My flower bed

[dyna99]

I have to redo my flower bed......the landscape timbers are rotting..........

I have a lot of bulbs in there, I'm thinking I'm gonna get some new dirt and make the bed round instead, as in a mound..

Would like to at least get the bulbs out of the dirt before fall, or should I wait? What can I do with the bulbs to keep them over the winter in case I dont get them back in the dirt? I have daffodils, gladiolas, iris's, lily of the valley which I plan on getting out of there altogether...and I'm not sure what else, if there is any thing else......

I also have a couple fall mums transplanted from my aunts house.......which I was surprised that they even came up.......will they keep over the winter in pots? Or should I leave them in the dirt?

 

Any suggestions will be considered......its gonna be an all day project soon as I can afford to get the new dirt.....

[lavender]

Glads are not hardy so you would be digging them and storing them anyway. Let them dry, clean them off and store them in a well ventilated area that doesn't get colder than 40 degrees.

Daffodils have to go through a cold period or they aren't going to bloom. If you can't get them back into the ground before spring store them in an unheated, dry, dark area.

Lily of the valley spread by rhizomes. Leave those in the ground somewhere if not in the original bed. I guess you might store them in the vegetable bin if you had too. That is where I keep rhizomes when I buy them too early to put in the ground.

If you need to get the irises out put them somewhere else outside until the bed is ready. If that isn't possible put them in a box of sand and hold them at about 50 degrees in the dark.

Leave the mums in the dirt. They won't overwinter in pots.

[dyna99]

Thanks for the help lavender.........I'm hoping to get them back into the dirt before the ground freezes......but not much works the way I plan so I figured I better have a back up plan!!!  

[lavender]

Looks like that is going to be hard to clear out. I'd worry about the irises most. They rot easily. I've never tried keeping them out of the ground in the winter.

[Cardinal Fan]

What is an easy bulb to plant that will come up year after year that you don't need to dig up every year?

 

Also what's a fast catching ground cover that will come up every year?

[Bon]

 

Also what's a fast catching ground cover that will come up every year?

Vinca - stays green all year, blooms small purple flowers several times a year, is low to the ground.

 

 

 

[Bon]

What is an easy bulb to plant that will come up year after year that you don't need to dig up every year?  

 

tulips, daffadils, crocus - to name a few. Bulbs are mostly planted in the fall.

 

If you want flowers all summer into fall, you will need to plant annuals.

 

I would plant the bulbs so you have flowers in the spring, then fill in around them with annuals. don't cut down your bulb flowers after they are done blooming. You will want to wait till the leaves die, they are gathering energy for next years flowers.

 

[lavender]

Go with daffodils unless you live in an animal free area.  Almost every other spring flowering bulb is eaten by deer, squirrels, voles or something else. Daffs come in early, middle and late flowering varieties so you can have them most of the spring.  Tulips are deer candy. Don't forget the minor bulbs like grape hyacinth, scilla and chionodoxa.  

A good summer "bulb" is the daylily. While technically a tuber it is listed as a summer bulb. Lilies of all sorts are also summer bulbs. The Asiatic lilies are really nice and grow like crazy. Alliums or flowering onions are those big round purple balls of flowers. They also come in small yellow flowers and many other varieties. Irises are nice but somewhat fussy.  A lot of summer bulbs have to be dug but all of these are hardy.

The summer bulbs can be planted as soon at the ground warms up in the late spring.

There are lots of ground covers out there and it sort of depends an where you want to plant it and your expectations. Vinca is a nice well behaved ground cover. I had trouble getting it started but once it gets going it is great. Bugle weed is good for sun but tends to get out of control. Sedums of the larger sorts grow quickly and make a good groundcover for dry sunny areas. I like sweet woodruff for shade. Lamnia is also good for shadier areas as is lily of the valley. Thyme and some of the other low growing herbs work well in the sun.

If you want something that grows anywhere and takes over the world plant goutweed (aegepodium) but consider yourself warned!

[Cardinal Fan]

Thanks everyone!!!! I think I will go with the Vinca. Is that the same as myrtle?

[Petee]

Did you manage to get everything lifted out of that bed?  If not then redoing it now in spring is another matter.  That bed might be a lot easier to deal with if you just cleaned everything out of it right now.  Add some odd shaped rocks and a couple of stepping stones.  It will add variety and make smaller areas to plant in that will be even prettier than a rectangular flat looking bed.  Maybe use some pretty river rocks for edges instead of the lumber.  A very small evergreen could add even more depth.  Maybe a dwarf star juniper.

 

ALso, Myrtle and Vinca are the same plant.  http://www.daytonnursery.com/encyclopedia/Perennials/Vinca.htm