Hi all. I'd like to give this a go if I may please. We are all very keen gardeners and probably spend almost as much time thinking and planning as we do actually doing the work - I do for sure. My thoughts here are that Xmas will soon be here and over followed by the (can't wait for it) coming New Year. Apart from the routine garden stuff great to do as it is have you any special ideas, plans, schemes, alterations, plants to get or try in the coming season. I have a head full of thoughts and will would love to hear those of others and natter about it. Regards. Syd.
I think every bed I have needs either a makeover or to be finished. I put in 2 beds this summer, but didnt have money for plants so they're rather bare. I hope to fix that next year One of the beds is a woodland area. I already have a few Hostas, Coral bells and Columbines there. I also planted Coleus and Impatiens which will be replaced (they're annuals for me). Id like plants like Variegated Solomon's Seal, maybe some Bluebells or Lily of the Valley. My other bed I made will be a wildlife garden. Grasses, zinnias, cosmos, coneflowers...all kinds of stuff I have a small (10'x10') bed by the street that needs remade. I have a Butterfly Bush, Sedum, Phlox, Peonies (my state flower ), Bee Balm and a Daylily. The lily and bee balm are usually hidden by the peonies which were put in a few years before the rest. The phlox is hidden by the sedum. As for the foundation bed, We took out a Juniper shrub this summer so theres a big blank spot I dont know what to do with. I put in daylilies along the edge of the sidewalk. What to do, what to do... Also have a small bed between the garage and the walk to the front door. Its half finished. Need to divide the bee balm there or maybe replace it (with a different color/size bee balm). I want plants that look good all year, but its hard to choose plants because the bed is so small.
The lack of gardening conversation on all forums starting at the end of the growing season surprises me. Many problems that occur in the garden need to be addressed as soon as the garden is cleared but a lot of people will wait until spring to solve the problem. An example would be, if the PH needs adjusted it would be better to add lime or sulfur six Mounts before planting.
Syd, funny you should mention planning! I have just put in an order for garden vegetable seeds, and have arranged an exchange of iris rhizomes with a friend who lives down the road. We are also contemplating putting in more corn this year (it is so nitrogen hungry we need to balance the planting with the composted chicken poop available) and are going to try a Genovese squash (zucchini type) and a "Rainbow Cherry Tomato" which is purported to have three different colors on the same plant. We'll see . . . . Planning is almost, but not quite, as much fun as planting, weeding, and harvesting.
DW and I are planning to sell our house and buy a Condo this spring. That means I will have to plant a garden for curb appeal that will be for someone else. Then if we sell the house, I will have to plan a later container garden on a patio or balcony. At times it makes my head spin but when the time comes I will be prepared. will be spending some time on the "Container Gardening" thread but there will be few responders this time of year.
I have 2 gardens that need some major work next season ... they are both full of perennials that should have been divided LAST spring! My 'welcome garden' is a small one but also needs an overhaul. I also want to get the fence up around the veggie patch, and the new extension in the back will need some more perennials or maybe Roses. I also plan to start more annuals from seed. I'm going to be very busy when spring gets here!
jbest...start by planning for planting in containers. If you sell it you can take them with you. Otherwise the new buyer may not care whether there is a garden or not, but if they won't use what you put in why go to the work of one. I planted eggplant, peppers and large and cherry tomatoes in 5 gal or larger containers this past summer. The biggest challenge is moving them, especially tomatoes. I haven't started my order for next year yet, the catalogs are just starting to come in, but I do mainly vegetable gardening, not flowers.
I jotted down some notes a month or so ago... what plants needed to be moved. Some removed. And notes on what to add. But since I still have things growing and a few things blooming, I haven't really gotten into thinking about next year.... too much. I am expanding my part of the back yard to have more room for full sun plants. Once I'm stuck at home for a couple weeks around Christmas, I'm sure I'll be double checking those notes and doing some online shopping for a few things.
My garden planning continues to center on deer abatement techniques. Currently I am researching moveable electric fences. Zap their cute little noses to discourage them! Think it will work?
Hi all. Thank you for the very nice and interesting responses - plenty to talk and learn about here from all our plans and schemes - hope there will be lots more. My main "extra" this coming season is to get that recently purchased greenhouse up and running planted with alpines in pots - I did this many years ago and found it most interesting and it also provided/provides an under cover garden to work in when it is raining and even in mid winter - somewhere to be with plants. Will give more details and pics of new plants received recently and waiting until Spring to be potted on - mainly Saxifragas of the silver/encrusted type. I do have some growing outdoors in a raised bed and will send some pics of these also. Looking forward very much to a nice ongoing natter between us all. I have always spent a lot of time plotting and planning and do you know I used to work out say an herbaceous border by marking out all the plants names/foliage shapes positions and even colouring them in with crayons to see what it would all look like. I don't do that now but just run it through my head. Ref container plantings I have some and also a (borrowed) strip of land next the wood (see earlier post here) which I started to plant up with suitable plants - unfortunately whilst the trees and shrubs are OK all the Hostas and other nice smaller things I was planting were eaten by Deer (I see CM has the same problem). Looking forward to many more posts where we can exchange views and ideas etc to the advantage of all of us. Syd.
SS-- I typically come to a lull right about now in my garden planning and it continues until after the holidays, when the bug bites me again. It is so-o-o-o cold here in New England during the winter, with a thick blanket of snow over all, I tend to "hibernate" along with my plants outside. Come January, I begin to get itchy to get my hands in the soil again and thus begin the planning process anew. During the growing season, I take a series of photos of the garden so that I can analyze what worked & what didn't from the warmth of my house in the dead of winter. I also love to watch the posts of those "down under" whose gardens are actively growing as mine comes to a halt. I also enjoy the threads of Kildale 'The Daily Fungi Thread' and the bug thread 'My World with Nature'. Who knew there were such plants/creatures in the world? Your glass house sounds wonderful! To be able to play with plants in the dead of winter sounds great.
CM, I have heard of using fence to deter the deer, but you need TWO of them set about 4' apart. Evidently they have a depth perception issue and can't tell where the 2nd fence is really at so they don't jump the first one.
Carolyn--I have read that too, but I was hoping to use an electric fence that has the wire in white. I was then going to put strips of plastic dangling from it slathered in peanut butter. Reportedly, the odor of the peanut butter attracts the deer, and then they get their noses zapped & they shy away. I do know they are creatures of habit, so I am hoping I can discourage them from my yard. What do you think?
Hi all. Ref the Deer these here in my area are mostly Muntjacks which are quite small but boy can they jump - my side one next the woods is 3to 4 feet high and they clear that with plenty to spare and all from a "standing start", theres no run up to it. An earlier comment on this topic mentioned variegated Solomons Seal which I do grow but in a container where I can keep an eye on it more easily for this reason - I grew the standard multiflorum for years and then all at once it commenced to be attacked each year by a very hungry Sawfly grub - a couple of days and the plants were in tatters. Wonderful graceful plants all of them - I did learn just very recently there is an alpine variety which is stated to grow just 4 inches tall - thats one for my Cold House collection for sure. Just for interest there is another plant very similar in growth habit and appearance to Solomons Seal - its called Smilacina racemosa and differs really only in that its flowers form at the end of the stems in a fluffy spike - beautifully scented too - this also I have some in a container and when in flower its by the back door with them to get that sweet smell each time we go in and outdoors - I find it quite easy and as yet have not seen it attacked by that grub. Back to the Alpines heres a couple of pics of those I mentioned just purchased, also one of some Pelargonium cuttings taken each year to keep the plant going as its an old one and flowers so well all summer - its light green and cream foliage looks great too and contrasts nicely with the reddish orange flowers. I must stop for now in case there's a limit to posts. Regards Syd. New Alpines ( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden ) The Pelargoniumn Cuttings ( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )
After all these years up here, I'm finally getting around to putting some attention around the garden shed area. I made a new bed and am working on a path, to one day, hopefully, will lead to a small writing shed/cabin by the woods I want to build. A really small place with no electricity. In the bed I made I want to add some native azalea's for plantings and maybe a few other part shade types. I also need to take down the wooden supports for the hydrangea bed and add something more permanent. I still can't make up my mind what material to add for the path. The area around the garden shed is pea gravel, but I don't know if I want that for the path. At the end of the path I sowed some flower seeds I had collected from around the garden, so I'm anxious to seed if they sprout this spring. I do most of the clean up in and around the woods in the winter, no snakes , so I try to keep busy with that. Later this month my brother is helping me cut down some tree of heaven young trees, or what I call "stinky" trees. They're invasive and detrimental to the native trees. Our winters aren't so bad and I find it's a good time to do some of the heavier work when it's not too hot. path I'm working on ( photo / image / picture from annieh's Garden ) Here's a pic of the path I'm working on.
