Gardens from Scratch - anybody else have a brand new lot?

We moved into our newly built home in April of this year. Not even any grass! But now we have sod, we've planted some trees, and are making plans for Spring perennial plantings. I have SOOOOOO many ideas, but the budget is the limiting factor. I'm having to really reign myself in and not feel like I have to plant everything all at once. Anyone in the same boat?

Welcome hugahosta!! I'm glad to see you made it here :o)

I wish I had a clean slate to work with. My beds are all overgrown and need to re-org-ed. You will find lots of great ideas here. My suggestion is don't bite off more then you chew at first. It's much more rewarding to have a nice looking small beds that are well tended and taken care of ... then large beds that are discouraging and impossible to keep up with.

Thanks, Sue :) I guess I should also mention that I REALLY need to keep myself paced because we're having our 3rd little one anyday now! Obviously...priorities! I'm hoping to establish one small/medium sized perennial bed in Spring 2005 w/ my husband. Small steps. Small steps.

WELCOME to DG, hugahosta!

Please feel free to lounge around! Relax.

As for your beds, pick your spot(s), and start covering them with mulch/leaves/etc...anything to start improving the soil will get you off to a good start!

You'll be fine. Will be looking forward to your progress reports! This is a great stage of life to be in! You'll love it!

Thanks for your encouragement, Horseshoe :) It's exciting - the blank slate - and I love to plan and dream. It'll be nice to bounce ideas off of ya'll this winter. DG will help out, I think, with that winter gardening itch. Thanks for the welcome :)

We sure do have some great Ohio members here! Not sure where Springboro is but I hope you keep up with the Roundup Forum in case there is one forming in your area. Trust me, you'll love those get-togethers!

Again...a Mighty Big Welcome!

Welcome to DG hugahosta!

I also started with a blank slate after we built our house in 2002 on 5 acres. The land was pretty much bare except for two ponderosa pine trees and a few small beds that were around the trailer house that got moved out. I started in 2003 with building beds all around the new house, and last fall we planted grass. We've been planting seedling trees for 3 years now, but so far they are still pretty little and don't add much to the vision. This year I worked on planting the beds I built last year, and trying to "see" what I want my yard to look like in 10 years. This winter I have to do a little more planning on ways to cut down the acreage that we keep groomed. It's way too much to take care of.

I'm not one that can be patient either. I want it all done YESTERDAY! LOL I'm trying to be patient though, and I also have a budget problem when it comes to landscaping. There never seems to be enough money set aside to do all my projects, and everything is so expensive.

I look forward to chatting with you this winter and maybe we can give each other some ideas.

Congratulations on the new little one too! Have your hubby post when he/she arrives. I love celebrating new babies.

Thanks for the reply Joan :) Five acres is far more than we're dealing with and it STILL seems like we may never make it look warm and lived-in. Are you planning on staying for good in your new home??? That would make a difference for me, I think. Right now, we're planning on 7-10 years here. I'm deciding what's worth the time/money and what's not. If it weren't all so ENJOYABLE for me, we'd probably plan on less :) But, as it is, I have dreams, dreams, dreams :) It's fun, though, making it all truly "yours", isn't it?

Yep, it is fun to dream, and I love gardening. We are planning on staying here as long as we are able to . When we get older, we may have to move into town, but God willing, that will be 30 years or more yet.

That's fantastic! May your baby trees tower before you by that time and may all of your slow-growing evergreens be lovely in your lifetime :) Take care :) Hope to post on Baby SOON!

hugahosta, welcome, to you and your up/down coming new little one. I take it for granted that seeing your name you like hostas. I moved here to this location 5 1/2 acres in 1995, there was only sagebrush and grass. So I had a new slate. I had lived in my other place 50 years and believe the soil that i had been improving those 50 years was much better than here.

Trees are my thing and I have been planting trees for 9 years. Course I love all plant material. If I can be of any help let me know Donna

Yes, Ruth, I really love hostas. Problem is I left them all in Virginia! My "hosta" garden is planned for the only shaded/partially shaded spot we have. Since it's not the most "visible" part of our lot, though, the dear hostas have to take a backseat to front yard beds and some "bones" plantings like trees and shrubs. I think we've planted over 15 trees and shrubs this summer. There are pics in my journal :) THANKS for the welcome!!! :) Hugs

You are in for fun! I got to renovate my garden last fall (we had to rip it up to replace drainage, paving, and retaining walls). First I ammended and tilled like mad. I have clay soil and I could finally get some good stuff in it all at once! I do have some mature trees and a pool so those were a given. Then I got to dream. How do you use your garden, and how does it relate to the house. Do you have particular plants you love eg. a rose garden? This is really vital and shouldn't be missed. Then think of how you live. eg. We are all sun sensitive so we are still planting shade trees. Think of dividing large spaces into smaller ones - "rooms" - where you can get a smaller space if you want. Water features are another question. Be sure to get the electricity where you want it or you'll have a location problem (speaking from experience). Now we have a gazebo next to the pool and a small fountain and quite a lot of cement pavers. If you haven't put in the hardscape, I really recommend a paving that is not white. The color really kills glare. We are terraced but if you're not, berms are great. On the other side we have a larger fountain and patio. In front of the house we have a dry creek, perennial garden and a bearded Iris garden (Well, it's not quite roses, but they are my favorite.) We live on almost 1/2 an acre but we are on a corner with a 24 foot setback so I have to use the front yard a lot. Or maybe you have kids - well that's a whole other senario. I have virtually no lawn.

And then I am still filling in spaces. In July my perennial garden had virtually no color! Don't know how I did that. So back to the nursery. I move plants around a lot if they are not doing well where they are (I don't pay too much attention to the "proper" time to move them - seems to work OK - just don't give up on them right away if they sag.) Or I take them out and give them to a friend. I'll bet I had well over 30 Calla Lillies spring up. So I am still wandering the nurserys. Whatever you do, don't worry about mistakes. Buy smaller plants to experiment with.

I've done this a couple of times before. You can see I'm still having a great time. Feel free to e-mail me if you want any more ideas or have questions.

Thanks, Doss! Appreciated the input :) I have decided to kind of divide the property up into "rooms" and give the feeling of an invitation to walk casually through it. You can check out my rough ideas on my journal if you want. I'm adding some pics of proposed garden sites here this weekend, weather permitting. Let me know if you visit the journal and if you can get a decent idea of what is where. Thanks again :)

-- Hugs

Sorry, Can you believe I forgot something?
If you're on a limited budget, plant and divide, plant and divide, plant and divide. You can grow a beautiful 1 gal. grass into a 5 gal. grass in a year, pick it up and divide it into at least 4 and there you are. I don't know what you can grow there, but I'm always digging out plant runners that tend to take over -even ground covers like Mondo and Aguga and moving them. They will runner out immediately to fill the space. Put in Iris and Day lillies that need separating. Get naturalizing daffodils and don't bother with annuals except seeds. I love seeds. If you have't tried them, they will make you happy. Oh, and don't be afraid to put in a test plant before you plant a lot of it. Fill in the spaces with bark - makes it look like you just vacuumed the carpet - while helping your soil. This will only work for one year before you have to replace it. I use gorilla hair because it keeps the mud off the dogs feet and stops weeds and it actually looks better longer. If you have a good friend with a garden, offer to divide her plants for her if they are overrun. Then take some home as payment for a job well done. And from my old garden, I rescued what I could. Not much but the Mondo Grass is heaven sent. Put in flats of ground cover rather than 6 packs. And shop the discount stores. I think that I got all the financial stuff out of the way here, but who knows, I may be back.

Thanks again! :)

If I could start over with a bare plot, I'd place trees first, outline the beds, then fill in with perennials. I loved the way my cottage gardens looked but I have bored with them. I love the look of sprawling lawn, with curvy edged beds, mounds of each perennial swimming in a lake of mulch.

To get the most perennial coverage, I would start seeds of things that bloom quickly then fill in with annuals for the first year or two. It is amazing what you can grow from seed! I'm sure some of us here would be happy to send you seeds and/or divisions. :)

Thanks, Michele :) I was encouraged by your reply! We planted almost all of the main trees this summer, and plan on the other main "bones" plantings in Spring. A magnolia, viburnum, some climbers to give the necessary structure. Seemed to make sense since they take the longest to establish. Love the curvey edged beds too, but I';m trying to choose low-maintenance, keeping most of my daily gardening (perennials) in front where it's seen more. I'm trying to utilize flowering trees/shrubs for super low-maintenace beauty :) I'm very into foliage contrasts too and the neat effects you can get just from contrasting/complementing foliage. No deadheading with foliage plants :) The backyard will have a lot less perennials, partially due to maintenance and time restrictions and partially due to wanting to keep bees away from the main playing areas for my little ones. I'll have to keep ya'll updated. I'm putting in pictures of my "proposed bed sites" in my journal today. My journal's totally open. Be as snoopey as you like :)

Thanks, too, for the offer for seeds/divisions! That is soooooooooo sweet!!! And generous! If you see something on my plans in my journal that you'd like to "donate" to a worthy cause, just let me know :) lol. I'm working on the front perennial border, mailbox bed, and lightpost bed this coming Spring. Thanks a ton!!!! As soon as I get a plant, I'd be happy to trade divisions. Right now, I'm afraid, the garden isn't much worthy of sharing :) Thanks again!

Just thought I'd mention a Magnolia I planted ("Galaxy") 15 years ago. When I got it, mail order, it had 5 leaves on it. Now it's at least 20 feet tall. "Galaxy" may bloom too early for you but if your Magnolia is in the right place, it may surprise you. It will surely get plenty of sun!

I'm looking to plant a Magnolia virginiana or was it virginicus??? Tolerates my zone better and actually does well in part shade here. Not sure about cultivar yet. Hope to plant it in Spring :)

hugahosta - just saw this site. did you have the baby yet? congratulations and hello from new york. any baby pics yet?

Hugahosta--did I hear that your baby arrived? I hope everything is lovely for you and babykins and your other little ones now! And Daddy, too, of course!

Here's an idea for your spring garden--I know you probably don't have the time--but you might want to check out the daffodil bulb close-out sales right now at HD, Lowes and elsewhere...(half-off at ours in Cincy right now and will probably go lower.) Daffs are great because the deer and squirrels and moles don't like them and they naturalize easily, (come back year after year with no trouble) and aren't particular about their soil. And they are sooo cheery in early Spring when things are So Dreary here. (I don't know why everyone doesn't plant hundreds!) Try some blue muscari bulbs with them. Tulips are another story completely: the animals love'em and you might as well skip them for now.

Yes, and the RU's are great places to trade for some wonderful plants. Ours will be in late April so make plans to come on down (with the fam) .

If you are housebound this winter with the kids, you may want to Google "Winter Sowing" http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/wtrsow/
--it's a great way to start all kinds of seeds for spring planting and your kids will have fun with it too. Then you can trade your extras.

Sounds like you have a great project going. You live in a lovely area--(I was just there shopping at Dorothy Lane--great store...there are some interesting garden centers around there for good ideas, too...

Happy gardening. t.

Oh, one more thing to mention, Hugahosta--HD and Lowes had hostas and day lilies (stella d'oro, etc.) on close out yesterday for about a dollar each.

The manager said just to 'make an offer' if a dollar was too much. They didn't look like much either, but...worth a try--gold standard, minuteman, francee, mixed, some others.

The manager of my garden center here said it wasn't too late to plant, either--she said she's done it for years in November and has only lost one plant...Somebody else said just to plant the pot and all and replant next spring when you know where you want them....mmmm....

Also, did you read the thread something about "Best Deals/Bargains" where some DGers confessed to Dumpster Diving at Depot? Now I'm not suggesting you do that with a newborn, but it was a hilarious thread!

Take care. t.

Thanks so much for the ideas, everyone! The answer is "yes" we did have our little bundle of Joy (her name is Joy Elisabeth) and she's 10 days old now :) I like to log on just before we turn in at night to see what's going on. She's a doll and such an easy newborn (relatively speaking)! She's just blended right into our little family. She has two sisters (3 and 1/2 and 2 years). Very fun.

I have been trying to stay disciplined and not plant in unprepared beds this fall. The house is new and all the builders left around it is compacted clay. It definitely needs serious amending before we plant a thing. I hope to make some use of the late fall sales next year, though.

As far as seeds go, I'm trying to learn about which plants come absolutely true from seed. I'm kind of a stickler about cultivars. If anyone sees my "plans" in my journal and knows that one of my "desireables" comes truly true from seed, I'd love to know! I do plan on sowing some annual seeds in Spring :) Thanks so much! I love the influx of ideas! :)

I have two words for you, well rather for the back yard. LOL Ornamental grass! Low maintenance, the bees do not care for the flowers, you only have to cut them back once a year and they come in several shapes, sizes and colors. I LOVE my grasses!

Don't feel like you have to prepare huge beds or all the beds at one time. You can always lay out your outline and have your size ideas in mind then just ammend each planting hole or do a section at a time. It is not so overwhelming that way. Being that you and I are on a close birthing schedule (LOL) overwhelming is not good. :)

I'm going to have to meet you one of these days tabasco! Did you ever make it up to Target to check on me? Come say hi some morning.

I go to target a lot but the manager doesn't know "Badseed"!

OK, Huga, I checked out your journal entries! Very specific plants in your plans....sounds lovely.

Love the idea of your butterfly garden. Don't forget to include some liatris (bulbs) in it next spring--the butterflies and goldfinches love them (and the neighbors will be curious)....very popular plant in Europe even though it's native to America...hasn't really caught on here much...

Good luck with your planning--I love the books you recommended. I worked on the Ortho "Shade Gardening" book many years ago (first edition) when I lived in San Francisco (and had little kids like yours!)...

Good luck! t.

That's really neat that you worked on that book! It's been very useful for me :) Thanks for the liatris tip, too :) Do you have any photos?

LMBO!!! I thought you knew my real name! LOL Just tell them you are looking for Michele or that blonde girl with six kids. They'll know who you want. 99% of the time you will find me with a big metal rolling rack, hanging up clothes. :)

When I was newly married and we lived in an apartment in San Francisco I worked on a number of the original Ortho books--my sister was managing editor for Ortho in the 70's and I'd help her find gardens, do photo shoots and comparison experiments, cook and bake, proof, edit, etc. It was fun. I didn't get paid but I met lots of interesting people and learned a lot about a lot of things and got free pots and pans. Now I wish I could remember some of it!

"Home Canning" was a hoot. Neither of us knew a thing about it and she had to go to the Indiana State Fair and be a Celebrity Expert for Radio and Television (PBS) and "fake it". And you know, in Indiana they know how to "Can"! Very nerve wracking. By the way, "Cakes and Pastries" has the best chocolat layer cake ever.

Those were the days! The books are still selling I guess, although updated/revised quite a bit. Her "Houseplants" book has sold over 10,000,000 copies. She has no houseplants in her house, by the way!

Michele--next time I'm in Target I will look you up!

Tabasco, that's a hoot!! So much for "experts".

Just went shopping with my daughter who is putting together a garden from scratch. Under her bay window she but in Statice, niermbergia (sp?), pansies, and ornamental cabbage. Her budget was $160 and she stuck to it including soil amendment. Pansies and the cabbage should last the winter here and then we can plan more. She has planted creeping mint to keep the weeds down. It's going to be beautiful. The rest of her yard has pretty much gone to weeds but I keep digging and separating things out of my garden and putting them in hers. The cannas go next.

She is taking one area at a time

One thought: Plant Delights Nursery has a T shirt that says "Friends don't let friends buy annuals". (tee hee)


You have any ideas forming in your mind about "rooms" yet and what they might be?

Yes, in my journal in "garden overview" I have a shot of the shade corner. There will be a shade bed there with viburnum, hostas, polygonatum, bleeding heart, azaleas, etc. There will also be a bench or (best choice) a wooden bench that glides. Amish wood shop down the road, but they're pricey. Then I hope to add 2-3 standing candle lanterns for soft lighting in evening. This is the Courtin' room, or a place in the warm summer evenings where my DH and I can have some cozy, outdoor moments. A small boxwood hedge (?) will act as a fence to separate it from the backyard. Also, maybe a toad pond. Not really for romantic effect, more for practical reasons... slug control :) A small fountain would make a romantic sound atleast :)

Put your money into the structure of the plantings (trees and shrubs). Recommended ways to save money on landscape installation:

1) Install landscaping yourself (labor is the largest chuck of the installation); well worth the delivery cost to have the supplier deliver plant material to your home.

2) If not experienced or not thrilled about doing all the work yourself then have a contractor do all the bed prepration, planting of trees and evergreen shrubs. Then you can plant all the deciduous shrubs, perennials and annuals. Everything in the latter group is easy enough for a small woman to handle on her own. Again this saves money on labor.

3) Get a landscape design done or create one yourself and have several contractors submit competitive bids on the project. Make sure you supply a plant list specifying plant sizes etc. Just beware, you get what you pay for...bids considerably lower than the other contractors are low for a reason. Inquire about plant sizes, anticipated length of installation and warranty on plant material or hardscaping projects.

4) Break your project down into several phases and install over several seasons. Keep in mind that a 15k project broken down into 3 phase might end up costing 17k instead of just 15k if you had it done all at once. Many people choose to break the project down instead of going into debt for landscaping!

5) Put the money into trees and evergreen shrubs. This will make the garden or foundation plantings look established. Opt for smaller size deciduous shrubs and perennials. These plants tend to grow quicker and are less expensive than the evergreens and trees.

6) If planting perennials, choose smaller sizes like quarts or plugs and fill in with annuals the first year.

7) Trade or barter for plants from friends and neighbors.

Good Luck!

This message was edited Nov 16, 2004 6:53 PM

This message was edited Nov 16, 2004 6:54 PM

Thanks for the ideas, Secluded!