Tag: New Hampshire

Shipping From Online Growers is a Problem

Park Village recently received recognition fro...
Image via Wikipedia

I planned to buy my Fall plants from online sources, but I am finding this to be a BIG problem.  Miller Nurseries has been a favorite of mine but they won’t ship until next Spring.  I don’t want to wait that long.  I want to get started planting my perennial gardens now.  Also the Arbor Day Foundation site has lots of what I’d like to have, but they don’t ship until November.  What’s the point?  I might have snow on the ground by then.  I just don’t get it.

I am also having lots of trouble finding hydrangeas to buy at this time of year in my area of New Hampshire.

I realize that the growing season up here is short.  I also realize that most people are done gardening by now.  But some of us aren’t and why won’t you sell to us?  I don’t want to plant my shrubs in 20 degree weather in November.  It’s not fun for me and won’t be too great for the shrubs either!

I am disappointed, but still hopeful.  I picked up a nice, dark red flowering Rhododendron at Tenney Farms today and a rust red Day Lily.  I’ll get more Rhodos for the side yard as I pass by the Farm, but they are expensive.  I could really be saving money by ordering online – if only they would ship to me!

**Update:  I have found a couple of online places (links on the sidebar) who will ship in August.

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Too Late To Garden?

A couple of daylilies (Hemerocallis) in spring...
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It’s July already and I just moved out of my rental and into a new home! Yes, I am very excited. All the moving and unpacking has kept me away from the computer and more importantly, it’s kept me out of the yard. And this yard – my new yard – needs a lot of help. Not a flower is to be seen, and all the shrubs – ahh, small trees – are overgrown.

This house sat empty for about a year and apparently the previous owners weren’t very good at outdoor upkeep so I have my hands full.

Although I’d love to get to gardening, there is an issue with grading the land to get rainwater away from the house so I won’t do too much until that is taken care of.

It feels like I’ve spent this entire year buying a house. I started looking in March and then found this place in April, and just moved in July 11th. I’ve missed planting, weeding, picking flowers and all the summer fun of blueberry picking and mountain hiking. All my efforts have been towards home-ownership. It’s well worth it, but I have a feeling of not living among the world.

So, is it too late, when August is right around the corner, to think about gardening? No!!! In fact, I know that many plants need to be planted in Fall. It’s the second best time of year to plant (other than Spring).

Unfortunately, most of the great looking plants have been bought already, but the positive aspect would be finding bargains in the perennial section.  I was at Tenney Farms in Antrim the other day and picked up a couple of yellow (Stella d’oro) day-lilies, a white phlox, and red coneflower.  The hydrangeas have all been bought, of course, but I have other favorites and the Stella d’oro will bloom for such a long time.  I also love daylilies because they are easy to divide and one plant can become several over the years.

So it’s not too late to garden but planting hydrangeas might have to wait until next Spring.

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Give Shrubs Plenty of Space

Our Home / Virginia Creeper
Image by bill barber via Flickr

Any time you add a new shrub or tree to the landscape, it needs to be planted in an area where it will have all it needs to thrive, including plenty of space to spread out.

How many times have you seen a yard with huge plantings covering the front of the house.  Windows might be blocked or walkways overgrown so badly that it makes you wonder why on earth those big plants were put there.  The simple answer is that the size of the plantings were not taken into consideration.

When you come home from the nursery, most likely you will be carrying a fairly small and manageable bush.  It may be difficult to imagine that one day it will be 4 feet wide, but if that is what the tag says (or your research), then you must plan accordingly. Before you leave the plant stand, ask someone if you aren’t sure what you are buying. There is always the internet too.

No amount of trimming will help if your hydrangea shrub is too close to the house. The natural beauty will be hindered if it can’t grown the way it was meant to. In fact planting near a foundation is a bad idea anyway, so find a nice sunny spot in the yard to put your hydrangea and make sure that you have a hose that will reach it for those dry days.

There are many types of hydrangeas and for the most part you can plan on them growing at least 3-4 feet in all directions, but chick on the type you want to grow to be sure because some will grow much larger.

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