Sunday, June 04, 2006

Hand-Me-Down Gardens


Apparently, the woman who lived here before us really loved flowers. This was a surprise that bloomed before we moved in and there are several of these. Are they star-gazer lilies? They are just so gorgeous! There are flowers all over the place here, and I don't have a clue as to how to take care of them. I'll probably be posting pictures and asking, "what the hell is this, and what do I do with it?" I've been doing a lot of weeding in the shade gardens out front (where the lilies are) and I don't know if I can keep up with it!! They looked so great when we initially looked at the house, but by the time we moved in they were looking pretty shabby. I guess once we made the offer on the house, the owners were like, "ah, fuck it" and didn't pull another weed. I also feel like she should have left me a diagram or something, so I'd know what half this stuff was. Crap.

I sound like I'm complaining, but I really love this garden stuff and I'm so excited to learn all about it. In my dreams, people will go out of their way to walk by my flower beds out front because they were so spectacular!! I would also make my own compost, have a huge water feature, win prizes for my roses and become a master gardener. I guess that first I need to figure out what's a weed and what's a flower, right?

Could anyone suggest some good websites or books? Please?

3 comments:

Catherine said...

The great thing about lilies...no maintenance is really necessary. Just keep pulling the weeds. They look great!

Unfortunately, I'm up north, so most of my gardening sites are nothern-oriented. I'm sure some of the more southern gals will have some ideas for you.

Good luck! And have fun!

kate said...

Ooh those are very pretty! They are oriental lilies. What Catherine said...actually i took all my gardening sites from her list anyway *blush*. Also -- if you find a local garden center with a knowledgeable staff, this is a great resource.

laura said...

i second the local garden center (not a chain store) suggestion - those people will help you with ANYTHING. love those people to death.

also, if you have a neighborhood garden club, they will know tons about what you have inherited and likely will be happy to show off by going through your yard and naming everything for you and telling you what to do with it. :)