hi,

we are a little late in clearing our front yard that we should have
done in spring. now the front yard is all brown.

we have never garden before and are not sure what to grow. we have two
rhododendrons that were there when we moved into the house.

it is a small yard. about 25 feet by 18 feet. it is a SE exposure.

we are thinking of getting a few nursery ready perennials and grow
some bulbs or seeds later in the fall.

can anyone suggest some low growing flowers for the border that will
flowers from june onwards?

thanks!

-goosy

(Goose):

we have never garden before and are not sure what to grow. we have two
rhododendrons that were there when we moved into the house.

If you want to do it right and do it once, have a landscape designer
draw up some plans for you. They know all about sun/shade, plant
height, soil compatiblity, and so on.

It will cost you a few bucks, but the end result will look great, you
won't end up planting the same place twice, and you won't buy plants
that end up dead or obnoxiously large.

The landscape designer will also tell you a lot about who to deal with
(or not), and from which local nurseries to buy (or not).


--
JackStraw
0x3D561045

In article ,
(Goose) wrote:

hi,

we are a little late in clearing our front yard that we should have
done in spring. now the front yard is all brown.

we have never garden before and are not sure what to grow. we have two
rhododendrons that were there when we moved into the house.

it is a small yard. about 25 feet by 18 feet. it is a SE exposure.

we are thinking of getting a few nursery ready perennials and grow
some bulbs or seeds later in the fall.

can anyone suggest some low growing flowers for the border that will
flowers from june onwards?

thanks!

-goosy

You don't mention your zone. Around here (zone 8) some of the
ever-blooming performers for full sun include Gaura, rose campion (aka
pink mullein), Penstemons, Campanulas, bush & spike salvias, Russian sage,
hyssops, bush mallow, thornless sunroses, ornamental strawberry,
potentillas.... most of which are also drought tolerant. Wanting a bit
of moisture are long-blooming wood asters, hybrid geums, globeflowers,
alpine poppies, chocolate cosmos, monkshoods, Chinese fringe flower,
pulsitilla, prairie mallow, beebalms....

To get started, get a Sunset Guide to take with you to your local
nurseries. At the nurseries you can see precisely what's available, & the
Sunset Guide will give honest assessments so you'll know which will do
well in conditions you can provide.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

With full sun you have a lot of choice. On the next sunny day pay
attention to when sun hits the areas across the length of the
day...are there trees that shadow it? How many hours does sun hit it?
Most sources say a Full Sun plant requires at least 6 hours. Midday
sun is also much stronger than morning or afternoon. Lots of midday
sun is tough on some plants.

A landscape designer can make it all very easy and very nice for a
price. You should consider that option if the cost is acceptable.

If you are research/do-it-yourself people you need to start with
finding out what zone you are. You can call your local Cornell
Cooperative Extension and get free info for your county or city.

With zone information you and others here would be able to identify
perennials. Your CCE may have a list as well. A little research will
give you heights, and a trip to the biggest nurseries will let you see
them in the flesh. However experience is always best. Looking at a
young plant doesn't give you the best idea of what it will look like
in August. With the right books you can see the blooming time (vary
your selection so something is always blooming). Some stuff like
bulbs can look ratty after they've bloomed. From my reading you can't
cut away the dying foliage without hurting the bulb's growth and
chance it will be strong enough to rebloom next year. In that case you
may want to have something intermixed that would hide dying off bulb
plants.

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)

You don't mention your zone. Around here (zone 8) some of the
ever-blooming performers for full sun include Gaura, rose campion (aka
pink mullein), Penstemons, Campanulas, bush & spike salvias, Russian sage,
hyssops, bush mallow, thornless sunroses, ornamental strawberry,
potentillas.... most of which are also drought tolerant. Wanting a bit
of moisture are long-blooming wood asters, hybrid geums, globeflowers,
alpine poppies, chocolate cosmos, monkshoods, Chinese fringe flower,
pulsitilla, prairie mallow, beebalms....

To get started, get a Sunset Guide to take with you to your local
nurseries. At the nurseries you can see precisely what's available, & the
Sunset Guide will give honest assessments so you'll know which will do
well in conditions you can provide.

-paghat the ratgirl

hi!

the zone is 6a.

but i read somewhere in this newsgroup that eastern massachusetts,
where i am, could be in zone 5 due to the recent harsh winter.

and what is a sunset guide? is there a website where i can view it? or
could i get it from the nursery itself?

thanks for your suggestions.

-goosy

DigitalVinyl wrote in message . ..
With full sun you have a lot of choice. On the next sunny day pay
attention to when sun hits the areas across the length of the
day...are there trees that shadow it? How many hours does sun hit it?
Most sources say a Full Sun plant requires at least 6 hours. Midday
sun is also much stronger than morning or afternoon. Lots of midday
sun is tough on some plants.

A landscape designer can make it all very easy and very nice for a
price. You should consider that option if the cost is acceptable.

If you are research/do-it-yourself people you need to start with
finding out what zone you are. You can call your local Cornell
Cooperative Extension and get free info for your county or city.

With zone information you and others here would be able to identify
perennials. Your CCE may have a list as well. A little research will
give you heights, and a trip to the biggest nurseries will let you see
them in the flesh. However experience is always best. Looking at a
young plant doesn't give you the best idea of what it will look like
in August. With the right books you can see the blooming time (vary
your selection so something is always blooming). Some stuff like
bulbs can look ratty after they've bloomed. From my reading you can't
cut away the dying foliage without hurting the bulb's growth and
chance it will be strong enough to rebloom next year. In that case you
may want to have something intermixed that would hide dying off bulb
plants.

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)

hi!

the zone is 6a.

the front yard gets more than 6 hours of sun right now as the sun
starts shining around 5am this past week.

i'll be watching the sune next couple of days and make note of it.

thank you for your advise!

-goosy

(Goose) wrote:

and what is a sunset guide? is there a website where i can view it? or
could i get it from the nursery itself?

thanks for your suggestions.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...681341&loc=106

buy.com has the best price that I found for this book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...063921-9999239

Amazon.com has preview pages you could take a look at.
I just bought it based upon repeated recommendations from within this
group.

The encyclopedia part (5000 plants) has black white and green drawings
(no photos). The drawings gives you an idea of the plants shape, look
and some proportion. They do have color photos in the Plant Selection
Guide pages...just not all plants are covered. The sunset book has
their own slightly different zone method.

They have sections for plant selection...showy flowers, autumn
foliage, seasonal color, fragrant, shade, dampy, dry, etc. They may be
a lot of help for you.



My area of NY was changed this year from 6b to 7. Eastern Mass can be
6a, 6b, or 7 depending upon how far southeastern you are. Use an
uptodate zone map. Exceptional winters will occur and exceed the
zone from time to time, but it is a guide for most of the time. While
I might get to winter a plant that is zone 7, I have to do that
knowing a bad winter could kill them...requiring me to maybe take
measure if the temps get too low. Most of the plants will have a range
like 4-8 so you'll have some buffer. Only ones where you are on the
end of their range are the ones you'll have to worry.





DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)

I reckon the best way is just to visit local gardens - gives great
ideas and not just on what to plant. We've got a huge estate not
half a mile away with loads of examples. There's also a nursery on
site and the odd plant fair so just about everything you can buy
is suitable. Website it www.shrublandpark.co.uk and
www.shrublandparknurseries.co.uk I think.

Regards etc,
Richard Carter

========================
Richard Carter


"Goose" wrote in message
m...
You don't mention your zone. Around here (zone 8) some of the
ever-blooming performers for full sun include Gaura, rose
campion (aka
pink mullein), Penstemons, Campanulas, bush & spike salvias,
Russian sage,
hyssops, bush mallow, thornless sunroses, ornamental
strawberry,
potentillas.... most of which are also drought tolerant.
Wanting a bit
of moisture are long-blooming wood asters, hybrid geums,
globeflowers,
alpine poppies, chocolate cosmos, monkshoods, Chinese fringe
flower,
pulsitilla, prairie mallow, beebalms....

To get started, get a Sunset Guide to take with you to your
local
nurseries. At the nurseries you can see precisely what's
available, & the
Sunset Guide will give honest assessments so you'll know which
will do
well in conditions you can provide.

-paghat the ratgirl

hi!

the zone is 6a.

but i read somewhere in this newsgroup that eastern
massachusetts,
where i am, could be in zone 5 due to the recent harsh winter.

and what is a sunset guide? is there a website where i can view
it? or
could i get it from the nursery itself?

thanks for your suggestions.

-goosy