Green thumb?

I've never been much of a gardener. My mom and my stepmother are both great at it and have, at various points in their tenure, had beautiful gardens as any self-respecting Southern Belle would have. I've always been an apartment/condo dweller, so now that I have a front AND back yard, I figure it is time to give this whole "playing in the dirt" thing a try.

Lucky for me, the previous owners of our house have given me a lot work with! The backyard is great and already has some beautiful things growing in it. Mind you, I had no idea what any of it was, so I took to asking anyone (neighbors, visitors, etc) within view of our yard, "What's that?...And that?...How 'bout that?" We had some friends over several weeks ago and to my delight she identified hostas, hydrangeas, and some double-knockout roses (that still had the little tag on them, so those were pretty easy). Great start, right?? 

There are a lot more plants in our backyard that I can't name just yet, but I've got a little fire in my belly for this whole effort and I've been excited to add my own touches to it. After discussing this with Dude, we decided it was time to try our hand at doing a little planting. Off to the big box store we went! In hindsight, we probably should've started at an actual nursery that could provide the necessary hand-holding for our rookie selves, but we opted for convenience. The whole "stick with what you know" philosophy came into play, which is difficult when what you know is VERY little. We decided we wanted:

• Something with flowers
• Something that would come back each year (that's what perrenial means! Who knew?? Well, you probably did, but I didn't.)
• Something that could withstand a mix of sun and shade
• Something that would be relatively low maintenance

Given these specifications, we came home with a Gardenia (in memory of our sweet Maddy), a Hosta, and 3 Shasta Daisy plants (the friendliest flower, don't you think?). I was so excited...and maybe a little intimidated. So intimidated, in fact, that the plants sat outside in their pots for a couple of days staring sadly up at me waiting for me to put them to bed. Not sure why digging holes in the dirt made me nervous, but it did. With the help of Dude, though, we nestled them into their rightful home which was front and center in the most visible spot of the backyard.

Dude watered our new little babies almost everyday. Unfortunately so did Foster. Our hosta and gardenia are still hanging in there, but sadly the daisies met their unfortunate demise due to over-peeing. At least, that's what I'm declaring as the cause of death.


Not to be defeated, back to the garden center I went! I brought home four more new babies, and this time we adopted 2 yellow cannas and 2 purple cornflowers. I have high hopes for these lil' fellas, so I will keep you posted on their progress!


I'd love any other suggestions you might have for a remedial gardener such as myself.

• What are your favorite things to plant in your yard or garden?
• How do you keep them alive?
• What tips and tricks do you have?

SPILL IT!