Help, starting a new garden I'm starting a garden but don't know what I should put in it and I live in MN so it can't need warmth all year round. It also needs to be able to fit in a small garden. Some of it needs to be able to be able to pick for indoors decorating. Have any veggie/ herb/fruit ideas also flowers? Summers are warm here though.
Hi Sarah, In order to give good suggestions we need to know how big of a space you have and how much sun it gets. What side of the house is on? Does it get much shade or is it full sun? Are you going to use containers to grow in or right in the ground? If you get enough light then you could grow most anything. You can likely plant all of your standard herbs there: parsley, coriander, thyme, dill, etc. Carrots, Scarlet Runner Beans, Peas, radishes, potatoes and salad greens are all good choices for a beginner with a small space. Fruit might be a bit tougher. Strawberries are good, but they have a short season. I don’t know if you have enough room to put in a fruit tree. Again, if you have enough sun then you can grow just about any of the flowering annuals (marigolds, nasturtiums, etc.). Perhaps roses? Maybe take a trip to the local garden centre and take a look around. Michael
My suggestion would also be to vist your local garden center and talk to the folks there, they know your locale so much better than most of us will.
Hi Sarah, You need to start with knowing your plant hardiness zone for any plants (flowers, fruit or herbs) that you want to return year after year. Then you will be able to select plants that will survive your winters. Minnesota has hardiness zones of 2 to 4. Here's a zip code zone finder. http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi Then you need to know the sun conditions as different plants have different requirements. Full sun is 6 hours or more, part sun is 4 to 6 hours, part shade is 2 to 4 hours and shade is 2 hours or less. Now you need to decide how much space you have in your planting area. Are you planting a bed that is just for these plants or will they be around the foundation of the house? For suggestions of fruit and herbs that will be hardy where you live you can contact your local extension service. They often have helpful info on their web site. Start by clicking on 'Garden' on top of the page. There's lots of helpful info. http://www.extension.umn.edu/ Newt
You might also like to visit local public gardens: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum or the Normandale Japanese Garden
