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ridgetop01

Spring fever! What will you grow new this year?

Ok - the wind is howling, the snow is blowing in white clouds that make it hard to see sometimes, and I have spring fever! I guess that happens to us gardeners, and it seems particularly likely when you order seeds and plants, as that needs to happen very soon, getting you in the mood very early.

I am lusting after Astrantia major in some of the red shades this year - I have one, but it is hidden behind a rosebush. I want to grow a "swath" of them thru the shrub rose garden - supposedly they like semi shade, and they'd be nice to fill some of the bare spots around the roots of those leggy giants. I grow shrub roses exclusively, and that garden contains "Blanc Double de Coubert", "Reine des Violettes", "Prairie Dawn", "Therese Bugnet", "Hansa", and a few others that don't come to mind immediately, plus a massive Baptisia.

I'm also lusting after some of the multicolor baptisias (though I'm not sure where they'll go - they take up a lot of space) and an "Amber Gem" Hellebore, and one of the "Mouse Ears" variant hostas - a yellow one, or a variegated maybe.

Last year was interesting, I put in quite a few young plants from seed and some new purchases, so part of this year will be seeing if they come back and coddling them along a bit. Also I have a LOT of seeds (annuals) from last year that I need to use up - Zinnias, Calendulas, Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, Love in a mist "Persian Red", several Nicotianas, and Coreopsis "Mardi Gras" (that's a perennial). So, I don't need to order seeds, really - just some choice new plants.

What are you lusting after this year?

Comments (10)

  • booberry85
    10 years ago

    I'm dying to get started! After taking a couple years hiatus from growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer & winter squashes & cucumbers and zinnias too, I plan on growing them all this year! I had some bug and disease issues which I'm hoping has worked itself out.

    I planted some daylilies late summer / early fall last year. I'm hoping they survive this weird winter (very cold with not a lot of snow for insulation). So I'm looking forward to seeing those. I also planted LOTS of daffodils and hyacinths last fall. I'm hoping they make it through the winter.

    Lots of luck with your roses! I've always been afraid to try them, because I've heard they're "fussy," I always admire them growing in other peoples yards though.

  • ridgetop01 (zone 5b)
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    "Booberry85", I bet your daylilies and spring bulbs will do fine - they are all so tough. I planted a bunch of daylilies my first year or 2 here and they just expand to fill the available space, and my daffodils and hyacinths are mostly from the supermarket or from church, and they also spread nicely. We are on a substantial elevation with lots of cold winds (but often a good snow cover). The roses do fine, but they are all shrub/old roses, which are incredibly hardy and don't need coddling - just prune off dead wood, mostly, no chemicals at all. We struggle with early blight on tomatoes, and flea beetles eat our eggplants (the only way I can grow them is on pots on the porch) and squash vine borers must be constantly dealt with, and zinnias get mildew, but ... as we gardeners all do, we persevere!!!!

  • booberry85
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the kind words Ridgetop! I've been looking a little more into rose. I'd like to put a row of them in front of our ditch. I might go for it and try it out.

    Yeah, the flea beetles are ferocious but the eggplants usually survive. I always grow eggplants in pots. They seem to do better.

    Glad to hear that about the daylilies & bulbs. It was a small fortune in flowers and lots of man hours last fall.

  • pbl_ge
    10 years ago

    We're getting serious spring fever and are doing our garden planning now. We just placed our massive seed orders for the six raised beds OH built last summer, and there's lots of new stuff. Got three kinds of kale, three kinds of beets, gailan, melons, sugar snap peas, snow peas, bush beans, zucchini, scallions, spinach, three kinds of lettuce, hot peppers, sweet peppers, three kinds of carrots, arugula, cucumbers, Thai, holy, and Genoese basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, lemongrass, sage, and marsh mallow, because a friend saw it in the Baker Creek catalog and wants us to try making our own marshmallows now.

    The big project this year is rebuilding the deck that is behind the garage. The previous owners had a massive climbing rose on it that recently died. This was not heartbreaking to me, as I don't understand why you'd want a plant that tries to hurt everyone sitting on your deck. So now we're planning a wall of clematis to cover the garage and make the deck pretty. Thinking Clematis Huldine and Etoile Violet, both of which would be new to me.

    Is it spring yet?

  • booberry85
    10 years ago

    I have some serious cabin fever! This weather is enough already. We're heading into March & still having subzero window chills! I know I'm preaching to the choir here!

    For Valentine's Day I bought myself some apple, pear, cherry, (1) peach and (1) black current trees / bushes. I ordered them from Stark Brothers. I should get them the end of March. I can't wait.

    I'm still thinking about ordering some rose bushes.

    I did start my veggie seeds. I think by the time they're ready to harden off & plant outside, its going to look like Wild Kingdom in my house!

  • party_music50
    10 years ago

    Hey everyone! I was a phenom at seed starting last year and, if you recall, it started to rain in mid May and didn't stop until July 10. LOL! I'm planning not to rush things this year. And I definitely won't plant as much as last year. :)

    I'm on the lookout for a really good sweet bell-type pepper and read that 'King of the North' should be good in our growing season. Has anyone grown it? I'm hoping to find seed locally.

    Also always looking for a large red/pink/similar heirloom tomato that's better than what I have. My Pink Brandywine is prolific, but always late. My Oxheart is great but not prolific for me -- same w/ Kellogg's Breakfast. Cherokee Chocolate is good, but I've only had one year with a really good harvest. What red/pink heirloom tomatoes does everyone here like?

    Don'tcha think it's time we got some better weather? :O)

  • booberry85
    10 years ago

    King of the North did well for me. A few others that generally do well: Big Berha, Lady Bell, and sheepnose type sweet peppers. For tomatoes, I like good old fashion "cheap seed" Rutgers. They are very reliable producers. This year a more pink tomato that I'm trying is Rose D'Eauzes tomato. I read good things about it. I personally never had luck with Kellogg's Breakfast. They were the most mealy things I every grew, but that seems to be the exception than the norm.

    My cabin fever hasn't let up yet!

  • bekigirl
    10 years ago

    Well I have to say.... We bought our house last April and I really spent the year seeing what was growing in the yard, and where the sunshine/shade was... But THIS year It will be a busy one!! This year is my fresh slate. Im very exciting to see where I will go with it.!!! So im waiting for this LOOOooooonnnnnng winter to go pass. so I can get started!!!

  • barb_adk8
    9 years ago

    I started my seeds February 10th and am done planting seeds for a while. So far I have 3 jalapenos, 2 salsa tomato, 2 cherry tomato, 2 yellow pear tomato, 4 Cherokee Purple (my fav!), 1 sweet pepper, 3 bambino eggplant, 1 cleome, lots of scallions, green bouquet basil, basil, sunflower, 3 perennial hollyhocks, 4 outhouse hollyhock, swirl zinnias, 4 geraniums, celosia, 1 moonflower,1 tall nasturtium, shadow dance morning glories,6 red nasturtiums,1 4 o'clock, 2 sweet peas. I started seeds again this year but since I am on the Adirondacks we have a short growing season. It is a lot of work starting this early but worth it in the end!!

  • barb_adk8
    9 years ago

    I am growing Granny's Nitecap this year. I got the seeds at a local hardware store .. It is a columbine and a perennial. I have never grown perennials other than hollyhocks.

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