Lavender, when will you be able to start digging? I didn't realize Washington state was in zone 4. You must really have a short season.

I'm way over here on the east side of the state, about five miles from Idaho, so my season is pretty short. With our clay, you can't do much until April :) My last frost is usually the first of June and my first fall frost is mid-September.

That being said, our season is short but beautiful. We have lilacs and apple trees blooming together, with wild roses blooming a few weeks later. Peonies love it here and everyone plants lots of bulbs, probably because those will bloom before you can even get near the garden to actually dig.

I lived in Arkansas when I was about five years old, and my Dad is from South Carolina, so I know there are longer seasons out there! That being said, even with all the cold and snow, I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else. We're right on the edge of the foothills and you can see the mountains in Idaho from about any good sized hill, so it's really pretty country. You just have to learn to love snow!!! LOL

My plan is not so much another garden as trying to incorporate more edibles into the garden beds I already have. All heirloom open pollinated varieties of veggies, I've already have a number of heirloom beans to choose from. So along with the herbs, beans, tomatoes and lettuce I'll be planting, I'll plant cucs and maybe melons in the greenhouse. I'm sure I'll find the odd spot to plunk something else in.

Annette

I am getting rid of the grass between the house and the island bed out front, so we'll only have grass between the sidewalk and island. We have a meandering stone walk that leads from the driveway to the front of the house and I will put in a path between the island and house leading from the walk to connect it with the side of the house and the back yard. I have already removed all the forsythia on our side of the property line and created a new bed along that side-amended soil with the lasagna method several months ago. I did put in a few hosta, but won't really plant until spring. I am thinking that I will need to move some of the azaleas from the island in order to have the path follow the lines I want and get around the kousa. We'll see. I took some photos and will post once I master that, so all of you can give me advice! I am having fun doing some creative staring. Also, trying to get motivated to turn the so-called inferno strip between the sidewalk and street into a garden. The busier I can keep myself out front, the less heartbreak I'll have when the pups continue to destroy everything I do in the back-LOL!

Cynthia

Hello fellow gardeners,
Plans for next year. Well I have a blank slate
so to speak. 4.5 acres of nature gone wild.
We have been hacking away at the brush along
the fence on the north side of the property.
This coming weekend we'll clear out some of
the small pine trees to make room for a leach
field for our septic system. Three rows of
pine will remain at the front of the pine forest.
The first thing I'd like to plant is
a mailbox garden early next spring.
I could probably get away with planting now
but I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough time
for the plants to get established before the
first frost. I will resist the temptation.
I'd love to plant some bulbs and forget me nots
under the pine. I'd also like to place a gated
trellis at the middle front of the pine rows as
an entrance to the house and gardens. There's
an oak along the road at the front of the
property that I'd like to place a bench and
maybe plant some hosta or something that would
do well under an oak. (suggestions welcomed)
My husband and I both
would like to have a huge veggie garden in
the back pasture. There is wild blackberry
and morning glory everywhere so we have our
work cut out for us. That's a staring point
for me. We won't be building for several years
so the gardens will come first. Right now
we have our travel trailer parked on the
property for weekend getaways. There's also
still a lot of brush and dying trees to clear.
I will keep ya'll posted and continue to
log in so I can get inspired by your pictures
and stories. Thanks.

Brenda

We plant to continue (I can plant right thru December here...) with what we are doing, which is so similar to Deep South Gardener except we're citified (and it doesn't sound like you are, Brenda!!). We have almost a full acre to plant, and to continue making raised beds, work on drainage, put in a greenhouse...patios, gardens around everything, the fence in (soon, I hope) and line that with hollies. I need to get in the waterway garden - the swale that carries water into the drainage system- planted soon, and continue that next year...and get in the flood plain plants and then the larger her garden. Most of that won't happen until spring - I plan to do a lot of winter sowing for the herbs.

The biggest goal for next year is to really do the front foundation plantings. I have to tell myself that anything else is second to that goal, lol. I keep sabotaging the front, it seems, and there is next to nothing growing there, seriously. I was just drawing out the plan. Dh recently met a local greenhouse owner who claims his prices are better than Bluestone's, so I will need to check him out and see what he has, because my want list is pretty long!

Of course, I also promised dd we would plant more stuff in her border since she wants perennials, not annuals (she has her own wish list, but at least most of it I can get through dividing stuff I already have, since that's what she knows to want!), and I need to plant more veggies, and maybe move around some stuff - and if I'm really lucky, plant the side yard, too. I have a plan - I just don't know how much will fit into the budget!

My goodness, some of these sounds like quite big undertakings.

My plans for next year are to landscape the area leading to my shed, expand some gardens in my immediate backyard area and heavily mulch and plant some of my hillsides. Basically, my goal is to eliminate grass. :-)

I am really enjoying all your great plans. I am particularly glad to see so many planning for a food garden! You can raise so much in a small space you will be amazed. I wish everyone would give it a try.

Annette, if you are planning to save seeds from your garden of heirlooms, do a little research. After planting several squashes, pumpkins and cucs this year, I discovered that many will cross pollinate so next year's seeds will be contaminated. Check especially the cucurbits. I also found that pole beans will cross if next to each other; not always but they can. I have saved seeds of Ky. Wonder pole beans and Cherokee Trail of Tears anyway. Be interesting to see what I get. The Trail of Tears makes a beautiful vine with pink blooms and the pods turn purple as they mature. They are a prolific and delicious bean.

I hope to break new ground out back on the east side of one of the outbuildings where I can plant some open pollinated dent corn. I have great plans to buy a grinder and want to grind my cornmeal....and wheat berries. I will buy the wheat berries. You have to keep different corn widely separated or they cross pollinate too.

I will be "simplifying" the HB bed and some others.

I want to plant more fruit trees in a dedicated orchard.

I will keep adding to the funny border in the middle of the front yard.

Remember you can add l or 2 tomato plants, pepper plants and edgings of gorgeous lettuces in any flower bed. You can tuck in a couple of potatoes too for new potatoes. When they are finished, just pull and compost. Bull's Blood Beets are a beautiful addition to flower beds. A bamboo tee pee of pole beans will look wonderful and provide some very tasty meals. Pepper plants are beautiful and look good anywhere. Another good plant for the teepees would be sugar snap peas...course they will be finished in hot weather and have to be pulled.

It will be interesting for us to revisit this thread and see how we all do!

glenda

The meadow garden is my next big adventure. I've got a space in the backyard where grass doesn't grow well. The soil is too acidic and hard. So I've been collecting and scattering natives like little bluestem grass seeds. I've tossed out a handful of goldenrod too. And queen anne's lace. In the spring, I have cosmos, cosmos, cosmos, siberian wallflowers, and lots of other light and airy varieties that will be seeded. I bought a few seeds, but the majority will be my orange/yellow cosmos that I collected from my own plants. I have a gallon sized ziplock bag of seeds. I'm hoping with the rudbeckia, echinacea, salvias, etc, the hummers and goldfinches will have their own smorgasbord. The area is about 40' x 50' and is edged by the lower potager on one side, the "orchard" on another, and paths will be mowed on the other two sides to allow me to walk the perimeter.

I'm not doing much to prepare the soil. I've scattered crimson clover seeds which have germinated okay. I had hoped for a little more growth by now. I also scattered poppy and larkspur seeds. Oh, and nigella. If everything germinates, I should have blooms from early April through November.

I love Crimson Clover, none of mine came back this year. Maybe it's biennial?

I plan to continue my perennial borders, mixing flowering shrubs into it all. Once the split cedar rail fence goes in, I will put climbers/sprawlers onto it. On the 'farm' side, it will be fruit bushes and climbers. Can't wait!!!

Nancy.

Glenda, I've been growing and keeping seed from CTT since 94 this has been DH's favorite bean, also an Italian pole (another favorite) bean that arrived here on the island in the early 1900's, been growing this one for 44 years. Another bean that came from China again early 1900's I've also been growing since 94. Although these beans are supposed to not readily cross I do keep some distance between them. On the other hand runner beans are very promiscuous so I will only be growing one of these, I've been given a few Insuk Wang Kong to try, the seed is absolutely huge.
Somehow I've ended up with about 20 more heirloom pole beans to try over the next few years, there's a bit of a story here about how this came about, involving some fantastic trades plus the ones I've bought, oh lord another addiction to add to my addictions LOL.

I have a russian potato that has been persistent, it is now doing it's thing under the gravel in my pergola, lovely potatoes if I ever decide to dig through the gravel, maybe I should try to retrieve them for seed potatoes next year, this one has been popping up here or there in the garden for the last 20 years.

I grow and keep seed from a very nice lettuce that came from Croatia and this year kept seed from a couple of cherry tomatoes, Snow White and Cherrio. Having a small compared to some garden some things I will grow only one variety of like my lettuce so they won't cross.

I think I've found a source for Montreal Melon Seed, I didn't have much success with the seed I got from Nancy I planted this year, my fault, think next year I'll try this one in the greenhouse. Now if the seed I ordered ever gets here.

I'm heading in the direction of all open pollinated veggies, away from hybrids and genetically modified seed. Just taste the difference between some of these old heirlooms and what's available in the stores today, they just don't compare in flavor. I somehow think they are healthier as well. You know what they say, don't mess with old mother nature.

Annette

Schoolhouse, it's my understanding that crimson clover is an annual. It usually reseeds if you let it. At least it does here in the south. I have it popping up all over in the perennial bed. I'll have to weed it out in the spring. I only had about 25 seeds last year compared to 5lbs this fall. I'll let it bloom in both the perennial bed and the meadow, but I'll deadhead it in the perennial bed. I might even turn it under with a fork.

Here's my little clump from last year.

{{gwi:455844}}

1. Build a small raised bed for veggies, esp. tomatoes.

2. Figure out how to meld a raspberry patch into the landscape. I've wanted to grow them for a while, but don't want something that looks like a big weedpatch.

3. Re-edge the rose garden in the back yard. We had so much rain this summer that the weeds are creeping over the stone borders and into the garden.

Lois in PA

1) Keep adding to the borders I've been working on this year around the perimeter of the yard. How far? hmmm not sure.

2) turn the veggie garden into an herb garden...but not sure about that either.

This where I have started to prepare the new shade garden. The big bushy hollies will be moved to the back-I used to keep them pruned in an open, zenlike shape, but they have gotten away from me. There will be a path that meanders along and curves to the left toward the back yard. We may have to move a few of the old azaleas in the present island bed on the right in order to avoid the kousa when we make the path.

Big plans here too. We are taking out two plum trees and an apple tree. We are replacing with 2-3 more apple trees. Will be placed at the back of fenced in area. The current trees are right in the middle and waste too much space. Putting in new raspberry bed, adding more blueberries and maybe strawberries. Making raised beds in front of fruit trees for veggies. Thanks to a previous thread, I will also be expanding rose garden to add Austins. Never finished expanding the perrenial beds like I want them. They are almost done, but I pooped out and the weather didn't cooperate. Gave me a good excuse to take a break. I did 450 sq' of perennial beds over spring and summer. No wonder I pooped out. lol.

Does anyone here feel like doing things radical? Like would you raze a bed to the ground and redoing it all over again (of course reusing your plants)?

Ianna, I've been contemplating doing that with one area of my perennial bed. I took out a 15' tall tree last month and moved it, hoping it had time to settle before it freezes to death. This year, I had all sorts of things in there, rudbeckia, roses, four oclocks, salvias, agastache, cleome, zinnias, cosmos, and so forth. I'd really like to turn it into a nice perennial spot that will keep some greenery through the winter. I've already planted a Zuni crape myrtle that should top out around 10', unless the tag was wrong, of course. But knowing me, I'll have the same plants again next year. I have a hard time pulling things even if they aren't doing as well as they should in a certain area. I might just raze the entire bed in January and plant my wintersown perennials in there. Since many of them won't bloom their first year, I'll need some annuals. Maybe cleome, zinnias, cosmos.... You know how it is.

Ianna- I know what you mean. When I had to move all my roses out of the front bed (to put the new windows in) it was kind of nice to think of redesigning the whole area. Now I'm thinking of moving everything around (next spring) in the side garden. It's kind of fun to be able to change things around and try something new :)

It's a huge undertaking, but I am thinking of redoing my front yard. Yet I do get bogged down by the 'small picture' feeling for example guilt about reducing the number of plants. And I don't known exactly to tackle this task. It seems to me more of an emotional undertaking than a physical one... funny isn't it?

What does your front yard look like now and what are you thinking of changing? Do you have any particular reason for changing it? Are you thinking of a different style of garden or just something a little more simplified?

My problem is that I put in a lot of my plants in a hurry because we thought we were getting our house refinanced last June. After digging holes and putting plants in to spruce up the front foundation, it turns out we didn't get the appraisal until October. Moving everything out and starting over will let me edge the gardens properly, make sure I get out all (or at least most) of the quack grass and put a little more thought into the placement of the plants.

Over the summer I was able to learn a lot more about garden design (library and GW) and I have a lot of new ideas of what I want to do with the garden. I'm sure your garden is much more carefully designed than mine was, but everyone wants a change once in a while :)

My front yard is along the lines of a nature garden which is a modern form of gardening coming out of Europe. It copies basically what is seen in vast naturescapes and uses plants either ones that are wild or simply ones that ape what is seen in meadows. It's called NEW WAVE gardening. However because I enjoy cottage gardening too (or rather the plants used in cottage gardens), I've incorporated plants not normally found in meadows or grass scapes, for example my roses, lavenders and delphiniums. I've posted some photos of my yard sometime ago in the forum. It must still be somewhere.

My idea is renewal is to tone down the number of colours and to stick with a few subtle ones. That may mean removal of my roses (replanting them), rearranging the grass or perhaps changing the grass to smaller forms. Right now, I'm still working on the subject. And Christmas Shopping is on my mind. Don't particularly enjoy this part of the holidays but it's necessary.

Ianna

Ianna- It sounds like a great natural garden style. I'll have to look for your pictures.

In our pastures/meadows there are roses growing naturally all along the fence lines. We call them "hedge roses" because they grow like hedge rows :) They're a wild rose (pink, about three to four feet tall) that the deer don't seem to bother and they're very pretty when they bloom, but only last about three weeks.

I invested major money in perennials and shrubs this year and hope to do more of the same next year. I'm slowly expanding my current perennial beds and want to wipe out as much of my "lawn" as possible.

In addition, I want to add native trees, clear out some of the brush (blackberries and honeysuckle) that are taking over and plant more native plants and perennials. It's going to take several years to tame this place, but I think I can do it.

I've decided to landscape the area out front around my Crabapple tree that I replaced a couple years ago with dwarf conifers. Have been working with the design and conifers I would like to add come Spring.
CH

Backyardgrown- you sound like my mom...she hates grass :) I can see that in zone 7b you would have to mow a lot more of the year than we do. You've taken on quite a project, I hope you'll post pics this spring!

Chohio- conifers are so pretty and it seems like people don't use them as much anymore. With the longer winters we have in the north, they'll look really pretty with the snow. Do they take less water than other plants?

Brenda - if you are still watching this thread - I meant to say take lots of pictures!!! Share them with us, if you dare!!! As you can see, we are not a shy bunch, and will have lots of 'advice' for you. lol!!!

ianna - a couple of years ago, I redid my entire front bed. It had been filled with lots of different bulbs, shrubs, and a tree, but it never looked good to my eyes. I kept telling DH I was going to redo that bed. (just to prepare him financially, and me mentally)

I took the entire winter to plan exactly what I wanted then started in the spring taking out, pulling up, and preparing for the new. After I finished planting, I was so happy with it.

It's hard sometimes to realize what you thought your garden was going to look like will never be. Take this time to decide exactly what you want, and go for it! You will be happier in the long run. :)

lavendar lass I only have a few conifers now but after reading in the conifer forum for a while and seeing some of their spectacular displays I have decided to do my front in some dwarfs which is about all I can have in my smaller area. They have such beautiful ones out now and I love the idea of year round interest and some of the colors available to us. What I have now I treat as any other shrub for watering.
CH

Hey midnightsmum and everyone on the board. I'm not
shy either. I'll post a link to my most recent pictures
of the new place in Mississippi. The other garden
photos on the site are from south Louisiana where
we presently live. The MS site is out "Country Place"
LOL As I stated before we have our camper on it now and won't be building bfor years, but I must start a garden this spring. It's driving me crazy that I haven't planted anything yet. I have so much here in LA that I can divide
and a ton of seeds so I'm trying to keep cost to
a minimum. The neighbors to our right are cows
so I'm hoping for free fertilizer. I guess I'll have
to compost the manure before using it? Any way
I love all the post and pictures. Ya'll are great.
Not every garden site is friendly to new comers.
Some are a little stuckup. If you know what I mean.
Any way thanks for the welcome.

Brenda

Here is a link that might be useful: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/575578430PXcgMP

Yay!!!! The trees are down. Now I have a wonderful empty deer fenced area to add the new trees and veggie beds.

I was hoping to only have a couple small projects for next year since we did our backyard project this past year which cost a small fortune in plant material. We still need to put in paths and edge back there too. However, after reading everyone else's plans now I'm thinking "yes, i need to start a veggie garden", "yes, hardscape that area", "yes, meadow garden"! Isn't gardening great! Always something to think about and plan for.

Glenda, I like your idea of mixing in veggies to the borders as edging, tee-pee, etc. If I don't have any woodchucks this year (which has been keeping me from doing veggies), I may try that. I'd also love to see a picture of your "funny border".

Ianna, I completely revamped my cottage area a number of years ago. There were about 5 borders that I removed every last plant and then ammended the soil and started from scratch. I actually drew up plans and it is the garden I now have today. I agree with Hollygarden to take your time to decide what you want. I think you would find it very rewarding.

Since I just received my Bluestone catalog, I've decided my main project for next year is to replicate this (on a smaller scale) in the backyard. As I was perusing the catalog I started thinking of this garden when I got to the grasses and lavender pages.

This was at Chanticleer in PA. I could have stayed in this border for hours. It just seemed so easy and serene. Anyone have any idea what the low, straw-like grass is? I have the rockytop coneflower (ID'd thanks to GW'ers), I'm going to pick up some lavender and I have orange butterfly weed. Also have some blue fescue I can put in. Any other ideas you can throw at me for annuals or perennials that might work would be very welcomed!

Flowergirl, a deer-fenced area for planting...I'm jealous! LOL!

Thyme, check out Little Bluestem. It's a native prairie grass. It usually stays pretty low all year until late summer when it shoots up stalks with white fluffy seeds in the fall. It naturalizes well. It grows wild here too. I moved some from a disturbed future construction site a month or so back. I love the way it looks in the late afternoon sun. That's probably not the same grass as in the photo, but it could be.

Brenda - great pics!!! You surely have a large job in front of you!!!

Nancy.

My goal is to create a cottage style garden with my existing flowerbeds in front of house. I plan to WS a lot of flowers that I can use in those beds..it will be my first time WS so hope I am successful. It should be fun and definately rewarding if everything comes up. I plan to add double knock out roses to the bed that runs along the sunroom, and try more flowers in the other bed that has 3 rose bushes in it. Would like to plant some type of plant that is a climber but not invasive by the mailbox..Am thinking about Sweet peas or short clematis. Also would like to add clematis to grow in obelsik by sunroom flowerbed. Those beds get the morning and early afternoon sun. Roses do very well there so hoping a clematis will also. Take pictures of all the different stages of the above plans, especially take pictures when the tulips and daffs are blooming so I can place a plant marker by them, so I'll know what color is planted where.

pippi, I take pictures almost every day of something in the garden. It really does help when you're planting tiny little seedlings from wintersown containers. You've got to remember how large some things were last year, and obviously where bulbs are. I've dug out way too many Stargazers planting other things in the winter. I hate when that happens. They're my favorite.