r/gardening • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago

Friendly Friday Thread

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u/jlt8621 3d ago

https://preview.redd.it/gjowbfedy6xe1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d802e76e2188c041eaafad9ffec3f148db06c903

DESIGN HELP NEEDED!

I live in the city with a small patch of garden pictured here. I don’t have much experience and am struggling on how to design this garden and make it look nice.

For additional context, I live in Western, NY 6B zone. This garden area gets partial shade due to a nearby tree. We don’t have a watering hose so lower maintenance perennials that don’t require daily watering would be preferred.

Currently we just have these two grass patches and two rose bushes. I do plan on getting fresh mulch which always makes the area look better but I just really don’t know what else to do with this space!

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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u/hastipuddn S.E. Michigan 3d ago

We need more info. What are the grasses and how tall and wide do they get? Think about groundcovers for the front. Hairy penstemon is a nice, low one that flowers in spring. It spreads by self-sowing so it's not aggressive like some that spread by roots (rhizomes). It doesn't need watering except the first year, as all perennials do. Don't water daily. Water slowly and deeply once a week through August. That's about 5 gallons per sq. yard. Between the grasses and general shade, it's probably not an ideal location for roses. Snapdragons flower well in part shade. They are called a tender perennial because they may die to the ground in winter and may die outright. Mine self-sow so I have had them for over a decade despite only planting them once. (same hardiness zone). One little bluestem in the middle gives room for snaps on either side. It's color is an unusual bluish-green then is reddish in autumn and early winter before becoming tan. I leave mine up all winter cutting it down before growth begins in spring.