I would also like to know what to plant that will cascade over a 5ft brick wall and needs little care. I love anything that flowers and like to mix up the colors with different things growing all around the yard. My husband says I am taking on too much in one year. But I just hate seeing identical houses lined down our subdivision with all the same plants, same sidewalk with no flowers, same trees, etc.

Hey Kay,

It's late, so I've gotta be brief. I would plant ASAP!!! Don't leave them in the fridge! They will have a much much better chance of survival planted outside. Most trees, shrubs, and hardy perennials can be planted (in this part of the country) anytime between mid fall to early/mid spring as long as the ground is not frozen too hard to dig.

Wow, it's great to see such enthusiasm from a newbie gardener!

Most experienced gardeners will tell you the first rule is to invest in amending your beds/soil. While there are many native plantings that will survive in our clay soil, many plants will never thrive unless the soil has the nutrients needed and the soil is loose enough to allow for drainage.

A quick solution can be to add raised beds. These can be elaborate with edging or simple raised berms. A load of good topsoil amended with compost/manure will go a long way towards giving you great beds.

Regarding you seedlings, you may want to start hardening off your seedlings by placing them outside in indirect sunlight on mild days - but bring them inside at night. Our average last frost day is around April 9. If you plant them outside before then, you will need to cover them any time temps drop in the 30's. I plant many of my perennial seedlings in late March, but am prepared to cover them if the weather turns cooler. It's not unusual to see a variety of covers used from frost cloth, to clear plastic domes, to buckets and boxes!

There are lots of great threads here on basic gardening, which you may want to read. But if I were you, I would also consider purchasing a basic gardening book or two. Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens both have basic gardening books that describe many of the basics of planting, starting plants from seeds, etc.

Starting perennials from seed can be a cost effect way to get started, but many perennials grown from seed may take 2-3 years to reach blooming size. A good gardening guide with descriptions of plants can help in understanding size of mature plants,hardiness zones, light and watering requirements, etc.

And most of all, have fun! Every growing season for me is filled with successes and failures. Through this process, I am still learning what plants do well for me.