New to gardening... kind of overwhelmed!

[~Sherry~]

So hubby and I bought our first home in December. The home was empty for 2 years before we bought it. Needless to say, our yard is in disarray. We have numerous flower beds and a nice sized garden and they seem to be well stocked with perrennial stuff... but there are dead leaves packed on top of much of them as well as dead stems with new ones growing up underneath them. I am in the process of carefully raking the leaves off of them and snipping off all of the old dead growth.

This is all very foreign to me but so fun and exciting! It seems like every day I go for a walk around the yard and see something new and beautiful. My mother-in-law stopped over today and went for a little walk around with me to help me identify some of the things sprouting up. We have Crocus, Daffodils, Tulips, Hydrangea, Hyacinth, Peonies, Daisies, Statice, tons of Roses... Apple trees, Cranberry bushes, Sage, Parsley, Chives, Lemon Mint... and a whole bunch of stuff that we can't identify yet till it shows itself a bit more. So exciting!!

This is going to turn into a process... I want to keep the flowers, but my kids want to grow some veggies. So we'll find a happy medium. Try to move things over time. I told them we may do container veggies on the deck this year until we can sort out the garden and see what's what.

So anyone have any words of wisdom for me as I begin this adventure into gardening??

[Contrary Housewife]

Sounds like you're doing just fine. Rake and snip and identify what you have and make plans.

If you have some open spots and you'd like to plant something easy, lettuce is quick to grow once it warms up.

[frugalfranny]

GO SLOW!!!

Sounds like you are doing great......but find out what you already have before tearing things up.

This also gives you time to study the light/sun that comes into the yard as the daylight changes/days get longer........sounds strange but it can make a BIG difference.

(IE: by the end of July, the north side of my house is in almost full sun during our hottest part of the day.)

[MsMarieH]

What an exciting adventure. I would definitely try not to plant any new plants in the existing perennial beds this year. Take this time to learn what all is out there, the light patterns in your yard (as mentioned above), the prevailing winds, the flow of water after storms, etc. Some plants may be late risers. You can also post pictures here and we can probably help you identify some of the stuff.

But I do vote for putting in a vegetable garden (even if it is just containers) to share with the kids. Sounds like you already have a great start on an herb garden.

[Spirit Deer]

Get the Square Foot Gardening book from the library. In it are instructions for a kids' garden in a 4x4 area. That would provide a place of their very own to grow what they want, and still not take much room. Or you could even make two 2x4 gardens, one for each of them. If you build boxes for those, they could be moved around if need be. There are instructions for movable SFG in the book, too.

Containers are a good idea, too.

[~Sherry~]

Thanks, girls!
I was outside today raking a bit. I have come to the conclusion that I think the leaves were piled on the beds on purpose to protect the plants. The actual yard has been raked, but the beds are packed with a thick layer of dead leaves. What do you think?
Anyways I am raking those off and bagging them to go to the compost site here in town. Lots of work but I am enjoying being outside!

I will look for that book, Spirit Deer.
Any good websites out there that will teach me how to identify and care for perennials and veggies?

Good idea, MsMarieH! I am going to run out right now and take a pic of something we couldn't identify and see if you girls know what it is... stay tuned!

[Spirit Deer]

Google for the U of M extension service and you'll get all sorts of gardening info from their website. Faribault County's website probably has an extension service, too. Also check the library for gardening books.

It does sound like the leaves were put on the garden as mulch in the fall.

You're in Zone 4, so if you're shopping for plants and seeds, keep that in mind. Most things sold at garden centers in your area should be suitable for growing there.

Forgot to say, congrats on the new house!

[~Sherry~]

Thanks, Spirit Deer!

Ok... here's the unidentified plant. I have a bunch of these. Lke I said they weren't cut off last year so we have the dead plants with the new ones growing up under them. I have been breaking off the old stuff the best I can but not much else I can do without tearing up the new growth.

From Drop Box

[MsMarieH]

That is a sedum, most likely 'Autumn Joy', as it is one of the most popular cultivars in the nurseries. It's a beautiful roundy moundy knee high(ish) plant that flowers in the late summer/early fall with beautiful pink/bronze flowers (yours might be a different color if it is a different sedum variety). The flowers are very attractive to butterflies and bees. I leave mine up all winter (great winter interest with frost on it), and cut them all down in early March (in my zone five garden) when the plant is just barely starting to get new basal growth. Great easy care, low maintenance plant and drought tolerant. You can use hand pruners to trim back the old foliage. They are super tough plants - I had one once in a garbage bag dug up from my brothers and didn't get around to planting it - it sat on my driveway all summer (Memorial Day until Labor Day) with me not really even watering it and yet it survived and thrived and flowered shortly after I finally got it planted.

Yes, it's quite possible the leaves were used as a free mulch. I do it myself in parts of my garden.

If the prior owner was as much a gardener as it sounds like, I wouldn't be surprised if you have a composting area tucked away somewhere on the property. You should consider making your own compost with the grass clippings you will soon have, instead of taking those leaves away.

One of the best books out there for maintenance of perennials is [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Well-Tended-Perennial-Garden-Planting-Techniques/dp/0881928038/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302716505&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques (9780881928037): Tracy DiSabato-Aust: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/613qW7UIHpL.@@AMEPARAM@@613qW7UIHpL[/ame] GREAT tips.

There are thousands of field guides for identifying plants. Hard to say which is best. I'll check my shelves at home, since I know I have a good half dozen or more for perennial identification.

[~Sherry~]

Very interesting! Thank you, MsMarieH!
As I was bagging leaves this morning I was actually wondering how hard the compost thing would be...

[MsMarieH]

If you make a vegetable garden and you plan to till it, you could actually till some of those leaves into the garden. They are good for the soil.

I say, go for it with a compost pile! Composting at its heart is really easy. Nature WANTS to break down! We're just helping the process along.

The general rule of thumb would be to make a pile that will be at least a 3 foot cube when done (bigger is ok). Put down alternating layers of "greens" - "fresh" moist stuff (grass clippings, weed trimmings without seeds, used coffee grounds, kitchen vegetable scraps, etc.), "browns" (leaves, shredded paper/newspaper, straw, etc.), (say roughly 4" each ish), a shovel or two of dirt or compost (to introduce good bacteria to the pile), then water a bit (so it's evenly moist throughout the pile as you build it). Then repeat those layers.

Once you have the pile all built up, mix it up with a pitchfork (much easier than a shovel). Then walk away. You can come back every so often (daily, weekly, whatever you feel like - the more often, the faster it decomposes) and turn the pile. The pile should smell earthy (like a forest floor) and the moisture level should be like a damp wrung out sponge.

Do NOT add meat or dairy products or greasy items. These will go rancid, smell and attract critters.

Manure like horse/cow/chicken/rabbit is ok (although some can bring weed seeds that may or may not get killed depending on how "hot" your pile gets). Do NOT add carnivore manure like cat or dog (ahem or human - although urine is actually good for the pile).

If your pile seems super slow to decompose, you may need to add a little more greens.

If you pile seems to be smelling a bit or a little slimy, add more browns and turn it. (Going slimy or bad smelling usually indicates it has gone anaerobic - think about what a bag of grass clippings smells like if you left it in a garbage can or bag for a week).

The pile can take a few weeks to a few months to decompose, but it WILL decompose eventually.

Composting is one of the best things you can do for your garden - from a healthy garden perspective as well as a sustainability and good steward of the earth perspective. Many studies have shown the value of compost (and compost tea) in plant health. It acts as an amendment, a fertilizer, a mulch, a soil conditioner and more.

[~Sherry~]

Oh wow! Thank you for all of that info!

[~Sherry~]

From Drop Box

Well things are going well! We got the garden tilled up. Today the kids and I planted peas, tomatoes, and radishes. Tomorrow we will plant carrots, cucumbers, and pumpkins.

[craftypam]

I'm afraid to put my cucumbers and tomatoes out yet. Our weather just won't warm up. What is your temperature Sherry?
Did you plant seeds?

[~Sherry~]

Gosh I hope we didn't jump the gun... its been in the mid 60s and the 70s here. We're just so excited!
We started seeds inside a few weeks ago... planting the little seedlings in the garden.