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Cheryl
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| Posted: April 29 2007 at 9:21pm | IP Logged
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I am planning to plant a flower garden with my dc this spring. I've never done this before. My ds 8 has designed a large garden with a bench, pond, patio and flowers, of course. I think we should start out simpler, but I'm having trouble even getting started. I'm afraid to cut the grass out.  There are just so many possibilities. Do you have any advice?
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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MichelleW
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| Posted: April 29 2007 at 9:29pm | IP Logged
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Why don't you start with lots of containers? If you like it, then next year you can dig up the grass where the pots used to be...
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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mary
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have you considered hiring a landscape architect to help you plan? or maybe even to do the work? we did this 2 yrs ago and i simply love what we had done. i learned a little about the process when we had ours done - maybe you could post pix on your blog and ask for suggestions?
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mom2mpr
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Start small! Do one area at a time--like the front garden.
Plant perennials(not annuals--though some can go to seed and come back the next year)--they come back each year. Make your garden do the work, not you!
When we had built our home in Va and I had to start from scratch with gardens around the house I got lots of books from the library and researched plants that would do well in the area I was planting and would pretty much take care of themselves--don't get rose bushes  they need lots of attention. Plants that would come back year after year and bloom at different times so I would have something blooming most of the time. It worked out pretty well and by starting with one or two places the first year, then another garden or two the next, after a few years some of the plants needed to be "thinned" and I could move them to the next garden I was working on. It worked well for me.
Enjoy, once the research is done it is lots of fun
Anne
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chicken lady
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| Posted: April 29 2007 at 10:11pm | IP Logged
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Go for it!!! Do not be afraid, gardening is so life giving. Get your hands dirty,let your ds' learn about soil and plants. My parents did and I am forever grateful. If you have a specific question, post it someone will help you!
Happy gardening......
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lapazfarm
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I totally agree with the Chicken Lady. The best way to do it is just to do it. Talk to your nurserymen. Describe your growing spaces and ask for advice. Start smallish and work your way up.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Cheryl
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| Posted: April 30 2007 at 6:16am | IP Logged
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Thanks for your encouragement. We already had landscapers do the planting all around the house when it was built. What I'm going to do is plant something at the edge of the woods (that we don't own). It will be on the edge of our lawn next to our dc's play area. Mary, maybe I will post a picture and ask for suggestions. I want it to be a learning experience for the dc and me. My dh is concerned that it's going to be an eyesore.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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mary
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| Posted: April 30 2007 at 6:44am | IP Logged
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gotcha. i went to your blog and looked - you have such a nice play area and a lovely woods. will grass grow between the woods and the play area? or are you wanting to plant things all the way to the woods?
med sized plants (for a back row)
red ozier dogwood
forsythia
pussy willow
vibernum
liliac
bluberries
small plants for a front row:
daffodils
hostas
daylilies
iris
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 30 2007 at 7:51am | IP Logged
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Cheryl, how fun!
I vote for dive right in too! Whatever you put in, you need to maintain (weed, feed, check for disease etc.) -- so the suggestion to start small is wise (wish we had that suggestion when we started from scratch two years ago!)
In VA, we have a nursery (Meadow Farms) that will come out and give suggestions for our particular lawn, soil type, (who knew that soil affected plants!) and sun exposure for free as long as you buy a certain amount of plants. Maybe MA has something like that??
I like all Mary's suggestions -- and would suggest an even smaller front row with annual flowers -- fun for the kids and give instant color. They won't last so you'll have to start over next year, but if you have an "annual row" that will give you and the kids an opportunity to dig in the dirt each year!
And her suggestion of daffodils combined with hostas and daylily's is great! Plant your daffodil bulbs BEHIND the daylily and hosta, so that the unsightly daffodil die back will be hidden!
I only have the lilac out of her medium plant suggestions, so I don't know how much maintenance those plants need, but her small plant selection are hardy and don't need much attention!
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Cheryl
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| Posted: May 06 2007 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
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Mary and Maryan,
I'm sorry I forgot to thank you for your suggestions. I decided to put off my garden planning until after the Loveliness of Gardens fair. I let you know how it goes!
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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stefoodie
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| Posted: May 06 2007 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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Hi Cheryl, are there any specific flowers your 8-yo wants to plant? That might be a good place to start. My 5-yo wanted lupines after reading Miss Rumphius, so that was top of the list this year.
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stef
mom to five
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: starting gardening
