Outdoor plant for beginning gardener

15 years ago

I would like to buy my mother-in-law a plant for her birthday next week. Ideally, something she could plant outside in the next few weeks, or (and please tell me if this is needed) keep it in the garage until the weather is warmer. I know very little about plants/gardening. She is also a beginner but loves to garden. Thank you for your advice. We are in Brentwood.

Lisa

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Comments (6)

bigorangevol
15 years ago
Lisa, a mid to late blooming Daylilly would be nice. No maintenance!

You and your Mom need to come to The Middle Tennessee Plant Swap!!! You'll both have a blast. Check out our website at http://www.midtnplantswap.com/. If you have any questions just shoot me an email.

Jeff
brandon7 TN_zone7
15 years ago
There are so many different types of plants that I can't really address that; I just don't even know where to start. You might ask your mother in law what type of plants she likes.

As for the garage question, most outside plants (plants that are hardy in your area) need to be outside in the winter, and most of them can/should be planted out as soon as you get them (assuming the ground is not frozen or very wet). If they are marginally hardy, protection (a cold garage, mulch, or heeling the plant in) may be needed.
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ladybug37091
15 years ago
Lisa, I second Jeffs notion on the daylillies. Irises are also a sure fire bet with lots of color choices too. You could always bring her to the mtps and make a day out of it. Rhonda
conniemcghee
15 years ago
Hi Lisa. I'm in Brentwood too! :)

I have a suggestion: How about a gift certificate to an online nursery? That way she could pick out what she wanted, and they would ship at the appropriate planting time. The selection in nurseries is not going to be great this time of year.

I ordered from these folks last year and would rate them extremely high quality:

http://www.santarosagardens.com

I just placed another order, in fact. The plants were not full-sized, but very healthy and extremely reasonably priced, IMO.

Or, there are plenty of others. Here is a site that keeps tabs on customer ratings and maintains a list of "Top 30" online nurseries:

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/
brandon7 TN_zone7
15 years ago
I like Connie's idea, and I'll add one more touch. Along with the gift certificate (to either a local nursery or reputable mail-order nursery) attach a personal gift certificate good for one free planting (you would be volunteering to help her plant the plant). That would add a personal touch if you thing gift certificates are impersonal.

BTW, even if you don't choose one of Dave's Garden Top 30 mail-order nurseries, at least be sure to check the rating of the nursery you do pick through Garden Watchdog.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Watchdog
cannahavana
15 years ago
Also gardening books are a great gift!

Rebecca