of the valley - I love these but they do spread aggressively, so I do not have them in this more manicured space in the front yard but enjoy the ones in the jungle behind my back fence.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited April 2021
    Thanks for the ideas, so great! I need to see what I bought when I went nuts buying seeds (more than I have room for) at the local garden store a few weeks ago.

    My next-door neighbor hired some landscapers and her yard is beautiful and has lots of flowering things. I want to learn to do it myself, but have a bit of yard envy.

    Also, my strawberries were coming up (not flowering yet) and now are gone, which just seems bizarre and I'm worried some animal got to them, although it seems weird that no evidence would be left behind. It would have to be squirrels or rabbits, I assume. (My vegetables are in a raised bed, but my strawberries are not, and I usually lose a bunch of the actual strawberries as a result, but this has not happened before. This was year 3 for them so I was hoping they would produce more than in past years.)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Thanks for the ideas, so great! I need to see what I bought when I went nuts buying seeds (more than I have room for) at the local garden store a few weeks ago.

    My next-door neighbor hired some landscapers and her yard is beautiful and has lots of flowering things. I want to learn to do it myself, but have a bit of yard envy.

    Also, my strawberries were coming up (not flowering yet) and now are gone, which just seems bizarre and I'm worried some animal got to them, although it seems weird that no evidence would be left behind. It would have to be squirrels or rabbits, I assume. (My vegetables are in a raised bed, but my strawberries are not, and I usually lose a bunch of the actual strawberries as a result, but this has not happened before. This was year 3 for them so I was hoping they would produce more than in past years.)

    Huh, that's weird. I've had strawberries foliage available to squirrels, rabbits, and groundhogs and nothing ever bothered the leaves.

    (These days I have a modular fence around them and when the berries are almost ripe put bird netting over it.)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited April 2021
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Last year we planted marigolds up and down our front walk because when we moved up here 39 years ago, they had them and they were beautiful. Well, we also have a Flowering Crabapple tree from the same time and of course it's grown some in 39 years. :) So very little sun left for the marigolds and they pretty much fizzled away. :( Any suggestions for some shade loving flowers that would brighten up our sidewalk area without a lot of cost/upkeep? All I can think of are Impatiens?
    Annuals or perennials, not too big, just a sidewalk decor and maybe all summer bloomer?
    I will google it but wanted to ask here as well. Thanks all!!

    For the pretty deep shade directly under my own Flowering Crabapple tree I have:

    Perennials:

    1. Lamium (a ground cover with green and white foliage and pretty pink flowers)
    2. Mouse ears hosta (miniature hosta - I didn't have the space for big ones but if you do these are a nice border)
    3. Astilbe (these come in a variety of colors)
    4. Columbine (ditto.) The common purple one self seeds easily and I now have many many plants from one plant - enough to share with my neighbor.
    5. Foxglove
    6. Early spring bulbs or rhizomes: crocus, daffodil, those purple 6 petal flowers, hyacinth, early tulips, bloodroot, etc.
    7. Coral bells
    8. Japanese Painted Fern

    Tender perennial that I bring inside in the fall:
    1. Oxalis

    Annuals:

    1. Pansies or violas. I only plan on them looking good until it gets very hot, at which point they get scraggly but are hidden by other perennials anyway.
    2. Begonia
    3. Coleus

    I don't do impatiens under the tree because of their higher watering needs and rain doesn't penetrate the foliage well once the tree is fully leafed out. Of course, during last year's drought I hand to spend a lot of time hand watering, and the lamium suffered for the first year ever despite all my watering >.<

    I do mulch to help keep the moisture in.

    Also go to a local *garden center* (not big box store) and ask about *easy* shade plants.

    Or you could see if you have a local gardening group. Mine does giveaways this time of year. Anything we are giving away is de facto easy - that's why we have enough to give away :lol: For example lilies of the valley - I love these but they do spread aggressively, so I do not have them in this more manicured space in the front yard but enjoy the ones in the jungle behind my back fence.

    I added some fresh mulch around this today and realized I'd left out my favorite mid-spring flower - bleeding heart!

    1atwpckay6bi.png
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    edited April 2021
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Last year we planted marigolds up and down our front walk because when we moved up here 39 years ago, they had them and they were beautiful. Well, we also have a Flowering Crabapple tree from the same time and of course it's grown some in 39 years. :) So very little sun left for the marigolds and they pretty much fizzled away. :( Any suggestions for some shade loving flowers that would brighten up our sidewalk area without a lot of cost/upkeep? All I can think of are Impatiens?
    Annuals or perennials, not too big, just a sidewalk decor and maybe all summer bloomer?
    I will google it but wanted to ask here as well. Thanks all!!

    For the pretty deep shade directly under my own Flowering Crabapple tree I have:

    Perennials:

    1. Lamium (a ground cover with green and white foliage and pretty pink flowers)
    2. Mouse ears hosta (miniature hosta - I didn't have the space for big ones but if you do these are a nice border)
    3. Astilbe (these come in a variety of colors)
    4. Columbine (ditto.) The common purple one self seeds easily and I now have many many plants from one plant - enough to share with my neighbor.
    5. Foxglove
    6. Early spring bulbs or rhizomes: crocus, daffodil, those purple 6 petal flowers, early tulips, Bloodroot
    7. Coral bells
    8. Japanese Painted Fern

    Tender perennial that I bring inside in the fall:
    1. Oxalis

    Annuals:

    1. Pansies or violas. I only plan on them looking good until it gets very hot, at which point they get scraggly but are hidden by other perennials anyway.
    2. Begonia
    3. Coleus

    I don't do impatiens under the tree because of their higher watering needs and rain doesn't penetrate the foliage well once the tree is fully leafed out. Of course, during last year's drought I hand to spend a lot of time hand watering, and the lamium suffered for the first year ever despite all my watering >.<

    I do mulch to help keep the moisture in.

    Also go to a local *garden center* (not big box store) and ask about *easy* shade plants.

    Or you could see if you have a local gardening group. Mine does giveaways this time of year. Anything we are giving away is de facto easy - that's why we have enough to give away :lol: For example lilies of the valley - I love these but they do spread aggressively, so I do not have them in this more manicured space in the front yard but enjoy the ones in the jungle behind my back fence.

    Thanks for all the ideas!!
    I may build up the area directly underneath around my tree, add soil and plant colorful flowers there. Plus add a ring around my mailbox at the end of my sidewalk. I haven't discussed this with dh yet but maybe up and down the sides of my sidewalk, I might add marble chips and solar lights, instead of flowers. :)
    We also have a retaining wall where we plant full sun flowers every year and a partially shaded area right in front of the house, built up by a rock wall, where we have a Bleeding Heart, some Forget-me-nots, Astilbe, some Daisies and misc. annuals we add every summer. So there'd definitely be color in the front of the house anyways; the marble chips would look nice and neat and I'm guaranteed not to kill them. :) Your Bleeding Heart is gorgeous, BTW. One of my favorites as well.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Last year we planted marigolds up and down our front walk because when we moved up here 39 years ago, they had them and they were beautiful. Well, we also have a Flowering Crabapple tree from the same time and of course it's grown some in 39 years. :) So very little sun left for the marigolds and they pretty much fizzled away. :( Any suggestions for some shade loving flowers that would brighten up our sidewalk area without a lot of cost/upkeep? All I can think of are Impatiens?
    Annuals or perennials, not too big, just a sidewalk decor and maybe all summer bloomer?
    I will google it but wanted to ask here as well. Thanks all!!

    For the pretty deep shade directly under my own Flowering Crabapple tree I have:

    Perennials:

    1. Lamium (a ground cover with green and white foliage and pretty pink flowers)
    2. Mouse ears hosta (miniature hosta - I didn't have the space for big ones but if you do these are a nice border)
    3. Astilbe (these come in a variety of colors)
    4. Columbine (ditto.) The common purple one self seeds easily and I now have many many plants from one plant - enough to share with my neighbor.
    5. Foxglove
    6. Early spring bulbs or rhizomes: crocus, daffodil, those purple 6 petal flowers, early tulips, Bloodroot
    7. Coral bells
    8. Japanese Painted Fern

    Tender perennial that I bring inside in the fall:
    1. Oxalis

    Annuals:

    1. Pansies or violas. I only plan on them looking good until it gets very hot, at which point they get scraggly but are hidden by other perennials anyway.
    2. Begonia
    3. Coleus

    I don't do impatiens under the tree because of their higher watering needs and rain doesn't penetrate the foliage well once the tree is fully leafed out. Of course, during last year's drought I hand to spend a lot of time hand watering, and the lamium suffered for the first year ever despite all my watering >.<

    I do mulch to help keep the moisture in.

    Also go to a local *garden center* (not big box store) and ask about *easy* shade plants.

    Or you could see if you have a local gardening group. Mine does giveaways this time of year. Anything we are giving away is de facto easy - that's why we have enough to give away :lol: For example lilies of the valley - I love these but they do spread aggressively, so I do not have them in this more manicured space in the front yard but enjoy the ones in the jungle behind my back fence.

    Thanks for all the ideas!!
    I may build up the area directly underneath around my tree, add soil and plant colorful flowers there. Plus add a ring around my mailbox at the end of my sidewalk. I haven't discussed this with dh yet but maybe up and down the sides of my sidewalk, I might add marble chips and solar lights, instead of flowers. :)
    We also have a retaining wall where we plant full sun flowers every year and a partially shaded area right in front of the house, built up by a rock wall, where we have a Bleeding Heart, some Forget-me-nots, Astilbe, some Daisies and misc. annuals we add every summer. So there'd definitely be color in the front of the house anyways; the marble chips would look nice and neat and I'm guaranteed not to kill them. :) Your Bleeding Heart is gorgeous, BTW. One of my favorites as well.

    If you add soil around the tree, don't pile it right up against the trunk. Leave the soil level at its current spot there, either by creating a "well" a bit out from the trunk (foot or so out, maybe) with landscape bricks to hold back the soil from the trunk, or by sloping the soil toward the tree so it's like a donut-shaped berm around the tree. Leave the whole root flare at the base exposed to air.

    It can be injurious to the tree to change its soil level around the trunk (or to heap mulch around it), perhaps even kill it: Moisture, fungus, decay, maybe insects.

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,372 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »

    I added some fresh mulch around this today and realized I'd left out my favorite mid-spring flower - bleeding heart!

    1atwpckay6bi.png

    These are native plants where I live. It makes walks in the forest even that much better. A woman around the block is doing a second annual "plant sale benefit" where she digs up things from her garden (or that others donate) and she sells them for whatever you want to give, and she donates all the money to a local food bank. I picked up a couple things last year, and if she still has bleeding hearts, I might go pick up a few... and I have no idea where I'd put them. Actually I do have an idea, but it's an area I was sort of thinking would be the next bed in my vegetable garden.

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,372 Member
    Some of my Great Camas has started to blossom. The second planting of spinach is producing sprouts. Artichokes are getting bigger. The “snow” from the flowering cherry is almost done.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Let's talk about how there's always April snow and below zero temps. (Just my whining. I know it's been worse elsewhere.)
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Let's talk about how there's always April snow and below zero temps. (Just my whining. I know it's been worse elsewhere.)

    Haha :) 100% chance of snow today here. Gotta love it. But that's New England. I keep telling myself it *is* only April. We were simply spoiled by a couple of weeks of really nice 60-70 weather.
    Having my snow tires changed out this Friday so hopefully that'll mark the true transition to spring weather. :)
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    It wasn't actually below zero, just below freezing. I don't usually think about weather in Celcius!
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 460 Member
    0C is the freezing point though. Equal to 32F.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »
    0C is the freezing point though. Equal to 32F.

    I know, that was my point. To me, below 0 means below 0 F. Below freezing means below 32 F. I claimed a below zero temp which would be quite odd here in late April, rather than the below freezing I meant. Seemed a weird thing for me to type by mistake, but I guess I'm prone to drama re cold weather. ;-)
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 460 Member
    Ah gotcha. I read it as thinking you'd made a mistake translating freezing to Celsius and was like "no... that's right..." 🙂

    Just impulse bought some catnip seeds. We have a ragged flower box under the front window that we never do anything with because the cat sits in one side of it, so... 🤷‍♀️

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