Brand new to outdoor gardening - variety of dumb questions within
May 24, 2022 1:40 PM Subscribe
I live in a zone 8 region. I'm interested mainly in planting ornamental grasses, fragrant plants and herbs such as lavender, rosemary, and sage. I also adore succulents, and have researched some that seem hardy in zone 8, but not sure if they can grow in the same conditions as grass and herbs. I would prefer low-maintenance. Cats keep using the garden as a litter box. I have no idea what to buy or how to begin, help!
Do I try to grow these plants from seed, or should I look for a nursery that will sell me baby plants that are ready to be planted directly into the garden? Is it too late in the year to grow most plants from seed?
I love the look of gardens where the ground is covered in pebbles and rocks, but would I be better off using bark mulch as cover? Hopefully either would discourage weeds, but I'm mainly interested in discouraging the neighborhood cats from using the soil as a litter box, which they have done to the point where I now have to remove most of the soil from the garden beds as they are disgusting.
Can ground-covering succulents grown in the same conditions as grasses? Should the herbs go in their own little area? How do I know how much soil to buy? How many bags of rocks? Is it trial and error?
This is all I can think of for now, but I'm sure more questions will arise as I continue going down this rabbit hole.
Do I try to grow these plants from seed, or should I look for a nursery that will sell me baby plants that are ready to be planted directly into the garden? Is it too late in the year to grow most plants from seed?
I love the look of gardens where the ground is covered in pebbles and rocks, but would I be better off using bark mulch as cover? Hopefully either would discourage weeds, but I'm mainly interested in discouraging the neighborhood cats from using the soil as a litter box, which they have done to the point where I now have to remove most of the soil from the garden beds as they are disgusting.
Can ground-covering succulents grown in the same conditions as grasses? Should the herbs go in their own little area? How do I know how much soil to buy? How many bags of rocks? Is it trial and error?
This is all I can think of for now, but I'm sure more questions will arise as I continue going down this rabbit hole.
Best answer: Great news! Grasses, rosemary, lavender, and succulents (I love sedums) all LOVE to live in rock gardens and they all grow well in zone 8. Rocks are also a great mulch, they hold moisture well and keep weeds out as long as you use large enough rocks or a deep enough layer of pebbles. They can get impacted easily so be aware of that if you're ever going to want to dig them out. Rock gardens are easy to build.
Agree with the advice to buy plants instead of growing from seed. When you go to buy your plants, ask the people working at the local nursery for advice. They can give you the best tips for your specific area. Here is some solid basic advice for gardening in your zone.
Plant your fragrant herbs near pathways for maximum enjoyment.
Grasses are excellent for soil retention so you'll want to intersperse them throughout your garden. Succulents can spread quickly and make lovely ground cover creeping over rocks. In your zone the rosemary and lavender will both stay evergreen and form small bushes. You can also find creeping rosemary.
The most important thing is to water your new garden deeply and regularly as it gets established. Have fun!
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 2:05 PM on May 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Agree with the advice to buy plants instead of growing from seed. When you go to buy your plants, ask the people working at the local nursery for advice. They can give you the best tips for your specific area. Here is some solid basic advice for gardening in your zone.
Plant your fragrant herbs near pathways for maximum enjoyment.
Grasses are excellent for soil retention so you'll want to intersperse them throughout your garden. Succulents can spread quickly and make lovely ground cover creeping over rocks. In your zone the rosemary and lavender will both stay evergreen and form small bushes. You can also find creeping rosemary.
The most important thing is to water your new garden deeply and regularly as it gets established. Have fun!
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 2:05 PM on May 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Zone 8 doesn't tell us much, that was designed solely to determine what crops you can grow in terms of cold hardiness. Are you arid or swampy? High or low elevation? An actual region matters. Ideally, you'll mostly use plants native to your region. With the right plants for your yard, you'll have much less yearly maintenance after they are established (e.g. use little/no water or fertilizer) and will provide much better ecosystem services than common "landscaping plants" you'll see at the big box store. You can search for "native plant society [region/state etc]" or "native plant nursery [region/state]" to get started thinking about species and finding ones you like.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:06 PM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:06 PM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Since you are new, I highly recommend looking up native plants. As in native to your area. Those plants have evolved to live in your area without the constant upkeep and need for human intervention - meaning less work, less prone to bug attacks, less watering, and more eco-friendly.
Your county extension, or a neighboring county extension, might be able to help you out.
posted by Neekee at 2:18 PM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Your county extension, or a neighboring county extension, might be able to help you out.
posted by Neekee at 2:18 PM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The good news is that many ornamental grasses, mediterranean-native herbs such as lavendar, rosemary, and sage, and succulants all like fairly sunny and relatively dry/well drained conditions, so they should all get along pretty well in shared area provided you can provide those kinds of conditions for them. If you're in BC, the amount of rainfall may make it a bit of a challenge for some of these, but if you plan things out you should be able to get them to do alright.
I would definitely buy plants rather than seeds. In addition, a pebble/rock cover is a good plan for these types of plants as again, most of them naturally thrive in dry, rocky soil. A few ornamental grasses are more part shade/forest natives, like Japanese forest grass, but big showy clump grasses like fountaingrass and blue fescue are generally native to the open plains.
Landscape fabric will do more to discourage weeds than any kind of mulch. My suggested approach, after you've removed whatever soil you feel is too fouled with cat poo, would be to loosen up the existing soil with a twist tiller of this type, add in additional soil and sand (for drainage) in equal amounts to get close to level with the terrain. How much you'll need to add back in depends on how much you took out, but if you stripped off the top couple of inches of top soil then you'd need 1 cubic foot of soil and 1 cubic foot of sand for every 12 sq feet of garden space. Mix this all in with the existing soil with your hand tiller so it's nice and fluffy to about 8" deep, then lay landscape fabric over the top. Then go pick out your plants and test a layout (spacing will vary depending on the plant) until you're pleased with the arrangement. Mark each spot with a little stick or stake and move the plants back out of the way, spread gravel of your choice about 2" deep over the landscape fabric, and then go around and cut a hole through the fabric and dig out little holes for your new plants in so their roots are in the fluffed up soil underneath the landscape fabric/gravel.
posted by drlith at 2:31 PM on May 24, 2022
I would definitely buy plants rather than seeds. In addition, a pebble/rock cover is a good plan for these types of plants as again, most of them naturally thrive in dry, rocky soil. A few ornamental grasses are more part shade/forest natives, like Japanese forest grass, but big showy clump grasses like fountaingrass and blue fescue are generally native to the open plains.
Landscape fabric will do more to discourage weeds than any kind of mulch. My suggested approach, after you've removed whatever soil you feel is too fouled with cat poo, would be to loosen up the existing soil with a twist tiller of this type, add in additional soil and sand (for drainage) in equal amounts to get close to level with the terrain. How much you'll need to add back in depends on how much you took out, but if you stripped off the top couple of inches of top soil then you'd need 1 cubic foot of soil and 1 cubic foot of sand for every 12 sq feet of garden space. Mix this all in with the existing soil with your hand tiller so it's nice and fluffy to about 8" deep, then lay landscape fabric over the top. Then go pick out your plants and test a layout (spacing will vary depending on the plant) until you're pleased with the arrangement. Mark each spot with a little stick or stake and move the plants back out of the way, spread gravel of your choice about 2" deep over the landscape fabric, and then go around and cut a hole through the fabric and dig out little holes for your new plants in so their roots are in the fluffed up soil underneath the landscape fabric/gravel.
posted by drlith at 2:31 PM on May 24, 2022
Response by poster: SaltySalticid, my apologies. I'm in Vancouver, BC, and my neighborhood is fairly close to sea level. Mild fall and spring with lots of rain. Winters are also very rainy, with occasional snowfall. Summers tend to be hot and dry.
Despite all the rain, and now that I think about it, roughly half my garden beds are actually sheltered underneath awnings and only get somewhat sprinkled on if it's pouring rain and windy. I suspect the fact that the soil has stayed dry all winter long is a major factor in all the cats gravitating to our house to do their business. I understand I would need to water the plants in those areas to make up for the lack of natural rainfall. They are not sheltered from light though, and on bright days will get full sun for at least a significant portion of the day.
The remaining garden beds are exposed and get rained on heavily. So now I'm thinking that I'll probably need different types of plants for the heavy rain exposure.
posted by keep it under cover at 5:08 PM on May 24, 2022
Despite all the rain, and now that I think about it, roughly half my garden beds are actually sheltered underneath awnings and only get somewhat sprinkled on if it's pouring rain and windy. I suspect the fact that the soil has stayed dry all winter long is a major factor in all the cats gravitating to our house to do their business. I understand I would need to water the plants in those areas to make up for the lack of natural rainfall. They are not sheltered from light though, and on bright days will get full sun for at least a significant portion of the day.
The remaining garden beds are exposed and get rained on heavily. So now I'm thinking that I'll probably need different types of plants for the heavy rain exposure.
posted by keep it under cover at 5:08 PM on May 24, 2022
I agree with native plant recommendations. One succulent-like type of sedum Is native to your area, likes dry and rocky areas, and is very cute!
posted by sizeable beetle at 6:23 PM on May 24, 2022
posted by sizeable beetle at 6:23 PM on May 24, 2022
Nthing the suggestion to get seedlings/plants rather than starting from seed.
You mention that some parts of your garden are sheltered and some get heavy rain - one thing to also check is how long that rain/moisture sticks around. The woody Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and oregano like well-drained soil - they need to be watered, yeah, but they like it better if they get to dry out a little in between. (I grow those herbs in containers and I actually had to mix a little sand in with the potting soil so that the water would drain better.) For the spots with the heavy rain, check how long the ground stays wet AFTER it rains - if it stays wet for good while, you may have better luck with other herbs that like it wetter, like some of the mints.
...Although, one warning about mint is that that stuff can grow like crazy, to the point that it may start taking over the garden unless you keep it in a container.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:06 AM on May 25, 2022
You mention that some parts of your garden are sheltered and some get heavy rain - one thing to also check is how long that rain/moisture sticks around. The woody Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and oregano like well-drained soil - they need to be watered, yeah, but they like it better if they get to dry out a little in between. (I grow those herbs in containers and I actually had to mix a little sand in with the potting soil so that the water would drain better.) For the spots with the heavy rain, check how long the ground stays wet AFTER it rains - if it stays wet for good while, you may have better luck with other herbs that like it wetter, like some of the mints.
...Although, one warning about mint is that that stuff can grow like crazy, to the point that it may start taking over the garden unless you keep it in a container.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:06 AM on May 25, 2022
Yes, buy transplants until you've got your sea legs.
One option to research would be juniper bushes. Edible berries, good ground cover, very fragrant, quite hardy.
posted by champers at 4:18 AM on May 25, 2022
One option to research would be juniper bushes. Edible berries, good ground cover, very fragrant, quite hardy.
posted by champers at 4:18 AM on May 25, 2022
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Both bark mulch and stones discourage weeds, but you will still have to spend a certain amount of time weeding. IMO mulch is so much better from a practical standpoint, and since garden stores do sales like 10 bags for $10 it's far cheaper. It also looks worse than rocks at their best, but rocks don't stay at their best without maintenance.
Which plants can go together depends on their sun and light requirements. Generally I find succulents have very low water requirements where as grass and herbs require far more water. Many succulents will die from over-watering so you will have to experiment.
Fortunately most plants aren't very expensive, so start small and go for it.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:54 PM on May 24, 2022