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Newbie Help! What plants??
Hello,
Im an absolute newbie to gardening - i really dont have much of a clue. Plus with a toddler and a baby i dont have much time either to research things. I would like to re-vamp the garden, particularly the side strip of grass we have which is pointless at the moment. Can anyone suggest what sort of plants i should buy - i would like a mix of flowers & shrubs which are colourful & low maintenance, and will not grow higher than the fence. As i stand out the back of my house im looking in a north-west direction (i have no idea what aspect this makes the border) Any advice would be hugely appreciated - i went to a couple of garden centres in the spring and quite frankly they made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening :-( |
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Newbie Help! What plants??
eve83 wrote:
Im an absolute newbie to gardening - i really dont have much of a clue. Plus with a toddler and a baby i dont have much time either to research things. I would like to re-vamp the garden, particularly the side strip of grass we have which is pointless at the moment. Can anyone suggest what sort of plants i should buy - i would like a mix of flowers & shrubs which are colourful & low maintenance, and will not grow higher than the fence. As i stand out the back of my house im looking in a north-west direction (i have no idea what aspect this makes the border) Any advice would be hugely appreciated - i went to a couple of garden centres in the spring and quite frankly they made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening :-( http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Dumm.../dp/0470018437 |
Newbie Help! What plants??
On 7/23/2014 2:56 AM, eve83 wrote:
Hello, Im an absolute newbie to gardening - i really dont have much of a clue. Plus with a toddler and a baby i dont have much time either to research things. I would like to re-vamp the garden, particularly the side strip of grass we have which is pointless at the moment. Can anyone suggest what sort of plants i should buy - i would like a mix of flowers & shrubs which are colourful & low maintenance, and will not grow higher than the fence. As i stand out the back of my house im looking in a north-west direction (i have no idea what aspect this makes the border) Any advice would be hugely appreciated - i went to a couple of garden centres in the spring and quite frankly they made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening :-( Where I live (California, USA), there are nurseries (your "garden centers") that provide a garden-design service. You pay a fee for the design; but if you buy a certain amount of plants, tools, and supplies from them, you get a credit for the fee against future purchases. Generally, such nurseries also provide guidance and instruction to novice gardeners. Scout out other nurseries in your area to find out if any of them offer such a service. As for those places that "made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening", you should talk to the managers about that. If they want your money, they should treat you politely and help you learn. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean, see http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary |
Newbie Help! What plants??
eve83 wrote:
Hello, Im an absolute newbie to gardening - i really dont have much of a clue. Plus with a toddler and a baby i dont have much time either to research things. I would like to re-vamp the garden, particularly the side strip of grass we have which is pointless at the moment. Can anyone suggest what sort of plants i should buy - i would like a mix of flowers & shrubs which are colourful & low maintenance, and will not grow higher than the fence. As i stand out the back of my house im looking in a north-west direction (i have no idea what aspect this makes the border) Any advice would be hugely appreciated - i went to a couple of garden centres in the spring and quite frankly they made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening :-( +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ There is no general answer to your question as the suitability of plants depend on your soil and climate which we don't know and (not trying to be rude here) possibly you don't either. From what you have said so far any specific recommendations will be a wild guess that have small chance of being useful. If you don't have time to learn and to do it yourself, do you have the money to pay somebody who does? If you have neither time nor money then lacking a knowledgeable friend/neighbour/ relative who will do it for free you are out of luck. TANSTAAFL You could: - hire a local gardener or professional - go to the local garden club where people know the district - get books from the library, preferably that deal with growing in your region -- David - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A better world requires a daily struggle against those who would mislead us. |
Newbie Help! What plants??
On 23/07/2014 7:56 PM, eve83 wrote:
Hello, Im an absolute newbie to gardening - i really dont have much of a clue. Plus with a toddler and a baby i dont have much time either to research things. I would like to re-vamp the garden, particularly the side strip of grass we have which is pointless at the moment. Can anyone suggest what sort of plants i should buy - i would like a mix of flowers & shrubs which are colourful & low maintenance, and will not grow higher than the fence. As i stand out the back of my house im looking in a north-west direction (i have no idea what aspect this makes the border) Any advice would be hugely appreciated - i went to a couple of garden centres in the spring and quite frankly they made me feel stupid for not knowing much about gardening :-( There is an old saying: If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk. If you want o be happy for a month, get married but if you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden. Another saying is: Women have 3 loves in their lives and the last of these loves is a garden. My advice is that if you are short of time, have babes around and don't feel like you need another activity then just leave the strip as it is and wait a few years because if you don't get it right, it will irritate you and you will constantly feel under pressure by this area that still looks like crap. Alternatively you could use it as a place to learn about gardening from the bottom up (ie make mistakes and experiment) and perhaps take the kids out there so it becomes a recreation area where they can be outdoors and you can spend time with them. Don't be intimidated by anyone because it's YOUR garden and all gardeners had to start somewhere. Try a local library ofr soem basic books (like the Hessayon books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._G._Hessayon )or take the kids for a walk round your neighbourhood on a weekend when people are working in their gardens and if you see a plant you like, ask the garden owner what the plant is and if they could tell you a bit about it. I yet to meet any gardener ('real gardener', as opposed to those instant makeover idiots) who didn't like to talk about their gardens or their plants |
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