I am new with a few questions

Hi everyone my name is Stacy I am new to the message board and I am really anjoying it so far. I am also new to gardening and my husband and I are enjoying it. I dont know the technical terms of things, or exactly what I am doing :) but we are figureing it all out.

We recently started a flower bed in the middle of the front yeard, it currently has in it.....a butterfly bush (still very small) 2 luna hibiscus plants (1 red and 1 blush), some russian sage (smells awseome), black and blue Salvia, Creme Brulee Coreopsis, and some decorative grass, along with some impatients.

My question is, What else can I use for some filler between these plants? We still have to put a border around it (we were thinking either brick or rock, since both are very easy for us to get since my husband is a mason...) We also need to put some mulch down after we get done putting what else we want in it. Should we also lay down a plastic barrier between the mulch and the ground? Or will the mulch itself keep the grass from growing? (we have tilled it all up and have the few plants we have now in the ground and the grass isnt growing back at a rapid rate as of yet.

I also have a question regarding a few sale things I bought from Walmart recently. I got about 3 bags of 12 bulbs each Gladiolus on sale for $1/each And 2 bags of Hostas also $1.....the hostas I put in small pots to start them out (is the the right thing to do with these? or can they go straight into the ground?) I know Gladiolus have already bloomed here but is it too late to get these bulbs into the ground? or what should I do with them to keep them form going bad?

Thanks and I hope I posted this in the right spot I look forward to getting to know everyone I am already enjoying looking at everyones pictures!


Here is what we have going on so far.....

First of all, welcome!
Second, yep, right forum.
Third, I'm not from the south, so I'm assuming on the glads, but I would plant them if I were you. I've had some winter over even up here in the slightly frozen north (except for when it's 90 F - yikes!) and you shouldn't have any problem with them. They might even bloom yet this year. I would also put the hostas in the ground in a heavily shaded spot and water well and mulch.
About the mulch, if you put down 2 to 3 inches, it should keep the grass down without the further expense and mess of the plastic. Weeds that do grow up through the mulch are, in my experience, usually quite easy to pull, and if you didn't have any weeds, how would you know you're a gardener??
It looks liek you have a good start. I have a bed right behind the house that I have bordered with bricks layed flat. I eradicated about 4 inches of grass beyond them into the lawn and I'm planting mother of thyme in that space. The plan is to let the thyme grow into the lawn. It doesn't mind being mowed and when it gets well established it keeps the weeds down. It also smells great when you disturb it in any way and is a very forgiving plant.

Happy gardening.

I haven't had much luck with mulch in keeping away grass. We put in 2 inches of mulch and the lawn keeps coming back with a vengeance.

Try a good layer of newspaper (no color ink) under the mulch. Its effective, and enviromentally friendly.

Yeah, the trouble with plastic is if you leave it there for any length of time it begins to turn into little pieces that fragment even further when you try to pick them up.

there's not much for grass except digging as much of it out as you can. Then, the laYers of nwspaper and mulch. I ignored the grass creeping into my border garden and now the whole bed has to be dug out... this is not lawn grasses I refer to ..... from now on I'll be more diligent.

Lest I forget.... WELCOME Chickamauga ~Blooms

Hi Stacy,

Welcome to DG. Therre are all sorts of people here who will be thrilled to help you learn about gardening. My zone is so different from yours (5a) that I won't try to offer specific advice on plants, but don't be afraid to try things. One of the best ways to learn is to try things out and see what works and what doesn't work as well as what YOU like and don't like.

Enjoy.

Ann

Thanks everyone! Newspaper sounds liek a great idea! My husband did scrape all the lawn off the area we are using right now and as of yet nothign has grown back (it has just been a week or two though).

About the Hostas are they only a shade plant? I was hoping to add a few to this bed but maybe not?

Again thanks for the welcomes and advice!

When you say bags, do you mean bare root? If they are bare root it is best to soak them in water for at least a couple of hours. Some plants as much as 24 hours then plant them in the ground. (hostas can also be grown in pots but after soaking they can go into the ground as well).

When you first plant something you need to water it everyday for one to weeks to keep them moist. Then you can decrease water a little bit at a time to watering once or twice a week depending on the plant. (more if they are water loving plants)

Keeping new plants moist is important which is why most people plant only in spring and fall. It can be too hard to keep a new plant moist in the heat of summer.

I've used newspaper, weed fabric, and plastic and found that just plain mulch works the best for me. If you have plants you want to spread then don't go with the plastic or weed fabric. newspaper with mulch on top may work with grass.

The best way, when starting a brand new bed is to kill the grass with roundup wait a week then start. For existing beds, a mulch works the best.

Don't go with a rock mulch unless that is the look you are looking for. Rock is a major pain to take out if you need to later. MAJOR PAIN.

Any kind of border is great. One great idea, if you have beds in the lawn is to put a mowing strip so you don't have to edge the grass. It is usually a strip of brick flush with the grass.

Have fun and remember if a plant dies then it is just an opportunity to plant something different.

re Hostas in a sunny spot -

Some Hostas will do just fine in the sun.
Spend some time looking at Internet sites or books to determine which ones are best. some of my favourite sites (in addition to Plant Files on DG) are:

http://www.hostalibrary.org/

http://www.hostas.com/hostas/

http://www.bridgewoodgardens.com/

http://www.naylorcreek.com/main/ef.html

http://hostapatch.com/hostalists.php?lid=A

http://www.buddgardens.com/website/plants.html

Please note, I have never purchased from any of these companies except Budd Gardens (because I can drive there in 10 minutes). I use the web sites as an information source only. Many of them have quite a lot of info and pictures of the Hostas.

Ann

Welcome Stacy. Ditto on the newspaper. We just put in a new bed and "woke up" the weeds along with the plants when we broke up the ground and fertilized. I wish I had remembered the newspaper. We used mulch and now I just use roundup on whatever weeds grow through as long as they aren't too close to the plant. Have fun. Dave's is an awesome community.

Leslie

I alos you cardboard under the newpaper and mulch. I t breaks down a little slower and the weeds find it harder to sneak though. Just place it 2 - 4 inches from the base of your plants. Wet it down really well and add newpaper if you like and mulch on top. Have very few weeds in our gardens.

Mary