Help a newbie plan her beds?

Looking good, Kim! The willow fence really does make a nice difference. Are you going to mulch around the stepping stones?

I just up-scrolled to look for your before picture, but didn't see it.

That looks great - you can tell you've been spending a lot of energy back there.

ground cover 'round the stones....not here yet, but it's a-comin'. gone back and forth about what to plant there. settled on pratia, so we'll see how she does.

What an inspiration, Kim! you should be very proud of what you have accomplished in such a short amount of time.

I love the photos as you go along. Keep 'em coming!

thanks, candyce, ge, vic, deb and wha. i don't think i've posted the first "before" pic, so here she is. i love going back to it...makes me feel like i'm accomplishin' something really cool. honestly, i'm obsessed with gardening. what a wonderful hobby!

p.s. someone mentioned they have a sister in my neighborhood. can't recall who! would love to get together with her, so please d-mail me. i'll search other threads to hunt you down, too. ;)

2 quick questions:

1) Did I plant my rose too shallowly? jtb11377 came over this weekend; he says he thinks so.

2) What's going on with my ivy? Was here when I moved in...gorgeous a few weeks ago. Now there are some areas that look like this. Others are fine. Is it too much sun or something else?

Yes on the roses. In this area, the graft should be just about at soil level. You may get away with it though, since you're isolated and in a micro-climate between buildings. Don't know about the ivy. Were you spraying chemicals nearby?

no chemicals...though i worked up the bed below it a few days ago and may have gotten some roots. tried to be careful, but it was inevitable.

i also planted some cotton seed below it, but there's another area with nothing planted, and it looks the same. also, there's an area where the cotton actually is, and it looks fine. hmmm

brooklyngirl, you done good! Your before and after pictures are great. I wouldn't worry about the burn-out someone warned you of earlier. I think I recognize the same obsessed insanity that I and many other gardeners suffer from in your posts - it only gets stronger each year ;o)

hmmm, I just happened by, got to reading this. What caught my eye was the first post, with the iris poppy bed. Bearded Irises, Best Bet and Blenheim Royal are both tried and true vigorous varieties, don't like to have anything cover their rhizomes, so just make sure poppies don't. Make sure when planted they have at least the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the "foot" showing to the air. If not, you've planted them too deep. There's two schools, one says never mulch, one says mulch carefully. In your area you are subject to iris borers, which hide in mulch. If you must mulch, don't mulch directly over top of the feet.

And double check your crested iris - I seem to recall those like part sun/part shade.

Here's a photo for you, Kim, so that you can see the 'rewards' of

Good soil.
Good plants.
Good winter weather.
Hard work.

What a difference a year makes! So far, neither Anna nor I have suffered from 'burn out'. We love digging in the dirt and being patient. It's hard, though, to have to wait at least a season, and sometimes more, to be able to see the fruits of your labors.

If nothing else, gardening teaches patience!!

Um, my DH's parents are in Brooklyn Heights, and his brother and SIL have a brownstone in Ft. Greene... i just got back from 5 days in the city on Sunday night, though we didn't make it to Brooklyn.

amy
*

Hey, thanks bonjon. Will dbl check the crested. The others, gotta get their feet out of the ground. Great tip.

Candyce. Awesome. Looks beautiful....and inspires! Thanks, lady.

Vic, I just had a brainstorm about the ivy. I got a new hose and didn't run much water through it before spraying it like a loon. Could something inside the hose burn the leaves like that? Also drank from the hose at the same time, and I was a little sick today. Am I a cracker jack detective or just a crackpot?

thanks,
kim

I doubt it, though I guess anything is possible.

hello again, friends!! here are some updated pictures. oh my how everything grows so quickly!

i'm hoping to see the center area sprout this week. cross your fingers for me!

any suggestions? additions? my ears are open, but my pocketbook is closed. ;) we're talkin' seeds only here, people!

veggies...woohoo! i can't tell which are the weeds yet. and i planted waaaay too many seeds. planning to give some away soon. using the little bulb planter cylinder i have will work, yeah? not disturb the roots and all?

My mom & dad grew this combo @ the house in wh. i was raised. Another little taste o' home! ;)

just another ol' view

my neighbor's rose bushes are GORGEOUS. there's a little birdie club hangin' in them all day. they stop in for a drink @ my watering hole often. so fun to watch!

Looking great, Kim!

brooklyn,

OMG I can't believe the transformation in such a short amount of time. GREAT job! What an oasis.

Kim,
It's absolutely gorgeous! What a great job you have done. I especially love the 'combo'. It's great to have a place in your garden that brings such special memories to you.

Kim, you could use that baby shasta daisy I offer, also why don't you grow some vines on that lattice fence, it would give you more privacy and flowers too, let me know about the daisy, yours to be soon! Clemen

Thanks, guys! Oh, yes Clem. Daisy sounds lovely!! As for the fence, my cuticles are still dirty right now from planting 5 vines along it...They just arrived this evening. Kinda funny coincidence, eh? Don't know the Latin...red trumpet vine is what my grandma called them. They always grew like wildfire at her house, and I think I get plenty of sun, even through and around the roses. Hopefully, it'll be a wall of green soon!

Thanks again!
kim
p.s. My back hurts. ;)

I love the work you are doing! That trellis you made is to die for! YOU GO GIRL!

Hey Kim, brother in law leaves tomorrow, back to Spain, so that means I'll get your baby in the mail by the weeks end, Clemen

thanks, clem! you're the best. ;)

psych, thank you, too...i seriously have 4 in my garden now. i can't stop making them! anybody want one? all kinds of shapes. here are some pics.

my bf says this one looks especially blaire witch. ;) hopefully it will look less scary when the sweet peas start creepin'. i think i might add a little something to the bottom to support them, too.f

i keep finding this cool glass and stuff in the dirt, so i hang it here. anyhoot, let me know which ones (if any) you'd like, and then i'll have something to trade at the roundups! is there one coming up?

okay, last one. my grass is finally coming up! i wanted ground cover; bf was dying for grass. i gave in, and i'm a little scared. it's sparse. am i impatient, or should i reseed? planted about 10 days ago.

I would be a bit more patient - remember the heat we just went through.

Brooklyn... 10 DAYS ago??? LOL, yes, be more patient!!!

LOL! type A kickin' in. Thanks for teaching me equanimity, garden! ;)

It looks fantastic BG! Yup, your grass will fill in more. Patience pays.

beautiful!

Is bf going to cut the grass??

Yeah, Kim do you have a lawn mower hehe! By the way the daisy is out of this house, you know what that means! Clem