Hello everyone,
I would like to know if there is a book or web site that tells you what plants to plant and when to plant them so that you will have some type of flowers always in bloom or other types of colorful plants like coleus growing to make a pretty flower bed. The reason I ask is because I want to have two big hedges removed, one on each side of my small porch. But I need to know if I can keep something colorful and pretty growing there year round so I will not have two big empty spots on each side of the porch during the winter. I am wondering if we have annuals or perennials that bloom in the winter months so that I have something pretty and colorful all year. I'm not sure if I'm making sense or not. I just want to keep something blooming all year long so that I will have something pretty growing all year round. Right now I have 4 big hedges, two on each side. The ones on each end I like so I will leave them where they are. But the other ones I don't like for some reason. I have permission from my landlady to rip out anything that I don't want and to plant whatever I want so that is not a problem. I just need to know when to plant things and what to plant. Am I making sense? This time of year I have a tiny little garden in front of one of the hedges. It has coleus and a few other things that are in season right now. But when it gets too cold for them, what do I plant then? Thanks for taking time to read all of this. I know it is long so I'll stop now.
Thanks,
Jesse
When to plant what
Jesse,
See if this website will help you. Click on "garden plans".
Barbara
http://bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/gardenplans.xml
I tried that but I have to join to get the detailed plans. Plus the advertisments kept covering up the screen. But thanks for trying.
Jesse
Extension center should be able to give you a list.
you could put gardenias there,they are evergreens but no color until they bloom in spring but smell heavenly, but if you want color year round,i dont know of any but evergreens
moretz
I don't have to have an evergreen there. But I want something with color, like an annual that will bloom in winter. I'm not even sure they make any but I would really like to find out. Maybe I could plant a gardenia there and then in spring I could plant some flowers in front of it. It is a pretty big space. So I would have lots of room for a flower garden even with the gardenia there.
Jesse
Maybe Camelia? They are evergreen and bloom in late Winter (and the blooms last a long time!). Plant Gardenia next to them (another evergreen) and they will soon follow the Camelia with white fragrant flowers that will also continue on for quite a while.
When weather begins to warm, plant Alternanthera "Joseph's Coat" at the base of the Camelia and Gardenia shrubs for an ongoing display of foliage color (green and pink) that loves shade. If the area is too sunny then plant some Knock Out roses within the bed ("Mystic Meidiland" is a dwarf growing only to 2 feet and will bloom all summer until frost.)
That's just what pops off the top of my head. Maybe something else will surface later, eh? (It's me mind, ya know...works in mysterious ways!)
Shoe.
I sort of know what to plant in the spring and summer, it is in fall and winter that I don't know what to plant. You know the ones that you plant the bulbs in fall and winter that come up and bloom in the spring. I'm not sure what to call those. I just know they are bulbs. LOL Anyway, I've pretty much caught on with the annuals and have had some growing in a little bed and in containers this year. But come fall, I have no idea what to plant. Is there a list somewhere that tells you what to plant and when?
Thanks for the ideas that you have given me so far. I'm going to look into planting the camelias and gardenias. When should they be planted?
Thanks,
Jesse
You plant tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, spring crocus bulbs in fall for next spring. Also asiactic lily bulbs or oriental lily bulbs for next year. Hope that helps some.
Yes it does. How do you know when to plant these bulbs? My favorite is the daffodils and I'de love to have a lot of them coming up next spring.
Thanks,
Jesse
What about daylilies? They are easy to grow, come in lots of colors, and some are re-blooming so you have a fairly long bloom season.
Laura
You want to plant before the ground freezes. I live in Indiana so I plant my bulbs from the middle of Oct - mid Nov. I would assume the same would work for you and you may even have a bigger planting window depending on the weather!
There are a wide variety in each of the type of bulbs I mentioned from early to late blooming to really stretch the season until annuals or your perinnials start coming up and blooming.
Hopefully someone from your area can answer when exactly to plant in your zone.
I love daffodils too have alot of different kinds. I wait anxiously every winter for them to cheer me up after a long winter! Good luck!
Hey Plantcrazii, I plant pansies in my planters on my front porch in late fall when they show up at the nurseries. Mine bloomed from late fall to spring last year and I loved it. I just purchased seven camellias and fall is the best time to plant them. Be sure you purchase a variety that won't grow larger than the area you have for it. I purchased mine from Camellia Forrest Nursery near Chapel Hill and I highly recommend them. The Gardenia suggestion is good, too. You can even find the smaller version of the Gardenias, which I plan to add to my back gardens. Another suggestion is to search for perennials that will bloom spring to fall. There is also a Creeping Wintergreen as a ground cover that's an evergreen, but will also flower and have berries later in the season and provides color in the winter.
Daffodils, tulips, crocus, etc., are planted in the fall. There are specials now on them at various nursery websites.
Good luck!
Oh! I almost forgot to mention a small shrub that's called Firepower Nandina. You'll have color year around with that one. You'll find them at the nurseries. I plan to purchase more of them tomorrow and plant them this weekend. The Firepower matures at 2ft by 2ft.