GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

07-03-2004, 05:42 AM

In article says...
Hello Everyone,
I am new and from Connecticut, We just moved here a month ago. Into a
new home we have no lawn or anything because the house was just renovated.
We have some seriou seeding to do soon, we are trying ot figure out where
we will garden etc... it is a lot of fun, we have such a large blank canvas.
I am curious what you all know about lawns too, We have a some what
rocky construction site are for a front yard. I know we need to get
most the rocks out before we seed but any other good ideas? Also, we
are trying to figure out what plants grow good in this climate since
we just moved here.

If I were you I'd try and minimize lawn as much as possible by planting
wildflowers. Wildflower seed can be gotten by the pound online for less
than $35 which should be enough to cover your land unless you have a huge
site. Plan out a mixture of lawn and wildflowers such that the grass has
easy turns for your lawn mower and use the lawn as walk ways through your
garden. In your wildflower sections, follow the instructions for spring
planting, plant the seeds on the fresh soil (you're not suppose to till
it much), then plant grass seeds in the grass areas, and let everything
grow. The nice thing about having grass walkways to contain the
wildflowers is that it will look like a planned garden so you'll get less
complaints from neighbors thinking you're just growing a bunch of weeds.
Make sure you have grass pathways by the property lines with your
neighbors too.

If you're into herbs, perennials, annuals, bushes, etc., set aside land
for that as well. You might want to start small and find out what you
like and what grows well in your location. Gardens take years to grow
and as the years go by and you get a feel for the light and location, you
can make changes to suit your vision. The nice thing about wildflowers
is that they're pretty resilient and they can look magnificent the first
year and, unlike annuals, you don't have to plant each flower
individually. Just spread the seeds, water, weed a little, and hope for
rain in Spring.

And don't forget trees. All gardens should have trees. If you plan to
live there awhile, trees take a long time to grow if you plant them from
seedlings and you may as well get a couple started ASAP.