What new addition to your garden are you excited about this year?

Pamgarden - Oh. What a tease! LOL

Elaine and Otis

I lost the big cottage garden beds in front of my house quite a while back, when we started a major remodel. Since then, it has been higher priority to finish the house itself, but this will be the year to start re-landscaping the front yard and replacing the perennial beds.

the baby bass never fail to make me laugh! There's 5 of them, and there's a definate pecking order according to size, largest 'Boss' to smallest.

They line themselves up just like cars at a drive in, watching and waiting to be fed. I can move my hand over the top of the bowl, and it's like a little coreographed dance routine, with them following my hand.

When they're fed, they will jump and roll at the food.

The runty one (dubbed BoneyM) has grown considerably since they were brought in the house; last fall he was little more than a spine with two eyes and a couple fins. Now I can't tell him from the others!

I have water barrels out in the yard/gardens, and last year wanted to get a minnow or two to keep the mosquitos in check..... so instead I ended up with baby bass.

I hope to put in a pond 10 feet by 4 feet with the depth staggered, 4 or 5 feet deep....... with a solar panel to power a pump

Here's to spring and gardening season!

I ordered about a dozen (or more) new dwarf & miniature conifers for my garden, a few hostas, and a bunch of tropicals (banana trees and elephant ears) to start and overwinter inside.

The guest bed is getting thrown out this weekend to make room for all the heat pads that are arriving this week for the five lotus tubers I ordered. I'm going to put a lotus bog in the front of the house. We decided that since we never have guests, there is no point in maintaining a whole room for the one or two overnight visitors we have per year. We'll buy an air mattress and let that be our "guest bed." Our house is too small and we need to use the space we have. So, the guest bedroom is going to become a tropical plant "den". I really wanted a few elephant ear plants and my hubby wants banana plants, including one hardy one that will eventually live outside, so we ordered all kinds of things Monday night.

There there is lots of prep work to get another part of the yard ready for the koi pond I want to put in there - that project will be 2010 though, too expensive to get it all done this year! The privacy fence will go up this year, I need to move 30+ hostas from the area and a 5' pagoda dogwood tree is going to go to a new home (it is already spoken for) to clear that area. I would like to dig the filter pit and the collar for the koi pond, but that is low on the projects list.

I plan on making lots of hypertufa containers this year, too, of medium and large sizes, to accomodate more of my miniature conifers so they don't get lost : )

Hubby is into vegetable gardening, he wants to have lemon cucumbers, some kind of tomato (we have not decided what kind), lots of herbs, and at least one kind of hot pepper. I've heard poblanos are easy to grow and I know both jalapenos and habaneros grow like weeds.

Elizabeth

This message was edited Jan 21, 2009 9:01 AM

Our #1 plan for this year, as always, is staying above ground.

I built two additional 3' x 3' raised beds to accompany the one that sits in the narrow strip of grass next to our driveway. I've been growing veggies in the one bed pretty successfully for the past couple of years, but it was time to expand and neaten up the space and create a way to rotate the crops.

People who drive by in the alley always slow down to see how things are growing. One guy stopped and told me how impressed he was with my cantaloupes...hopefully he was talking about the melons I had in the garden...lol!



This message was edited Jan 21, 2009 12:29 PM

Though I am hoping to add another raised bed for hostas, I am most excited about the veggie garden I am adding this year!! I can't wait to be going out there to get FRESH produce for DH to use in the fabulous meals he makes for us!

LOL pirl!!!!!!!!

I'm happily giving up grass for more Hosta Beds!

Actually, what I am MOST excited about adding to my garden is the cold frame my mom made me for Christmas. But since "other" wasn't an option, I marked a new perennial bed, for the Chocolate Garden I am planning to add. :o)

Chocolate is a food group so this is a very healthy thing you are planning Bookerc1. We must have at least one serving of chocolate a day or we will get get very, very sick and probably die.

...and the older we get the more we need the chocolate!

I agree; chocolate is a basic necessity for life. Even my boys agree. When my younger son was 2 yo, he used to wake me up in the morning by standing by my bed and asking, "Tan I have chokkit?"

Booker, are you going to plant chocolate basil? We tried some of that one year, it did have a very faint chocolate taste, but we couldn't figure out what to add it to so we didn't grow it again. Our newest basil is a dwarf Greek variety Andy is growing in his AeroGarden. It just sprouted last week but it should be harvest ready in a few weeks, it is so nice to have that for the winter!

I'm going to plant shrub roses at the bases of the birdfeeder poles. It is said that the squirrels will not try to climb them with all those stickers.

Hi: I am planning to plant 2 specimines. weeping deodar cedar or weeping blue atlas cedar. I am also planning a weeping thread leaf Japanese maple. I have yet to decide on the cultivar, because it will depend on what is available at our local nursey. They have a lot of variety to choose from even in the dead of winter.
Dave

well I know what *I* want

think hubby would notice a couple more feet each year?

After about 10 years might notice huh? :)

He won't notice. If he does just say that it's going dormant and shrinking because of drought conditions ^_^

There is a sunny place for a garden at the foot of our driveway, so things that have been struggling in a too-shady spot will be moved to the sun they need. Also,my husband has been contributing stall cleanings to the site (he raises Tennessee Walking Horses) so I will be doing a lot of digging as soon as the ground can be penetrated. By that time, the manure should be past the burning stage. Any thoughts on manure burn?

Achillea and Pink Salvia......one live Salvia and Achillea seeds~

I thought horse manure didn't burn at all?

ic_conifers, I have heard of chocolate basil, but I've never seen seed for it offered anywhere. Where did you get it? I am a bit of a basil fanatic, and with Critterologist's encouragement, I'm becoming even more so. Last year I grew 2 Italians, lemon, lime, and cinnamon basils. How does the flavor of Greek basil compare? I've been eying some empty space in the pot my rosemary is in, on my enclosed porch, and craving some fresh basil!

dahlianut:
Horse manure as with all manures have to be composted so that it wont burn the plants. I would have to look up the time frame but I am sure its not a real long process.
Dave

Thanks Dave. I use sheep manure but this is horse country so that's good to know.

You have to be sure the horse hasn't fed on anything from pastures using Grazon - an herbicide. It remains active in their manure and, if used on plants, will kill them.

I want to put in ornamental grasses in areas where I can't water and spend too much time weeding. I saw pink muhly grass at Stowe Botanical Gardens and liked it but am open to any suggestions for strudy grasses for Zone 7.

Trees/shrubs for me but they aren't just any old tree/shrub. I want to use them to create a sort of fruit orchard in my front yard. Ornamental but productive!

Hi Vickie:
Any of the miscanthus varieties. I like peaches and cream ribbon grass but its one that has to be thinned yearly or it will get out of controll real quick. Also look at the hakonechloa. paradise gardens has a good selection. You might start looking into a trade for the spring. I am sure there are quite a few people out there that will be spltting their grasses. dixieland miscanthus looks great as well. a combo of muhley grass and dixieland would make a great background. here is a link showing dixie land. Just some thoughts.

http://www.paradisegarden.com/shop/product.php?id=PGG0025&browse=1

I hope this helps
Dave

Booker, I think Andy bought the chocolate basil as a plant from Iowa City Landscape, our "most premier" garden center in Iowa City. I've seen it elsewhere offered as plants. Here is a DG thread I ran across because now you have me curious about seeds: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/825643/

Looks like it is hard/impossible to find as seeds.

We have not had the Greek basil yet, it is only 1" tall right now. The mature height is supposedly only about 12" tall and 15" wide so it should be perfect for the AeroGrow. We're also growing chamomile and two Thai peppers in there right now - it works great. The taste is supposed to be very concentrated and strong. We grew lime basil last year and it was good but really limited in application, more a novelty thing. It kind over overwhelmed things with a lime taste. Great for seafood, not much else.

Elizabeth

I'm hoping to get DH to extend my fence row raised beds, the only area we get good sun for my vegetables. I'd like to find some way to have a twin bed outside for afternoon naps when the weather is nice, haha.

Cathy4, I have seen what you want! It was a storage building on the end of a deck that was, maybe 4'x8' with full width (on the long side) doors. Open the doors and there was a daybed. He had a mosquito netting curtain for the doorway. He said that it was the best thing he had ever built!

Thanks Juney, I'll have to do a search.

Irises, thanks to some lovely people here at DG that shared with me! :)

Although I voted raised beds for cutting flowers, I also want to hurry and get fruit trees planted. There are particular cultivars of oranges, satsumas, avocados and other trees that will do well here.

Having 'citrus envy' here....

I'm having avocado envy! Oh, how I would love to grow my own avocados...

I have more than I can take care of already , but I know when spring gets here I will temporarily loose my mind and add a new bed. I always do,,just not sure if it will be herbs or perennials or maybe a rock garden. Well, there is still time spring is still a ways off here.

There should have been an "All of the above" selection. I've got grandiose plans, but we'll see just how much I can get done this year. I already have trees & shrubs in pots waiting to be planted, as well as lots of tall bearded Irises. We'll be constructing raised beds as well as strawbale gardening this year. My vegetable seed order from Henry Fields is on it's way. The water feature will be figuring out a way to water the strawbales using leaky/weeping/drip hoses. Plus we'll be installing about six more rain barrels. Will be planting lots of perennials too numerous to mention. I've already wintersowed about 70 different seeds (both perennial & annuals) in one gallon milk jugs with much more to go.

The majority of the new perennials will consist of host plants for Butterflies...such as Spicebush, Pipevine, Cassia, Aster, Passion Flower, Rue, False Indigo, and Violets...along with some others. We already have several Milkweeds in another garden for the Monarchs...