I'd like to get into gardening. Teach me how!

[Anonymous]

So, we are about to close on our first house. I've actually never had a yard that I've maintained myself. I either lived in condos (growing up and adulthood) or lived in a house that had professional landscapers.

I'd like to slowly build up a really attractive flower garden. My backyard is sloped away from my house, there's a small hill in the middle of the backyard and then sort of backs parkland and a creek (further down the hill, I think). It's got really high trees and is somewhat shady. I'm not exactly sure if it gets enough light for grass, but I'd love to hear people's ideas and tips as I start this new hobby!

[Anonymous]

I just bought a house about 2 years ago, and my tips are:

1) wait a full year before you start taking things out and buying a lot of stuff. Take pictures of the yard at different seasons, see what gets light, what's already there, and what flowers. If you absolutely can't wait that long to get your hands in the dirt, buy some annuals to put around the walkway and door and maybe in pots. But see what you're working with before you decide to change anything.

2) go for walks around your new neighborhood and see what other people are growing so you know what works for the area. If you want a flower garden, make sure you think about what blooms when, so you don't have a beautiful yard in the spring and then nothing the rest of the year. Look for things blooming in your neighbors' yards that are pretty and do well in shade.

[Anonymous]

Be realistic about how much time you can spare or want to spend on maintenance, unless you're hiring help.

[Anonymous]

Also, be aware of the wildlife around your property. Do you have frequent visits by deer? It will save you lots of $ to plant things the wildlife won't be tempted by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, we are about to close on our first house. I've actually never had a yard that I've maintained myself. I either lived in condos (growing up and adulthood) or lived in a house that had professional landscapers.

I'd like to slowly build up a really attractive flower garden. My backyard is sloped away from my house, there's a small hill in the middle of the backyard and then sort of backs parkland and a creek (further down the hill, I think). It's got really high trees and is somewhat shady. I'm not exactly sure if it gets enough light for grass, but I'd love to hear people's ideas and tips as I start this new hobby!

Congratulations on the house.

I would think about what it is you want out of a garden--entertaining space, vegetables, just something pretty to look at, etc.

Measure your space, test your soil, note sun/shade etc. There are lots of existing resources from the DMV on how to do this as well as info for basic maintenance, e.g.,:
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/earth-friendly-landscaping
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG306_How_to_Measure_Your_Yard.pdf
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/information-library/monthly-tips-hgicgiei

If you're looking to grow grass in shade, I think it will be a very boring and frustrating hobby. My neighbor did it with a lot of determination and water, but it took years. I would look to "ground covers" that are native; try red fescue or Pennsylvania sedge.

Native is not just better for our environment and easier for you as a home owner. There's a reason why certain plants are native--b/c they can thrive in their native environment and save you from a huge water bill. The problem is that invasive plants thrive and take over native plants. They are hard to kill and that's why you see them for sale everywhere like Home Depot and Lowes.

Lots of beautiful plants thrive in shade. This is the greatest guide ever for the DMV: https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf

If you're on a slope, I would seriously look into Bayscape and water conservation management resources for home gardeners as well.

[Anonymous]

Here's a basic home maintenance guide: https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/locations/frederick_county/MG%20Gardener%20Guide%20MD%202-12.pdf

UMD keeps changing the link and I had to search the DCUM archives to find it!

[Anonymous]

Figure out where the most sun is. Flowers usually need lots of sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Figure out where the most sun is. Flowers usually need lots of sun.

Not necessarily. If you don't have a lot of sun, there are lovely flowering shrubs and understory trees that do great in shade, e.g.:

azaleas at the U.S. Arboretum Shade Garden:


Rhododendrons at Brookside Gardens:


See page 69 for Woodland plants:
https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf

[Anonymous]

I'm a big fan of edible gardening. Put fruit trees in sunny spots. In a few years you will be thrilled you did!

[Anonymous]

OP, I find the biggest problem for new homeowners in your situation is that they don't understand how much work it is or how they have to remember the basic care of plants. I've seen so many new homeowners that spend significant amounts of money and get 1 or 2 seasons out of nice plants, don't care for them well and the plants die and they don't understand what happened.

I recommend that you start some less expensive indoor plants and go through decade and feeding of them for a season and then decide if you have the discipline to care for them before you spend a lot of money on outdoor landscaping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I find the biggest problem for new homeowners in your situation is that they don't understand how much work it is or how they have to remember the basic care of plants. I've seen so many new homeowners that spend significant amounts of money and get 1 or 2 seasons out of nice plants, don't care for them well and the planets die and they don't understand what happened.

I recommend that you start some less expensive indoor plants and go through decade and feeding of them for a season and then decide if you have the discipline to care for them before you spend a lot of money on outdoor landscaping.

I'm the exact opposite. I can't grow anything indoors but outdoors my plants flourish. I clearly need Mother Nature to back up my judgement and memory loss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Figure out where the most sun is. Flowers usually need lots of sun.

Not necessarily. If you don't have a lot of sun, there are lovely flowering shrubs and understory trees that do great in shade, e.g.:

azaleas at the U.S. Arboretum Shade Garden:


Rhododendrons at Brookside Gardens:


See page 69 for Woodland plants:
https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf

Azaleas and rhodies look fabulous for exactly 2-3 weeks a year and ugly for the remainder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a big fan of edible gardening. Put fruit trees in sunny spots. In a few years you will be thrilled you did!

We don't have a good climate for fruit trees in DC, too hot and humid. Will be hard to keep diseases away without spraying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Figure out where the most sun is. Flowers usually need lots of sun.

Not necessarily. If you don't have a lot of sun, there are lovely flowering shrubs and understory trees that do great in shade, e.g.:

azaleas at the U.S. Arboretum Shade Garden:


Rhododendrons at Brookside Gardens:


See page 69 for Woodland plants:
https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf

Azaleas and rhodies look fabulous for exactly 2-3 weeks a year and ugly for the remainder.

Agree (especially about azaleas, which are also overplanted), but there are other flowering shrubs that tolerate shade, such as camellias and hydrangeas, or natives like sweetshrub.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the poster that said DC doesn't have good weather for fruit trees. How do you explain the farms in MD and VA with similar weather? We are in the District and have an apricot and three apple trees and they do really well.