Ji Jay -

Welcome to the NE forum. I'm not the one to give advice on lawns (lawn? ya mean that space that hasn't been converted to a garden yet?) and I'm too far south of you to offer much help on plant selection, but I'm sure you'll get lots of help from others on the forum.

You might try your local extension service for advice on fertilizer, they usually offer inexpensive soil testing in early spring. You'll want to know what nutrients your lawn really needs before you add anything, because over-fertilizing is probably worse than underfeeding, whether it's grass, shrubs, or flowers (herbaceous plants).

A really good way to start is to assess what you've got in the yard - map it out, try to identify the plants that are growing, watch through the summer and see how the garden performs for you.

Mostly, relax and enjoy it, it's really fun to see what comes up in a new (to you) garden. Don't rush into anything, because you may find that you really like what was done by the previous owner. Once you see what's there, and as you learn more about gardening and find out what you like, you can start to make the garden your own.

Hi Jay, and welcome!

I'm like DtD above - if you saw what passes for my "lawn" you'd run screaming away, lol! At this point, my long-term plan for my lawn is to make it disappear! So I can't help much with that, but ditto DtD's idea of getting your soil tested, taking your time and seeing what you've got, and don't forget to watch what kind of sun exposure you've got during different times of the year.

I would think that tulips and many bulbs will do well for you. The majority of spring-blooming bulbs need to be planted in fall. Many perennials can be planted in either fall or spring.

Find out your zone and look at zone hardiness when buying plants, although you can use zone hardiness as a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Do a search here for threads called "what's in bloom in your garden, week of...". These are a series of threads where we report what we have in bloom every week. This will give you an idea of what blooms when, and you can narrow it down to your area also.

Perhaps you can talk to folks at your local nurseries to get ideas, and even to see if there are local classes or workshops.

I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck, and visit often - you can learn a ton of stuff right here. If you read through the old posts, there may be info that can get you started.

:)
Dee

Have you tried contacting the previous owner? Anyone who loved their yard that much would be glad to give you tips on how to maintain it. I would also suggest going to a local nursery for advice. They will know more than anyone about your local conditions.

Jay, welcome to the region and the forum.

As you moved in in the winter, you probably don't know what you have at all in this garden, so I would spend the first year taking care of what is there, and enjoying what comes out of the ground. Make notes, take pictures, and make a plan for planting in the fall. I would be concerned about planting anything this spring, when you don't know what might appear through the season. Fall will probably be your planting time this year.

As for the lawn, I am not a specialist... But you are right in thinking that you should be on top of that, especially if the lawn is good. There is a lawn forum on Gardenweb, isn't it?

Enjoy looking at your garden this season, as things come out of the ground! You'll be plenty busy in the fall.

Best

Belle Isis

Hi Jay, and welcome! (And congratulations on the new house!) You're in luck, the lawn forum here on GardenWeb is excellent and full of very friendly people. Read through the FAQ and then jump in and ask some questions!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn Care Forum

You could go to a free talk at Weston Nurseries on lawn care.

Saturday, April 29
Spring into Lawn Care
Jeff Moor, Jonathan Green
1 pm
This is one workshop you don't want to miss! We get so many calls about lawn care, we invited the expert to cover the basics of Spring lawn care. Jeff will explain the different types of grass seeds for various lawn conditions for use when establishing a new lawn, patching or overseeding. You'll learn how to control crab grass, eliminate dandelions and control insects. He'll also discuss fertilizing, watering and lawn maintenance. Ending up with a great looking lawn isn't difficult. Let Jeff show you what you can do early this Spring so your lawn will be off to a great start.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weston Nurseries Events

Ooh, wish I'd seen that Weston Events page a couple of weeks ago, looks like they have recently had some great talks.

I got a flyer from an organic lawn company called The Green Guy. Check the link below. If you want to go with a lawn service and are looking for alternatives to traditional lawn companies. I have no experience with this company.

Here is a link that might be useful: The GreenGuy Inc.

Welcome to the NE forum Jay. When I moved into my house now almost ten years ago, I did nothing the first year. I just observed where the sun tracked and watched what came up. I also happened to have a friend who teaches botany at a local college look over things and tell me what I had and give a few suggestions on moving existing plants and growing new ones. I'll bet if they took great care of their lawn, they may also have a few interesting plants or bulbs.

You can always go the container route with plantings this year for instant gratification, as they can be moved around.

Hi Jay!
I'm in SoNH, too. Welcome!
I'm not a master gardener, I been teaching myself as I go along. I started about 5 years ago.
I can't give you lawn advice, either, because like diggerdee, my goal is to get rid of 90% of it.
We moved into our current home 4 years ago. We also moved in in the winter. The prior owner had told me they had planted alot of perennials and shrubs. For the first season I just watched for what grew. There was ALOT, but it was overgrown and not well situated.
The next year I dug up many, many plants, kept the things I liked and got rid of the rest. We also had to bring in a tractor and take out some huge, ugly old shrubs!
I started doing alot of reading-books, magazines, internet.
I found this forum and I love it! Very helpful.
One thing I have learned is not to buy plants until I have a spot for them. I would shop the nurseries, fall in love with a plant and bring it home only to never use it because it didn't really work anywhere.
Don't know if you have "critters." We have deer and rabbits and they can do alot of damage. I don't plant tulips because the deer like them. I have lots & lots of daffodils, though and crocus.
With 3 boys, I'm pretty busy, so I prefer low maintainance plants.
My advice is for this year, get to know your property and read, go to a workshop or class, talk to other gardeners, come to this forum!
hostas idea about doing container planting this year is a good one. No fun not planting!

Thank you all for your great advice.
Yes.. I am going to just wait and watch this year to see whatz there in our garden. there are some bulbs sprouting since i last posted my querry. not sure what they are :(
will post the pics once they bloom. do i need to do anything so that atleast they will be alive???

thank you for the lawn care forum link..will definitely look into that.

do you guyz really do the gardening by yourself???

can you suggest someone in the So NH area who can do everything for my lawn and garden like mulch, compost, raking, mowing, weed control, fertilizer etc..(lol!!! these are the keywords i have learnt from this forum)

until i find a decent company/person.. i will try to keep our garden and lawn alive :) with your help