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Wow. A Few questions for the coming year...
So our yard has finally thawed all the snow (but I know the ground is still thawing, don't worry) and my itch to plan my garden is hitting, even if I'm overwhelmed with the amount that I have to pull out right now from the dead plants' leavings...
#1. Our frost came sudden last year. Not kidding. As in, under the leaves my DH didn't get a chance to rake up, there is still green grass and a few of the perennials in my garden bed have green leaves right now. Is this a bad/good sign? Anything I need to do for these poor guys (not so much the grass but the flowers)?
#2. One thing we were intending on doing last year before snow was to take down the extra shed. It's really in poor shape. We were going to use that area to plant our vegetable garden. Well, we didn't get to it and though we really need to do it this year as bad shape as it's in, we know it won't get done by the time it comes time to plant. Would it look wierd or be bad for the plants if I put a couple of tomato plants into my flower gardens? They get the right sun and conditions there for the most part...I just always thought it'd look weird but can't let go the idea of at least having a few.
Thanks girls!
Re: Wow. A Few questions for the coming year...
Oh another question...
Last year, I didn't get to mulch until after the plants were in, that was kind of a pain, honestly. After I clean up the dead plant matter this year, can I mulch before the perennials start coming back, or will that prevent them from coming back? My mulch wound up kind of thin last year.
2. I plant tomatoes in with other plants. I have mine next to my apple and pear trees. Just don't plant them in the same soil as strawberries or potatoes because of risk of disease. The bigger issue with planting tomatoes in with regular flowers is that tomatoes need a lot of room (the spread beyond that little 12 x 12 cage) and can be unruly. If your flowers are in the front of your house, some people don't like that unruly look. It's a matter of personal preference though.
Re mulch - I think you can mulch around the perennials, but you don't want the mulch to actually cover up the perennials. (I'm doing this now too. I purposefully waiting until Spring so that I could see where stuff was growing, so I wouldn't accidentally cover it up.)
ETA: Re the shed - I would take it down this summer and then cover the area with a couple of layers of newspaper. The newspaper will prevent grass from growing (that you will have to dig up) and will break down and enrich the soil.
Sounds like you might be better suited to try planting only perennials. I'm lazy so I don't like having to dig out annuals and replant them every year.
I mulch after things start coming up in spring. Otherwise I know some people put a very thin layer of mulch down then periodically watch for plants that are coming up and remove mulch from that area. Then they put on a second layer of mulch. Just leave the leaves in the flowerbed and mulch right over the top (brush away/move any that are right where a plant is). They will eventually break down and add some nice nutrients to the soil.
If you don't have the veggie garden ready I'd put the tomatoes and other veggies in containers until you can plant them. Things like tomatoes will look messy and unruly in a flower bed and could encroach on other plants. You can use almost anything as a container. I've seen people take old rubbermaid bins and just drill a few drainage holes in the bottom. Plus then you have a movable veggie garden.