First day as a Gardener...let's hope I don't kill anything.

Ally, I share in your envy. I learned the hard way never to plant new plants in the garden until after May 7th. Of course, the exceptions are my cold veggie crops. I usually get those in around the end of the first week in March. I should have gotten my starters going (indoors) last weekend, but didn't. That'll be my task after work this week. Don't despair. Spring is right around the corner, or so says Punkstatawnee (sp?) Phil. Western Valley Girl, Pansies, with a water supply, and heavy mulch should bring you wonderful seasonal pleasure. The Allysum's success will depend on the quality of your soil (how loose it is), as they're not strong rooters. In addition to Allysum as a ground cover, have you considered Portulaca? It's also an annual otherwise called 'Rock Rose'. It does really well in hot/dry gardens. Very pretty, small, brightly colored flowers. For ground covers I've chosen heirloom mints and lemon thyme. Both are aromatic, and survive the long hot days. With climbing Jasmine and Morning Glory, it seems as though you're wanting to cover an arbor, or fence for shade perhaps? Is that the case? For climbers, I opted for climbing honeysuckle on my dry garden fence. On my small arbor I planted climbing Trumpet Vine, and climbing roses. All are doing really well. Ya' have to be careful of which variety of honeysuckle though. Some are such aggressive growers that they'll weight down a fence or arbor. For the large, shade arbor I went with grapes, which are surprisingly strong, and very heat tolerant. I'd have to say that the happiest perennials in my garden are heirloom daisies, and Purple Cone Flower (echinacea), which is a purple daily-like flower. Both are very heat tolerant, and aren't fussy at all. Now if I can just keep the grass alive. I made the mistake of letting the dogs into the garden two seasons ago, and they've done a real number on my grass. Ugghhhh!!!

Ladyluna, thanks for all the advice. I am going to write it down, when I head back to Home Depot. I really have no idea what my hubby is planning (besides shade) with all the climbing plants. I like all of your suggestions, and my soil is very wierd. I have only seen the likes of it on rocky beaches...if that makes any sense. It is not like "dirt," but like gritty sand. I have combined my topsoil (as the directions say to) with my regular soil, so now all I have to do is get mulch...I was not free today. Such good suggestions, I cannot wait to go...oh, it did rain today, I was surprised though, (even though I knew a storm was coming), because it was still warm.

Our weather keeps changing, we just had a warm spell, but I believe that it is going to be stormy soon, so I hope that my new plants will be safe, as they are barely in the ground. Well, it is good that we can enjoy your company for now ;)

I do have a drip system installed, so I am trying to plant the plants that need the most water around it, I have to see where I put the morning glory...I have never heard of BTE, so I will have to look into that and see what it does...And, I bought some seeds, for my pots, so I will see the planting zone also, let me make sure that I did not throw the packets away...and yes, I told my hubby that I forgot the mulch, lol...so now I am even more anxious, because I do not want an outbreak of bugs either...and I think the fresh soil and flowers would draw them in.

I looked at the seed packet, I have, it was torn in half, but I could see where my zone generally was. Lucky me, it already started. Whew, because I didn't consider that, until I had told my sister, later that night, that I had spent the day gardening, and she asked me the same thing. Thank you very much for all the responses and suggestions that you have given me. I am going to have to print them out, because I cannot remember them all. I would give you best responses...but all I can give you is best response.

Yes, I hope that I can be an expert gardener, it has always been in the back of my mind, so, time will tell, if I have the green thumb, or if I am going to make a muck out of everything. I will look into that plant that you have recommended...if it doesn't grow well in the ground, I can always stick a little in a pot...

I hope so, today my hubby was complaining about the pond/waterfall feature...I have not heard the whole story, but I believe that he is becoming very discouraged, I might have to take time away from my garden, to help him with his project...I saw him looking longingly at my project...but he should leave that to me (I hope he will stay on his side of the backyard, lol).

That is a good idea, I would really love that. I am trying to go for a kind of "wild but orderly" look, so that would go great. Should I plant them between the flowers, or in their own space?

Well thank you. Hope it all goes well for you also. I am optimistic, however, it did rain today, and I don't want the plants to be over-watered, because it also dripped during the night (my drip system)...

Thank you, I hope that I will be able to find someone who knows how to answer my questions, because sometimes, they don't have a single clue about anything, and I wonder how they got their jobs!

That is interesting actually, so that the incident happened, but at least it all went right in the end. Have you decided to also take up gardening or just like to appreciate it from afar, without really getting into it. I know, I have had to pick a lot of weeds when I was younger, also. Not very fun. Thank you, I hope it all goes well also.

No, I live in an apartment with no plot of land for my own, and I'm not the indoor gardener type. I suppose if I get a yard of my own there'd be a chance,

Hello Abbey19, Greetings to another fellow gardener. I've heard that Queensland has some glorious gardens. And, excellent advice to Western Valley Girl to take note of the plantings in her neighborhood. I'm a high desert gardener, so I know what you mean about choosing plants carefully. I've had more than a few cooler climate choices die on me because of the aridity here. Painful lessons, for sure. Aren't you in your summer growing season now? And, how's your garden doing with the drought? Anyway, just wanted to send out a friendly 'hello' and concur on your sage advice. Toodles for now!

Hi Western ValleyGirl, What drippers are you using. 1gallon/hr, two gallon per hour or something else? And ... How long is your zone timed to water?See where I'm heading here? If you're using 1ga/hr drippers, and you're watering for 30 minutes, then you're giving the area under the drip head 1/2 gallon of water. That's not alot of water for bamboo, but it's plenty for boxwood. This is why it's so important to plant similar drinkers in the same zone. A tropical area and a cactus rock garden should be on different watering zones, or else your drown the catcus or parch the tropicals. The rule of thumb that I follow is to flank the plants with heads, one on each side, for better distribution of water. I end up running the system for less time, providing the same amount of water. Speaking of water, how's hubby's pond installation going? Is he laying a liner pond, or a pre-formed poly pond? If he's laying liner, I understand that he's had some trouble. There are definite do's & don't(s) to liner ponds. If I can help get him over a hurdle, please let me know. My love of gardening has only been amplified by more than a decade as a professional koi keeper/pond designer. Ponds tend to be in beautiful gardens, so they go hand in hand.

Today I checked out the soil, I am not sure if my drip system is speading the water to all the plants...how far do you think it travels underground? Because There are few that are about 1-2 feet away from each tube, that drips water...others, are right underneath it. If I have to relocate some plants, I will.