What Grows in your NH Garden? (home, eat, yard)

[Valerie C]

Gardening in New Hampshire can be a challenge, for sure. Being in Zone 4 & 5 gives us such a limited growing season, but we love our gardens even though we don't get to enjoy them for very long. I suppose if the garden was "open for business" 12 months of the year, it would become just another chore and not something that we look forward to Anyway, I thought this might be a place where we can post our garden pics, share some ideas, and find a home for any "extra" plants that we don't have room for, etc.

These pics are not from this year (being April, it's time to start seeds to plant outside in May) but I thought it'd be a good place to start

[DareToDream]

Oh Valerie - What a great idea....especially for someone as "garden challenged" as myself! Once things start really popping up here, I'll take pics and you can tell me if it's really a flower or a weed that should be pulled!

[bryfry]

I'm more of a veggie grower. When I finally get to NH, I'll have 4-6 types of tomatoes, green peppers, a few hot pepper varieties, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, butternut squash, and acorn squash. I also grew a few herbs like basil, chives, dill, rosemary, and parsley. I also have an ornimental plant called egyptian onions; they grow like crazy, but you really don't eat them. Kind of bitter. The bulbs are on the top of the plant though, not underground. Just fun to look at.

Egyptian Onions

[Suzet2262]

Valerie those flowers were so beautiful. I'd give ya some rep points, but I need to spread the love more...sigh.

Dare, I too am gardening challenged. I couldnt grow squat to save my life. I dont get it, I read all of what I am supposed to do, I use Miracle Grow soil..but everything I get dies off. I am now thinking plastic flowers! It is hard to kill them off..haha.

Bry, I only wish I could grow veggies like what you named. The egyptian onions are really cool looking.

[CometVoyager]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

Gardening in New Hampshire can be a challenge, for sure. Being in Zone 4 & 5 gives us such a limited growing season, but we love our gardens even though we don't get to enjoy them for very long. I suppose if the garden was "open for business" 12 months of the year, it would become just another chore and not something that we look forward to Anyway, I thought this might be a place where we can post our garden pics, share some ideas, and find a home for any "extra" plants that we don't have room for, etc.

These pics are not from this year (being April, it's time to start seeds to plant outside in May) but I thought it'd be a good place to start

These pictures from your garden have a wonderful impressionistic ambiance! You must have a lot of artistic talent Val!

[Valerie C]

Thank you for the kind words Suzet and Comet

I love to garden and I think I love photography because it doesn't require that brain-to-hand connection that I just don't have. I am so impressed with people who can draw and paint and make things from their hands, and the closest I can do is play in the soil and take pictures of what comes up And since I don't care for how flowers look when I shoot them from above, I can sometimes be found laying down outside to get garden shots. Yes my family and neighbors think I'm crazy, they're only half-wrong LOL!!

Bryfry, I wish you lots of luck in your veggie garden. Make sure you have a nice sunny yard--our growing season is WAY shorter than on the cape. My tomatoes and peppers (bells, jalopenos, serrano and sweet Italian) didn't ripen to red until well into September, but we had a much warmer than normal fall, if I'm remembering correctly.

And Dare, I'd love to try and help you identify what you're growing. Remember though, lots of weeds are just flowers that are in the wrong spot

[rmcewan]

We have 10 apple trees (Macs and Corts), blueberry, blackberry, and rhubarb ordered for pickup 1st week of May from a UNH program. We'll also be planting lettuce, tomato, hot peppers (don't know what grows up here), peas and beans. We already have raspberry, blueberry, and asparagus courtesy of the previous home owners. I understand that asparagus is quite reluctant to take hold, but they managed it.

On the ornamental side... mostly grass but some sad looking roses, holly, and other ornamental bushes. My wife is planning hydrangeas (if they're the ones that flower pink or blue according to soil type) and a few other things.

[lisa g]

Gorgeous pictures, Val! I think the catmint is my favorite of the plants in your pics - they remind me a lot of lobelia. It looks like you have plenty of light there. Nice!
I'm hoping that when our snow melts I will find some bulbs sprouting through, but highly doubt the previous owners here planted anything.
Egyptian Onions are very interesting!
And....Suzette, all you probably need to do to have plants thrive there is water, water, water!!!!
For all you NH gardeners, I have some q's. Do you use compost in your beds (ornamental or veggie) or loam or a mixture? Have any of you had to create raised beds? And a related question, is it stupid to think rototilling beds near the base of tall pines wouldn't affect their roots? I don't want these things coming down on my house!
And finally(for now at least), any suggestions for shade plants that actually flower or vine? Morning Glory, Honeysuckle and Jasmine were favorites in CA...can I grow any of them here in NH (assuming I can find a sunny spot)?

[buck naked]

ooohhh - garden pictures!!!!! I have some!

[buck naked]