| 2 years ago :: May 23, 2008 - 1:54PM #1 | |
|
My husband and I moved to Missouri 2 years ago from Las Vegas. We went from the desert to the lush midwest and I had all sorts of grand plans to make our 5 acres an oasis. Well it's been 2 years and work, money, 6 pet goats and a flock of chickens has changed my schedule! We have finally successfully confined the animals to one 2 acre pasture, hay is growing in the other 2 acre pasture, leaving 1 acre for me to start on. The panic that I am going through now is that my mother-in-law is coming from England in one month to visit. I have SO much to do to get the house ready, but I want the yard to look smart as well. I am mowing and edging, carrying fallen branches to have a bonfire when she's here, clearing out debris and trash that had accumulated during the winter and WET spring, that sort of thing, so the yard is shaping up nicely. But other than some bulbs that are (of course) lovely NOW, there is little color in the yard. The goats damaged and/or killed my 4 apple trees, and the roses are still sticks so I think either the ice or the goats did them in as well. Does anyone have any ideas of things that I can plant from seed (preferably) or as inexpensive plants NOW that would have some color and not look too "new" in just one month? Also any sources to buy plants? I live 1/2 hour away from a Home Depot and a Lowes, but would prefer to buy from a local small business, but money is a huge factor for us. Please, PLEASE help me! |
|
| 2 years ago :: May 25, 2008 - 9:30AM #2 | |
|
With so little time to accomplish this emergency makeover, seed is not going to be the ticket! Budgets are always an issue. I commend you for supporting the small businesses in your community. However, you will be able to stretch a thin budget a bit further if you buy the plants from Lowe's Garden Center. I find that the selection is far better there than at Home Depot as well as the watering and lighting exposure which is important to the vigor of plants you want high performance from.
For the front porch... I suggest a 10" pot for each side of the front steps with one Geranium and stick in a blue Bacopa to cascade color down the side. Pots can also be expensive. Go to the dollar store and get some large plastic mixing bowls. You can easily drill drainage holes in the bottom with a steak knife. Sometimes you get lucky and they have them in blue! It would be wise to add one or two container gardens to your back porch, patio or whatever your outdoor seating area may be. Plants that fill fast and give good color beyond the ones above? Million Bells (Calibrachoa), Sweet Potato Vine, Lobelia, Celosia and Wave Petunias. One focal point planting bed you can view from the outdoor seating area and hopefully the breakfast table. One Double Knockout Rose, 4 or 5 Wave Petunias in purple and a flat of White Alyssum should really give you an instant colorful bed. Make sure to water them in with MiracleGro right after you get the planting done. Follow it up with another application a couple of days before Mama arrives. This will help them fill faster. You can apply MiracleGro safely every three to four weeks over the summer. Make the bed a kidney shape and keep in mind that Wave Petunias get huge over the season... like 4 feet wide! So don't pklant them too close to the edge. I know your budget is tight and hopefully this will help you create a few spots of color and interest before your company arrives. Good luck! |
|
| 2 years ago :: May 30, 2008 - 11:01AM #3 | |
|
Thank you so much for the suggestions, this has been such an experience! I caused my own problem by letting everything just fall into disrepair, but the winter just seemed to drag on fo so long. I went to Lowes but got SO frustrated because most everything I looked at was either not priced or was priced wrong and no one was around to help me. So I went to Home Depot, their selection was pretty comparable and most of the items were priced, but I got carried away and ended up spending $90 which did not make me the most popular 'gal at home when my husband found out! I got a gallon of roundup and a 50 foot roll of landscaping fabric, both which we are returning because the plan to weed and lay new fabric under the rock at the side of the house changed to just hand weeding, blowing and raking out the area instead. So the remaining $50 was spent on a couple of 2 gallon containers of roses that have lots of closed buds that "should" be ready to bloom in a few weeks, rose Miracle Grow, a few "wave" petunias, a few 4 inch perrenials and a couple of 8 pks of annuals. So I don't think I did too badly, and spending the weekend weeding, mowing, weed whacking, pruning, turning the compost, moving accent rocks and then planting my new plants has really helped a lot. I also got permission from the farmer down the road to transplant a few dozen clumps of wildflowers from his fields that haven't been harrowed yet because of our wet weather. He also had tigerlilies growing along some of his old buildings that he said I could transplant a few clumps, those were a bonus! |
|