[loveajax]

I am admittedly a "city kid" who finds myself stuck in the suburbs. When we moved here, the guy who owned the house was like a landscaping zealot who really kept the yard in amazing shape. Thankfully, a lot of stuff is really "perennials" that come up without any real work on our part. But he also built a gigantic garden in the back of our house (it is bound by railroad ties and the garden bed is probably like 24 feet by 6 feet (?)). When we got here, a giant pumpkin patch grew there. We took that out and one year I experimented by throwing wild flower seeds down randomly -- well that created a weedy disaster. I don't have the time/money to really "plan" anything with this garden, but is there something I can do (quick and easy) to have it look halfway decent this summer (after I get DH to clear out the weeds....he has to do all the hard stuff!)? It is really an eyesore!

[lovemy2boys]

love,

I am probably the WRONG person to ask...

but you can rent a rototiller and till your garden patch...
then, if you have any hostas or day lilys (which I'm assuming you do since you said you have perrenials) you can split them and plant the half you remove in your bed..

may not look fabulous, but it will look pretty good (and it's virtually free) until you figure out what you want to do in the long run...

And if splitting hostas/lilys seems like too much work, you can purchase them for pretty darn cheap...and staggering them would look good (instead of putting them in a row)

[DPline]

A lot depends on what your long term plan for that area is. I think Lovemy2boys has a great suggestion if you are looking to turn it into a perennial garden as well. And if you don't have things to split, you might ask around among your neighbors. Daisies, black eye-susan, and purple coneflower all are also relatively inexpensive but pretty options.

[loveajax]

OMG, this is so sad. But OK, are hostas the purplish/tall ones? We get a lot of those in front. I know we do have day lilies (they haven't come up yet). What does splitting mean? (I need to get Gardening for Dummies!). Thanks, Love!

Deb, I am cracking up at the "long term plan" (as if I know! hahah!). But ideally, yes, I would just love for it to be a perennial, easy to maintain garden. Thanks for the suggestions!

[DPline]

LOL! Sorry. I am a big planner type.

I was just thinking that if you are going to sod it over or whatever in the future you aren't going to want to spend time or money on perennials.

I can't remember where you are, but are you sure your daylilies aren't up? Mine (in Michigan) are getting pretty big already.

Hostas come in a ton of varities but are all some version of shorter plants with larger green or varigated leaves that flower later in the summer with tall stems that go up with the flower on them. (Horrible description! I'll try to find a picture!)

[brooklyn_girl]

I love gardening, but I'm no expert. I have been looking at buying one of these "professionally designed gardens" and planting them according to the layout they provide. Seems like an easy way to get a fancy-looking garden without knowing much about landscaping:

Professionally designed garden plans for a perfect landscape –SpringHillNur

[lovemy2boys]

Bob's Hosta Growing Tips

DAYLILIES & MORE

Try these sites...

And bleeding hearts are also pretty little perrenials...

They are hosta-ish looking plants, but in early spring, these beautiful fuscia heart shaped flowers pop up and have little white "strings" poking out....BLEEDING HEART!

[slugbug0930]

Something perennial will be the easiest as you won't have to plant something every year.

A lot of what you can do with the area depends on the amount of sun/shade the area gets, the amount of water you feel like giving to the plants & the zone in which you live. If you want some ideas I would check out Garden Plans - Free Plans for All Kinds of Special Gardens. BHG.com

I like taking a look at plans like these to get an idea of what plants look good together and how many to use & what layout to use them in.

[loveajax]

Deb, OK, looked up hostas -- and yes we have those!! I will have to check our day lily situation tomorrow! Btw, I have actually thought of turning the whole stinking thing into a giant sandbox! I am so frustrated with looking at it!!

Brooklyn, where does one get these professionally designed gardens (and can you come plant mine...haha!)?

Love and Slug, thanks for the sites (Oh, i really do dream of a Martha-like existence....remember my winter threads about cooking...haha!).

[DPline]

The sandbox idea is great!

How much sun does the area get though? If he was growing pumpkins etc., I am assuming a fair amount. There are some hostas that will tolerate full sun, but some won't. Also bleeding heart will probably not do well in full sun. At least they never have for me. Though I love them! Peonys and columbine are another couple that might work for you with more sun. And the columbine will seed and spread.

Lovemy2boys - Your hosta link was the same one I was about to post!

I have tried those predesigned 'garden in a box' thing and never was very happy with them. At least the ones I tried you start out with little tiny plants or roots and it takes forever to get to anything. I want to start with a plant I can identify by sight!

[lovemy2boys]

Hmmm...How do I put this...

24x6 foot sandbox = giant litter box for stray cats...

Deb - my bleeding hearts are up against my house and only get partial sun.

BUT THEY ARE LOVELY!!!!

[loveajax]

Yes, Deb, this area gets a full blast of almost all day sun.

Love, no offense to cat people, but I am not a cat person and your visual just made me change my mind about the sandbox!!

Oh, btw, we also have a gopher (hedgehog?) type looking thing that just hangs out in this area all day and waves at me (another disadvantage of a city kid....cannot identify animals except for squirrels and pigeons!). He is so fresh! I am sure he will eat everything that gets put in there.

[DPline]

LOL! Yeah, the cat thing might be an issue!

My bleeding heart are against my house too in partial sun and doing great. But my last house was full sun all day and they just roasted. They just aren't very hardy when it comes to full sun in my experience. While my peony bush I have moved twice trying to get it enough sun. (My current house is partial sun to shade pretty much all over.)

Loveajax - You might take a wander over to a local garden center (if there is one) or your local Home Depot and just stroll through reading tags to see what works for the sun you have. Shade is harder, particuarly to get things to flower, but for partial to full sun there are just so many options.

My mom is a Master Gardener and makes up this horrible anti-bunny and other pests spray with eggs and garlic and I don't know what all. I have found that mothballs work quite nicely to keep things away that like to chomp on my plants. We have bunnies that will just merrily go from plant to plant having their fill. Cute, but . . .

ETA: Globe thistle (if you can stand they thistle part) and sunflowers are a couple other full sun options.

[brooklyn_girl]

Oh, and about the plant layouts - I have also downloaded plans and copied them with more mature plants....I think Better Homes & Gardens sometimes has them in the magazine too, to steal ideas from..

(Edited to say oops, slugbug already reco'd BHG! sorry for the repetition.)

[DPline]

You will need to take into consideration your climate, but this link has a good list of full sun perennials (all pretty standard you could find most places) with pictures as well as links within to lists of partial sun perennials.

HowStuffWorks "Full Sun Perennials"