Hi, guys! Let's mix it up in the garden! BAM!(ok, ok, so I'm stealin' Emeril's Bam..so sue me!)

With the New Year and all, I've been reading posts here about people wanting to make a change, but does anyone ever feel that they want to completely change their garden, or a garden bed, etc. Do you have a very streamlined garden, and now want to go a little wild??

Or vice versa?? Or do you just want to try something a little new?? Share your new gardening ideas here!

OR, are you completely happy with your garden and wouldn't change a thing?

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Looking forward to the day when the kids grow out of playing cricket on the lawn,and i can get the whole lot up,will be great to look out from the window and not see everything in one go.

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The grass may be greener on the other side,but you still have to mow it.

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Originally posted by heuchera:
Looking forward to the day when the kids grow out of playing cricket on the lawn,and i can get the whole lot up,will be great to look out from the window and not see everything in one go.

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Heuchera,

BTW-thanks for the flower ideas in another thread!!

What will you do to that lawn when the kids outgrow it? What is your dream garden?

Are you in the UK? My inlaws live in Norwich.

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Weezie,

How tall do they get? I imagine they are small, since they suggest you plant them *under* the hostas. I think the two varieties would look nice together

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Hi Barb H.,
Thanks for all the great ideas. I have a small retaining wall (one brick high) that goes around my maple so I can backfill it a bit. I think I will try some of those plants you suggested, I'll have to check and see if they'll live in zone 9. Sheri also suggested the money plant in a different thread, which would look pretty. I haven't had much luck with hostas yet (darn snails! ) but I do have a few popping up. Maybe this will be my year for the hostas, I just have to keep on those darn snails. My dad gave me a bunch of killer snails (also in another thread but they eat young brown snails and their larva) so hopefully between them eating away and me picking the adults out, I can win over the snails.

I will check out that website and order a catalog if I can (if its not too late!) Thanks for all the info. Good luck with your raised veggie garden. Maybe one of us will get it done this year!

Thanks Weezie for the info on the Mrs. Moon. It sounds really pretty. Hopefully it will like zone 9 and I can find some around here.

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Women and cats will do as they please. Men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

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Originally posted by Bestofour:
Last spring I tillered up a 30 x 40 foot area that was beautiful grass and planted wild flowers. This year I've got to fine tune it. I've had a terrible time keeping weeds out of it. I did have one beautiful, 6 foot tall, sunflower volunteer. It just needs a lot more work.

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Sherri,

What sort of seeds did you use? I've bought the wildflower stuff that you shake...do you know what I'm talking about? They are in a canister...and I got a lot of weeds with them too, when I've used them in the past.

Or, did you plant seed packets of different varieties? It would propably make a difference with weeds.

I bought some of that stuff you shake....and shook it all over the grass of the apartment complex we used to live in about 10 years ago! The grass would be carpeted with such pretty little flowers!

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Barb,

I live in Walsall in the west midlands,about 90miles north of Norwich.

The first thing i plan to do after ripping up the lawn is to dig a pond for the wildlife,hopefuly gets lots of slug munching froggies,i would also like to add some island beds,and plant more shrubs,in the hope of creating more shaded areas,as most of my fav plants are shade lovers.
After all that,with no more threat from flying balls,i plan to add a proper GH,to replace the plastic one i use at the mo.
Half the fun of gardening is in the planning.

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The grass may be greener on the other side,but you still have to mow it.

Barb H,
I have my Mrs. Moon under a Korean Lilac bush called Miss Kim....(last lilac's I swear that bloom). I don't think I'd put it "under" a hosta,
do you have hosta's??? I have 3, 2 of the same type and 1 white, and they are bruiser's.........BIG, and they take up alot of space.... it would have to be way~way in front of the hosta if I would plant mine near one...
Mine are in a reasonable wet area in spring and fall, drier side towards summmer....Morning sun..?
I had a Bergenia x smithii next to it, but that one wasn't likin' the area... 3 years there and it was demising!! I took that out and not placed it anywhere's yet....
but The Mrs. Moon is completely happy????
Such a happy flower to see at that time of year...
Now, maybe if you had the smaller hosta's, they have some of the cutest little one's, and that would be okay, I'd think together, not such a big brute to over power it in a year or two.........

Weezie

As far as the heighth, I'm not sure, but they're
not very tall at all, 6" of leaves, 8"~10" with the flower stem, I'd go with the shorter heighth first, the flower stalks aren't there long...

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Gardem Gal, I just ordered a catalog. I'm going to try to plant like flowers in groups this year. A bunch of white in one area, a bunch of blue in one area, and so on. I think that will be pretty.

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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour

Weezie,

It's hard to judge how small or large a plant is when looking at it from the catlog. And, me being a newbie, I'm going to be bound to make mistakes...just glad I can get a head's up here first! Even with the heights listed, I guess I'm not good at visualizing.

Maybe the catalog meant to group it around the hostas?

I did have hostas...I don't know if I still do or not, now! The flowerbeds were soo overrun, I had to do a purge. I doubt the soil has been improved in years. I pretty much tore everything but the lillies of the valley, some daylillies, some peonies and the tulips and daffodils.

I tried to grow some annuals last spring...sweetpeas, zinnias, but the seeds didn't take very well.

I did buy two hydrangeas, one pink, one blue and some herbs, and two lantana plants. Some scented geraniums, and red/white geraniums.



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Barb,
Even someone who gardens for a bit can be fooled,
or lead astray I should say, it's hard to judge..

I'll give you an example,
I bought some german statis....
I had never grown that plant,
I have grown the annual and I love that plant,
So I bought one, this one was a perennial......
Never grew it before but thought what the heck.

I looked at the info, and mainly the height
it said it was....I'm trying to remember but
something like 24", Now, for the garden I was
putting it in, in front I wanted short, in the middle I wanted medium, you get the idea,
so, 24" is reasonabley tall, so I put it in the middle.
Weelllllllllllllllll the lesson to this gardener was, you need to grow it first before you have a clue....
The leaves are somewhat small to the ground, like, I'm trying to think of something common,
like dandelion's...... forms a clump, long leaves come out, but the height is in the flower stalk, not from the entire plant... So, I put some things that said they were a bit shorter in front of them, but because the part that needs to get the sun was so close to the ground on the german statis it got somewhat shaded by the plant in front of it.
Does that make any sense?????
Things can be misleading until you grow the plant, and become experienced with it.......

(Unless you see them at a friends garden, or the actual plants in an actual picture.)

Gardening is full of mistakes, and full of joys'
We learn from our mistakes as we go along, and that's how we learn, for fear of doing it again!

And trust me, some of the plants they are selling, it cracks me up, because we know them as
weeds, literally, and even though they have pretty flowers, they start selling them, and it's such a shame, that they will sell you something without saying exactly what their tendancy's are.

I remember remarking to one of the places I go strictly for perennials, always a good, healthy plant and selection there, and I came acrossed one, can't remember what it was for the life of me, but the owner was right there, and I made the remark to him, picking up the plant, "The plants they're selling now adays" and he looked at me, and I looked at him, he knew what it was, but,
he said "hey, that's the market......"

So, it's all trial and error, but it's the fun of learning, the sunshine, making something grow and flower, picking the flowers and enjoying the good feelings!!!!

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

I always read all the information given on the plants tag. I sure don't want to plant anymore weeds in my garden. But one thing I've found out for myself is that local stores and garden centers will sell plants that aren't even for the local growing zone. They should be tagged though, and if not, I would ask. I can't for the life of me figure out whey a Lowe's in Monroe, NC would be selling flowers that only grow in Alaska, but they will and do. As far as everything being perfect in a garden, it won't, and I think that's the fun of gardening. Like I mentioned before, I had one huge, tall, thick sunflower shoot up right in the middle of my garden. It ws out of place, but the birds and I loved it. It was way to tall for the area, but quite a conversation piece. "Why'd you plant sunflowers out here?"

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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour

Barb,

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LOL, Why do I do these things?????

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Because those wonderful, beautiful, mesmorizing, gorgeous smelling beauties have a way of spinnin' our heads and makin' us want to plant more!!!

And puts us into a gardening trans!!!!

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/