As I get older, one of the things I am thinking about is "How capable am I in maintaining my garden and What can I do to still have a beautiful and enjoyable garden without so much work." I have turned to using: Greenstalk planting; waist-high raised beds; cattle panel arches and many more perennials. This is a niche that not many gardeners think of. It is much more difficult for me to get on my knees and garden like I used to. Love your channel and you do inspire me in many ways.
Getting up there myself. I've made the decision to add more shrubs and remove some perennials. Transitioning from primarily perennials to more shrubs will make maintenance so much easier.
My left knee and hip are both arthritic so kneeling is painful. I'm not planning anything new. I need to maintain what I have (mostly herbaceous perennials). Good news here in Iowa City: some daffodil leaves are emerging! WHOOO
I garden from either a standing or sitting position. Have not been able to kneel for a few years. I have a steel cart that I wheel around on and work in my garden bed. No stress on back or knees. Also have large pots and grow bags I plant up bulbs or veggies in. Sit in a chair to do those.
@@adz5bneweng589 considering adding some structure too. Added a wee bit in my raised bed in front of house. I’m unable to be too physical and only bound to progress. Starting to think and plan for my own “greater” limitations as years go on. Would love opinions or ideas on camellias versus rhododendron or ivy. All seem to hold up in zone 6 b winter.
I am an avid gardener on my one acre in PNW. I love listening to your talks because it's like a good friend chatting with me over coffee. I just enjoyed your 2023 10 minute Q&A, today, as well. Keep being you!
I know one thing I learned last year was if I don't like something in my garden get rid of it. Move on. Put something in that makes you happy. So this year there will be more keeping things I really like and take things out that I don't. 💗🌸💗
I love your channel! I like that it’s your garden and not just cut flowers. You have turn me on to some amazing plants I never knew about. For that I am grateful. Looking forward to growing the Purple Bell Vine and Sweet Peas. Never have I thought of these. But you showed them off in your garden and I was in awe. One of the best channels out there for home gardeners. Thank you 🥰
That is a great idea to plan your potted plants ahead of time. I always find myself like a deer in headlights when I go to the garden center for flowers for my pots!
There’s a very unsightly steep slope of dirt in between my vegetable garden and flower gardens. Grass refuses to grow there, you can’t even walk on it, or your liable to twist your ankle and tumble down it. I tossed the idea to my husband to create a stone staircase with native rocks. He started the project last fall and now I see endless possibilities.. I already planted spring bulbs and creeping phlox along side the stairs, and I’m planning on incorporating some raised flower beds into the embankment.. Now if only this snow would melt!
"Go with your heart" and "The only person who has to like your garden is you", I agree! I live in a small subdivision on close to 1/4 acre in zone 9b central Florida. No HOA so no restrictions. I keep the front yard minimally planted for aesthetic reasons but my side and back yards are always changing most years depending on my mood. One thing I started last year and will continue this year is planting more shrubs, flowering and some just for the interesting foliage and not rely as heavily on annuals. This will cut down on maintenance during the hottest part of our summers. As I get older I cannot take the sun and humidity as much in the summer. But will still get my color fix with annuals in containers. Thanks Erin for sharing your Garden and ideas... I always look forward to watching and am excited to see what happens in your beautiful garden this year.
Biggest challenge: to find more space for all the plants I WANT to grow and grow all the flowers I promised my son for his wedding this fall! 🤣 I have been trying to be more strategic as to what I am starting from seed and be sure I have a place to bed them out. I think I need to remove a few more square feet of lawn!
I so appreciate the idea of creating our garden for ourselves, not others. My goal this year is to be less critical of myself and just enjoy it all. I'm growing cut flowers from seeds for the first time and it's daunting but I know I will learn from it and hopefully have some success.
If anyone wants an all day long monarch butterfly haven in late summer, plant tithonia seeds aka Mexican Sunflowers and simple mixes of zinnias. Thanks Erin for sharing your knowledge!
I planted 2 of these at the back of my 30x30 foot cutting garden and they got about 6 foot tall and bloomed like crazy- I did deadhead quite often. We had lots of butterflies, esp monarchs on these plants and our hummers loved them too! Definitely growing again this year. Zone 5b west Michigan.
It’s so interesting to hear how people plan for their gardens. I don’t have the best garden centers around me so I find myself watching vloggers for inspiration and using those ideas when looking through what plants I actually have available to me, rather than planning on except plants for my space. My favorite plants from last season ending up being dollar clearance potato vines from Lowe’s that I brought back to life and got beautiful blooms… I didn’t even know they bloomed!
At 75 now, my last successful garden was maybe forty years ago. Now I have a place to experiment again. My inspiration is Ruth Stout! Hoping to grow again, but it must be in a way that doesn’t get away from me.
Watching Charles Dowding on you tube no dig method freed me up from fear of doing some in ground planting in addition to my containers and boxes. I’ve used raised containers so I don’t have to bend and the no dig version plus a metal garden rolling chair also works for those with physical limitations. Also check out the dahlia containers Claus does on you tube. Will try this year. Happy gardening!
I think that Agastache is variety black adder. I have that and A. blue fortune. Pollinator magnet. My head is swimming with ideas this time of year. You can see garden "bones"!
That is a large flowered newer Agastache called ' Blue Boa' zone 5/6 hardy. I lost my first one over winter but planted the next 3 in a raised bed with a light pea gravel mulch and some larger rocks to make a microclimate for winter. I garden in zone 5B East Central Illinois 150 miles South of Chicago. My Blue Fortune Agastache has naturalized on my property. A great 'weed' foe me.
As others have stated I too have to consider the aging process and Maintenence. It seems every year is a big overhaul of my garden due to one circumstance or another. Last season the neighbor’s maple tree roots were finding their way into my garden and inhibiting my plant growth. I had to install a root barrier and clean out all the roots and clay the workers had thrown into my garden. I had to remove every plant. Amend the whole bed’s soil and get everything back in before winter. This year I will have to set the plants in their places and hope the root barrier does its job. Never a dull moment🤣
This new garden is teaching me how to garden in Zone6, extreme heat and smoke from wildfires, sandy soil and wind. I still have so much snow, spring seems like a long way off…🌱💚
So happy to hear about your desire to add native trees. It’s so important. Saw on a video that a mature tree that needs pollinators will provide the same pollinator benefit of 3,500 square foot perennial garden. Just has to be a native tree that requires pollinators as many trees pollinate by wind.
I went with my heart last year, and then my husband signed us up to be on a charity Garden Tour...to me it wasn't perfect, because I was trying new things, but no one noticed but me! We had to take down 2 Ash trees on the south side, so my shade garden became a sun garden...I was digging up my Astilbe, Pulmonaria, etc and moving it to the north side. This gave me the opportunity to try something new on the south side...and the adventure continues! As far as my pots (mostly Terracotta stored in our garage), I do the complete opposite...in early spring I set them out around the garden then pour a glass of wine and plot out what I am going to try this year...some tried and true sprinkled with a little experimentation. Looking forward to what you have planned for your garden this year.
I’ve taken on a huge focus for fall and winter interest. No more big mud patches in dormant seasons! I’m looking for evergreens that flower, conifers with fall color, and groundcovers galore so there’s always something beautiful to look at
I have a note book where I write a brief note about what I want to accomplish over the next summer. I usually don’t get the entire list done, but it helps me from getting side tracked with other ideas. I have small kids, so maintaining what I have is the my goal, no expansion of garden spaces for me right now.
hi Erin! i love that green jumper on you! i can appreciate how your brain works with respect to planning your new projects in ur garden. i've been lucky enough w/ recent weather (7b Eastern LI, NY) to be able to put up deer fencing & some clearing of bramble in my very back. soon, my husband will help build a herb planter and add the top to the trellis he built me. thank you for the reminder to build & plant for your heart.
Great topic. Well, this will be my last full season in my garden before we retire. I plan on making many bouquets and saying goodbye to twenty plus years of garden joy. We will be moving to a new country, so a whole new learning curve. 💐🙂
It's so true, I garden for me, my health and the pollinators and that's all that matters. You (and Yuliya) are the one that got me thinking more about natives 2yrs ago. Actually found a grower here in Ontario 🇨🇦 and that's all they sell. Through them I discovered some tree species that are endangered and bought a bunch of those seedlings/whips that went in the ground last Spring. Really felt so good about doing that. Everytime I see a new butterfly or bird I know I'm doing the right thing. Thanks for all your great information as always. Roxanne
Thanks for a great video. It's like chatting with a garden friend. I am beautifing my veg garden this year by planting annuals, grown by winter sowing, outside the fence. I am adding flowering shrubs in perennial beds to reduce maintenance as I get older. I live in the country so have always gardened for my pleasure, not for anyone else. I love experimenting with fun and funky combos in containers. I use the Marie Kondo method to edit out any plant that doesn't "spark joy". I used to feel guilty about that, but no more regrets. I can put it on the curb and "re-home" it to someone that will love it. Nice talk, lol!
Thank you, Erin! I am working on a new garden - year two. I moved to a 5 acre property in September 2020 and there was ZERO landscaping around the house, nor anywhere else on the property! I am in Northern California, zone 9b. My first year I did get some beds designated and sparsely planted… worked out the flow through the garden “rooms” in the back yard, but I was mostly occupied with getting the property set up for my animals; horses, chickens, goats and quail. This winter I have turned my office into a plant room with a 3 tier grow light shelf and I am so excited to just pack my garden with plants I am starting from seed. Already I have planted out violas, pansies and sweet peas. And 11 new rose bushes! Next will be snapdragons and Dara. The front yard needs a lot of work but I got discouraged last year when I realized the impact deer have on the garden. I have had to learn the hard way about deer - I am using a spray repellent now, which really works. So the front will get some attention - planted a lot of bulbs and I will add annuals and perennials to it as I go along. I love day dreaming about my garden….It is the way I plan! I was feeling bad about not being more deliberate about the plan for my garden, but after watching this video, I am just going to go with what I feel will be beautiful and give me delight. I am happy to change it next year if it looks a mess this year. Even though I garden in a very different zone from you, I take great inspiration from the garden journey you share with us!
Having 5 acres of very uneven, deciduous wooded terrain is both a blessing and a curse. I can whip up a formal garden plan in no time but I am so intimidated by this property, I do not want it to lose its park-like feel and most of my favorite woodland plants are also deer candy, and I see at least ten deer a day. Not having to deal with a massive interior renovation this year I sat down to really just think about how I can divide it up into sections and go from there. Being just one person I need to keep it to within my means of labor so while I have started forming a 'master plan' I will only work on one small section at a time. Right now that is the area between the raised bed fenced garden and the house.
I feel like planning is one of the most fun parts of gardening for me. I do layout drawings and play around with photos to get an idea of what seasonal combinations and different layouts might look like. In fact, I already have many new garden beds in my head that I don't actually have time to create or money to buy the plants! So I have to rein myself in on the planning front. This year I'm mostly going to be filling in some holes from things that got choked out by my nasty clay soil (put a lot of effort into amending the soil last fall so I'm hopeful that will be less of a struggle), and trying to grow strawberries for the first time. 🍓🍓
Great video with great tips! The loss of the neighbors trees will make you feel like you're in a brand new space!! My garden goal for this year is to clear new beds and spaces in sunny areas. I live on property with very mature trees so finding a sunny and tree root-less spot for colorful flowers is normally a chore. 🤞
Thank you for this FABULOUS video, to make us stop and think~I especially took interest, in planting native trees~The trees, in our wooded acreage are getting very old and the Blackberries and Scotch Broom are taking over~I need to correct this situation now, for future generations!!~Seattle, WA
I garden for ME, and only ME. But people walking by or even in their cars driving by, yell out or stop and compliment beautiful my Garden is. This year is ONLY FLOWERS so far this year. Maybe just maybe a veg or two. Great Video Erin!!
Really enjoyed the video and the emphasis on having a garden that we like as the people who live with it. I really don't care what others think of my garden at all. I want to feel peaceful and relaxed when I'm in my back yard so that is how I plant it. I do change things each year because I like so many different plants and I can't have them all at one time! So I sort of rotate plants from year to year and it keeps me happy! I do speak to my plants and I do have different types of music that I play each day and they really do seem to respond. I have actually measured different plants to see if growth has been affected by the music and I get the best growth with a combo of classical and very up beat rock. Sounds weird but it really does seem to work! My neighbors kid me about it, but when they don't hear the music, sometimes they call to see if I am ok. I guess I am so consistent with it that they figure something is wrong if they don't hear the music. It's nice to know that the neighbors think of me and that they too enjoy the combos of music I put together. We are in a typical Chicago neighborhood with the houses close together, so it's important that we all get along when it comes to the music I play. Thank you again for the pep talk about doing what makes us the happiest plus, the importance of having trees involved as well. Chicago was decimated by the ash bore and getting new trees planted to replace them is very slow. I am sorry your neighbors lost so many trees from their yard. Take Good Care
What a great video, you talk so nicely. It is so encouraging and easy to follow . 😊 I could relate all the time, going through pictures just reminded me of the 15kg of bulbs I planted for this spring 😄 What I do is dream about more flowers, buy more seeds, research plants, watch inspiring videos. Greetings, Judit
Thank you so much for the advise about going with my heart and designing my garden for me. Last year we lost a huge tree and my, what was a shade garden last year will be a sunny garden this year. I have been afraid of some of my ideas, that maybe they won't look good, but you have given me the courage to try them. So what if the ideas don't pan out I can always change them next year. Thank you so much. Guess what, there are going to be quite a few Dahlias in this new garden. I used to be a "Hostaholic" (still am my front yard is full of shade) but you have made me Dahlia crazy and I can't wait to see how this new sunny garden looks with Dahlias. Love your channel, I have learned so much from you.
Thank you for the contemplation that you have about your own yard and garden. We have bought a new house that has a great deal of stone structured terraces, and I am struggling with such preplanned garden beds. I also desire to learn how to do a formal garden set up, but I came from doing quite unstructured garden beds. The biggest change I decided to make was to let go of the idea of planting dahlias. They are too high maintenance for me. I am not a flower farmer. I realized that I absolutely love zinnias and they have a similar flower appearance, and they don’t require the winter storage or the staking. It felt like a relief when I decided that I just don’t want to do them anymore.
I'll be moving to a new space in a couple weeks. It's in the same growing zone, but my garden area will literally go from a handful of containers in a window to a 40 x 20 patch of Mother Earth with a 25 x 15 open patio area. I am crazy excited and this video was EXACTLY what I needed to see to help me focus. THANK YOU!!! I absolutely appreciated the philosophizing about following one's heart. This move is the manifestation of my heart's prayer for the unequalled joy I find in a garden. There's NOTHING like the heaven I can find with dirt under my nails and worms at my feet. :)
On the east side of our house we had a small late 1800s darling house and the neighbors sold it to a developer who is putting in a 3 story duplex including basement with 8 or 9 foot ceilings. Our lots are 50x150. That side was sunny and was where my cut flower garden was. I have roses there on the north end of the long bed. On the south end there was an old crabapple that bloomed amazingly but they removed it to fit the 4 car garage. I think I will have the reverse what was shady will be sunny and what was sunny will be shady. Sooooo, I am thinking I need to swap plants around on the 2 ends. And figure out another places for the cut flowers. It will be an adventure for sure. Trying to keep an upbeat attitude that it may give me an opportunity for trying something new. We will see. Love your channel especially the talks with Roy. He is a real joy.
Love your idea of gardening to please yourself! This year I am planting my driveway for the first time. It is a tricky, sloped part sun area with lots of rocks that I will certainly neglect so I am planning on deer resistant, drought tolerant perennials. I am also adding flower gardens along a fenced in area and filling in some perennial beds where I am removing mildew prone plants
Experimenting is half the fun as a gardener. My gardens are always evolving and changing. This year my focus is to eliminate some not so great trees (jack pines) to create open spaces for new garden beds. I love winter to draft up plans and designs. My husband gets worried when I take out the grid paper...all he sees is dollar $$$$ signs.
Excellent advice! You have to be your garden's #1 fan. I'm entering my 2nd growing season at a new house in Pennsylvania zone 6b and last year's focus was tree removal, planting new trees, and starting hedging for privacy. I also planted about 2,500 spring bulbs that I can't wait to see soon. This year's focus is nurturing and expanding on everything I started last year. Thanks for the encouragement in your videos. I can't wait for what this year has in store!
What type of hedging did you go with? I am in PA too. I have been thinking about hedging for a few years but just haven't been able to decide what to use. I would live to hear what you chose.
I really try to mitigate fights between past-me and future-me. However this winter, past me shoved a bunch of major transplanting tasks into now-me's plate. We have mild winters in my zone 8 and is a perfect time for transplanting before the Spring craziness kicks off. It's just SO MUCH 😫😆
I appreciate the inspiration, Erin! Last year, we got bagworms on a row of five juniper trees. I’ve never been in love with the row, as it’s not in keeping with the modern cottage style garden I’m working toward, but they do provide a nice screen from the neighbors. So, I’m trying to decide how much time and effort I want to put into getting rid of the bagworms. Maybe I’ll just remove the trees and plant a mix of flowering shrubs? So…that’s what’s been on my mind this winter!
Erin your video came at the right time for me. In the process of viewing my journal and budgeting. This year is a drip/watering system to help manage time, staining a pergola , mulch and compost. Not the fun things but, need to be done to enjoy the garden.
Hey Erin, thanks for the reassurance that I’m the only one who has to like my garden. I live in a converted dime store, on the Main Street of downtown Racine, WI (not far from you) and can easily be caught up in what others think of my space….it’s a shortcut for shoppers to get to their parked cars. I agree that the process of trying new things is what gardening is all about. This year, I have to consider trimming 2 lilac bushes back considerably, or cut them down, which will change the amount of sun the under planted perennials will get. So it’s going to be a watch and see summer. But I’m thinking I can take advantage of more sun by interspersing annuals that tend to like more sun. I might try dahlias, which are something different for me. Lots to think about. I’ve just discovered you through Garden Answer. Who knew? I’m really enjoying your posts.👍
It was good, as you said to Identify that it's FUN & CHALLENGING to mix things up! I have had a beautiful Canna lily combo in my largest pot, but am wanting to change it up....googD to hear a confirmation of that :) I also love looking through phone pics to plan. I plan on having less of certain plants, such as Daisy's and Queen of the Prairie, because in my small landscape, once they are done there is such a hole after cutting back. Trying to rethink those areas. Usually mass planting is great, but not with those plants in my landscape. Great info as always!
Thank you Erin for such helpful videos recently, not to imply that yours are not! Last year was a big expansion year after some construction so this year is continuing to fill our woodland beds. Spring starts in about 6 weeks here in TN (7b) so I’m working on lists for online orders, which is about 75% of our sourcing. No lawn so filling in shrubs/perennials deer won’t eat. I find the better my notes the easier this time of year goes.
I have two goals for my garden this summer. One is to change the material used for the paths. I love the look of the current stones, but they came from picking rock in the fields and are a bit rough. As I age, I am becoming more conscious of tripping hazards, and I need to replace them with something consistently flat. The other change I am making is to get rid of the grapevines. While we are still enjoying the grape jam I was able to make from them, and they did a good job of hiding the LP tank, the Japanese beetles nearly did me in! They really affected my satisfaction and joy from last year's garden. I just can't deal with the beetle magnet for another year, so they're going. I've been doing a lot of thinking about which vines I should choose to cover that fence. Honeysuckle? Clematis? Or?? I need to make sure the beetles don't love whatever I choose...
I have big changes coming up in mine, my neighbor is removing 2 large trees at the back of his property that shade a great deal of my backyard. I’m excited for the sunnier area!
I agree 100% with everything you said about containers. I am planning mine now as well. I wasn't able to get what I wanted last year and it was very frustrating. I just stuck some stuff in there and really missed the fun of watching my envisioned combination take shape. What I don't do well with is improvising with what IS available.
winter is a great time of year to clean up the yard, prep the soil, and change layouts of things that are dormant. And of course get a head start on seedlings.
This past year I did a video of each garden area focusing on what worked and what didn’t work in terms of annual plantings. I also took a critical look at the whole garden and made comments on other changes that I should address. It is helpful to watch these in the winter and plan.
If you want something with presence for shade/part shade, try aralia 'sun king'. Amazing 5 x 5 plant with chartreuse leaves. For a plant with tall vertical flowers for part shade, consider actea (or cimicifuga). I've done well with both of these. I'm in zone 5b MA. penstemons too.
This year I'm going to spread my ajuga around a little more. My goal is to not have to use so much mulch. I'm going to try to really pack the beds with plants and extend the back flower bed into a semi circle around the firepit. Might even put in a small veg bed. We'll see. Also mom wants me to help her put in her 1st drip system!
I agree, trying something new every year really pushes you to discover what new things you can fall in love with. Two years ago, I planted my first dahlias and last year I was cutting and gifting bouquets to friends and neighbors and I can't tell you how much joy that gave me. This year I am trying ranunculus to extend my cut flower season and adding a lot of lillies to my peonies and roses for early to mid-summer bloomers. We adopted a rescue dog last year and he is charged with keeping the deer off all of these new endeavors...we'll see. Whether it is fruit or flowers to share, the garden is such a gift. Erin, I so enjoy your posts, especially your sense of humor. We all need that ability to shrug off our disappointments and celebrate our little yeahs.
Beware of lilies as the red lily beetle seems to spreading across North America. Nothing you can really do except pick them off plants by hand, squish and throw away. Nasty job. They eat our martagon and Asiatic lilies.
I’ve spent a lot of time this winter viewing my gardens from an upstairs window. I’m always thinking about how to get the interesting look that I want. I really want to plant some more hydrangeas and perennials in the side yard to add color and privacy and make a more “secret” entrance to the back yard. Constantly dreaming but lacking some confidence.
I do the following every year: Take tons of pictures of my garden in the different seasons, take notes of garden ideas that I've read about (Fine Gardening is my favorite magazine for this), or seen on UA-cam (you, Roy, Nicole, Laura and many others inspire me) or have visited. I get inspired everywhere and anywhere! LOL. I remember going to a hair salon that was in a residential area and right across the street was this amazing garden! I dragged my GF with me and took tons of pics of the garden's beautiful sunflowers - it looked like the Teddy bear variety. I grow those to this day. When I go back and look at my garden from the previous year, I make a mental note of what worked, what needs to be reworked, new plants to try and plants to toss - hello, I'm coming for you Helianthus Lemon Queen (aka Mr Thug!). I can't wait for the new garden season to start! This year, I'm thinking of digging up some peonies around our deck, replacing them with Annabelle hydrangeas (just dividing what I have) and interspersing the area with long blooming annuals, i.e. snapdragons, cosmos, etc. That idea came after I saw a pic of that area in the Fall and it was lacking color. So, if I had to recommend anything to anyone who gardens, take tons of pics! You will learn so much. Get inspired by what's around you and don't be afraid to try new plant combos.
This was very inspiring, thank you for that. I too am thinking about investing in trees. My neighborhood was also hit with ash borers, and within the last 5 years I think maybe 70 trees have been removed from my block. Most of my neighbors don't bother to replant new trees, so I think I want to make my garden especially well planted with trees. I really value them in my garden and the shade and moisture control they give in my clay soil. I also am going to focus on removing plants that I don't like and am tired of. When I moved into my home 6 years ago there were 11 humongous yews that were basically the only plants in the ground, I have kind of worked around them, but I've always hat the intention of getting rid of them for something that brings more interest to the garden. Every year passes that I don't remove them and don't replace them with something that I like because I'm afraid of how empty the spaces will look without them for a couple seasons before new things grow in. I just need to get rid of them and move on. They are not worth worrying about and prolonging my displeasure with them.
I just marked off my annual garden to plant clover in. Due to space, I' have to start the flower seeds a bit later than I'd like. On the bright side, that leaves room for a quick clover planting before it has to be covered. the space is very poor, compacted clay dirt soil. the red clover has done the best so far to condition the soil, usually in one planting. Hopefully it will also kill off the pitiful grass thats in the area to make room for a beautiful annual garden. I planned out the annual garden on paper with a pencil. As I plant things, I write in pen to signify that area has been taken by the seeds i've planted. I got the poppy seeds planted in their areas for next year as well. Its going to be a beautiful summer!!!
I absolutely agree with taking photos of the good, the bad and the ugly. I have an album of photos and notes that I refer to every Spring. I also have notes of suggested plants from other gardeners and sites like this one. It’s an invaluable resource and we gardeners are a wonderful community! Thanks for the great video Erin. 🇨🇦
This is what gets me excited, planning.once I get annuals in ,Then I tear into areas I need to tweak. I think my biggest challenge is amending soil with so many garden areas and living 25 miles from anywhere I could get yards of compost. But this year I'm checking into cost verses per bag.I look forward to seeing the seasonal progression of your Beautiful property.
I start my planning for the next year as the summer progresses, making mental notes as to things that need attention. I plan on paper (well, on my computer) as to what plants I want to move or add, and place my order online as soon as possible. Then I just wait for Spring to arrive. I also have limited mobility and have made several changes accordingly. I plant annuals only in pots that I can do seated. I plant only perennials and shrubs in the ground, but only those items that want to grow in the space I have for them. I don't push zones (I am Zone 5) but rather plant a zone hardier where I can. If it says "short-lived", it can't live here. I have installed drip and mulch over landscape cloth so I hardly ever weed. I have a gardening bench that I wheel around with me, long handled tools, and lots and lots of benches. These changes have been so effective that I have actually added TWO new garden beds in the last two years even though I am the proud recipient of a brand new hip. I spend the majority of the summer just admiring my garden in peaceful tranquility. Sorry this came out so long, but it doesn't have to be work. Oh, and I buy my veggies at the store.
MN zone 4. You sold me on dahlias, ma'am. many are coming mid - April. Projects on my mind: taming overgrown lilacs; fluffy-up the compacted garden bed by the garage where orange daylilies rule. A huge walnut dominates my backyard, and this year I plan to build out beds with new varieties of species that have worked for me in the past. Lilies, phlox, hostas, and pulminaria survived under the drip line. I'll try a few of the dahlias to see if they'll survive there. Rambling on, thanks for the discussion on the Alberta spruce. We have an old spruce that is just too close to the house, needs to come down on purpose before it comes down in a wind storm. I'm thinking about what evergreen should replace it, another ten feet away from the building. I feel guilty about the chickadees.
Zone 6A. We haven’t been in our house very long, there wasn’t really anything here when we moved in, and what is here was neglected. At first, we were focused on the inside of the house and the neglect continued. Last year we corrected the previous owner’s mistakes in location of some shrubs and plants by transplanting them to a better location and creating the foundation to create a lovely garden on one side of the house with some bulbs. That will need further development. We did plant a couple trees and started a pollinator garden a few years ago and that needs some revision as it looks a little too haphazard. Where the shrubs were needs a complete makeover and that’s right in front of the house, we got a few perennials in before winter. We have a rhododendron that isn’t thriving and we need to get to the bottom of that this year. We also have the other side of the house where the previous owners had a line of azaleas along the house, West facing and full sun. They aren’t thriving either and I can’t keep up with the weeds that grow in between. This Fall we planted some perennials in between that should fill in the gaps, but the slope on that side is steep enough it causes the lack of maintenance. I despise mowing that area as I feel like I’ll slide right off the tractor! I’d like to make that side as maintenance free as possible while laying the foundation for terracing the entire slope over the next couple years. There once was a flower bed along the back of the house, mostly shade thanks to the North facing and huge maple trees. We filled that by dividing the overcrowded hosta bed and filled the spaces in between with heucheras and lamium. We also under planted all of the trees in the front yard, added a part shade planting around a large rock and our mail box as well as starting a full sun bed on the other side of the end of the driveway. Everything will need to be monitored closely with so many new plants and planting areas to make sure we made good decisions on what we put where, that everything is thriving and all of the transplants are taking with the coming of Spring. I’m about to turn 44 and facing disability sometime in the near future due to a car accident. I have to lay the ground work now for whatever is to be and it needs to be low maintenance, no deadheading and sadly no digging up dahlias. Those will have to be in containers. I won’t be planting annuals, except in containers on the front porch. We have our work cut out for us. With so much change last year and so much more needed this season, dare I continue adding plants or let the garden grow a bit and develop it more the next year? That is my main focus right now. I’ll still make the plans, but what will get implemented will be the question. Fall and winter sowing of seeds is very attractive. Maybe some poppies as Laura at GA says you do. Oh my! This got long!
I’ve decided for this upcoming season I want quick satisfaction so instead of praying for my coral bells to decide if they are going to live or die I’m buying annuals. Annuals that will fill in bare gaps and I can pull out at the end of the season. Perennials are great but our winters have been so unpredictable many just don’t make it, especially ones not low in zones to handle cold snaps.
I did quite a bit of rearranging last fall, so I’m working out what’s going in those holes. It’s tough to plan too much, because I’d like to move, but the market is still moving too fast. It means a weird limbo where I’m constantly fighting myself about not putting too much work into the yard, because I’m going to sell. Eventually. 🤪
I've enjoyed your gardening ideas and encouragement since I found you this last year ... I too live in cold zone of 4 to 5 of Vermont and I've always been only in interested in perennials I know very narrow minded but I also enjoy cut flowers so with that in mind I'm going to make a 10ft x 40ft cut flower garden having both annuals and perennials along my driveway hoping to make it weed free as possible for at 72 knees don't like being on the ground!! And love ordering all kinds of flowers for this new one and my perennial 60ft x 80ft garden of 20 years
Hoping to be able to plant something that will deter the deer from eating my Hydrangeas - so I have planted some garlic in amongst them hoping that may deter them! And I will also be planting more bleeding heart and astilbe close by which the deer (until now at least!) have not eaten. Great channel - lots of interesting content. Would like to see an overhead map of your property - gets confusing sometimes!!
Great words of wisdom. I especially like the “go with your heart” philosophizing. We are all thinking and planning and probably getting into mischief with our wishes but gardens truly are magical and heartfelt. So I think relaxing into it makes it ever so much more sensible and enjoyable.
Try the hardy hibiscus in that area of your garden. I have found that they do well in part sun and with neglect. Also now they come in many shades of foliage.
I had big plans for my veranda/container jungle this year, as usual, but I somehow ended up with a bazillion new bulbs again, which I'll have to squeeze into some other pots or plant into more tiny pots, making a new mess... 😅 But I'm still hoping one day my gradient garden will turn out exactly as I've been imagined it since 2018, if the weather helps of course. Can't wait to see your beautiful garden in spring and summer 😊
Thanks for the encouragement to try new things in containers even when you’ve had good success. My purple fountain grass center pieces are fabulous and hard to walk away from, but I know it is time to shake things up a bit.
You were so pleasingly color coordinated with your background-whether you were aware or not 🥰 Thankyou for yet another great garden share from North Idaho zone 6a 💚 🌿
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how soothing the color scheme is: the sweater, the hair, the pillow, the orchid.
Oooh, I do agree!😉
As I get older, one of the things I am thinking about is "How capable am I in maintaining my garden and What can I do to still have a beautiful and enjoyable garden without so much work." I have turned to using: Greenstalk planting; waist-high raised beds; cattle panel arches and many more perennials. This is a niche that not many gardeners think of. It is much more difficult for me to get on my knees and garden like I used to. Love your channel and you do inspire me in many ways.
Getting up there myself. I've made the decision to add more shrubs and remove some perennials. Transitioning from primarily perennials to more shrubs will make maintenance so much easier.
My left knee and hip are both arthritic so kneeling is painful. I'm not planning anything new. I need to maintain what I have (mostly herbaceous perennials). Good news here in Iowa City: some daffodil leaves are emerging! WHOOO
I garden from either a standing or sitting position. Have not been able to kneel for a few years. I have a steel cart that I wheel around on and work in my garden bed. No stress on back or knees.
Also have large pots and grow bags I plant up bulbs or veggies in. Sit in a chair to do those.
Raised beds are a life saver!
@@adz5bneweng589 considering adding some structure too. Added a wee bit in my raised bed in front of house. I’m unable to be too physical and only bound to progress. Starting to think and plan for my own “greater” limitations as years go on. Would love opinions or ideas on camellias versus rhododendron or ivy. All seem to hold up in zone 6 b winter.
I am an avid gardener on my one acre in PNW. I love listening to your talks because it's like a good friend chatting with me over coffee. I just enjoyed your 2023 10 minute Q&A, today, as well. Keep being you!
"Go with your heart." That's perfect gardening and living advice❣️
random thought of the day - all the erins i know look good in green and are super smart - anyone else?
This is the only ERIN I know, but if you say so then I agree.
I know one thing I learned last year was if I don't like something in my garden get rid of it. Move on. Put something in that makes you happy. So this year there will be more keeping things I really like and take things out that I don't. 💗🌸💗
Great tip and reminder. I'm trying to do the same!
My focus for this year is adding MORE garden beds and filling them up with plants I love. And just creating little garden "rooms".
That might have been agastache "Blue Boa". It has been a stunner for me.
I love your channel! I like that it’s your garden and not just cut flowers. You have turn me on to some amazing plants I never knew about. For that I am grateful. Looking forward to growing the Purple Bell Vine and Sweet Peas. Never have I thought of these. But you showed them off in your garden and I was in awe. One of the best channels out there for home gardeners. Thank you 🥰
That sweater really makes your eyes pop! Beautiful!
That is a great idea to plan your potted plants ahead of time. I always find myself like a deer in headlights when I go to the garden center for flowers for my pots!
"Heart-led" gardening! Plant to please yourself. A "lost plant" (dead) is an opportunity to try something new! Great pep talk!
There’s a very unsightly steep slope of dirt in between my vegetable garden and flower gardens. Grass refuses to grow there, you can’t even walk on it, or your liable to twist your ankle and tumble down it. I tossed the idea to my husband to create a stone staircase with native rocks. He started the project last fall and now I see endless possibilities.. I already planted spring bulbs and creeping phlox along side the stairs, and I’m planning on incorporating some raised flower beds into the embankment.. Now if only this snow would melt!
I never do my annuals the same, but I never decide until I go to the garden centers. I have to see what sparks my interest.
I want to extend all our beds and create a "secret" shade garden behind our garage. Can't wait!
YES ! YES ! YES! Love the wide stone stairs
"Go with your heart" and "The only person who has to like your garden is you", I agree! I live in a small subdivision on close to 1/4 acre in zone 9b central Florida. No HOA so no restrictions. I keep the front yard minimally planted for aesthetic reasons but my side and back yards are always changing most years depending on my mood. One thing I started last year and will continue this year is planting more shrubs, flowering and some just for the interesting foliage and not rely as heavily on annuals. This will cut down on maintenance during the hottest part of our summers. As I get older I cannot take the sun and humidity as much in the summer. But will still get my color fix with annuals in containers. Thanks Erin for sharing your Garden and ideas... I always look forward to watching and am excited to see what happens in your beautiful garden this year.
Biggest challenge: to find more space for all the plants I WANT to grow and grow all the flowers I promised my son for his wedding this fall! 🤣 I have been trying to be more strategic as to what I am starting from seed and be sure I have a place to bed them out. I think I need to remove a few more square feet of lawn!
Hi 👋 dear , how are you doing?
I so appreciate the idea of creating our garden for ourselves, not others. My goal this year is to be less critical of myself and just enjoy it all. I'm growing cut flowers from seeds for the first time and it's daunting but I know I will learn from it and hopefully have some success.
If anyone wants an all day long monarch butterfly haven in late summer, plant tithonia seeds aka Mexican Sunflowers and simple mixes of zinnias. Thanks Erin for sharing your knowledge!
it said 6 feet tall but mine grew to at least 10' and bloomed so much
Hummingbirds also like our Mexican sunflowers. We were so surprised, but thrilled.
I planted 2 of these at the back of my 30x30 foot cutting garden and they got about 6 foot tall and bloomed like crazy- I did deadhead quite often. We had lots of butterflies, esp monarchs on these plants and our hummers loved them too! Definitely growing again this year. Zone 5b west Michigan.
It’s so interesting to hear how people plan for their gardens. I don’t have the best garden centers around me so I find myself watching vloggers for inspiration and using those ideas when looking through what plants I actually have available to me, rather than planning on except plants for my space. My favorite plants from last season ending up being dollar clearance potato vines from Lowe’s that I brought back to life and got beautiful blooms… I didn’t even know they bloomed!
At 75 now, my last successful garden was maybe forty years ago. Now I have a place to experiment again. My inspiration is Ruth Stout! Hoping to grow again, but it must be in a way that doesn’t get away from me.
maybe work with 1 or 2 20" pots, and do a nice combination with a center piece plant and then a few flowers around the edges
Ruth Stout is good and I have been doing "Straw bale gardening" which raises the garden off the ground and accomplishes the same thing as RS method.
Watching Charles Dowding on you tube no dig method freed me up from fear of doing some in ground planting in addition to my containers and boxes. I’ve used raised containers so I don’t have to bend and the no dig version plus a metal garden rolling chair also works for those with physical limitations. Also check out the dahlia containers Claus does on you tube. Will try this year. Happy gardening!
I think that Agastache is variety black adder. I have that and A. blue fortune. Pollinator magnet. My head is swimming with ideas this time of year. You can see garden "bones"!
That is a large flowered newer Agastache called ' Blue Boa' zone 5/6 hardy. I lost my first one over winter but planted the next 3 in a raised bed with a light pea gravel mulch and some larger rocks to make a microclimate for winter. I garden in zone 5B East Central Illinois 150 miles South of Chicago. My Blue Fortune Agastache has naturalized on my property. A great 'weed' foe me.
As others have stated I too have to consider the aging process and Maintenence. It seems every year is a big overhaul of my garden due to one circumstance or another. Last season the neighbor’s maple tree roots were finding their way into my garden and inhibiting my plant growth. I had to install a root barrier and clean out all the roots and clay the workers had thrown into my garden. I had to remove every plant. Amend the whole bed’s soil and get everything back in before winter. This year I will have to set the plants in their places and hope the root barrier does its job. Never a dull moment🤣
Erin- your such a patient teacher.... I just heard your pup bark! LoL
This new garden is teaching me how to garden in Zone6, extreme heat and smoke from wildfires, sandy soil and wind. I still have so much snow, spring seems like a long way off…🌱💚
So happy to hear about your desire to add native trees. It’s so important. Saw on a video that a mature tree that needs pollinators will provide the same pollinator benefit of 3,500 square foot perennial garden. Just has to be a native tree that requires pollinators as many trees pollinate by wind.
This was so enjoyable to watch. Like having a coffee chat with a fellow gardening friend.
I went with my heart last year, and then my husband signed us up to be on a charity Garden Tour...to me it wasn't perfect, because I was trying new things, but no one noticed but me! We had to take down 2 Ash trees on the south side, so my shade garden became a sun garden...I was digging up my Astilbe, Pulmonaria, etc and moving it to the north side. This gave me the opportunity to try something new on the south side...and the adventure continues! As far as my pots (mostly Terracotta stored in our garage), I do the complete opposite...in early spring I set them out around the garden then pour a glass of wine and plot out what I am going to try this year...some tried and true sprinkled with a little experimentation. Looking forward to what you have planned for your garden this year.
I’ve taken on a huge focus for fall and winter interest. No more big mud patches in dormant seasons! I’m looking for evergreens that flower, conifers with fall color, and groundcovers galore so there’s always something beautiful to look at
I have a note book where I write a brief note about what I want to accomplish over the next summer. I usually don’t get the entire list done, but it helps me from getting side tracked with other ideas. I have small kids, so maintaining what I have is the my goal, no expansion of garden spaces for me right now.
hi Erin! i love that green jumper on you! i can appreciate how your brain works with respect to planning your new projects in ur garden. i've been lucky enough w/ recent weather (7b Eastern LI, NY) to be able to put up deer fencing & some clearing of bramble in my very back. soon, my husband will help build a herb planter and add the top to the trellis he built me. thank you for the reminder to build & plant for your heart.
Great topic. Well, this will be my last full season in my garden before we retire. I plan on making many bouquets and saying goodbye to twenty plus years of garden joy. We will be moving to a new country, so a whole new learning curve. 💐🙂
It's so true, I garden for me, my health and the pollinators and that's all that matters. You (and Yuliya) are the one that got me thinking more about natives 2yrs ago. Actually found a grower here in Ontario 🇨🇦 and that's all they sell. Through them I discovered some tree species that are endangered and bought a bunch of those seedlings/whips that went in the ground last Spring. Really felt so good about doing that. Everytime I see a new butterfly or bird I know I'm doing the right thing. Thanks for all your great information as always.
Roxanne
Thanks for a great video. It's like chatting with a garden friend. I am beautifing my veg garden this year by planting annuals, grown by winter sowing, outside the fence. I am adding flowering shrubs in perennial beds to reduce maintenance as I get older. I live in the country so have always gardened for my pleasure, not for anyone else. I love experimenting with fun and funky combos in containers. I use the Marie Kondo method to edit out any plant that doesn't "spark joy". I used to feel guilty about that, but no more regrets. I can put it on the curb and "re-home" it to someone that will love it.
Nice talk, lol!
Thank you, Erin! I am working on a new garden - year two. I moved to a 5 acre property in September 2020 and there was ZERO landscaping around the house, nor anywhere else on the property! I am in Northern California, zone 9b. My first year I did get some beds designated and sparsely planted… worked out the flow through the garden “rooms” in the back yard, but I was mostly occupied with getting the property set up for my animals; horses, chickens, goats and quail. This winter I have turned my office into a plant room with a 3 tier grow light shelf and I am so excited to just pack my garden with plants I am starting from seed. Already I have planted out violas, pansies and sweet peas. And 11 new rose bushes! Next will be snapdragons and Dara. The front yard needs a lot of work but I got discouraged last year when I realized the impact deer have on the garden. I have had to learn the hard way about deer - I am using a spray repellent now, which really works. So the front will get some attention - planted a lot of bulbs and I will add annuals and perennials to it as I go along. I love day dreaming about my garden….It is the way I plan! I was feeling bad about not being more deliberate about the plan for my garden, but after watching this video, I am just going to go with what I feel will be beautiful and give me delight. I am happy to change it next year if it looks a mess this year. Even though I garden in a very different zone from you, I take great inspiration from the garden journey you share with us!
Having 5 acres of very uneven, deciduous wooded terrain is both a blessing and a curse. I can whip up a formal garden plan in no time but I am so intimidated by this property, I do not want it to lose its park-like feel and most of my favorite woodland plants are also deer candy, and I see at least ten deer a day. Not having to deal with a massive interior renovation this year I sat down to really just think about how I can divide it up into sections and go from there. Being just one person I need to keep it to within my means of labor so while I have started forming a 'master plan' I will only work on one small section at a time. Right now that is the area between the raised bed fenced garden and the house.
I feel like planning is one of the most fun parts of gardening for me. I do layout drawings and play around with photos to get an idea of what seasonal combinations and different layouts might look like. In fact, I already have many new garden beds in my head that I don't actually have time to create or money to buy the plants! So I have to rein myself in on the planning front. This year I'm mostly going to be filling in some holes from things that got choked out by my nasty clay soil (put a lot of effort into amending the soil last fall so I'm hopeful that will be less of a struggle), and trying to grow strawberries for the first time. 🍓🍓
Great video with great tips! The loss of the neighbors trees will make you feel like you're in a brand new space!! My garden goal for this year is to clear new beds and spaces in sunny areas. I live on property with very mature trees so finding a sunny and tree root-less spot for colorful flowers is normally a chore. 🤞
I’m planning on widening my beds, added some stone paths, installing a pergola and making a new flagstone patio. So much to plan! Yay!
Hi, Erin 👋🏻. My problem is, I’m running out of real estate! My entire front yard is almost all trees, shrubs & flowers. Who needs grass? 😂😂
This was one of my favorite videos of yours, I LOVED the garden philosophizing!
Thank you for this FABULOUS video, to make us stop and think~I especially took interest, in planting native trees~The trees, in our wooded acreage are getting very old and the Blackberries and Scotch Broom are taking over~I need to correct this situation now, for future generations!!~Seattle, WA
I garden for ME, and only ME. But people walking by or even in their cars driving by, yell out or stop and compliment beautiful my Garden is. This year is ONLY FLOWERS so far this year. Maybe just maybe a veg or two. Great Video Erin!!
Really enjoyed the video and the emphasis on having a garden that we like as the people who live with it. I really don't care what others think of my garden at all. I want to feel peaceful and relaxed when I'm in my back yard so that is how I plant it. I do change things each year because I like so many different plants and I can't have them all at one time! So I sort of rotate plants from year to year and it keeps me happy! I do speak to my plants and I do have different types of music that I play each day and they really do seem to respond. I have actually measured different plants to see if growth has been affected by the music and I get the best growth with a combo of classical and very up beat rock. Sounds weird but it really does seem to work! My neighbors kid me about it, but when they don't hear the music, sometimes they call to see if I am ok. I guess I am so consistent with it that they figure something is wrong if they don't hear the music. It's nice to know that the neighbors think of me and that they too enjoy the combos of music I put together. We are in a typical Chicago neighborhood with the houses close together, so it's important that we all get along when it comes to the music I play. Thank you again for the pep talk about doing what makes us the happiest plus, the importance of having trees involved as well. Chicago was decimated by the ash bore and getting new trees planted to replace them is very slow. I am sorry your neighbors lost so many trees from their yard. Take Good Care
Loved the garden philosophizing! And love where you’re sitting BTW. The green, yellow, orchid, painting…lookin’ good Erin. 🌸🌸
Love you in green. Your orchid is beautiful!!,
What a great video, you talk so nicely. It is so encouraging and easy to follow . 😊 I could relate all the time, going through pictures just reminded me of the 15kg of bulbs I planted for this spring 😄 What I do is dream about more flowers, buy more seeds, research plants, watch inspiring videos. Greetings, Judit
Thank you so much for the advise about going with my heart and designing my garden for me. Last year we lost a huge tree and my, what was a shade garden last year will be a sunny garden this year. I have been afraid of some of my ideas, that maybe they won't look good, but you have given me the courage to try them. So what if the ideas don't pan out I can always change them next year. Thank you so much. Guess what, there are going to be quite a few Dahlias in this new garden. I used to be a "Hostaholic" (still am my front yard is full of shade) but you have made me Dahlia crazy and I can't wait to see how this new sunny garden looks with Dahlias. Love your channel, I have learned so much from you.
Thank you for the contemplation that you have about your own yard and garden. We have bought a new house that has a great deal of stone structured terraces, and I am struggling with such preplanned garden beds. I also desire to learn how to do a formal garden set up, but I came from doing quite unstructured garden beds. The biggest change I decided to make was to let go of the idea of planting dahlias. They are too high maintenance for me. I am not a flower farmer. I realized that I absolutely love zinnias and they have a similar flower appearance, and they don’t require the winter storage or the staking. It felt like a relief when I decided that I just don’t want to do them anymore.
I'll be moving to a new space in a couple weeks. It's in the same growing zone, but my garden area will literally go from a handful of containers in a window to a 40 x 20 patch of Mother Earth with a 25 x 15 open patio area. I am crazy excited and this video was EXACTLY what I needed to see to help me focus. THANK YOU!!! I absolutely appreciated the philosophizing about following one's heart. This move is the manifestation of my heart's prayer for the unequalled joy I find in a garden. There's NOTHING like the heaven I can find with dirt under my nails and worms at my feet. :)
Wow!!! Have fun with your new space 😁
On the east side of our house we had a small late 1800s darling house and the neighbors sold it to a developer who is putting in a 3 story duplex including basement with 8 or 9 foot ceilings. Our lots are 50x150. That side was sunny and was where my cut flower garden was. I have roses there on the north end of the long bed. On the south end there was an old crabapple that bloomed amazingly but they removed it to fit the 4 car garage. I think I will have the reverse what was shady will be sunny and what was sunny will be shady. Sooooo, I am thinking I need to swap plants around on the 2 ends. And figure out another places for the cut flowers. It will be an adventure for sure. Trying to keep an upbeat attitude that it may give me an opportunity for trying something new. We will see. Love your channel especially the talks with Roy. He is a real joy.
Love your idea of gardening to please yourself! This year I am planting my driveway for the first time. It is a tricky, sloped part sun area with lots of rocks that I will certainly neglect so I am planning on deer resistant, drought tolerant perennials.
I am also adding flower gardens along a fenced in area and filling in some perennial beds where I am removing mildew prone plants
Experimenting is half the fun as a gardener. My gardens are always evolving and changing. This year my focus is to eliminate some not so great trees (jack pines) to create open spaces for new garden beds. I love winter to draft up plans and designs. My husband gets worried when I take out the grid paper...all he sees is dollar $$$$ signs.
Excellent advice! You have to be your garden's #1 fan. I'm entering my 2nd growing season at a new house in Pennsylvania zone 6b and last year's focus was tree removal, planting new trees, and starting hedging for privacy. I also planted about 2,500 spring bulbs that I can't wait to see soon. This year's focus is nurturing and expanding on everything I started last year. Thanks for the encouragement in your videos. I can't wait for what this year has in store!
What type of hedging did you go with? I am in PA too. I have been thinking about hedging for a few years but just haven't been able to decide what to use. I would live to hear what you chose.
Great video. Loved hearing Erin talk about the philosophy of our garden. So important in my life! How it makes me think and feel.
I really try to mitigate fights between past-me and future-me. However this winter, past me shoved a bunch of major transplanting tasks into now-me's plate. We have mild winters in my zone 8 and is a perfect time for transplanting before the Spring craziness kicks off. It's just SO MUCH 😫😆
I appreciate the inspiration, Erin! Last year, we got bagworms on a row of five juniper trees. I’ve never been in love with the row, as it’s not in keeping with the modern cottage style garden I’m working toward, but they do provide a nice screen from the neighbors. So, I’m trying to decide how much time and effort I want to put into getting rid of the bagworms. Maybe I’ll just remove the trees and plant a mix of flowering shrubs? So…that’s what’s been on my mind this winter!
Erin your video came at the right time for me. In the process of viewing my journal and budgeting. This year is a drip/watering system to help manage time, staining a pergola , mulch and compost. Not the fun things but, need to be done to enjoy the garden.
Last summer we installed drip everywhere. Game changer. Go for it.
Hey Erin, thanks for the reassurance that I’m the only one who has to like my garden. I live in a converted dime store, on the Main Street of downtown Racine, WI (not far from you) and can easily be caught up in what others think of my space….it’s a shortcut for shoppers to get to their parked cars. I agree that the process of trying new things is what gardening is all about. This year, I have to consider trimming 2 lilac bushes back considerably, or cut them down, which will change the amount of sun the under planted perennials will get. So it’s going to be a watch and see summer. But I’m thinking I can take advantage of more sun by interspersing annuals that tend to like more sun. I might try dahlias, which are something different for me. Lots to think about. I’ve just discovered you through Garden Answer. Who knew? I’m really enjoying your posts.👍
It was good, as you said to Identify that it's FUN & CHALLENGING to mix things up! I have had a beautiful Canna lily combo in my largest pot, but am wanting to change it up....googD to hear a confirmation of that :) I also love looking through phone pics to plan. I plan on having less of certain plants, such as Daisy's and Queen of the Prairie, because in my small landscape, once they are done there is such a hole after cutting back. Trying to rethink those areas. Usually mass planting is great, but not with those plants in my landscape. Great info as always!
Would love to reduce the lawn/grass and increase the flower beds this year!
I love your beautiful Orchid and thank you for these tips; I am just going to try to spend more time outside with my husband planting things!
Thank you thank you thank you for this conversation! You helped me revisit my own issues with fresh eyes.
Thank you Erin for such helpful videos recently, not to imply that yours are not! Last year was a big expansion year after some construction so this year is continuing to fill our woodland beds. Spring starts in about 6 weeks here in TN (7b) so I’m working on lists for online orders, which is about 75% of our sourcing. No lawn so filling in shrubs/perennials deer won’t eat.
I find the better my notes the easier this time of year goes.
I have two goals for my garden this summer. One is to change the material used for the paths. I love the look of the current stones, but they came from picking rock in the fields and are a bit rough. As I age, I am becoming more conscious of tripping hazards, and I need to replace them with something consistently flat. The other change I am making is to get rid of the grapevines. While we are still enjoying the grape jam I was able to make from them, and they did a good job of hiding the LP tank, the Japanese beetles nearly did me in! They really affected my satisfaction and joy from last year's garden. I just can't deal with the beetle magnet for another year, so they're going. I've been doing a lot of thinking about which vines I should choose to cover that fence. Honeysuckle? Clematis? Or?? I need to make sure the beetles don't love whatever I choose...
Ooh, the steps sound cool. I hope you end up doing that and filming the process.
I have big changes coming up in mine, my neighbor is removing 2 large trees at the back of his property that shade a great deal of my backyard. I’m excited for the sunnier area!
I agree 100% with everything you said about containers. I am planning mine now as well. I wasn't able to get what I wanted last year and it was very frustrating. I just stuck some stuff in there and really missed the fun of watching my envisioned combination take shape. What I don't do well with is improvising with what IS available.
winter is a great time of year to clean up the yard, prep the soil, and change layouts of things that are dormant. And of course get a head start on seedlings.
This past year I did a video of each garden area focusing on what worked and what didn’t work in terms of annual plantings. I also took a critical look at the whole garden and made comments on other changes that I should address. It is helpful to watch these in the winter and plan.
If you want something with presence for shade/part shade, try aralia 'sun king'. Amazing 5 x 5 plant with chartreuse leaves. For a plant with tall vertical flowers for part shade, consider actea (or cimicifuga). I've done well with both of these. I'm in zone 5b MA. penstemons too.
I love that plant!!
Love Actaea racemosa. But note, that these can be thirsty plants, particularly cultivars like Hillside Black Beauty
This year I'm going to spread my ajuga around a little more. My goal is to not have to use so much mulch. I'm going to try to really pack the beds with plants and extend the back flower bed into a semi circle around the firepit. Might even put in a small veg bed. We'll see. Also mom wants me to help her put in her 1st drip system!
Stone steps! Yes!
I agree, trying something new every year really pushes you to discover what new things you can fall in love with. Two years ago, I planted my first dahlias and last year I was cutting and gifting bouquets to friends and neighbors and I can't tell you how much joy that gave me. This year I am trying ranunculus to extend my cut flower season and adding a lot of lillies to my peonies and roses for early to mid-summer bloomers. We adopted a rescue dog last year and he is charged with keeping the deer off all of these new endeavors...we'll see. Whether it is fruit or flowers to share, the garden is such a gift. Erin, I so enjoy your posts, especially your sense of humor. We all need that ability to shrug off our disappointments and celebrate our little yeahs.
Beware of lilies as the red lily beetle seems to spreading across North America. Nothing you can really do except pick them off plants by hand, squish and throw away. Nasty job. They eat our martagon and Asiatic lilies.
Really enjoyed this kind of video Erin! Especially the ending! Would love to hear more about good podcasts worth a listen!
I’ve spent a lot of time this winter viewing my gardens from an upstairs window. I’m always thinking about how to get the interesting look that I want. I really want to plant some more hydrangeas and perennials in the side yard to add color and privacy and make a more “secret” entrance to the back yard. Constantly dreaming but lacking some confidence.
Thanks, Erin. You gave useful advice throughout the video, and I appreciate it.
I do the following every year: Take tons of pictures of my garden in the different seasons, take notes of garden ideas that I've read about (Fine Gardening is my favorite magazine for this), or seen on UA-cam (you, Roy, Nicole, Laura and many others inspire me) or have visited. I get inspired everywhere and anywhere! LOL. I remember going to a hair salon that was in a residential area and right across the street was this amazing garden! I dragged my GF with me and took tons of pics of the garden's beautiful sunflowers - it looked like the Teddy bear variety. I grow those to this day. When I go back and look at my garden from the previous year, I make a mental note of what worked, what needs to be reworked, new plants to try and plants to toss - hello, I'm coming for you Helianthus Lemon Queen (aka Mr Thug!). I can't wait for the new garden season to start! This year, I'm thinking of digging up some peonies around our deck, replacing them with Annabelle hydrangeas (just dividing what I have) and interspersing the area with long blooming annuals, i.e. snapdragons, cosmos, etc. That idea came after I saw a pic of that area in the Fall and it was lacking color. So, if I had to recommend anything to anyone who gardens, take tons of pics! You will learn so much. Get inspired by what's around you and don't be afraid to try new plant combos.
This was very inspiring, thank you for that. I too am thinking about investing in trees. My neighborhood was also hit with ash borers, and within the last 5 years I think maybe 70 trees have been removed from my block. Most of my neighbors don't bother to replant new trees, so I think I want to make my garden especially well planted with trees. I really value them in my garden and the shade and moisture control they give in my clay soil. I also am going to focus on removing plants that I don't like and am tired of. When I moved into my home 6 years ago there were 11 humongous yews that were basically the only plants in the ground, I have kind of worked around them, but I've always hat the intention of getting rid of them for something that brings more interest to the garden. Every year passes that I don't remove them and don't replace them with something that I like because I'm afraid of how empty the spaces will look without them for a couple seasons before new things grow in. I just need to get rid of them and move on. They are not worth worrying about and prolonging my displeasure with them.
YES to a curved path!
I just marked off my annual garden to plant clover in. Due to space, I' have to start the flower seeds a bit later than I'd like. On the bright side, that leaves room for a quick clover planting before it has to be covered. the space is very poor, compacted clay dirt soil. the red clover has done the best so far to condition the soil, usually in one planting. Hopefully it will also kill off the pitiful grass thats in the area to make room for a beautiful annual garden. I planned out the annual garden on paper with a pencil. As I plant things, I write in pen to signify that area has been taken by the seeds i've planted. I got the poppy seeds planted in their areas for next year as well. Its going to be a beautiful summer!!!
Thanks for the inspiration - I'm looking at all the photos I took last year! So many ideas!!
I absolutely agree with taking photos of the good, the bad and the ugly. I have an album of photos and notes that I refer to every Spring. I also have notes of suggested plants from other gardeners and sites like this one. It’s an invaluable resource and we gardeners are a wonderful community! Thanks for the great video Erin. 🇨🇦
This is what gets me excited, planning.once I get annuals in ,Then I tear into areas I need to tweak. I think my biggest challenge is amending soil with so many garden areas and living 25 miles from anywhere I could get yards of compost. But this year I'm checking into cost verses per bag.I look forward to seeing the seasonal progression of your Beautiful property.
I start my planning for the next year as the summer progresses, making mental notes as to things that need attention. I plan on paper (well, on my computer) as to what plants I want to move or add, and place my order online as soon as possible. Then I just wait for Spring to arrive. I also have limited mobility and have made several changes accordingly. I plant annuals only in pots that I can do seated. I plant only perennials and shrubs in the ground, but only those items that want to grow in the space I have for them. I don't push zones (I am Zone 5) but rather plant a zone hardier where I can. If it says "short-lived", it can't live here. I have installed drip and mulch over landscape cloth so I hardly ever weed. I have a gardening bench that I wheel around with me, long handled tools, and lots and lots of benches. These changes have been so effective that I have actually added TWO new garden beds in the last two years even though I am the proud recipient of a brand new hip. I spend the majority of the summer just admiring my garden in peaceful tranquility. Sorry this came out so long, but it doesn't have to be work. Oh, and I buy my veggies at the store.
Thinking containers... what are some of your favorite thrillers? I usually pick a fountain grass. You inspired me to step out and try something new.
MN zone 4. You sold me on dahlias, ma'am. many are coming mid - April. Projects on my mind: taming overgrown lilacs; fluffy-up the compacted garden bed by the garage where orange daylilies rule. A huge walnut dominates my backyard, and this year I plan to build out beds with new varieties of species that have worked for me in the past. Lilies, phlox, hostas, and pulminaria survived under the drip line. I'll try a few of the dahlias to see if they'll survive there. Rambling on, thanks for the discussion on the Alberta spruce. We have an old spruce that is just too close to the house, needs to come down on purpose before it comes down in a wind storm. I'm thinking about what evergreen should replace it, another ten feet away from the building. I feel guilty about the chickadees.
Zone 6A. We haven’t been in our house very long, there wasn’t really anything here when we moved in, and what is here was neglected. At first, we were focused on the inside of the house and the neglect continued. Last year we corrected the previous owner’s mistakes in location of some shrubs and plants by transplanting them to a better location and creating the foundation to create a lovely garden on one side of the house with some bulbs. That will need further development. We did plant a couple trees and started a pollinator garden a few years ago and that needs some revision as it looks a little too haphazard. Where the shrubs were needs a complete makeover and that’s right in front of the house, we got a few perennials in before winter. We have a rhododendron that isn’t thriving and we need to get to the bottom of that this year. We also have the other side of the house where the previous owners had a line of azaleas along the house, West facing and full sun. They aren’t thriving either and I can’t keep up with the weeds that grow in between. This Fall we planted some perennials in between that should fill in the gaps, but the slope on that side is steep enough it causes the lack of maintenance. I despise mowing that area as I feel like I’ll slide right off the tractor! I’d like to make that side as maintenance free as possible while laying the foundation for terracing the entire slope over the next couple years. There once was a flower bed along the back of the house, mostly shade thanks to the North facing and huge maple trees. We filled that by dividing the overcrowded hosta bed and filled the spaces in between with heucheras and lamium. We also under planted all of the trees in the front yard, added a part shade planting around a large rock and our mail box as well as starting a full sun bed on the other side of the end of the driveway. Everything will need to be monitored closely with so many new plants and planting areas to make sure we made good decisions on what we put where, that everything is thriving and all of the transplants are taking with the coming of Spring. I’m about to turn 44 and facing disability sometime in the near future due to a car accident. I have to lay the ground work now for whatever is to be and it needs to be low maintenance, no deadheading and sadly no digging up dahlias. Those will have to be in containers. I won’t be planting annuals, except in containers on the front porch. We have our work cut out for us. With so much change last year and so much more needed this season, dare I continue adding plants or let the garden grow a bit and develop it more the next year? That is my main focus right now. I’ll still make the plans, but what will get implemented will be the question. Fall and winter sowing of seeds is very attractive. Maybe some poppies as Laura at GA says you do. Oh my! This got long!
Hello dear, how are you doing?
I’ve decided for this upcoming season I want quick satisfaction so instead of praying for my coral bells to decide if they are going to live or die I’m buying annuals. Annuals that will fill in bare gaps and I can pull out at the end of the season. Perennials are great but our winters have been so unpredictable many just don’t make it, especially ones not low in zones to handle cold snaps.
I did quite a bit of rearranging last fall, so I’m working out what’s going in those holes. It’s tough to plan too much, because I’d like to move, but the market is still moving too fast. It means a weird limbo where I’m constantly fighting myself about not putting too much work into the yard, because I’m going to sell. Eventually. 🤪
You’re not alone. I’m using more pots this year so I can take them with me.
It is an odd limbo right now!
I've enjoyed your gardening ideas and encouragement since I found you this last year ... I too live in cold zone of 4 to 5 of Vermont and I've always been only in interested in perennials I know
very narrow minded but I also enjoy cut flowers so with that in mind I'm going to make a 10ft x 40ft cut flower garden having both annuals and perennials along my driveway hoping to make it weed free as possible for at 72 knees don't like being on the ground!! And love ordering all kinds of flowers for this new one and my perennial 60ft x 80ft
garden of 20 years
Hoping to be able to plant something that will deter the deer from eating my Hydrangeas - so I have planted some garlic in amongst them hoping that may deter them! And I will also be planting more bleeding heart and astilbe close by which the deer (until now at least!) have not eaten. Great channel - lots of interesting content. Would like to see an overhead map of your property - gets confusing sometimes!!
Great words of wisdom. I especially like the “go with your heart” philosophizing. We are all thinking and planning and probably getting into mischief with our wishes but gardens truly are magical and heartfelt. So I think relaxing into it makes it ever so much more sensible and enjoyable.
Loved this discussion!
Try the hardy hibiscus in that area of your garden. I have found that they do well in part sun and with neglect. Also now they come in many shades of foliage.
I had big plans for my veranda/container jungle this year, as usual, but I somehow ended up with a bazillion new bulbs again, which I'll have to squeeze into some other pots or plant into more tiny pots, making a new mess... 😅
But I'm still hoping one day my gradient garden will turn out exactly as I've been imagined it since 2018, if the weather helps of course.
Can't wait to see your beautiful garden in spring and summer 😊
My challenge is drainage on my property. We have a little over an acre so plan on applying gypsum at least twice each year.
Thanks for the encouragement to try new things in containers even when you’ve had good success. My purple fountain grass center pieces are fabulous and hard to walk away from, but I know it is time to shake things up a bit.
You were so pleasingly color coordinated with your background-whether you were aware or not 🥰 Thankyou for yet another great garden share from North Idaho zone 6a 💚 🌿