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Ozarks Gardening

First Year Gardens Pics- Spring & Summer

15 years ago

Finally have been in the (not so new... now) house a year. Here's a few before and after pics of my first year gardens. What a difference a few months can make....really excited about what I can do next season...besides grow more rocks! Sure gonna miss all that greenery this winter.

Pam

Backyard early spring and late summer

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Front Porch early spring and late summer

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Comments (6)

helenh
15 years ago
I could live there; it looks like a nice place. You have good drainage too.
bunny6
15 years ago
Pam your gardens turned out very nice. I would love to have all that land to plant flowers. I live in town in a subdivision. Our lots are small, and I have alot of large old growth trees. I especially like the garden in front of the porch.
Ann
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first year gardening pics.
Q
Comments (2)
Nice garden pictures. Here's a clippable version for folks who love to just point and click. Garden Pictures
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'New' garden -- 2 years after first plants...
Q
Comments (40)
The cedrus in the pictures above, C. libanii 'Stenocoma', is a selection from the high mtns of Lebanon that is widely accepted in woody plant circles to be zone 5 hardy. The one I have I moved from my old garden and have had for about 10 years. It browned out the first couple of winters after planting, and one after moving, but by June it is beautiful in new growth and looks healthy as ever. After a few years in the ground, it doesn't even brown needles. There is one near me, at MSU's Hidden Lake Gardens, that is in zone 5a and is about 25 years old and 40' tall. If you want a cedrus in z5, this is the one to plant. In the other thread, I also have pictures of C. deodora 'Karl Fuchs', one that is about 15' tall and has been in the ground through 3 winters at the new place, through winter temps as low as -15F. That plant is planted in a very wind protected spot on the south side of the house. In the same temps, it has not even shown a brown needle once, whereas the supposedly hardier C. l. stenocoma did brown out some this past winter(but looked great by June). Though C. deodora is generally accepted as only being z7 hardy, and I have heard of gardeners who had trouble keeping it in NC, this selection does seem to be hardier than average. I know of 2 other plants in this area that have been through 5 or more winters unscathed. And I supect that the longer the plant has been established, the better it will be able to recover from a hard winter. The conifer curator at Hidden Lake told me that the stenocoma there browned its needles in the first five years, and has looked pristine through every winter since.
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Spring pic and Summer pic of one of my Basjoos
Q
Comments (9)
well i had to pot them there only about a foot high. I have them in about a 10" pot and i have another one thats about 18"-20" high and about that round too, that will be its home in a few weeks as it gets bigger. I dint have a garden since i'm renting, but hopefully by next year they and i will have a new home.. jen
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Fertilize heavily the first spring and summer after transplanting
Q
Comments (6)
Number-one job of new transplant=create a new root system. Studies have shown that roots respond to low-nitrogen environment. Therefore, little to no fertilizer in early going is indicated, since regrowing of root system is most important factor in plant survival. Now, here is where it gets sticky: Fertilizing will indeed boost top growth-not what we want according to previous paragraph, but hold on: New growth, specifically new growing tips, send auxins, a type of plant growth hormone down to the roots to initiate root growth. So in this indirect fashion, higher fertility resulting in higher top growth will, in time, increase root growth. Capiche so far? So why not just lay on the fertilizer, like all the guys that sell the stuff want you to do? First of all, fertilizers are primarily salts. Salts cause root dessication which is the last thing you want happening down there in the ground. Tor mentions another key factoid-the type of soil you're planting into. If it's rich topsoil, there is hardly any chance that the plant will suffer for lack of this or that nutrient. If on the other hand, it is stripped out subdivision soil, ie. mostly subsoil, there may indeed be a host of nutrients in short supply. And remember this point too-nitrogen, the most important element in fertilizers, can nearly always be said to be in "short supply" in soils, simply because it is unstable in the soil, and furthermore, adding it to most any system will yield a growth response. But we're not looking for bushels per acre here. We just want reasonably happy, healthy plants, with reasonably decent rates of growth, etc. So in very, very many cases, no fertilizer will ever be needed. And that admonition you found somewhere to fertilize heavily the first year or whatever it said...........is almost pure bunk. +oM
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gldno1
15 years ago
It's a beautiful place, Pam. The garden looks wonderful for just a year old.

It looks like you are surrounded with woods....do you get a lot of night-time visitors possums, raccoons, etc.?
christie_sw_mo
15 years ago
Who would want to stay inside with scenery like that. Love the dogwoods. Is that what the white flowering trees are? We had some wooded property when I was a kid and I never got tired of "exploring".
What did you decide to plant on your slope?
pamcrews
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi All. To answer some of the questions...YES...we get some critters from time to time...mainly deer but don't think they all know we're here yet. The deer found my three Rose of Sharons late in the season and they have been back a couple of times now....ditto on some burning bushes.....but hey haven't found my hostas....yet...but I'm optimistic they will next year.

Yes, Christie...you are right... those are dogwoods. I couldn't believe how many we have on the property. Two years ago when we purchased the land we were living in Springfield and was not around to see them blooming. We asked our realtor if we had any since he lived in the area and he told us there were lots. Last year not much of show because of the drought...but this year...wham! The colors so far this fall have been something and all the berries too. It's been a good year for rain this year and the woods show it.

Ann- I feel for you with all the shade. Having a bunch of shade too I'm still struggling with shade and sun loving plants. Trying to find the rights areas. It's amazing but as the season progress I find areas that were once strong sun are now all shade. It's been a learning process.

Helen- I had to laugh at your comment about good drainage. It wasn't until my hubby installed a drain that emptied out on the backside of that large mound in the back. We would get large standing puddles. The drain has been great and NOW allows for good drainage. I guess with most things you have to make it work for you.

Would love to see some gardens transformations pictures from you all. I just love to see what everyone else is doing in the world of gardening.

Best Regards,
Pam
sweetwm007
15 years ago
very nice and work does pay off!

william

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