I’ve just gotten a real job and bought a house. Closing will be in the middle of July, so I’ll basically miss this summer’s gardening. I will, though, want to put in some bulbs this Fall.
I’ve never had a garden of my own, so I need advice. The flower border will be along the back of my house, which faces south, and possibly around the corners of the east and west sides. I want to pack it with all flowers, for a cottage-style look. I’m not interested in wasting space on greenery. I am in zone 5, probably the warmer part of zone 5 (central Illinois, if you must know).
My first question is: what does one do about really big bulbs? If I put in daffodils or the kind of tulips that are likely to come back, then do I just lose that garden space for the summer? Can you plant Spring and Summer bulbs among each other, counting on them to not crowd each other because they don’t bloom at the same time? That doesn’t sound quite right to me.
In general, the flowers I’m interest in are: the frilly kinds of tulips that are really good for only one year, possibly some daffodils (maybe.), peony, begonia, dahlia, gladioli, hardy geranium, hollyhock, dianthus, shasta daisy, foxglove, snapdragon, pansy, and viola. I know that that’s a mixture of annuals and perennials, bulbs and self-seeding, early middle and late. So… I suppose I’m just asking for a shout-out from anyone who feels they have something important to tell me about all this.
I also want to put in one or two raised beds for herbs and tomatoes. And maybe cucumbers and eggplant and peppers. And strawberries.