Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

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Topic Author
Valdeselad
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:42 pm

Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by Valdeselad »

Hi All,

An off-topic question for sure, but I trust the wisdom and feedback of this community so it's usually where I start my searches. I'm looking for a recommendation for a website that could help with our landscaping/flower beds. Basically, we recently bought a home with lots of outdoor space and beds/areas around the house - they are in decent shape but could look a lot better IMO. However, I struggle when it comes to having a deep knowledge of plant varieties, design strategies, location-specific ideas, etc. and I don't necessarily want to go out and spend money on a landscape designer without any initial ideas.

I'd like to find a site where I could post pictures of the beds and folks would provide ideas and recommendations about how to structure the beds, changes to make, what to plant, placement, etc...sort of like a blog for landscape designers/architects to provide feedback.

Any ideas? Does anything like this exist?
The Wizard
Posts: 13356
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:45 pm
Location: Reading, MA

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by The Wizard »

Perhaps gardenweb.com.
I've used it more for outdoor tools than for plants...
Attempted new signature...
Topic Author
Valdeselad
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:42 pm

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by Valdeselad »

The Wizard wrote:Perhaps gardenweb.com.
I've used it more for outdoor tools than for plants...
Thanks @The Wizard - I'll check that out
barnaclebob
Posts: 5564
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:54 am

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by barnaclebob »

Give a vegetable garden some thought, highly rewarding but can also be frustrating while you get the hang of it.

At the very least you could look into some edible landscaping like blueberries.
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retiredjg
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Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by retiredjg »

If you are available and interested, check your local county agricultural extension office for a master gardener's class. You'll learn a lot.

If you don't have that much time, consider just taking pictures and going to the county extension office and asking questions. Sometimes they have a phone in "ask a gardener" type thing. Sometimes there will be a booth at festivals, etc. Sometimes you just go to the office and ask.

Sometimes a landscape person will just come out and do a walk through for a reasonable cost, answering questions about what might be planted here and there and what to avoid. This is much cheaper than having a design done. If you go this route, you need to have some idea about how much sun each area gets during the day. And take good notes during the walk through.

Keep an eye out for local garden tours. It is fascinating to see what other people have done and it will give you a lot of ideas of what you can do in your own yard.

A local garden club could also provide all the same type of information.

Good luck!
Topic Author
Valdeselad
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:42 pm

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by Valdeselad »

barnaclebob wrote:Give a vegetable garden some thought, highly rewarding but can also be frustrating while you get the hang of it.

At the very least you could look into some edible landscaping like blueberries.
Thanks @Barnaclebob - we actually do have a vegetable garden growing in the largest bed in the back. It's one of my favorite pastimes, even though the heat has been sweltering this month!

My lack of knowledge is more about non-vegetable stuff, so knowing various shrubs/bushes/flowers that be good long-term additions to various flower beds around the front of the house (both from an aesthetic and sustainability perspective)
Topic Author
Valdeselad
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:42 pm

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by Valdeselad »

retiredjg wrote:If you are available and interested, check your local county agricultural extension office for a master gardener's class. You'll learn a lot.

If you don't have that much time, consider just taking pictures and going to the county extension office and asking questions. Sometimes they have a phone in "ask a gardener" type thing. Sometimes there will be a booth at festivals, etc. Sometimes you just go to the office and ask.

Sometimes a landscape person will just come out and do a walk through for a reasonable cost, answering questions about what might be planted here and there and what to avoid. This is much cheaper than having a design done. If you go this route, you need to have some idea about how much sun each area gets during the day. And take good notes during the walk through.

Keep an eye out for local garden tours. It is fascinating to see what other people have done and it will give you a lot of ideas of what you can do in your own yard.

A local garden club could also provide all the same type of information.

Good luck!
Thanks @retiredjg - Great Advice! There is an extension office close by that I will look into.
The Wizard
Posts: 13356
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:45 pm
Location: Reading, MA

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by The Wizard »

Being that my GF is an experienced Master Gardener in RI, yes, I think that engaging their help *may* be a good idea, depending on where you are and the vitality of the local MG organization...
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mhalley
Posts: 10424
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:02 am

Re: Flower Garden/Landscape Bed Help

Post by mhalley »

You could look at some if the pre planned gardens suggested by some of the big garden suppliers, then post them fors fine tuning. A couple to start, google pre Planned garden
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/preplanned.html
http://www.prairienursery.com/store/pre ... c1T5p-COrU
http://www.bulbsdirect.com/index.php?/P ... aQod3EoCgA
Mike
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