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01-09-2017, 12:15 PM   #1
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What's in your garden?

My wife and I just bought a house this past Fall and I'm going to start my first garden this spring.

We're in Zone 7b.

Just seeing what other people are planting... I'll be talking with local nurseries and already bought a few recommended books on vegetable gardening.

I'd love to have three raised beds, 8' x 2' with vegetables, herbs, and flowers. I'd love to attract hummingbirds this summer, and monarchs in early fall.

Please include these three things at minimum!!

What's in your garden?
Why did you plant it?
What zone are you in?


01-09-2017, 12:49 PM - 1 Like   #2
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I can't answer your questions because of black thumb disease

however
monarchs...ask your nursery for local milkweed varieties
if you can find some, milkweed (emphasis on WEED) will keep them coming back

hummers...we always plant a variety of salvia and large head zinnias
mid july we will pick up some large potted agustache (sp.?) and set them near a comfy place to shoot the birds feeding while relaxing ourselves

we are in zone 5b

I've attached two shots of bird and flower
these two have been the most reliable draws for the last couple of years
third would be any bright red salvia

good luck
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01-09-2017, 05:53 PM - 1 Like   #3
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What's in your garden?
Tomatoes
Why did you plant it?
I like tomatoes
What zone are you in?
6a

01-09-2017, 06:13 PM - 2 Likes   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
What's in your garden?
Snow...
QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
Why did you plant it?
It came by itself... quite amazing!
QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
What zone are you in?
MST...


In all seriousness we can grow potatoes and we get lot's of these. Also we have rhubarb, kale, and mint among others.
Not a very good food diet - good thing we have stores
I think we're in zone 2 or 3 here.

01-09-2017, 08:15 PM - 1 Like   #5
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If you want to attract butterflies then get a buddleia bush otherwise known as a butterfly bush for obvious reasons as butterflies (and other insects and hummingbirds) love them. They do grow quite large and can be a problem in some areas when the seeds blow away in the wind and set up wild colonies. There are dwarf varieties available (we have two) and they can be grown in planters and the dwarfs do not have the same problem of taking over the local flora. The scent from them is very strong too so they are pleasant to smell as well as look at.

Here's a shot of a visitor to our plants taken this summer.



We are in zone 7a.
01-10-2017, 12:04 AM   #6
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Weeds & dirt its summer here
01-10-2017, 08:47 AM - 1 Like   #7
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My wife is a Master Gardener, but all she wants to grow is flowers.



Even on our deck.



01-10-2017, 09:03 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by robtcorl Quote
My wife is a Master Gardener, but all she wants to grow is flowers.



Even on our deck.
Impressive!
Do you get any added wildlife because of it?

I wonder if you "bought some flower seeds" and she planted them... oh whoops - they must have been confused with tomatoes and zucchini!

In all honesty though, I've read a bit about companion gardening and how there are some plants that benefit from being within proximity to others. And vice versa, keeping certain plants away from one another.
I think I'm going to try and blend my raised beds with flowers and vegetables.

I just don't want to over-do it my first attempt this coming growing season.
If I can successfully raise two beds I'll be happy!

Diversity is my goal, second to keeping things alive!
01-10-2017, 09:34 AM - 1 Like   #9
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most first time gardeners are prone to overplanting

as the manual labor for some of my wife's projects I recommend planting vegetables you actually use.
in a good year you'll get a lot and in a bad year you'll get some
but you probably won't waste the produce of your efforts

a small patch, well planted, can produce an amazing amount of stuff
my son has a 150 square foot spot that produces enough exotic peppers and herbs for hundreds of bottles of sauce each year
but grows enough tomatoes, peppers and squash for summer and autumn in two plots about the size you are contemplating
01-10-2017, 09:39 AM - 1 Like   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
Do you get any added wildlife because of it?
Bees and butterflies on her flowers, deer like some of my veggies, and some of her flowers.
I sprinkle a made up concoction of powdered eggs, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder around my raised veggie bed and it seems to repel deer pretty well.
01-10-2017, 10:00 AM - 2 Likes   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
What's in your garden?
Small weeds, big weeds, gigantic weeds.

QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
Why did you plant it?
I didn't - they arived uninvited.

QuoteOriginally posted by UserAccessDenied Quote
What zone are you in?
Hardly matters, they follow me everywhere.
01-10-2017, 10:37 AM - 1 Like   #12
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I have: not enough flowers, not enough veggies

We currently have a tiny back yard and are working on looking for a new home this year. One of the requirements is a larger backyard - not just for planting, but also because our boys are now 3,6 and 8 and it's hard to just have them play in the drive way or the cul-de-sac down the street. Throwing baseballs and footballs will be much easier.

Currently I have pots everywhere, because the tiny backyard also happens to be a down slope. So most of the stuff I plant is in pots in the back porch, and alongside the neighbor's fence. Right now there's some flowers like black eyed susans and four-o-clocks (they're annuals, and I like them for sentimental reasons). Then a lot of hot peppers (4 kinds), scallions, parsley, mint, lemongrass, and other tasty things... in the new place I look forward to growing plants that require a bit more space like tomatoes and cucumbers, and perhaps even watermelons... and some of those butterfly and hummingbird attracting flowers.

And I almost forgot... quite a bit of roses and azaleas in the front yard, as they are some of the few things that do well there.
01-11-2017, 08:53 AM - 1 Like   #13
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Every year I attempt (feebly) to grow hot peppers. This year's variety is: chocolate habaneros, caribbean red habaneros, piquin, tabasco, aji limon, and bhut jolokia's, as well as an assortment of herbs.

I usually dehydrate them and they'll last me through the winter. On years I do get a good haul I make my own hot sauce.

Zone 5b

Last edited by serothis; 01-23-2017 at 07:46 AM.
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