garden advice?

[cellio]

Most of my back yard was obviously well-planned by someone, and it's lovely for most of the year. Bulbs bloom (in stages) in the spring, there are pretty bushes in the summer/fall (some of which flower), and in general there's usually something interesting going on at any time from about March to about October. (I'm horticulturally challenged, so I can't actually name any of these things other than the bulbs.)

There's also one strip of grass that was never worked on. I'd like to plant something there, but I have basically no clues. Any advice?

The place in question runs most of the length of the garage (I guess that's about 15-20 feet?) and is about 4 feet deep. It's next to the garage, so it's partial shade rather than full sun. Obviously, whatever I put there shouldn't have root systems so big that they would interfere with the garage.

I'd like something that blooms in the summer, and ideally blooms for a while. (This should be enough room to plant a few different things, which might help that goal.) This space is bounded by a sidewalk that I use a lot, so whatever I put there shouldn't be too aggressive about spilling out into the sidewalk. No thorns, please. I dislike pale pink but like pretty much all other flower colors.

I wonder if lilac is suitable. I don't know how long it blooms or what its light requirements are.

Suggestions welcome!

Comments

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I'm still learning myself, but marigolds tend to be hardy and bloom into October. I have some gardening books here if that helps :)

[cellio]

Thanks. The space is deep enough that I could trim with marigolds and have something taller behind them, too. Though a vast sea of marigolds also has possibilities. :-) (They come in a few different colors, right? I think I've seen yellow, orange, and a sort of orange-brown.)

Springhill catalog and gardening

[jpbl.livejournal.com]

I would recommend getting a SpringHill gardening catalog. They tend to have a lot of information about plant requirements. They even put together whole gardens for partial shade, full sun, etc. It a mail order company, but the plants arrive (generally) in wonderful condition. The plants are very small (smaller than what you would find in a gardening center), but they're not pot-bound, and they actually did much better and grew much faster than anything we bought from Lowe's or Home Depot. If you go to myseasons.com, you can request a print catalog or get to their website.

Some of the things they recommend are primroses, forget-me-nots, and certain types of
violas (blooms early spring - early summer). Astilbe also do well in partial shade, and they come in a variety of colors. They bloom in late-spring to early summer. Hostas don't have interesting blooms (they're small and purple), but they have really interesting foliage and do really well in shade. Cyclamen, bleeding-heats, and lily-of-the-valley do well in light shade. Cyclamen are pretty weird in Pittsburgh. We planted them, and they would put out leaves and bloom in early-late spring, the leaves would die during the summer and them would come back in the fall. My impression is that in warmer climates, the foliage lives through the winter and dies off during the heat of summer, but it's too cold in winter in Pittsburgh. They survived the five years we had them, but they never grew very big.

If it's only a little shady, there are a lot more options, but SpringHill tells you what light conditions the plants need. BTW, we had all of these plants (plus others) in our very shady yard, we got them from SpringHill, and most of them did absolutely wonderfully. We ordered two shipments from them. One of them got delayed, but when we called them to tell them that we hadn't gotten it, they sent another. It turns out we got both of them at the same time, but I think that was a shipping problem, not SpringHills. Anyway, good luck with your gardening. That's something that Bruce and I need to work on in our new yard too.

Re: Springhill catalog and gardening

[cellio]

Thanks for the pointers! Must seek out pictures of some of the things you're talking about. :-)

Re: Springhill catalog and gardening

[jpbl.livejournal.com]

If you go through myseasons.com, you can get to SpringHill's website. You can look at their shade garden, or search for specific plants. They also let you ask for shade or partial shade plants, although they only seem to show you six or so if you go this route. I don't know exactly how good the interface because I really haven't used it, but they seem to have a lot of their catalog on line.

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a gardener but I can tell you that lilacs bloom for a short period of time (probably a week or so) in the spring. They seem to barely survive in full shade. I'm not sure about full sun verse partial sun.

[cellio]

Sounds like lilacs aren't the answer, then. I want something (or a combination of things) that will bloom for a while in summer, when a lot of the rest of the yard isn't really blooming very much.

[beki.livejournal.com]

How about Dahlias? They come in several differnet flowering types, and mine bloom most of the summer. I have them in full and in partial sun, so they should work. They also come in various sizes, so you dont have to worry about htem over growing if you get a smaller variety. Try http://www.dahlias.com/ I use them often, and I havent had a problem with anything that I have ordered.

[cellio]

Wow, those are pretty! Yeah, something like that would be splendid.

One thing I had trouble determining, though: are dahlias perenials?

[beki.livejournal.com]

They are perrenials, They are usually tubers, so you dont need to worry about re seeding every year. They will have to be divided every 3-4 years. I just tap them with the shovel and they break in half, so I dont worry about what is the eye. I also am bad and dont dig them up at the end of the season. I dont know where your at, but if you have really harsh winters (like in say wyoming) then you might want to dig them up and keep them in the root cellar packed in wood chips. Hamster bedding cedar chips work well for this. I am not the greatest gardener and I havent been able to do much since my arm was broken in 2000, but I am trying to get out there and do stuff.. I gots to trim my camellia and my weeping cherry before my husband cuts it down. :)

How about practical instead of pretty?

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Ask your local cook's guild what herbs will grow well in partial shade. Then, when you're making dinner, you just go out and pluck what you need. You'll find yourself pulling the occasional weed as soon as you spot it and taking the herb that needs to be thinned out anyway, and you'll never have to spend an afternoon weeding and gardening because you've been doing it a minute at a time all along!