Ideas for a Garden

[Blutomatoes82]

Hi everyone. I one day want to buy a house and was pondering on what i would do with the backyard (if the house has one to begin with...) Anyway i like the idea of have a flower garden, but how much work is it really ? Whats the process like ? Is it time cosuming ?

[Newt]

How much work it is depends on what you plant for the climate you live in.* Planting natives will require less work.* How you prepare the soil will also determine how much work will be required to maintain your garden.* Using plants that grow in clumps instead of by runners will make maintenance easier when it comes to controlling the plants, but will allow for more space for weeds until the plants fill in and cover the ground.* Mother nature doesn't like blank spaces.* Generally only 15 minutes a week of weeding for the average garden should be all that is needed if you plan and prep well.

Newt

[align=left]Hi,[/align]
[align=left]It sounds like you're just starting out with gardening so it's a good idea to get a basic book and read up on annuals and perennials and such. Every used bookstore has a bunch of great gardening books with plenty of info. Just remember that perennials, when properly selected will require a lot less maintenance than annuals since you'll have to replace annuals from season to season. What catches the eye at the Home Depot are all the higher maintenance annuals and not the perennials. [/align]
[align=left]Figure out things like how wet/dry, how cold/hot it gets and what type of soil acid/alkaline you have, and you'll have a better idea of the types of plants that you can grow.[/align]
[align=left]And ask a lot of questions![/align]
[align=left]Regards,[/align]
[align=left]Patrick - IHeartGardening.com[/align]

[Blutomatoes82]

[align=left]newt:* thanks for all the great advice!* only 15 mins of weeding eh?* that's not bad at all.[/align]
[align=left]phempton:* who knew gardening required so much background research!* i live in hollywood, so it's definitely going to be a dryer climate.* lucky for me, i really enjoy a lot of the native plants.[/align]
[align=left]likewise, to continue, i'm still looking into buying real estate.* the market is so saturated out here!* i work for HGTV, and like all their garden shows, they have a new one called Bought & Sold, all about the real estate process and a behind-the-scenes look.* have any of you seen or heard of it?* [/align]

[Newt]

Blutomatoes, glad you found the info helpful.* I wish HGTV would put more 'G' in their programming.* I would LOVE to see Erica Glasener's 'Gardeners Diary' return with new shows.* That was one of my favorites.

Newt

[Blutomatoes82]

[align=left]Newt, i would also love to see more shows on gardending, we do have quite a few in our programing as far as i know, although i don't really deal with that department. Have you managed to catch the show yet ?
[/align]

[Newt]

Blutomatoes, which show, 'Bought and Sold'?* I think that is the one where the mother/daughter team give advice or is that the one where they sell million dollar homes in California?* I've seen them both.* I sold real estate for 7 years and just loved it.* It was many years ago and I had to stop and pay attention to my kids as I was a single mother then.* Most real estate was sold in the evenings and on weekends, just when my kids needed me around.

Newt