I live in Illinois, zone 5, I think. I have never gardened before, but my naked house needs some plants or something! Could you please suggest hardy plants that grow well in this area, and require a minimum of care? If I later discover a knack for gardening, I'll commit more time and money to it. But I want to keep things as simple as possible for now.
2007-03-20 03:18:11 · 10 answers · asked by Pink Denial 6 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
I live in Zone 5. I have hollyhocks everywhere, the previous owner must have loved them. They are BY FAR the easiest, most colorful and showy thing. There are tons of different colors out there. But they can be fairly invasive, they produce tons of seeds and you can get overrun with them if you let them have their way.
Perennial (meaning they bloom once, come back next year) plants I love: Hosta, Lilacs and butterfly bush. Easy, easy, easy.
Annuals (have to be replanted every year, but with proper care will bloom all season): Pansies, Dianthus (my dianthus are coming back every year, but it is supposed to be an annual), Lobelia, Petunias - all do well in sun. Salvia is nice and easy. Impatiens are great for shade.
2007-03-25 06:23:05 · answer #1 · answered by godged 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Illinois is zone 5. Listen, I'm a master gardener. Bulbs are great and all, but after they bloom you have alot of greenery you have to deal with or you have to dig the bulbs. If you want tulips or daffodils, and you are lazy, plant them in pots and then you can move them once they bloom and be done with them..Try planting day lilies or physostegia....they both are really hardy. Might not be the best show this year, but if you plant them and keep them watered...next year...watch out. Also, there is a plant called 'Baptista' that grows like crazy in the sun and is really hardy...also try a shrub called 'Artemesia'...good luck
2007-03-23 16:08:18 · answer #2 · answered by C Shannon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will want perennials. Once you put them in your done with them. Chrysanthemums and asters bloom in the fall, tulips and daffodils bloom in the spring, day lillies are early summer, black-eyed susans are middle summer as are cone flowers.
If you want to be a lazy gardner it is important that you mulch heavily and compost. Composting is taking all your grass clippings, leaves and branches, putting them in a pile (a black composter bin does works faster) and letting it break down. Leave it alone for the first year, just add stuff to it. You can turn it occasionally, but it pretty much will run itself. After it has percolated for a year it will be rich in nutrients, organic (won't hurt the water table) and replenish your soil. Just spread it around your plants once a year. You won't have to use chemical fertilizers that are expensive and not very good for you or the earth.
Mulch is shredded plant matter like cypress. You lay down a good three inches around all your plants (leave some bare space between the mulch and your trees though). The mulch breaks down and gives some nutrients to the soil, but more importantly, with mulch you hardly ever have to weed (and what weeds you do get practically throw themself into your hand they come out of the mulch so easily), it cuts down on your need to water (very important for the lazy gardner and to conserve water) and it keeps topsoil in place. You don't want to have to lay down more topsoil (expensive and wasteful) when you could have kept everything in place with mulch.
Good Luck
2007-03-20 03:50:01 · answer #3 · answered by Joyce M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Any flowering plant that grows from a bulb is great. Example - easter lillies. you plant the bulbs and they grow and bloom in the spring practically on their own. And here's the best part - Next year they will come back all by themselves, and for every year there after as long as the bulbs are in the ground. downside - they only last a short time. from the brink of spring weather till the middle of april or so.
2007-03-20 03:25:02 · answer #4 · answered by krazyshadowkat 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to a garden center, they will tell you about plants that are hardy in your Zone and min care plants
2007-03-20 03:48:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you're that lazy, maybe you could really try to get to a garden center. If you aren't going to maintain what you put in, don't waste your money. If you get some good advice as to weed provention, insect and weed control, plus which goes where, your chance of success is much greater.
2007-03-20 03:35:32 · answer #6 · answered by saaanen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plants will depend on soil and sunlight conditions. A couple of good all-purpose, generally low-maintenance plants are:
rhododendrons
azaleas
hostas
2007-03-20 03:21:57 · answer #7 · answered by retropink 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Marigold, and Moss roses for flowers. Try Barberry for shrubs.
2007-03-20 13:48:17 · answer #8 · answered by jimdc49 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
shrubs: dogwood, viburnum, privet, forsythia, hydrangea
perennial flowers: coneflower, black eyed susans, yucca, prairie grasses, daylilies, daisies, sedum, yarrow
annual flowers: portulaca, petunia, marigolds, calendula, cosmos
2007-03-20 03:24:23 · answer #9 · answered by Sara 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go with preannuals, and bushes, and shrubs
2007-03-20 10:08:02 · answer #10 · answered by kanei 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋