Need a Surprise Instant Garden

That can be done in a day.

Our best friends just bought a house and the gardens are well Yuck! My dearest friend is not much of a gardener and I wanted to put in a front bed during the day while they're at work as a housewarming/anniversary present. I am thinking of mixing annuals and perennials but want color immediately and it really needs to be low maintenance. I was there tonight and identified the plants she had and she just would not believe me when I told her that a peony was a peony. She kept insisting it was this big flower thing..............okay so that is what I am dealing with.

She has a NOID rose and some lilies and daylilies there now. I noticed a decent sedum and the big flower thing (peony) I am thinking petunia and annual geraniums but would really like suggestions on something that would just make it pop. I can throw in a love lies bleeding for drama but I need some unification. I am a collector not a planner and this needs to be pretty and not haphazard. I am used to a more cottage feel but this is a foundation garden and I don't think the cottage feel is suited here.

Did I mention LOW maintenance?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edit to add: money is also an issue hubby is already grumbling about the 20+ roses coming for my yard this week and the delivery last week and the Annie's order that arrived today and the so on well you all know the deal.


This message was edited May 10, 2011 9:55 PM

How big are her daylilies? Can you split them up?
Do you have a pic of the area? would help tremendously in suggesting plants for the space

I can sneak over today and grab a pic and do a quick measurement

Ooh, this sounds like a fun project! Is it too late? I'm going to need to think about it a bit... My first thoughts are that for color NOW, you'll just have to do annuals, but some great low-maintenance perennials might be:
Montauk daisy; shasta daisy; Siberian Iris; other sedum; maybe a knockout rose or two; campanula; coreopsis (I'm just assuming it's a sunny garden, but any specifics you can give will help--did you get that picture?)

Also, almost all mail-order nurseries have pre-planned gardens, so they've taken care of the unification and layout for you, and there's often a fairly significant discount. I know the plants from Bluestone might be smaller than you want, but it might be worth at least looking at for ideas.

Your friend is lucky!

It does sound like an exciting project, but don't go overboard! Long ago I was told to stop and plan before planting. Put in annuals for quick color the first year and after a thorough survey and lots of thinking plant trees and large shrubs and tear out or move the existing ones that don't fit your plan. Flowering shrubs and perennials go in the second year after you have gotten used to the garden and recognized the best areas for sun/part sun/shade plants. Don't overplant in early years! (I learned this the hard way after putting in several shrubs too close to one another). Books like Hilliers Guide to Trees and Shrubs, Clausen's Perennials for American Gardens, and Cox's Perennial All-Stars are invaluable in selecting the proper plant for the proper place.

I have bought much from Bluestone over the years, but based on the growth rates I have observed, I have the feeling that their pre-planned gardens won't look like the illustrations for at least the first two years.

For loads of annuals, check your local big box stores or supermarkets. They usually have cheaper annual plants than the nurseries, but don't carry a wide range of perennials. For those extra-special plants I go to local garden centers or mail-order nurseries.

I know it's a cliche....impatiens !!!

Quick color, cheap, and they take part-shade to full-shade, so ......just plunk them in ....EASY...!!!!

I'm thinking annuals wouldn't make a great housewarming gift though, because they won't have them next year. You want something lasting so they'll remember that you gave it to them.

It would be super-cool if you got some small shrubs, left them in the containers, so they could re-position them in the autumn.................according to their own personal taste.

Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Mungo Pine

Canadian Weeping Hemlock (kept severely trimmed, like an over-sized bonsai, or it WILL take over.)

I have an extra Betty Boop rose I was planning on using and wanted some kind of shrubbery. I have black eyed susans I can throw in for fall interest. I also have a lot of painted daisies and bellflowers. I am hardening off things right now so I was thinking of adding annuals to the perennials I am growing from seed since they won't be much until next year. I may just invest in one limelight for the corner as a focal point. I like the leaving in pot suggestion for shrubs.

I need to hit the big orange box and see what is on sale.

Funny thing she just texted me and asked if I was starting her yard...........

here are the garden areas on is 18 x 6 shown here

and this area is 11 x 5.5

The list of plants I can contribute are yarrow, bell flower, dianthus, geranium, Betty Boop rose, morning glories (I have more seeds) zinnia, aramantha, painted daisies and a clematis I picked up at Waly World that is currently growing out in a pot. (I have lots of things I could move but I think they are too high maintenance)

I was thinking of hiding the pipe with a chicken wire structure for the morning glories.

How much sun, how much shade ?

Two or three tiny conifers (as "anchors");

You are such a nice friend to that, Bookreader! Put in some irises....they take up room, & bloom quickly.....but I would do mostly annuals for quick color....cleome for height, or cosmos......some bright petunias or marigolds.....

I was looking at my iris today I might move some of it. I want to cry about my own beds DH just started scraping the house today and this is the result (you can see the shakes need painting). Tomorrow I told him he could put sheets over things but not canvas drop cloths.

I picked up some zinnia seeds. I have cleome but I need at least 6 for the garden I planned. I may seed areas and give her explicit watering instructions...........or run over and do it my self.

The beds I want to do are pretty much all day sun and I think the rose is red. I would love to use reds, yellow and whites with pops of pink. The neighbors saw me today measuring and taking pictures hope they don't say anything about the wacko measuring gardens,

This message was edited May 11, 2011 2:52 PM

You probably already know this, but "measurements" never come out exactly as anticipated in any garden !

Relax, and enjoy the journey....I have had garden plans "fail" often, only to find that Nature will happily surprise you.

I'd divide the daylily into at least 3 clumps across the back. Maybe add a knockout rose or two, or something else just as tough- The Fairy gets big gast, or another 'landscape' rose. In front of them I'd spot perennials-even tiny ones as long as they won't need too much TLC- spaced the way they'll eventually fill in, and put annuals in between. Maybe rudbeckia, coreopsis, veronicas, lambs ears for edging, plants others suggested- what my pro friend calls workhorses. For the trellis, what about a clematis? If it's sunny, there are endless choices. For shade, the autumn bloomer is great- and foolproof.

I've been trying to resurrect a huge garden for the last five years, and several areas have finally filled in nicely. I'd buy one plant and divide the heck out of it, then put same color annuals to fill the bare spots between them until they took over themselves.

Another thing that works for people who don't know the difference is re-seeding annuals, and perennials that some of us might consider invasive- creeping Jenny, for one, but there are many.

What a fun project, and a great gift!

Pam

Hi Pam, sounds like you are having fun with that garden......I yanked out most of the plants in one perennial bed a few years ago, but can't seem to get it looking right.....it does look better than last year, though.....

Hi Robin,

It does seem to take forever...as soon as our snow melted I was out there digging away, got a few huge projects done-YAY! But now I'm seeing fewer eyesores, and fewer bare spots where eyesores were eliminated. How are you doing after all the winter disasters?

This little 'gift' garden seems like a piece of cake! Book reader, it sounds like you already have it pretty well covered. You're right, at the box store I'm sure you'll be able to pick up some things that will work with what you have, and fill in with annuals. Nicotiana seem harder to come by these days, but i still love them. Another favorite re-seeder of mine is Verbena Bonariensis. You can sprinkle them across the back and when they do their thing it will be another surprise. Sweet Alyssum is a nice filler for the front edge, also Lobelia. And nasturtiums can cover a lot of bare ground depending on which variety you get.

Have fun!

Pam

If it ever stops raining in New York I will. I have a pile of annuals I bought and lots of perennials I have started from seed to add. I also picked up zinnia seeds and I have cosmos seeds here. I have nicotina I started from seed and a big old patch of lambs ear I need to divide anyway.

I think I am going to stick to red, yellow and purple with white accent plants. I am going to add Love Lies Bleeding for drama and as a way to cover the meter. She has a huge patch of Rudbeckia that I am going to divide and redistribute as a way of giving the initial year a cohesive flow. I also may donate one of my russian sage plants.

oh is this fun... I will be watching

It is fun, Bookreader! We'll need to see photos of the finished product. Pam, I had some winter damage...lost my crape myrtle, & a few perennials, but the snow was a great insulator, most plants survived....I'm very happy to see my roses look very good this year.

Please do post pictures, we'll all be watching and cheering you on!

Robin, I also see the difference the snow made, especially in plants I moved late in the fall. We lost some branches here and there, one rose broke badly, but the others look great. Also I re-read some Jekyll this winter- or was it Sackville-West?- about not pruning the roses back to stubs, and I must say, I like it better already. And I like not getting stabbed so many times, too!

I never prune my roses back very much....I prune the middle of April.....the only rose that I had to prune down to a nub was my Austin ...Strawberry Hill...it was totally broken from ice sliding off the garage roof this winter.....when I had rugosas, I would prune them heavily, but I got rid of them as I couldn't stand the thorns!

I prune the dead ends and shape up the bush but I never cut back to severly. I was looking at one today that is getting bigger than I want. If I prune it it just may get even bigger. With all the rain we've had everything is getting big.

Yes, still raining so no surprise garden yet. I spent the day stripping the woodwork. Finished the living room and started the dinning room. Who paints woodwork in an arts and crafts bungalow? Lucky for me only two coats of paint in 100 years so the task is easier than I anticipated. If anyone takes a break from gardening to strip paint I highly recommend Soy Gel. No burning but you have to leave it on. It is like boogers coming off but it encapsulates lead paint for safe removal.

That's quite an image you painted there! Very funny. We're drowning here in NYC too, it's a monsoon, and its supposed to keep going for another couple of days. I moved and divided a bunch of things over the weekend in CT. By the time I get back there on Sunday they should be very happy.

Quite a project, Bookreader....have to do some painting here, but am putting it off.....Pam, good time to transplant things....the rain settled them in for sure.....