What I'm Growing this Year
Seeds
Tomato- Go back to the Chadwick Cherry tomato from Burpee
Broccoli-Gurney worked well, got some decent heads, growing again. The netting from the very first minute after planting is essential to keep the moths out. Make a cage attach the netting to it. Looks neater and will be easier to work with.Zucchini- Gurney These came up, produced flowers, but never any zuchinni. Try Burpee?
Nasturtiums- Empress of India-Strictly Medicinal Seeds Both of these did well this year, grow again next year.
Borage Fertilizer Tea
Cover borage leaves in a small amount of water in a sealed container for two weeks for a concentrated fertilizer tea. Use the strained solution with water in a 1:10 ratio every couple of weeks on your garden, applied either as a foliar feed or at soil level.
Hardneck garlic varieties (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon), as their name implies, are generally hardier than softneck varieties. Hardneck varieties are the best option for Northern gardeners. They tend to form fewer cloves per bulb than softneck varieties, but they are most often a bit larger. Plant in the fall just before the last frost. Harvest 240 days from planting, probably around July 4.
White Sage- Western Mugwort, (Artemisia ludoviciana)- Strictly Medicinal Seeds Came on REALLY slowly in the pots. Maybe will do better once it's in the herb bed.
Basil- use leftover seeds
Lavender- This year, try Munstead Lavender from the Hudson Valley Seed Company. These are supposed to be cold hardy lavender. Remember that lavender take two years to establish anyway.
Marigold- Strawberry Blonde- Burpees- Prettier marigold than the orange ones. Plant in the visible sections of the garden. Save the rest of the seeds for next year.The blond marigold did turn blond after starting out reddish orange. Might not be worth the extra cost.
Thyme- English thyme from Hudson Valley Seed Co.
Seedlings or Crowns
Rhubarb- Chipman's Canada Red Rhubarb Gurney-Order another plant since the first one got eaten. by something. It might come up, otherwise, you still want lots anyway! Wait to harvest the second or third year.
Driveway Bed
Inspiration from Gardenia.net. Rework this bed to make it cleaner. Move the hostas to the side of the house and move the Russian sage (catmint?) to the back of the slope.
Dig out the existing dirt and make it worse! for the lavender. Buy one bag (2?) of poultry grit from Tractor Supply to make the soil well-draining. Use Yarrow and Sedum October Daphne to set off the Lavender. Maybe the Munstead lavender will do better than the lavender in the garden. Remember that it won't flower the first year.
Front Slope Seeds to Start
Salvia- Victoria- Burpee- There are already three tall, spiky flowers in this bed, so don't go crazy with these. Save remaining seeds for next year.
Cornflower Blue Boy- Burpee- Start as many seeds as possible, and then direct sow the rest to fill in the middle section of the bed. This will go together in the same space as the Nigella and Yarrow. These plants are good for filling in the spaces between the clumping plants. I am not really looking for a cottage garden look, but more of a formal border, so I'm not really sure these flowers work for my plan.
Zinnia White Wedding- Burpee- Start as many seeds as possible, and then direct sow the rest. Make big groupings of this at the front of the bed as they are only 6" high.
White Yarrow- Achillea Millefolium- Outside Pride and Baker Creek. Start as many seeds as possible, (Winter Sowing) and then direct sow the rest. Use at the back of the slope as it gets 36" high. Interplant with Nigella and Cornflower. Apparently this is a dynamic accumulator plant, so harvest and add to compost and top dress veggie beds.
Slope- Plants
Catmint- Walker's Low- Burpee It seems the you can't buy seeds for this variety, so I bought one plant. Plan to divide in three years. Move existing catmint from the driveway bed to the top of the slope.
Silver Carpet Lambs' Ear - High Country Gardens
These did well and will probably continue to spread. Buy two more for 2023, plant one in the Front Slope and plant one by birdbath. Dig up the best one and give it to Teagan (Karys' sister) along with whatever potted lavender best makes it through the winter.
Phlox- Phlox paniculata Blue Flame dwarf and Phlox-Phlox paniculata Flame® PRO White- This seems like the perfect plant for the front slope, it likes full sun and only gets 12-20" tall , 18" wide. Get two plants each of blue and white to use in the front of the slope.
Daisy- Blue Disc African Daisy Baker Creek Seeds-
These are so cute and I am very excited about them. It's easy to grow from seed and thrives in poor soil that is well drained. Drought tolerant once established. It's an annual, so if I like it, I'll have to start seeds every year, but it might be worth it.
Salvia Salvia farinacea Sirius Blue Sage- Baker Creek Seeds- Tender perennial, so we'll see if it survivies from year to year. I just don't know if there are Salvia that don't need to be re-planted from year to year. Use at the front of the bed as it is 16" high.
Nigella Miss Jekyll Mix Love-in-a-Mist Nigella damascena- Baker Creek Seeds- Interesting flowers, it's more of a cottage garden flower, so not sure that I'll keep this long term, but we'll see. Use in the middle of the slope with cornflower, rose campion and yarrow.
Hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla Blue Jangles- Obviously this is the perfect plant for a blue and white bed. Not quite sure if this spot is really good for a hydrangea. Prefers dappled shade or morning sun with afternoon shade. I will also probably have to water it every week, even after it gets established.
Delphinium Delphinium Belladonna Mix - Tall, mix of blues and whites, use at the back of the bed, needs support.
Dianthus Siberian Blues' Seeds- Park Seed- Seems pretty cool flower well suited to the slope. Shirt-lived perennial, so save the seeds and re-seed every other year.
Rose Campion- Rose Campion white Evening Lychnis seeds- Seedville USA
Wildflower Bed
I covered the area in cardboard and tarp for the summer. In late fall of 2022, I cleared the area and broadcast Eastern Pollinator mix from Hudson Valley Seeds. If it works out and the flowers come up nicely, buy two more 4 ounce bags. Reseed the left side and also seed the newly cleared area.
Eastern Pollinator mix- Annual and perennial mix contains Partridge Pea, Purple Coneflower, Coreopsis, Indian Blanket, Wild Sunflower, Perennial Lupine, Butterfly Milkweed, Wild Indigo, Spiderwort, Eastern Columbine, Lemon Mint, New England Asters, Showy Tick Trefoil, Black-Eyed Susan, Lavender Hyssop, New England Asters, Plains Coreopsis, Spotted Bee Balm, and Gray Golden Rod.
Milkweed- Northern - Syriaca- Live Monarch
Green Twister Coneflower- Died quickly after planting. It was a cool idea, but it might not work. Maybe it will come up again? Maybe try another source?
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