Okay girls, I need gardening help....

[Jody22002]

I know that there is a "green thumb" thread and I could ask there but it's way beyond my knowledge of plants.

I have two beautiful raised flower beds that my hubby built last year using old fence posts from his family farm. They are huge. Unfortunately, because of the timing of buying our home, we didn't have a chance to plant perennials. I also have lots of containers to plant because I have a slight addiction to garden pretties. My home faces south, has limited shade, and I am in Manitoba so the growing season is pretty short. I am also on a small budget.

What can I plant in the beds that is fast spreading? I would like to stick to reds and purples this year. I love foliage too but I have no clue what to pick? My H has a green thumb so my beds are well taken care of. We just have no idea what flowers to choose. In the containers, I am looking for something that will really make them look full and overhang.

Ideas?

[Lynn49]

As far as your containers are concerned, Bocopia, a trailing-type tiny white flowered plant does really well and you need only very few plants in each pot...google it with container plantings and you'll see how sweet they are. Lobelia is also in that 'type' of catagory and both handle the heat nicely with plenty of water, but not soaking.
As far as perennials go, we love our hostas here where we also have a short growing season. They come up quickly in the spring, spread nicely for cutting apart and transplanting, and you can fill in with sunny annuals in the spring. If you like day-lilies, they're also nice to fill in larger spaces, and also spread; you're not limited to the regular yellow ones anymore, since there are lots of colours out there. If you like lots of scent when you come thru your door, you can't beat Stargazer Lilies and you can plant them in the spring! OMG, they're so delicious!!! And bright pink with white.

We went with a red and yellow combination again in our back yard this year and I love it! Your reds and purples sound lovely...esp in a south-facing area, it'll appear cooler...perhaps sprinkle a bit of cooling white in there, too?

Hope some of that helps, Hon! Enjoy!!! We who spend nearly 5 months in the snow deserve to spend lots of time with our outdoor plants!!

[miztia]

I usually stick to a few favorite plants, so if your budget is scarce, you could get lavatura seeds for this year. They grow quick and will bloom in a few weeks. They grow into a 2ft shrubby like plant that looks like a petunia and bloom all season, until a couple of frosts get them. Mine bloom usually into October. My favorite seed!
For your baskets, the "tidal wave" petunia grows about 20inches tall and spread about 3 feet. Just a couple in each planter should give you an awesome display that spill over the sides.
Ive cut back my flower beds, but still have about 40-50 ft I like to look full but hate spending alot of money so I plant them. I think I spent $40 on annuals this year.
I bought a few favorite perrenials, and still working on splitting them so I dont spend money on more, and friends give me small pieces as well.

[Angela273]

Hi guys.
I did not find a new gardening thread for this year. I just wanted a second opinion.

I planted most of my garden on June 4 & 5. I therefore planted my tomato plants 10 days ago. Their leaves were yellowing, so I have them some miracle grow on Sunday. I am in a "disaster zone," the community and surrounding farm lands have experienced a lot of flooding. We are getting close to 2inches of rain, once per week. Are the tomato leaves turning yellow because they are getting too much water? I am not sure what I can do to help them.

[Poirot]

Hi guys.
I did not find a new gardening thread for this year. I just wanted a second opinion.

I planted most of my garden on June 4 & 5. I therefore planted my tomato plants 10 days ago. Their leaves were yellowing, so I have them some miracle grow on Sunday. I am in a "disaster zone," the community and surrounding farm lands have experienced a lot of flooding. We are getting close to 2inches of rain, once per week. Are the tomato leaves turning yellow because they are getting too much water? I am not sure what I can do to help them.

There are lots of different reasons for yellow tomato leaves lack of water,overwatering,certain tomato diseases,certain bugs,lack of iron and lack of nitrogen.You could buy a moisture meter and check the amount of moisture in the soil.Canadian Tire sells moisture meters.

[shelley101]

I also planted some veggies in our neighbourhood garden, I planted corn, cucumbers, brussell sprouts, camomile, a sunflower, dill, and beans. I did plant some parsly and puple peppers but someone stole them out of my garden box. Today I planted a tomato plant. I love it!!!

[flowblue]

Hi guys.
I did not find a new gardening thread for this year. I just wanted a second opinion.

I planted most of my garden on June 4 & 5. I therefore planted my tomato plants 10 days ago. Their leaves were yellowing, so I have them some miracle grow on Sunday. I am in a "disaster zone," the community and surrounding farm lands have experienced a lot of flooding. We are getting close to 2inches of rain, once per week. Are the tomato leaves turning yellow because they are getting too much water? I am not sure what I can do to help them.

When a plant is sick, I would be careful about giving it any chemicals - sometimes they can end up killing the plant, since it is already weakened.

It would be easier to diagnose the problem if you posted a picture.

[glenglen]

I find a good way to fill alot of pots cheap with flowers that stay in bloom until fall is too buy regular petunias at 3.00 or under for six the wave ones azare 6.00 to 10.00 dollars for 6 just cut the plastic off and plant all six in a pot they look great I buy every color and for the garden carnations they also last all summer and spread so nicely,I but alot of flowers assorted but I like alot of these as they are cheap and hardy!