stupid questions from someone who knows nothing about gardens

[isyne4u]

Hi,
I'm tara and I'm an idiot when it comes to planting things. So I'm hoping you all can help me out.

First, I have a flower bed that I dug up last year to plant flowers in (it had been grass around my azaleas) but when I dug it up I took out way too much dirt. this year I'm actually going to finish what I planned to do last year, which is to get flowers in it.

Question no. 1: What kind of soil should I add to it to build it up? It is too shallow and hides behind the bricks I put up and the yard, which is not level at all. I've seen Miracle grow, I've seen potting soil,...I don't know which is better. Any advice?

Question no 2: Does it matter where I get my soil from? I mean I've seen sales at Wal-Mart and K-mart and Home depot.

Question no 3: What should I do to the soil to ready it for plants, bulbs, or seeds?

Thank you for any advice you all can give me!!

tara

 

[LAinSEA]

If you are not growing in a container, you probably don't want to use a bagged potting soil in the ground. I would look for some regular top soil and mix it 1 to 2 or 2 to 1 with some organic compost for the flower bed.

Depending on what you want to plant--I'm guessing as something in front of your azaleas, you need to make sure that they are a good match for the azaleas which like an acid-based soil. I have found that daylillies do really well in front of my azaleas and coral bells (heuchera) which come in a variety of leaf colors from dark maroon to pink to lime green. Look for daylillies that re-bloom, like Stella D'oro a smaller, yellow variety, but I think you can now find reds and pinks also. Low-growing grasses or flax might be a good touch also.

I hope this helps,
Laurie

 

[isyne4u]

Thanks!! My uncle is going to pick up some compost from the local landfill (he said it is yard debris that has broken down) I thought he was talking regular waste and I wouldn't do that...eww..but I can do the other kind.

In terms of flowers I hadn't thought to much about the kind...I was thinking along the lines of pansies or some other easy to plant things. But I will check out the day lillies too and see how much upkeep they need. I'm a do it and leave it type of yard person.

In truth I hate working in the yard, but last year I dug this thing out and put a nice border aroudn it and then never touched it again...so I'm determined to do something with it this year.

Thanks for the advice!!

tara

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Daylilies are the ultimate in "plant 'em and forget 'em" plants, so I think they'd be a very good starter plant for you.
About that landfill compost...I'd be a little leery about using it. You don't know exactly what's in it. It could harbor a ton of weed seeds, toxic lawn chemicals, weed killer, diseased plant material. Usually I'm big on using compost, and I'm big on recycling, too, but I'd talk to the landfill manager and find out what sort of stuff they accept to put into their compost. I'd suggest, if you're not into making your own compost, that you buy a good quality bagged compost, like Winterwood or Coast of Maine, or even Fafard isn't too bad.

 

[chessie]

I would be very careful about the stuff from the dump too. A few years ago my neighbor got some mulch from the dump. Thank goodness we didn't use it around the flower beds. It was full of awful stuff. Pine cones and all sorts of rotted woods. I had put down landscaping plastic in the area where I put it and the weeds that grew were probably as bad if not worse then had I left it alone. I said we were just lucky there weren't any termites or other sorts of bugs in it. Never again.

On another note. I built a butterfly garden a few years ago and I ordered garden dirt from a local landscaping company. They dumped it right where I wanted it and I spread it out. The dirt was fantastic dirt. full of organic matter and such. I think the garden will finally be at it's peak this year.

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Low-growing grasses or flax might be a good touch also.

Just make sure that if you plant grasses that they are clumping and not spreading. I did that once and was digging it up for years. There are a couple of cute dwarf flaxes!

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I don't think there is anything easier to grow with less upkeep then daylillies, they also seem to keep weeds out so I don't even weed, no upkeep whatsoever, super super easy to grow and come back every year. Azaleas and daylillies are the two first plants I've ever planted that actually grew, so take it from someone learning myself. They're great, come in all kinds of color. I love the Cottage Farms from QVC, had great luck with their flowers. If you like pansies, just put pansies in front and then the daylillies, this way you'll have flowers in the spring and summer. Have fun!

 

[vanyel]

Maybe I missed it somewhere but I didn't see what kind of light you have in that space? A great plant for a shade area is the hosta and it comes in so many varieties and different colors. There are also hostas that like part shade. The great thing about hostas is that they require little care and they spread so you can divide and fill in other areas if needed.

For sun, I completely agree w/ the daylilies. So easy and again, they can be divided.

For soil, I usually buy from my garden center even though it's more expensive than Walmart etc. If you need a lot, you might spring for a load or 1/2 load - it's often worth it.