i want to start a garden...?

Question

i have both the areas i want to garden already, one has dirt the other does not, so i know i need sirt...duhh. what kind of plants are good year round but don't spread like wild fire? and what are some cheaper ways to get a kick *** looking garden? thanks

Answer 1

It really will pay you BIG dividends to do a little reading, researching and planning before you plant your garden. Get out your tape measure and draw up a plan. Watch the areas to see what kind of sun they get...is it morning? late afternoon? or allday? or maybe none. If it is shade, is it dappled or heavy? Next, visit a local gardening center, order catalogs, check out bluestone perennials.com or Johnny's selected seeds.com, or just do a search for gardening, plants or seeds. Then browse and enjoy. Just remember, they are trying to sell you something, so be sure that there is a guarantee that the palnts live. Lowe's guarantees for one full year from the date of purchase. Okay, with all of that being said, and in your excitement you choose to just go ahead and plant (Which is not necessarily all bad. you do learn more from experience than reading) start with some very basic flowers. Most plants that you buy, even if they are from Walmart, have color coded tags to let you know if they will live in full sun...or shade. The light and the water are truly important. Go ahead and plant. And remember this, failures are incredible teeachers too. If your plant starts looking spindly, or dry or what I like to call, "Unhappy" it is trying to tell you that it does not like where it lives. If it is an annual...lesson learned. If it is a perennial, move it. If in the course of a couple of growing seasons, you fail to find a 'happy' place for your perennial, you can take two approaches. One...you can accept that it will be labor intensive to maintain that plant, and continue to baby it to keep it alive...or two...you can let it die. Maybe it was not meant to live in your climate, your soil type, or your environment.
Looking for native plants that have been bred to great colors and longer bloom times is a good way to jump start your garden. Looking at the neighbor's gardens, and seeing what does well is a proven way to discover good choices. Don't be afraid to approach your neighbor and to compliment them on their garden and to ask about their plants. we gardeners are a very talkative lot when you get us started sharing out plant bios. And we can be really generous sharing cuttings and startings of our plants too. One last note: beware the plants that gardeners have extras of...and want to share freely...there is a reason! Happy gardening. If you have any more questions...email me @ [e-mail]. I will be glad to answer your gardening questions.

Answer 2

This link was written by an older gardener about having a garden that looks good in the winter too without a lot of work. Mostly it is planning and understand what plants work in your zone. Every plant I have ever encountered, spreads in some way, so find out which spread the slowest, and learn to deadhead if you don't want seeds.
Besides adding dirt, you might also want to add compost, well aged, weed free, compost. This is food for the plants you put in. Another thing to think about is soil drainage and acidity. Some plants like wet, others dry, and some like acid while others don't do as well. Some others change flower color with soil acidity levels.
I live in Montana, which is colder than your area in Seattle, but I do a spring show of crocus (low growing), and other bulbs, like daffodil,(med to high)and tulips (high), and usually if you put them in as you are preparing your bed, it is easier, and you can put them in "clumps" of 10 or so for a good show of color. I also have Columbine of many colors, tall, mid spring show here, Iris, which have new varieties that bloom spring and fall(have to be dug up every 3-5 years to separate, old "roots" don't produce flowers), and daylilly which grow into big clumps (which need to be separated or they choke each other out, again 3-5 years). Poppies come back year after year, but can spread. unless they are planted between bushes, like lilac. These are all lower maintenance perennials. I am still sparse on fall color, but a good bush could help here, with blooms in the spring and berries or colored foliage in the fall, as in a burning bush. Lilies are also a good bet, again a bulb, and they need to be separated after a time, as well. Most of these require no special work on the soil beyond the compost addition. They don't do well in wet areas though, so if it is a wet area, doing a raised bed for them.
If you can find someone who has the above plants, most gardeners divide in the fall and are willing to share instead of throw them out, so you can almost start for free, I did that with the daylilies, poppies, columbine. Bulbs are on sale now, in bulk at Walmart, Home Depot most home and garden stores.

Answer 3

The area that isn't "dirt" needs to be tilled first. PLAN YOUR GARDEN FIRST!!! I think "Better Homes and Gardens" has a free garden planning progam online. Once you know what plants you're going to use, you'll know what you need to add to the soil for the best growth. RESEARCH! You'll save a lot of time and money by knowing what works best in your area and how much time and care the garden will need.

Answer 4

Great Question! Great Starter flowers are: Sunflowers, Nasturtion, Cosmos, Poppy, Cornflower, or Annuals. Food Plants are: Cerry Tomatos, Zucchini, Squash, Pumpkin, or Cucumbers. Try Growing Parsley, Sage, and mint herbs for a great zest to add foods. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

What kinds of plants do you WANT?

FLowers? Edibiles? Trees for show or shade? Narrow down what you want, and then we can narrow down species choices.

Also - need to know where you are - different zones are good for different plants. Some are invasive in some areas of the country, but not others.