Carolina Gardening: Need advice, please, 0 by bonjon

bonjon wrote:
hi there - tggfisk is giving great advice here. Think I'll add a bit.

you are new to gardening? remember this motto from Plant Delights Nursery: "I consider any plant hardy until I've personally killed it 3 times."

new gardeners should:
1. drive through your neighborhood, or any nearby neighborhoods you like with similar aged houses, and find yards you like. Knock on the door (at a time they are likely to be home, but PLEASE not after dark) and ask them if they could answer some questions for you. Gardeners LOVE to talk about their yards and show off - and if it's someone like tggfisk, she'll start handing you free plants! ask LOTS of questions, and see if they'll give you a phone# you can call if you have more questions. If they will let you, TAKE PHOTOs. you need to know what YOU like and what you don't.

NOTE: if anyone gives you a plant, find something you can write on and LABEL THAT PLANT immediately! two days later you won't remember what it is....

2. ask thousands of questions at your local garden centers - and I'm NOT talkiing about your Home Depot, Lowes or Walmart.

Shrubs - you need some, but also ask someone in security what they recommend. shrubs that can hide robbers five years later are a no-no.

ground covers. best place to go for Dummies Guide to Ground Covers is http://www.stepables.com their prices are higher than some, sometimes. but you can at least get some names of plants and what they do, where they grow best, can they handle an occasional flooding, etc. in their comments or search parameters, you are given several choices.

Sun - No Sun ???? In general, east and south sides of your home probably get the most sun, but west side will get hot afternoon sun and will be harshest. if trees or building or topography (slope) changes this, then you know to factor that in. Full sun= 6 or more hours of sunshine.

rule of thumb - grass grows best in full sun, and you have a decent looking lawn there. grass grows fast and lush anywhere it's sunny AND damp. grass grows poorly in shade, very dry areas, stony areas, and under large trees (they hog the water). Use your grass as your compass for sun and wetness. how wet an area is also matters, as you've seen with your flooding issue.

one last comment: stick straight flower beds (straight lines) are not that attractive because they will emphasize the boxiness of your home. even though they are harder to create, curving lines will give you the gentle flowing lines of a great garden. in some places lines are good - but gentle down the boxiness of your home with curving beds out front. this is one thing new gardeners (and husbands - drat it all) don't know to use.

here's photo of a Straight flower bed at an older home, but it has five curving beds before you see the house. I don't have the names of these folks, but you can't really see them well, so I'll post it.

close up these are irises, dwarf weigeilas (sp?), heurcheras (coral bells) and such. you have a very different building fascade, but this is a straight front bed (well, side bed).

This message was edited Jun 11, 2009 3:14 PM