Need It Easy Because No Green Thumb Here

You should look into Vinca's. They love the hot sun and don't require much water. Price ?? I don't remember. I usually get them at Lowe's. I actually believe it is too early to plant them now; they like it hot. They are a hearty flower that fill out really nice.

Daylilies (orange flowers) love direct sun and they require no maintenance. Just some watering when it gets really hot. But they bloom all summer and come back every year. Irises are also pretty and come back every year.

I think that you can't go wrong with Hastas for your plants and Begonias for your flowers. They are both very LOW MAINTENANCE and they look really nice. The Hastas will come back every year and get bigger and prettier. Also, both are very affordable. If you are patient you can buy the smaller (cheaper) Hastas and by next year they should be a nice size.

C., you are never too late to put something beautiful in that area to perk up the land and have beauty.

But, you know something, I would not even bother planting in that soil. Go to just about any nursery and purchase a couple Half Whiskey Barrels or as many as will fit well in the area. Get as many boxes of baking soda as you have of barrels. Take one box of baking soda per barrel and clean inside well, letting the baking soda sit overnight so it cleans up any residue from each barrel. The next day use fresh water and rinse the barrels out well and let dry. Drill several small random holes to allow water drainage once planted in.

I have planted many ways, ground, small containers, large containers, etc. and what I have found that works well is a mixture of what I call 3 3 3. 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 sand. Blend all together and place in the barrels leaving a good amount of space on top.

You now can plant dwarf fruit trees, flowers, veggies, whatever you want or what looks pretty in the area. I would suggest one barrel of wildflowers, 1 or 2 barrels housing dwarf fruit trees, being lemon, lime, etc. These trees will grow fine depending on the area you are in. Any local nursery will have the supplies you need and can also tell you what all the soil will need, how to maintain what you plant and some possibly will take the time to show up and help with the initial planting.

A little tip about using things like Miracle Grow, etc. You can use too much of these things. For instance, if you plant tomatoes and use miracle grow once or twice a week, you are overdoing it. You will have beautiful folage but no fruit or very little. Overwatering can kill a plant same as underwatering. If you have no green thumb, start with planting something simple, like flowers or veggies that's not easily killed off. With a bit of time and patience, you will become someone with that green thumb. Good luck to you.

J. Blue Star Mom, Proud Army Mom

I do not have a green thumb either but I have longed for a flower garden, I am a single mom in the middle of a divorce so I thought this is for me! The soil is really hard at the place I am at and here in TX it is so hot during the summer months. I used pots and bought potting soil. So far so good, nothing has died. I have 2 girls (8 &4) and letting them help me fill the pots with soil and watering was fun for them! We planted a small herb garden in one big pot along with some grape tomato plants in another. I then got them their own colored ceramic pot ($2.00 each) and let them plant some flowers. They water them when they need it. My mom gave me some roses so I planted those in a pot too. Roses like full sunlight! The good thing about my pots, I can move them. If you are going to a local store they should have plants that will grow for your area, pay attention to those little card things that they stick in each one they tell you what type of light and watering that is needed. Good luck!

I see you have gotten lots of advice, but I thought I'd add...my parents have lots of sun, and they have azaleas, hostas and miniature gardenia bushes (which smell wonderful!) in their yard. They also have day lillies that return each year and are very pretty. I love to plant impatiens, but I have lots of shade. I think the New Guinea Impatiens are very nice, and they take more sun. Good luck!

Your profile says you live in Oklahoma, that means you live in zone 7. You should be past your last frost date, and Mid April is a good time to plant annuals.

Since, this is your first year I would recommend getting a flat of vinca. They are an annuals, but are inexspensive, drought tolerant, and most of all they love the heat of Oklahoma summers, they take full sun.

Use plenty of organic mulch to ammend the soil with; so that it can maintain moisture.

Then start researching what kind perinneals you want to plant. Most garden centers can help in this area. Also, a good web site to help answer your gardening questions is www.organicgardening.com. Your local libary should have books on gardening that you can check out.

Happy gardening, my favorite hobby.

C.,

Here's what I did for many years while my children were younger and I was pregnant (reasons for not having much time...). I bought a pack of wildflower seeds from Wild Seed Farms in Texas and let them grow willy-nilly. Other than a little weeding I did nothing else. The first year was a riot of color and the suceeding years were ones of establishing the perinnials. Not as flashy but still nice. I did not water then at all. Since they are wildflowers they would not get supplemental watering in a field so they didn't get it in my yard either. They should be able to take just about any type of soil too.

Look up that seed company (in the hill country of Texas) and see what they recommend. I have tried wild seed mixtures from Wal-Mart and grocery stores and feel they are a waste of money and time.

K.

Vinca grows in bad soil good soil and likes sun. Lots of color choices and gets babys so it will fill in.

look for some Trailing Verbena. THey have great purple and pink colors out this year. it says close to the ground(doesn't get tall) but makes a beautiful ground cover. They are very hardy and take direct sunlight. they are really beautiful too. i have lots in my flower bed and get lots of compliments. also, i don't have a green thumb neither, but i can't kill my trailing verbena!!!!
You might want to consider planting something there that will stay evergreen in the winter months. In other words, and azelea plant will stay green year round when things die off. It isn't blooming right now, just green.

Hey,
I just for the first time started a garden. I would kill everything in sight before i started but there are so many things that can help you. look up guides to planting and it will tell you anything you want to know. but I can cover the basics for you. First you want somwthing very hardy (which means that can live through almost everything like winter rain and bad weather) next fine a perennial because they come back every year so you dont have to keep planting each spring. You are not to late to plant depending on what you want to plant. You can find that out on the little tags that come with the plant including directions on maintenance and how to plant it. Last you want a full sun plant because the area has sun all day. there are also plant that say (low maintenance. I really hope this helps but i must warn you when you see your first plant begin to thrive it becomes addicting. we started with a small garden and now we have spent over 200 dollars on the entire yard. GOOD LUCK
D.

Check out these two websites. This one is local (OK) can gives you great ideas.
http://www.marcumsnursery.com/

This one is a plant manufacture that helps you design your space and has great ideas.
http://www.monrovia.com/inspiration/style/whats_your_styl...

Have fun!

Check the "zone" where you are & it will tell you what is best for your area...most gardening magazines will have the info in it. Marigolds are always nice & do well in the heat..petunias, creeping phlox, and I've been known to slip in a couple of Hobby Lobby flowering bushes that no one noticed being "pretend" flowers...they're low maintance...hee hee! Ask the people at the local nursery what's best...it also depends on how large the area is..roses are always good..!

You could plant some Vica's. You would buy them at the nursery ( garden centers ) They love sun and you could get by with skipping a day with water.
Read the labels stuck in the plants at the garden center, any annual with full sun.
Don't be afraid to ask for help either, some of your privatly owned garden centers may be better at this than Wal-Mart.
You may want to get some potting mix with Miracle Grow fertilizer in it to mix in with your soil that is already there. After you arrange and plant your plants, cover the ground around your plants with some mulch to help retain water and keep the ground moist.
Good luck!! This will be a fun project for you and the girls!!
T. S

I am also a single mom and have found some of my best garden treasures are free, either on the side of the road or from cuttings from friends' gardens that I see are doing well. Just use a little rooting powder (available at most stores) and you can root just about anything. Try a variety and just see what takes off. Good luck!

I agree with all responses, I am no green thumb either, but my in-laws have trouble killing plants so I've gotten some good plants from them. Something you may look at are barberry, you have to wear gloves to plant them b/c they have thorns (and are good to put in front of windows) they come in green and red and are attractive and cheap! If you have lots of room forsythias are hard to kill and beautiful in the spring, but they get very big and nandinas are pretty easy to care for as well. We have all of these in our beds and last year practically neglected them- and they are still growing fine!

I say go with a fake plant....:) that solves a lot of probmems. I have a beautiful fake topiary in my home, it looks good, and I certianly could not plant it.

I would find some kind of shrub/bush that you like the looks of. Those are the only full sun plants that I can not kill and I have a full-on black thumb.

I don't have a green thumb either, and I also had a very sunny spot next to my front door that needed a garden. There were 2 small rose bushes that were there when we moved in. Then I put in Irises (nearly impossible to kill unless you water them too much), lamb's ears, the beginnings of a peony bush (I put it in last year and it probably won't bloom until next year), dianthis, summer phlox, and another plant that I can't remember what it's called. I planted all of these last year and they are perinnials so they'll come back every year. I also planted some petunias and some other kind of plan that I can't remember it's name (both died). None of the perinnials that I planted bloomed last year because I had transplanted them from plants that my mom thinned out of her gardens. So to get pretty flowers I bought the petunias and that other plant. Anyway, I'm honestly surprised that all the perinnials came back because there were several times last year that I let my garden go at least 2 weeks without water.

Lavender plants would be a good choice. They are very hardy and don't mind sun. Also, they smell great. After they bloom, you can dry some of the flowers.

I am horrible with plants, but I love them. What has worked for me for years is Lantana(not sure of the spelling). It has little yellow flowers. I hardly ever water them and they work good in shade or sun. The only thing is, my husband trims them back every fall...and they keep coming back. I have had the ones in my yard for 5 years and they are still very pretty.

Turn the soil and take about a gallon per 12 by 12 feet area. Put in a bag of purchased garden soil. I stress garden soil as it goes in the ground. Potting soil is for pots. Purchase enough concrete borders you get from Lowes and put them around them as a border if you like. Then plant by order of best choice: Gold (yellow) lantana which does not require a lot of water, will come back next year. Next choice is one of these geraniums, vinca or the dark leaf begonia which takes sun. The prettiest is lantana with lots of flowers if you get the gold kind. Geraniums I think are kinda of classy and may come back next year. Begonia do not require a lot of water, but you much make sure you get the dark leaf kind which will take the sun. Vinca require a little bit more attention to watering.

Best advice: Purchase from a real nursery instead of WalMart, Lowe's Home Depot --that way you get some good advice.

If you have a shady area an excellent choice is hosta plants. They are beautiful, flower just a little and will come back next year even bigger. They do not take sun!!!! They do better for me in a pot--that way I avoid underground moles. Learning takes time.

You should search the library for good books on gardening.

I had that problem also so went to town bought a very nice 4 foot yard piece and bought greenary to go around it.... WaaaLaaa instant beauty and I just spray it down.. anchor the greenary down with putty which is hiddin from view..

I have very good luck with petunias.

How close to the door is it? Azaleas are pretty hardy and don't require a lot of attention except for occasional pruning.

I don't have a green thumb either. But, I just go to the store and read the spikes on the plants. It tells you if the plant needs direct sunlight, how much to water, etc... WalMart has plants as does Lowes and HomeDepot. All of the plants have the "instructions" in the pots. I just planted some flowers yesterday. Good luck to you! T.

I would go to your local Home Depot or Lowe's....or better if you can find a local nursery....and ask them. Describe the area and the pattern of sunlight it gets (morning, afternoon, none) and what you want....flowers or not, low maintenance, etc...and they should be able to tell you what will work.

I'm a black thumb, but this method works for me....especially if I find a local family-run nursery....they have the most patience and the most knowledge of the growing zone/maintenance...sometimes the plants sold at HD/Lowes aren't right for the growing zone/soil type....the local people always know though! Good luck!

Plant fake flowers. Some fakes look real up close. They are very easy to maintain, you can even put down fake grass. I noticed that a lot of hotels in Vegas had and it looked good up close. No watering necessary, and it didn't turn brown. My mom had the yard-boy plant fake plants in our yard when I was in highschool (much to my shock and dismay). I had to admit, we had an unseasonably lovely yard for quite a few seasons. Update or change whenever you want and enjoy. Also, you don't have to really worry about little ones eating poisonous plants. My child tastes everything.