Attn Gardeners, plans for this spring???
I've got spring fever, and have been drooling over all of my gardening catalogs. I've already spent $20.00 on seeds, and plan to buy a ton of roses this year, as I fix all of my flower beds. What is everyone planning on planting this year? I've got my eyes on adding lots of old fashioned perrenials, some fruit, roses (of course, they're my favorites). I'm tearing down my back deck and "building" a patio. Has anyone ever used those concrete patio forms??? What are YOUR plans for the spring? |
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| Generally in the spring, I re-seed the back yard. Over the winter, the Duds has a tendancy to tear it up a bit. This winter, my landlady's leaf-raker people never came for the last raking, so it snowed and there was a goodly layer of leaves under the snow. The leaves are still there, and I suspect the grass will die if they aren't removed. I don't want to be blamed for lack of grass over the summer. My landlady likes to lay in the sun in the backyard.  Question: Should I bother to rake them myself? The action will most likely go unnoticed, uncompensated, and unappreciated.  If I knew for sure that I'd be moving before April, I wouldn't bother.  ~Katie. |
| I'm still debating that myself. Most leaf litter acts as a natural compost for your yard, so it CAN be beneficial, but I'm not sure how much or in what quantitiy... I've gotta rake up all the balck walnut leaves from last autumn though, when everything melts... those are not so great... |
| I want to plant iris and canas,(those are the only plants that I cant kill) but panda is still in the digging stage, sooo, we have chicken wire around everything...I just really hope we get an underground sprinkler system this year.... |
| OOOOO I LOVE irises! The tiny purple minis that come up in early April (in this part of the US, at least), and the HUGE purple ones that come up in May are also my favourites. I planted a whole bunch of irises, crocuses, and deep purple tulips at the house where I used to live. I miss seeing those flowers come up. I never got to it to plant bulbs at the house where I live now. Maybe at my new house I'll be able to plant this fall. I'd love to have a field of irises like the Van Gogh paintings.  ~Katie. |
| Hmmm...plans for the spring...
New front door, removal of railroad ties in front and side of house, landscape designer needed to reorganize front bushes and replace the huge dying weed in the middle circle. So, how much is all this going to cost me? Can I still go on vacation in March? |
I love iris too, I have inherited a bunch of mystery varities in my yard, they had already finished blooming when we began looking at the house so I have no idea what they'll look like! I'm not gonna buy any more till I know what I've got, but I can't wait to see!!! I hope they're not ugly...  Anybody want some hostas??? I'm gonna be digging up like 15 bazillion hostas this spring if anyone wants some... |
whats a hosta????  |
| Something that's probably not gonna grow in the desert Darc... It's a shade plant that is grown primarily for it's leaf patterns, which can be very pretty. They're very carefree, but some are beloved by the slugs. It does flower in the late summer, and some varieties are fragrant, but not all of them. I have an entire border of common white and green variegated hostas, which I'm ripping out, along with the ones planted in the west garden (which have no business being there since it is sunny) I like the less common varieities, like the giant blues and the green/blue ripply combos. Among the 1,000 hostas in my yard I don't have any of those, so most of them are going bye bye.
Here's a link so you can take a peek: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distributi ... 66-27.html The university of MN has an awesome horticulture division, that's their website, with an article re: shade perennials. |
| Hostas are very prevalent in VA. They look somewhat tropical--very green with big tear shaped leaves. I thought they bloomed in late spring and were just green for the rest of the time.
They are alright...not my favorite. I don't like plants with big leaves--they scare me...or big flowers, for that matter |
| VA is a lot warmer than we are... That could account for the earlier bloom time down there... I think junipers are scary... too many years of getting prickled when trying to pull weeds from under them as a child! |
| I like hostas! I've got a whole border of them on the north side (shady side) of my house. They're beautiful for nine months of the year - the other three they're not even out of the ground.
I've got tons of spring plans and I'm starting this weekend on some of them. I've got an area beside my driveway that was left "natural". But, last winter I lost most of the trees there due to ice. So, I had them all cut down, but two - one oak and one persimmon. Now, I've got all that undergrowth and some periwinkle I planted there many years ago to get rid of so I can do something with the area. I'm thinking of putting in a fountain or bird bath as a focal point and working in small shrubs, like azaleas around it. Not really sure yet...still mulling it over. |
| Hmmm...I'm still working out my plans for annuals. I typically start around 1,000 annuals inside: impatiens, heliotrope, snapdragons, pansy, ageratum, petunia, salvia, coleus, cosmos, nicotiana, marigolds, alyssum, celosia, cleome, cornflower, four o'clocks, pentas, phlox, scabiosa, stock, zinnia, nasturtium, sweet peas and tithonia.
As for perennials - I hope (time, weather and finances permitting) to put in a garden consisting of coneflower, black eyed susans, daisys and daylilies at the entrance of our driveway. We do have a lot of hostas - the local deer seem to love the varigated ones. For some reason, they don't touch the "blue" ones. Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and Sharkey |
| My but you're industrious!! I wish I had your energy!! |
| Dary, trust me, Hostas aren't for us! They love shade, moisture and acidic soil. They'd be toast there in hours. Here, they are grown in very special areas, but often succumb to snails. Back there their problem is getting something to grow in the shade, here it's what will tolerate our sun!
My garden plans are figuring out what I can do with this long drought we are in. Our wells aren't producing like they should, that doesn't help. I suspect I'll eliminate some of the less productive apple trees (yeah, play with the chain saw!), take a long look at the perennial garden and exchange the cannas and other water suckers for more drought tolerant perennials. This should be a hum dinger iris bloom season (if husband remembered to water this winter) but it will also be iris division time, it's their third year. |
Grass seed, lots of grass seed...................................
Remember............................. |
| What a shame you couldn't get that hydroseeded before winter. Any chance of throwing seed out there now and letting the snow plant it? Might want to throw out some Iceland and Shirley poppies too for a little spring color.....or do you want a lawn-lawn? |
| We really want a lawn, we did get part of it seeded before the bad weather came but not all. |
wow! That's a pretty intense bit of land! Good luck with your lawn growing  |
| When is the "ideal" time to re-seed your lawn, anyway? ~Katie. |
| Depends on the type of seed you put down but most grass grows best early in the spring when the weather is cool and wet. A little late snow won't even hurt it. We actually put some seed down before the snow that should hold through the winter and sprout just as soon as the weather allows. The earlier you cn get it down the better the root system will be for when the hot dry weather comes.
Click on my camera for more DIRT pictures |
| Is that a BULLDOZER I see in there???!??!?!? Oh my - what is the size of that plot of land? Imagine the fun that sprinting dogs could have in there. The main problem I have with Duds is that he wipes his feet when he's don'e pottying, and dirt goes flying everywhere. ~Katie. |
That is 3 acres of MUD, M U D and yes that is a bulldozer  , belongs to Doug's brother in law!! |
| I'm still in the depths of summer so long time yet to think about spring LOL |
I love hostas and so do the deer They consider them dessert. In Northern MI I don't have much luck with anything, too many critters and they love everything  Downstate we had a beautiful round rose garden that was peed on til they all died. Two things I'd like to do this year are a cutting garden and an old fashioned herb garden. Fora nyone doing a vegetable garden a great place to get a huge variety of organic potatoes is Wood Prarie Farm in Maine. They have several types of fingerlings that look good. |
| vegetables and fruit I do have rose bushes and hydrangea, but that's about it. We have a lot of fruit trees and a veg. garden. |
| I hope to plant some berry bushes this spring (boue berry and black berry). We have a large deer population also and I may be just feeding the deer but I am keeping my fingers crossed!!! |
| Last year after arriving in TN in late May, I put in a small herb garden (can't live without that) and tried a few vegetables but since it was hot and dry, the veggies didn't do well. I also put in a few flowers out front, nothing special except a hibiscus which I never had up north.
Last fall I did plant some tulips and daffodils (which are starting to come up it has been so warm) and will try to do more perennials in the front yard but digging up this red, rock hard soil is difficult. Will also try the veggies again, maybe a raised garden if I can get a truckload of topsoil w/out a lot of expense (I rent the house). Have been wondering when is the right time to start seedlings so they don't get too big before putting them out since I don't know what to expect from the weather (who ever does but usually have a guideline). Need to go to garden shop and get more info as well as seeds. Can't wait to get my hands back in the dirt. |
| We will be doing the ubiquitous tulips and daffodils and some veggies and herbs. We did herbs last year and the catnip was amazing! We love to bring it out and watch the cats go nuts. They both act so different from each other with it. so funny! |
| So do the gardeners coming to my house in May have any plans for my yard?
I have lots of hostas and I planted all the weirdest looking plants I could find but somebody needs to come make sense out of my flowerbeds and save these things from my black thumb! HELP! |
Maxmm wrote: So do the gardeners coming to my house in May have any plans for my yard?
I have lots of hostas and I planted all the weirdest looking plants I could find but somebody needs to come make sense out of my flowerbeds and save these things from my black thumb! HELP! Lol. I'll take a picture of my yard, Mandy, and then you can decide what kind of tips you'd like from me... |
| Sorry I won't be coming to your yard. I designed landscapes for 25 years and am burned out.
Before you decide on a plan, be serious about your needs.....your needs, not the preconceived notion of what a "proper" landscape should be. Unlike home designs where floor plans differ only marginally, landscapes can make a better fit to your family. Relax, jot down wants, be serious about your abilities and time (and money)......the rest just sorta happens. sheepieboss |
| I almost forgot...I planted 400, yup FOUR HUNDRED daffodils, tulips and iris this fall. I CAN'T WAIT til spring to see what comes up. My theory was that MAYBE 50% would survive the deer and the rodents |
Tasker's Mom wrote: My theory was that MAYBE 50% would survive the deer and the rodents
Wow...sounds like you live in a LOVELY place...just kidding ha ha. I'm being such a stinker right now  |
| Right out in the middle of NOWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it is lovely if you like deer (and rodents)
and bear and fox and coyotes and skunk and................. |
| I planted a caboodle of bulbs too! Myplanter is full of daffies, tulips, and crocus- I bought the cheapy 50 for 5$ package at Menards (a local home improvement store) so I'm not sad if they don't do well. However, if my very expensive nursery bulbs don't come up, then I AM gonna be mad! I hope they come up.
anyone know if you can plant lily bulbs in the spring? I want to buy some lillies, but didn't get a chance too in the autumn! Plus, that's part of my seed order from Monticello (formosa lilies), so I REALLY hope I can plant them!!!! I've also got seeds of: Heliotrope Lavender (yeah, I know it isn't hardy in MN, I'm putting it in a pot in the garage for the winter) pansies yarrow nicotiana oriental poppies feverfew sweet peas four o'clocks And that's just my first 2 orders!!! Not to mention I'm buying around 10 rose bushes, 3 trees, a couple shrubs, and a caboodle of perrenials! i'm gonna be a busy gardener this year!!! |
| from my experience w/ lilies in VT, you can put them in in the spring. In fact I've never had any problems in putting the Tiger Lily in at any time. They seem to survive no matter what and have had many times when I attempted to pull them all up as they were taking over. It's difficult to get rid of them once they take hold. |
| I can't wait till spring either. Gardening is one of my favorite things to do. I even like weeding. I'm going to winter sow some seeds tomorrow. I'm going to plant Nicotania;violas;pacific giant delphiniams;campanula;pansies;miss Jekyll nigella;persian nigella;poppies;vibrant pink phlox;candytuft and petunias. Say a prayer for me I never tried this winter sowing before. I usually always buy plants already started. This is supposed to be easier than starting seeds under lights.I already have a ton of perenials in my garden such as purple coneflowers,bee balm, false indigo root,iris's,lady's mantle, sweet wooddruff,foxgloves,columbine, comfrey,thyme,sage, sweet annie,spiderflowers, mallow,I love lemon verbena but its not hardy in my zone i have to plant it every year.I bet your sorry you got me started on this I could go on and on. I forgot Dahlias I love to. |
| Well, it IS just about time to start seeds inside so this IS a timely topic I did try to start a wildflower garden from seed OUTSIDE last year from one of those big jars of seed mixes. I CAREFULLY prepared the ground but sad to say the weeds took over and nary a flower reared it's head. I am hopful that maybe one or two flowers might appear this year but not holding my breath.
I would love to natuaralize poppies but don't know how to give them a head start over the weeds!!!! |
| I'm gonna try winter sowing too!!! I'm gonna reserve 1/2 my seed for regular sowing, if my winter sowing doesn't take, but it seems like such a great idea. It has been SO mild here this year, I'm hoping that is a good sign for my garden!!! We'll have to compare notes
On a side note, some of the daylilies at work (the ones close to the building) have begun to poke their heads up out of the ground- it's practically unheard of this early! I don't care what the ground hog says, I think spring is coming early to my part of the country!!!! I keep wanting to check my bulbs, but every time I get home, it's too dark to see... I'll have to check them this weekend... I can't wait for spring!!! Karen |
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