Archive through May 15, 2002
The ClubHouse: Archives: Gardening Tips:
Archive through May 15, 2002
Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 09:25 am     Anyone out there any good with gardening? I am looking for some LOW maintenance flowers (annuals) for my front yard which is mostly sunny. Also looking for some flowers for a hanging basket that will be almost 100% shade and one hanging basket which will be sunny all morning then shade all afternoon. (Does anyone know of a daisy-ish looking little flower called something like dianthus? Looks like it is purple/magenta) |
Grooch | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 09:35 am     Julie, what part of the country are you in? |
Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 09:36 am     Far west suburbs of Chicago. |
Grooch | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 09:49 am     Well, not knowing what colors you like (and I don't know what Chicago is like) Nasturiums are easy and I think they are pretty and you can't get any easier than that. I also love Blacked eyed Susans. Salvias and pentas are pretty easy. And alyissium is nice as a ground cover or for a low plant in the front of the garden as a border. I'm in South Florida so I don't get many flowering plants to grow. |
Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 09:52 am     Thanks Grooch. What do Nasturiums look like? Are they as "easy" as marigolds? |
Grooch | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:00 am     Here's a picture. I think they are easier. I don't think they need to be sprayed at all. They might be better for the hanging basket. They come in yellow, orange to an almost red.
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Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:03 am     Thanks! Do you know anything about pansies? Like can they take direct sun? |
Grooch | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:06 am     They are cold weather plants. It is probably cool enough up there for them but once it gets really warm, they will die. And they like the sun, so growing them in the shade won't help. |
Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:08 am     oh, almost a paradox in a way. Guess up here they'd last til about June or July when the temps get high... anyone know for sure? |
Wink | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:20 am     Julie Grooch is right about the pansies but you should be okay with them until June and even in to July unless you get some real scorchers. |
Tess | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:51 am     Julie, good plants for shade are impatiens but you need to keep them well watered when it gets hot. We always have a hanging basket of impatiens on our front porch. We also like fuschias for the same area. Same need for water. Baskets will take more water than the same plants in the ground. I like zinnias for low maintenance full sun areas and they are very easy. They need a little bit of space between the plants because they grow very well here. They come in a variety of colors and you can either get the tall ones or the dwarf ones depending upon your space. We've grown dianthus but they need to be kept watered well and they tending to get scraggily looking after a few weeks. Could be that we had them in the wrong area of the garden. As far as pansies go, we put them in the ground in mid May and they last all summer here. We get temps in the 90's.....some years are hotter than others. Grooch has some excellent suggestions. Salvia is particularly pretty with many varieties from which to choose and very low maintenance. Let us know what you choose, Julie!! |
Grooch | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 11:01 am     Hot peppers are fun to grow, And they don't take any maintenace at all. They look really pretty when the peppers turn red and then you can make your own salsa's. If you have room for some tall plants, milkweed is nice. They take full sun. And then you can show your son the monarch caterpillars and how they change into butterfly's. Tess, I like zinnia also, but it is just to humid for them here. |
Tess | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 12:43 pm     I can imagine the humidity, Grooch. I think it's about as humid where Julie is as it is where I am. She just has a slightly longer growing season and a slightly higher average annual temperature. She might be in growing zone 5. I'll have to look that up. I'm in zone 4. Grooch, you must be in 9 or 10. We both have limitations but for opposite reasons! I also like lisianthus but I'm not sure how hard they are to grow. I have a friend who grows them but I've never tried. |
Twiggyish | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 12:50 pm     I have marigolds planted under a shade tree. I love impatiens, they are beautiful. Do you grow geraniums there? They are easy to grow and very hardy. This website has a database: http://bestplants.chicago-botanic.org/ |
Wink | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 12:54 pm     That's great about your pansies Tess. Mine never seem to make it past the torrid days of July. They are inexpensive enuff that you've got nothing to lose by trying them anyway Julie. I'm always trying things that push the recommended zone. Some have done very well. Blue victoria salvia with dusty miller and a dwarf white daisy is a pretty combo for a sunny annual bed. Some easy annuals from seed are Nigella and Cosmos (the dwarf variety which only get about 2 ft). Both will reseed next year but they can be a bit invasive tho easy to remove. Begonias, along with impatiens and fuschia that Tess mentioned are great for hanging baskets in the shade. Add some trailing bacopa, trailing lobelia or lime licorice vine for some punch. I have done baskets for the sun with trailing snapdragons, scaveola and baby's breath and they were beautiful. |
Webkitty | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:08 pm     Julie, I would recommend (along with everyone else, lol) impatients for your hanging baskets! Do a mix of different bright colors. They like a mixture of sun and shade. (leaning towards the shady side) They like to be watered, and if you put a little plant food in the water, they will BLOOM! I love them but can only have them in flower boxes in the winter down here. By May they are all dead High five on that humidity Grooch! I love the Gulf of Mexico but am REALLY thinking of moving to a drier climate. Seriously. |
Jewels | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:17 pm     I was also going to suggest begonias for the shade, you can also accent them with different kinds of ferns too. Julie, I really like dianthus, I just planted some last weekend, but Tess is right, they can get scragly you really need to keep them watered. I have had some really pretty bright pink and white veragated ones. I love zinnias too, they grow like crazy here in the full sun. I was amazed the first time I planted them. Petunias, marigolds, pansies...I just love the bright colors. This is my favorite time of year, when everything is freshly planted and still healthy!!  |
Tess | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:18 pm     Wink, I didn't know you could get snapdragons to trail. I love snapdragons. Mine never seem to grow straight upright like the ones you get from the florist. I'm not sure what I do wrong with them but the stems always seem to be so thin. Oh, I completely forgot about geraniums and begonias. Those are good old standards and very easy. You know, I suppose with my luck with snapdragons, I should just put them in a hanging planter and let them fall over like the do in my garden. Then, voila! Trailing snapdragons! |
Julieboo | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:47 pm     Thanks guys. I am getting confused though. too many choices. I think I will go to a nursery and see what they have. Around here I usually see a lot of petunias, impatiens, marigolds and fuschia. I would liek something different, but I want something that won't get scraggly if I am not diligent. That's why Marigolds are good, but then they are just a step or two away from a weed! I would like something like impatiens that like full sun. Any flower like that around? |
Wink | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:48 pm     Tess I haven't found them locally but order them from a greenhouse operation in Alberta. They only ship seeds and non-perishables to the US but if you contact them they may know of somewhere in Minnesota you can find them. Their website is www.holesonline.com I had them last year for the first time and they were spectacular so I've ordered them again this year. They have them in shades of deep purple, hot pink, pink and yellow. They are called Snapdragon Luminaire. You might want to surf some of the mail order places in your state to see if you can find them. |
Wink | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:55 pm     Julie there is an annual called "vinca" that I've use often instead of petunias. They come in some pretty shades and don't need the dead-heading that petunias do. "Stocks" are another one you could look for. Neither get terribly tall (under 10"). I agree that some marigolds look like weeds but there are some very pretty ones called French Marigold in a beautiful true yellow shade. |
Tess | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:56 pm     Wow, thanks, Wink! We have some great nurseries here so I'll see if I can find them when we finally get out to pick our plants. I'll take a look on the website you mentioned so I know what I'm doing. Charlie and Sarah are getting me 3 new flowering shrubs for the front of the house for Mother's Day. (We're just a tad bit behind schedule.) My evergreen rhododendrons are looking a bit peaked after the construction guys invaded their turf last year so we're moving those to the side and I want something spectacular to take their places and then one for the middle. |
Tess | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:57 pm     Julie, how about something like Verbena? I've had good success with those. |
Wink | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 01:59 pm     The icestorm we had here this winter wrecked my rhodo. It is still green but the buds are all black and no bloom this spring. |
Jewels | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 02:00 pm     Julie, if you want color right now then petunias, impatiens, marigolds, fushias, geraniums are going to be your best bet....that is why you see so many of them around. All flowers need dilligence, especially in full sun in the heat of the summer, more importantly, plants in hanging baskets need alot more water than anything in the ground, in extremely hot heat I water mine twice a day. Check out your nursery though and see what they have, it's always fun to look anyway! |
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