If you're like me , this time of the year the gardening bug is biting. I don't have a Green Thumb but that didn't stop me from attempting to have the "perfect" garden.
I had all of the catalogs. I especially like the ones that send live plants. I had a great Flower Garden book and carefully designed my garden to have flowers of different heights, co-ordinating colors and 3 season blooming. It was actually quite lovely!
That was 20 years ago.....
This is my garden today! 
The point of my tale being..go Native! Don't be lured by the fancy photos and promises. The best choices for a sustainable care free garden are native plants. They are used to our local conditions and don't need constant pampering. They can even tolerate a New England Winter without special care!
Some of the common ones here in New Hampshire are~ Coneflowers 
Cardinal Flower 
Bee Balm 
NE Asters 
If you especially enjoy having cut flowers in your home some hardy but lovely choices would be:
Delphinium 
Daisies 
Tall Phlox 
and Statice 
If you would like to take the "leap".... but don't know where to start.... the UNH Cooperative Extension along with the Department of Fish and Gamehave published a book about Native Plants and Landscaping called: Integrated Landscaping: Following Natures Lead
To purchase contact
- UNH Cooperative Extension Publication Center
- Nesmith Hall
- 131 Main Street
- Durham, NH 03824
- ~
- NH Fish and Game
- Wares From The Wild
- 11 Hazen Drive
- Concord, NH 03301
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Concord NH Realtor Area Information
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Joan Mirantz - Joni is a Realtor® with Keeler Family Realtors, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm.
Joan Publishes a monthly Newsletter "Food For Thought" under the pen name Realtor Sherpa.
(Joan also answers to Miz Maven and Miss Joni.)
Joan works in Buyer and Seller Representation with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.
"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"
Great photos Joan! From the looks of your pictures your state has must be in the same zone, or close to what we have in Michigan. I recognize many of them from my yard...but yours looks like it has many less weeds! I think weeds are native to my yard!
Great advice you have given! Planting native plants will also conserve water as they thrive in the natural conditions!
Joan --this is great advice -- just one thing -- can you get rid of all that pollen -- my allergies have been horrible. (lol). Very nice pictures, and seriously, native is the way to go.
Mary...I really woud love to have a beautiful garden...that picture was the best spot!
Joan..this has been a terrible year for pollen. It's all over everything! Hardy bulbs do OK too!
Hi Joan, This is a very interesting post and has a real sense of authenticity to it. A natural garden can be very exciting and fulfills a need most of share for nature. Going natural is certainly a valid choice. Well done !
Joan,
You sound a lot like me. I used to pour over the seed and plant catalogues all winter long many moons ago. I was always so excited when seeds or plants would arrive at my farm and my garden was a site to behold.
I agree with you about going native....there are so many beautiful choices. Coneflowers are gorgeous. Do you have the purple coneflowers (Echinacea) growing wild there too? Fall is always one of my favourite times of the year and a big part of it is all of the New England Asters in bloom everywhere.
Beautiful photos!!
Jo
Very good post since I do like gardening but I have another question - what do you consider the New England states??? My friend and I were just discussing this subject -help!
William...at least the wild or Native flowers stay alive! I love a garden but can't keep it alive!
Yes Jo....we do have the wild conflowers. I actually have some asters in my garden that are still alive...they just aren't out yet! They're a pretty fuschia.
Hi Norma....when looking at difficulty in things growing I'm thinking mainly NH, ME and VT. I think they are pretty much in the same zone. The other States seem to have several zones so the growing is varied.
Joan, I just LOVE daisies, they have always been one of my favorite flowers....one year they just kept growing and growing and were taking over my garden! Now I buy them, they last a week and look so pretty.
Joan - I did the exact same thing many years ago. Went crazy with all the catalogs and "dream gardens" that they promoted. And I spent a fortune doing it. Only to have all of the flowering plants die - never to return.
I since learned that by planting native perennials I am reducing the time I have to spend pampering them, and certainly saving money! And both of those things work for me! LOL
Hi Carole...Daisys do have a way of being very prolific! But they are so dependable!
Carol...I think everyone gets sucked in at least once....they look so pretty in the catalogues
Nice to know I'm not the only one!
Joan - Your garden looks lovely. Yes it is a good idea to stick with the native plants. By the way I think you have a green thumb.
Hi Joan... GREAT photos of some good looking flowers! I can attest from first-hand observation that you live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The terrain, along with the lush flora and fauna are simply breathtaking!
Jennifer....don't I wish! You are being kind!
Steve...actually this year is especially lush because we have had so much rain! usually by now things are starting to look a bit dried out and brown! But, even in their less than perfect state...it's still beautiful!
Coneflowers are awesome and come in such a wide array of colors; and they grow almost anywhere. When I lived in south Florida, I often consulted the state website because the climate, tropical, was new and foreign to me. Natives, or plants from a very similar climate is definitely the way to go! Great post!
Rich....I knew the gardener in you would appreciate it! Thanks!