"rnjroberts" wrote in message
...
Hello all! I am a new gardener this year with my new house. I want to do
some landscaping but I am so not swift when it comes to picking out
flowers!
My husband and I have been going around town trying to fiugre out what we
want but man are there a ton of flowers!! I wanted to do two or three
different kinds in front of my house. We live in Ohio so our weather is
not
always wonderful. Like yesterday with about 3 stinking storms that were
tearing down trees!! I need something that is easy to take care of. The
flowers would be in the full sun most of the day. I had been told
"impatients' would be good but when I looked them up it said that they
needed morning sun...they would get that but also afternoon and evening!

I also have a shrub problem. The people who lived here before us decided
to
plant a privacy shrub in the middle of the "flower bed." How the heck do
I
get rid of the thing. We already cut one down but we are left with the
wonderful stump! Not bug enough to use a stump remover but big enough to
be
a pain in my a**.

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!


Regular impatiens like partial shade. The do not like afternoon sun and
will wilt. You can however plant New Guinea impatiens in full sun as long
as you keep them well watered. There are small plant tags in most annuals
that are sold in garden centers and box stores. The tag should have an
indication of the exposure (full sun, part sun, part shade, full shade) and
how big the plant gets. Most tags have a bit more information. Read the
tags and ask questions. I would recommend that you go to a real garden
center if you don't know much, because if you go to Wal-Mart or Lowe's or
other stores where plants are a seasonal item, you are unlikely to get good
advice.

The shrub roots will have to be removed by digging them out. An alternative
(which I am not necessarily recommending) is to tie them to a sturdy vehicle
with a rope and pull them out. Of course there is potential for serious
injury with the latter method, so use precautions.

One way to get an idea of what you think looks good is to visit display
gardens and garden centers. There are also books available that discuss the
selection of annuals. You must live in northern or central Ohio because we
didn't have any severe weather here in the Cincinnati area. Let me know
where you live and I might be able to suggest some display gardens.