Thanks for all these fantastic suggestions! Those all sound beautiful. This Is Op. To last PP - my goal is to have a landscape that look beautiful 365 days but I’m definitely not expecting blooms all the time- I think that would be unrealistic for me. Any tips for that planting plan would be greatly welcome. I appreciate everyone’s feedback so far - it’s been extremely insightful.

Also, in regards to timing when do I begin all these plantings end of March? Different times for different plants?

If you have a sunny spot, try zinnias. I buy 2 or 3 seed packs, sprinkle them on the ground, rake them a bit and then water regularly. They bloom by late June and last until early October. Zinnias are annuals, so I repeat each spring after the last frost.

First, protect your garden beds from deers, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, ground hogs, racoons...

After that, not very difficult to grow anything. Raised beds makes it easier.

If this will be your first spring and summer, the best thing (and hardest) to do is wait and observe.

When plants emerge and bloom, take photos. Start a garden photo journal.

Get to know your weeds -- lots will come up and for some you will wonder -- is this a weed or a perennial I can't identify? Once you figure it out, note it so you can pull the weeds early and leave the plants. Lots of trial and error at first. Take photos of the earliest emergence and the full form.

Watch where you do and do not get sun and draw a map of it.

Take walks around the neighborhood and note what is in bloom and doing well in neighbors yards and when they are in boom, where it is (sun/shade, N/S/E/W). Take photos.

Observe areas that are wet/dry/rocky/clay/fertile in your yard. See how long after a big rain it takes for various sport to dry out. Take photos. Different kinds of plant have different levels of success in various soils, so you need to get to know your soil, or you will waste a lot of time and money.

If you see neighbors out doing their own gardening, ask about issues with deer and rabbits.

While you wait and observe your yard's existing rhythm and learn about neighboring plants that do well in your area, satisfy your green thumb with container plants, invest in compost to improve the soil everywhere in your yard, and take care of existing trees and shrubs, which will be the foundation of your landscape. Plant annuals in spots where you have no evidence of plants growing by mid-May.

In the winter, gather all of your data and garden catalogs and start to plan where to add additional shrubs, perennials, and fill in areas for annuals.

Anonymous wrote:If it's mostly shade - I would do a mix of these standbys.

For blooms:
- astilbe - early June
- foxglove - May
- anemones - late summer/early fall
- bulbs for early spring - they will bloom before the leaves come out - I love tulips but they do not naturalize. Daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops are good for coming back.
- coneflowers will grow anywhere - if you like bees/butterflies/birds - they are great for that.
- Add impatiens (annual) for color throughout summer.
- hellebores for early, early spring.

For greenery - hostas and ferrns are great for shade.

Azaleas and hygrangeas do well in high shade - which is taller trees so they get some light. Azaleas bloom in late spring, hydrangeas in June/July.

Camellias too - bloom in late fall or winter.

Beauty berry bush is awesome for fall...bright purple berries.

ANd I'll stop now!

This is a better list than the petunias and impatiens above but still too heavy on things deer will destroy. OP Astilbes are pretty but each individual variety will bloom for about 10 days so, while you could plant a variety of early mid and late bloomers-the actual plant isnt that nice to fill your garden with. Hellebores as mentioned are nice all year found (flowers for 3 months) but theyre more of a ground cover than a flower.

If you don’t want to invest in professional help (in your situation I could create a planting plan that would look lovely 365 days a year-though its not gonna be riotous blloms all the time!) then your best bet is to look at what grows well in your neighborhood, see what comes up
in your yard. Go to garden tours (the Georgetown Garden tour is a great way to see nice residential landscapes.)

If it's mostly shade - I would do a mix of these standbys.

For blooms:
- astilbe - early June
- foxglove - May
- anemones - late summer/early fall
- bulbs for early spring - they will bloom before the leaves come out - I love tulips but they do not naturalize. Daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops are good for coming back.
- coneflowers will grow anywhere - if you like bees/butterflies/birds - they are great for that.
- Add impatiens (annual) for color throughout summer.
- hellebores for early, early spring.

For greenery - hostas and ferrns are great for shade.

Azaleas and hygrangeas do well in high shade - which is taller trees so they get some light. Azaleas bloom in late spring, hydrangeas in June/July.

Camellias too - bloom in late fall or winter.

Beauty berry bush is awesome for fall...bright purple berries.

ANd I'll stop now!

Op here again. I’d love any suggestions for flowers to plant in the cutting garden.

Thanks PP! Op here. I love cutting garden idea! That’s perfect. I was also wondering if I have a large border of Astilbes would those do/look ok if I occasionally cut here and here for a vase arrangement? Thanks for all these wonderful suggestions!

Since you're interested in having cut flowers throughout the summer, think about making a small cutting garden. Ideally, it would be in a space that gets a decent amount of sun, but is inconspicuous. Cutting gardens don't look pretty, because as soon as a plant blooms, you harvest it. So, a space behind a garage, or an unused corner is perfect. The advantage is that you get a steady supply of flowers, but don't detract from your landscaping beds. You can fill the cutting garden with annuals, because most will bloom throughout the summer.

Another suggestion, some you have a lot of shade, learn how to use foliage in your flower arrangements.

Thanks, PP for the insight! We don’t actually get as much sun as I’d like because our yard and neighbors have lots of tall old trees and several pine trees. It’s quite a bit of shade. We dongetveatervrun off as well from the hill behind us. Good food for thought!

OP: if the house facing SW, it should get lots of sun.

But either way, wherever the sun is now (March) is where the sun will be in the fall (6 months from now). Add height to the sun, and that’s where it will be during the summer months.
So find the sunniest spot and plant.
If you have room in the ground, put in some decent topsoil and plants. If no ground to work with, try 2-3 planters or pots. I have sun on my driveway only, so I plant herbs and put in annuals in pots on my driveway!

Also, if you are new to the home and this is your first summer, I advise against spending a lot of money and making a lot of adjustments to plant things. You will want to see where the sun hits, where the rains run through your yard, what vermin/birds/deer/dogs will show up in the warmer months, etc.

I spent a bunch of money on some flowering shrubs only to find out I planted them in a flood path (we get heavy rainstorms her!) and they all died from root rot.

Lesson learned. I still move plants around constantly when I realized I planted them in the wrong place.

- go to the local nursery and ask about shade loving and partial sun plants.
- but topsoil and if needed, containers
- if you’re pregnant, wear gloves while digging!
- buy a watering can and a sun hat!
- take notes. I keep a journal for where I planted perennials and bulbs

Ideas for this summer:
Good for shade: (these are annuals) - begonia or impatiens (if they’re good this year), any floral annuals (vinca)
Sun: vincas, petunias, anything that you see at the garden store or in the pop-up garden places in the parking lots
Plants sunflower seeds (they bring birds!) or zucchini / squash seeds.

Good luck!

That was me ,OP, above too.

Thanks for the advice! We do live near a large green space/park and the previews owners had hostas that were clearly eaten by deer. We’d love a herb and vegetable garden too!

I am fairly new to all of it myself – we bought a home in the suburbs a few years ago and each spring and summer has been something of an experiment with both flowers and a vegetable garden. If there are deer around where you are I would highly suggest planting things that are deer resistant, or investing in some deer proof fencing. It does not have to be fancy or expensive – I use metal stakes and plastic fencing material.

We just bought our first home and I love flowers. I grew up in an old Apple farm and we always had large beautiful gardens that flourished. I used to be outside slot with mom when she was gardening but I really know nothing about starting from scratch. We have quite a bit of shade with front of house facing SW. We also have a large sloped upward hill in our narrow backyard.

I would love to be able to clip flowers for vases all summer long. One flower I have in mind is Astilbes since they are shade torlerant. I love hydrangea and rose bishes as well but not sure I can pull those off. Anyway, please help me in where to start to achieve a floral garden in our new yard.

Step by step ideas and basic advice - anything and all tips welcome and appreciate! Thanks!