Probably, the easiest thing to start with would be herbs, if you buy them potted. Chose the ones you like to use, plant them with a 6 -12 inches distance. You may harvest the greens whole summer long. If you brave enough to do mistakes - just chose the plants you would like to grow from what is available in the store. I wouldn't recommend to start anything from seeds first year(with exception of beans, lettuce and radishes). Do some reading on the plants you want in the internet - you can ask particular questions here and people will answer based on their experience, but you have to educate yourself from other sources as well - there are a lot of them in the internet. Just do not use WIKI and e-how - the information there is very shallow and sometimes wrong. When you chose what plants you want, you can either send me an email or post them here. I will try to give you links to the proper articles to read about them. But you need to do it fast. Time to start lettuce and radishes already here. For transplants you can wait couple more weeks, but not more - plants in the stores will overgrow their pots and they do not receive new ones by the end of the selling season. Few things to consider right away: 1) if you going to the store to buy plants, it will be great to take some experience gardener with you to help to choose proper plants. 2) If you go alone, choose plants that looks fresh and green, without spots on the leaves. 3) Do not try to buy "more" plants in the same pot - the more they crowded, the more they struggle to grow. 4) When buying plants, keep in mind, that if plants were grown under glass they need "hardening" - gradual exposing them to sun and cool air. Even if plants are outside when you buy them it doesn't mean they already properly hardened(they are usually on multilayer crates and shading each other). So always set your newly bought plants in the light shade for a day or two before planting and expose them to the sun gradually, or use some bamboo sticks and old lace curtain to make artificial shade after you planted them for couple days.. Good luck!

Hi. Seven years ago we bought a farm with no trees or shrubs on it - nothing. Since then we have planted Kentucky Coffee trees, Saskatoons, Sugar Maple, Oaks, Ash, Russian Olivea, Hawthorns and some Crabapples. For shrubs we planted dogwoods, elders, highbush cranberry bushes, weigelias, potentilla, Explorer roses. Our farm is located in Z5a, between Barrie and Collingwood. Hope this gives you some ideas about the trees. Marg

The first one is a redbud tree, Cercis canadensis. Number two - that is incredible, I've not seen anything like it. Where is this located (city,state)? Are the leaves really silver colored? Otherwise it reminds me a bit in structure of wax myrtle. Number 3 is a wild Rubus, something like blackberry. Four, I am not sure, what does the foliage look like? Five looks like a Baptisia, as does #6.

Solidago caesia is called bluestem or wreath goldenrod. Zigzag goldenrod is S. flexicaulis. I grow them both and neither is invasive for me. Both are fine garden plants for shade, along with S. erecta, wand goldenrod. All three offer different form and leaf color as well as flower presentation. Here in middle TN they bloom in August and September, which isn't that late in this climate, anyway. Soeur