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wizfan90

New to Gardening

wizfan90
11 years ago

Hello All,

I am new to gardening. Over the summer I decided that while I took classes at the local community college, that I would begin a landscaping project as a tribute to my father who passed. He was very good at landscaping as well. But as I was tilling the ground and planting new flowers I actually became interested in gardening. I have become so interested that I decided to purchase some seeds and grow my own flowers because some the plants that I would purchase at the local Home Depot and Lowes. I've actually been frequenting the site since July, and decided that I would make a profile since everyone seems to be very helpful in the community and was hoping I could benefit from it and also help someone else.

These are the seeds I purchased:

-Hyssop

-Rose

-Delphinium

-Brown Eyed Susan

-Swan River Daisy

-African Cape Daisy

-White Zulu

-Prince Cape Daisy

-Orange Price Cape Daisy

-Gloriosa Indian Summer

-Garland Crown Daisy

-Blue Salvia

-Burgundy Sun Blanket

-Yellow Sun Blanket

-Red Bee Balm

-English Lavender

-Lupines

-Purple Cone Flower

-Ruby Cone Flower

-Tangerine Dream Conflower

-Shasta Daisy

-Evening Sun Sunflower

Does anyone have any advice on how to plant/care for these?

I was looking into winter sowing them in 16 oz. bottles and milk cartons and other containers but if anyone has any suggestion I'm ears.

Thank you again!!!

Comments (4)

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    That's quite a big bite for a beginner gardener! I believe that, if I were you, I'd start at the top of your list and do your homework one by one. Make notes of amount of sunlight needed, water requirements, size at maturity (height and spread), flowering time, known insect and disease problems. Be sure to visit several websites for each plant.

    You will soon learn that many of your plants share the same location requirements, problems, and pluses. I'm sure that you've begun your reading in the Winter Sowing Forum. Lots of good information in there.

    From which hyssop variety did you purchase seed? And which salvia? By the way, did you purchase your seed from a reputable source?

    When you have some specific questions for us, be sure to run back here. The Perennials Forum would be another great place for some specific questions, too.

    Good luck with your projects. And have fun!

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    11 years ago

    I was going to suggest winter sowing, but got to the bottom of your post and you were already there.

    You've got all winter to learn more about these plants. When you see what's actually growing in the spring, you could get more specific with a planting scheme. As you've probably also read, nobody gets it "right" the first time, and most gardeners tweak things every year, moving, dividing, removing plants they end up not liking so much. You'll also need to keep reminding yourself that perennial plants take a few years to really show off, and to not expect it to look like a spread in a magazine the first year or two.

    Excel spreadsheets can be great for gardening notes if you're comfortable using them.

    IMO, the effort is a tribute, not just the results. Good luck and happy growing!

  • wizfan90
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    @Rhizo_1 I have blue fortune hyssop growning now and purchased blue salvia and purple anise seeds. Not sure if the source is reputable, but I purchased them from seedville.
    @purpleinopp it�s funny that you mentioned a excel worksheet cause I set one up right before I posted the thread. Lol. Thank you both. It means a lot to me that you were able to respond. I just really hope everything goes as planned.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    11 years ago

    You're welcome.

    "I just really hope everything goes as planned. "

    It won't. Gardening never does. Keep an open mind and be ready to tweak things, and to be humbled at time by nature's contrary decisions. Gardening is often a good lesson in compromise. To me, things always look better if I'm "seeing what this will look like" compared to having a lot of rigid expectations. I say it always great, and if something needs to be moved to be seen, or to not overcrowd other plants, that's not fixing a mistake, that's just making it better as it grows and matures.

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