On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:42:27 +0000, ashyboi5000
wrote:


I'm very much an average gardener. Only really got into this year. I
bought a heated propagator and I've successfully grown some chilli and
pepper seedlings. Yes I started off early in the season! And got a
blueberry plant and a Weigela I'm both nursing. The garden is typically
the parents domain- I'm 23 and live at home- but currently staring out
to the back it's looking rather scruffy.

I'm now wanting some flowering plants, are perennials the ones that
flower year after year just so I am clear?

Can anybody offer any advice for some seeds to get? Ideally I would like
them to be evergreen too, to give some winter colour other than brown
and to flower each year. If possible I would like them to flower this
year too.

There seems to be loads out there and I would just be picking what I
like the looks of. Or is this the best thing to do?

A lot seem to say they flower second year, would they be safe outside
over winter in their first year?

A barage of questions but hopefully some-one can make some sense and be
able to give some advise.

Thanks.

You've asked lots of questions and I guess there are some you need to
ask but haven't. You don't say what your budget is (or isn't) though I
take it that as you're asking specifically about seeds you can't cover
the cost of larger plants from garden centres and the like.

You don't say where you are. Location will make a difference; for
example spring comes earlier in Cornwall than it does in Dumfries.
Which direction the garden faces makes a difference - some plants
don't like the morning sun shining on them in the frosty months. How
much sun the garden gets makes a world of difference as there are
plants for sun and for shade. Then there's the soil type. Is it clay
or sandy - some plants don't do well in soggy soil. Is it acid or
alkaline - some plants like acid and others don't. It's very difficult
to make suggestions for actual plants without knowing all of this
info.

Have a look at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...oursoil1.shtml
and
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg/...l_types1.shtml

to help you with the soil type stuff.

Perennials are plants that come back year after year. You'll hear the
term "herbaceous perennials" - these are plants that die back to the
ground in the autumn and regrow, usually bigger and better in the
spring. There are also "biennials" which grow foliage in the first
year, flower in the second and then die. Finally there are "annuals"
(often referred to as "bedding plants") which grow and flower in a
single year and then die. If you want plants that will reliably grow
from seed and flower this year, it's the annuals you want to think
about. When seed packets say that a perennial will flower in its first
year it usually means you may get one or two little flowers but it
won't be till next year that they really take off. Reliable evergreen
plants usually fall into another plant category - shrubs.

Other terms that matter are "hardy" - plants that overwinter in the
ground happily, "half hardy" - these need to be lifted and kept
somewhere over winter that won't get cold, "frost hardy" - plants
which will survive outside as long as the temperature doesn't drop
more than a degree or so below freezing and "tender" - some plants
need a lot of warmth and don't do well at all if the temperature drops
below their comfort zone which may be a fair bit above "freezing". Not
all perennials, for example, are hardy and some need to be dug up and
overwintered indoors. Others may be OK outdoors over winter in the
south but not in the north where it's colder.

To start with, I'd suggest a mix of plant types. Choose some annuals
for colour this year. Then some perennials which you'll nurture this
year but expect to flower next year. Add in some bulbs - you can plant
summer flowering ones now such as lilies, gladioli and freesias. These
will flower this year. Then in the autumn you can plant spring
flowering bulbs such as daffodils (narcissus), tulips and crocus for
next spring flowering.

For perennial flowering this year, check out the neighbours.
Perennials have to be thinned out every few years and neighbours who
are doing this about now may be happy to let you have clumps which you
can plant for flowers this summer. Indeed, when it comes to choosing
plants, what your neighbours grow will be a good indication of what
will grow in your garden.

I'd suggest that a good starting point will be to buy, beg or borrow
some of the "Expert" series of gardening books by Dr D G Hessayon -
your local library may have them; otherwise they're all under a
tenner. Choose from "Evergreen Expert", "Tree and Shrub Expert",
"Bedding Plant Expert" "Flowering Shrub Expert" and "Flower Expert".

I hope this rather long reply helps. It sounds complicated but isn't
really once you get into it. Good luck and drop back here if you need
any more help on specifics.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

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