New house with gardens, help!

I bought a house in November and the woman I bought it from was a big time gardner. I am having a time trying to figure out what all the different flowers and shrubs are that she planted, she id'd some, but not all. I have figured out a lot of them and having a great time. However, I am not sure how to maintain the established flower beds. I love them, and would like to add more, but I am new to gardening and I am afriad to do anything for fear I will kill what is already there! I have cleaned out the weeds and old mulch/leaves, but I am not sure what to do next. Should I fertilize and mulch, or do I need to do anything to the soil before adding the fertilizer and mulch, like add compost? Thanks for the help!

Hi Inbloom,
Take lots of pictures and post in the ID forum....The folks are great at identifying, and then you'll have somewhere to begin and know how to take care of everything you already have!

Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing your pics!

-ABL

http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/plantid/all/


This message was edited May 4, 2007 12:15 PM

inbloom...You'd do best right now letting things come up and "declare" themselves, then you'll see exactly where the plants are, what kind they are, and where to mulch.

Also, that info will tell you if you need to fertilize, or not, depending on what plants appear.

Once plants are up you'd be surprised how many you might recognize. And the ones you don't you can easily post questions about (or maybe you are still in touch with the seller?).

Happy Growing!

Shoe

I was just going to say "wait and see for the first year" and Shoe said it better. If you have big holes you want to fill with color (or small holes even), you can put in some annuals for this year and then make decisions about perennials once you see what you really have. How nice to move into a house with gardens like that already going. I'll bet the soil is nice.

Diane

I moved into a house like that...and I had the worst brown thumb ever!!

Here's a suggestion that I wish so badly someone would have given me; mark everything! Don't assume that you'll remember the name or whereabouts of something next year, or even later this year. Once you find out the name of a plant search the web (or ask here) for care instructions. Keep the care info in a binder for when/if you run into problems. Most of the plants will be fine, I'm sure, but some will need pruning, deadheading, fertilizing or some type of attention. It's so easy to get confused when someone just throws 100 plants at you all at once! Been there, done that, lol!

For your best bet start eyeing up your new neighbor's yards...does anyone else have a nice looking garden? If so, start asking questions, more than likely they'll be happy to help out. Just don't let them start digging, lol!



For cheap, quick garden labels you can use mini blinds. Cut them into about 6" pieces, cutting a "v" on one end, and write the plant's name on them w/ either a grease pen (China marker) or a marker for writing on pig's/cow's ears (found at places like Tractor Supply Stores). Don't use Sharpie markers or other "permanent" markers, they fade fast. You can then stick the mini blind labels into the ground at the base of your plants, hiding them. That'll work till you know what's what or can get better, prettier labels.

Have you found the Carolina Gardening forum yet? There are tons of friendly people in there who would be happy to help you id your plants and give you great advice on what grows well in your area. http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/region_carolinas/all/