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I'm new at this :)
Hello! I'm not really new to the nest but new to gardening. H and I just bought our first house in November, and I'm pretty excited to get into gardening this year. My grandmother has always told me to not change the landscaping for a whole year after buying the house to see what is already there in all seasons, but honestly I'm just not that patient 
We won't be making huge drastic changes, but we're going to repave a concrete patio, rip up a couple of bushes, plant some perennials, and hopefully start a small veggie/fruit garden. So I have a couple of questions that I hope you guys can help me with.
- I live in St. Louis. I have a general grasp of what grows well here (i.e. I won't plant a mango tree or anything, although that would be cool), but I'm definitely still learning. Do you guys have any suggestions for books or websites that would help me determine what would be good to plant? I'm online shopping today and have found at least 10 books on just gardening in Missouri, so any recommendations about specific authors/brands/types of books? Good blogs to follow?
- Part of our front yard is very steep leading down to the sidewalk and the retaining wall on the edge of the driveway. At the moment it's just covered in grass, but it's a huge pain to cut the grass with a mower, and i think it would look better with some kind of ground cover on it. Any suggestions for ground cover that you like that would grow here? I really like phlox when it's in bloom, but I'm not sure how I feel about the actual plant during other seasons.
- Any tips in general for a veggie garden? What is easy to grow and would be good to start with that I could plant in early spring? I like to think that I have a green thumb (have a tendency to kill indoor plants unfortunately, but do pretty well with outdoor), but I have no experience at all with fruits or vegetables.
Thanks!
Re: I'm new at this :)
1. Google USDA growing zones. You can plug in your ZIP code and it will tell you what zone you're in. You can use that for a rough guide of what is hardy enough to grow where you live. I found my best advice came from local nurseries, since they're familiar with what grows well in your area.
2. You may want to try a low-growing juniper. We have a slope in most places in our front yard, and that's what we use here and there. But for the most part I have perennials or trees and mulch covering everything. I haven't had an issue with mulch washing away on the slope, and it's a 30 degree slope in places.
3. I guess it would depend on what grows well in MO, but I have had good luck the last couple of years with string beans, onions, strawberries, and lettuce.
Good luck and have fun!
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
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www.GardeningHelp.org
It's by the Missouri Botanical Garden and THIS SITE ROCKS.
On the left, click on "PF search" You can search for plants based on just about any criteria you want.
When you get your search results and click on the individual plants, it takes you to a page with not only plant info, but also a link ("sources for this plant") to nurseries and greenhouses where you can buy said plant in the St. Louis
Thank you! That's an awesome site!
ETA: Oooh there's even pest photos and a monthly calendar of what to do! I know it's not really hard to find those but still, now I have everything in one place!
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