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Unless the OP paid a lot of money for the house and landscaping the builder probably planted two kinds of shrubs. Bigger ones at each corner and three to six smaller ones in straight lines between them. Everything else is a weed.
Does anybody have suggestions for gardening for dummies type resources? We live in Westchester, NY now and prior to this I lived in townhomes or apartments and never had a garden to deal with. We have a lawn care service but doing the garden beds/trees ourselves. I really have no idea what I'm doing. The beds were planted by the builder but not marked in any way. When I say novice I really mean it. Like to the point where I'm staring at areas in my garden beds debating, is that a weed or a bush that was intentionally planted? I tried one of those apps that identifies plants but it just says, well it could be one of these 8 things pick which one it is. I downloaded the app because I don't know which one it is! I didn't have money in the budget this year to do much with the garden other than throw down mulch in the spring. So I'm just trying to keep it looking nice and the weeds out so I can be ready for next year to try and get some new plants/flowers.
Getting all the plants/trees identified is a top priority. Once you know what they all are that's the first step in planning ahead for their care and needs (or eliminating some of them) and for planning ahead for additional plant installations and all landscaping improvements you may do in the future.
If you're having trouble finding ID's my suggestion is if you're up for it, maybe you could post some pictures of the grounds around the house on each side of the house to give us an idea of the garden beds and lawns layouts, together with more closer up shots of the plants you need identified. They'll all be growing now and if any of them have flowers or fruits on them it's an excellent opportunity to be identifying them. Then some of us here can make whatever ID's are possible along with any other suggestions you may need about what you can do with the garden beds and what kind of care and growing conditions the plants require.
You can cut off a leaf of a mystery plant and bring it to a nursery. In White Plains, there are a few good nurseries on Mamaroneck Avenue. In northern Westchester, Claire's Nursery is great. 210 County Rd 68 Patterson, NY 12563. They will be able to identify plants for you and - nursery season is quieter now so they will have time for you. Claire's selection is so large, you'll probably will see plants you have, but didn't know what they were called.
Westchester has a garden club for in town. It costs twenty or twenty five dollars to join. You can bring pictures and leaf samples for members to identify. Some members are professional horticulturalists and some join for social activities. Hands down, they are the nicest people in town.
The New York Botanical Gardens is a short drive down the Sprain Parkway. They have tons of classes. Someone mentioned Westchester Community College native plants gardens and classes which is another good option.
You could let the garden go for this summer. You can research/discovered what was planted and weed next year. Letting a garden go for one summer will not harm it.
Last summer, I threw down some wild flower seeds in a corner of my garden. I have no idea what is growing there now. It's fine. If I don't like it, I'll weed.
Wow this got a lot of response fast, thanks guys. I'll try to snap some better pictures. It looks like I'm on the edge of Zone 6b and 7a according to the maps I found online. Unfortunately most of my neighbors pay people to manage their flowers/trees/gardens so they have limited advice. We do have a nice nursery just up the street who gave me some advice on my trees. I will probably go back there for help. I had never heard of the co-op extension program but the Cornell website looks like it has some contact information.
I basically have 3 areas for plants/flowers on the front/side of the house and then a square area out back meant for a (very small) garden. The front of the house roughly faces east so everything gets differing levels of sunlight.
This thing is growing like crazy next to the garage and is probably a couple feet tall by now.
And these little guys are everywhere. Trying to teach my son it's fun to pull these out of the ground but not the flowers. I don't think he quite understands yet though.
My neighbor has a bunch of these that I really like and they take up a lot of space.
I pulled everything out of the garden section except for one thing and planted some tomatoes, with the help of my toddler. I'm not sure what the big plant growing in the front is but probably a weed.
Last edited by LeavingNYCfast; 06-26-2019 at 07:30 AM..
You can cut off a leaf of a mystery plant and bring it to a nursery. In White Plains, there are a few good nurseries on Mamaroneck Avenue. In northern Westchester, Claire's Nursery is great. 210 County Rd 68 Patterson, NY 12563. They will be able to identify plants for you and - nursery season is quieter now so they will have time for you. Claire's selection is so large, you'll probably will see plants you have, but didn't know what they were called.
First pic, to the left, looks like the Joe Pye Weed I used to have, not a weed in spite of the name. IF so, it's a late bloomer, you might start seeing blooms next month.
Second pic looks like possibly pokeweed, which is a weed. https://courses.missouristate.edu/pb.../Pokeweed7.JPG
The third looks like catmint to me.
The last is a plant I can't name but would agree it's probably a weed. There's also an adorable toddler getting his hands into some gardening!
Wow this got a lot of response fast, thanks guys. I'll try to snap some better pictures. It looks like I'm on the edge of Zone 6b and 7a according to the maps I found online. Unfortunately most of my neighbors pay people to manage their flowers/trees/gardens so they have limited advice. We do have a nice nursery just up the street who gave me some advice on my trees. I will probably go back there for help. I had never heard of the co-op extension program but the Cornell website looks like it has some contact information.
I basically have 3 areas for plants/flowers on the front/side of the house and then a square area out back meant for a (very small) garden. The front of the house roughly faces east so everything gets differing levels of sunlight.
This thing is growing like crazy next to the garage and is probably a couple feet tall by now.
And these little guys are everywhere. Trying to teach my son it's fun to pull these out of the ground but not the flowers. I don't think he quite understands yet though.
My neighbor has a bunch of these that I really like and they take up a lot of space.
I pulled everything out of the garden section except for one thing and planted some tomatoes, with the help of my toddler. I'm not sure what the big plant growing in the front is but probably a weed.
You have a lot of the same stuff that I get in my flower bed. those tall plants on the left are weeds, you can go ahead and pull them . :-) You know though...that might be tall phlox. Look up tall phlox, and see if your plants resemble the pictures of tall phlox. Tall phlox is pretty, and the flowers smell good too.
Last edited by Sassybluesy; 06-26-2019 at 08:51 AM..
The picture with the bluish purplish flowers looks like catmint to me. (But all the mints kind of look the same to me.) Butterflies and bees LOVE LOVE LOVE mint, and it's easy to grow (some might call it invasive). But I love mint. :-)
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I tried one of those apps that identifies plants but it just says, well it could be one of these 8 things pick which one it is. I downloaded the app because I don't know which one it is! 
I didn't have money in the budget this year to do much with the garden other than throw down mulch in the spring. So I'm just trying to keep it looking nice and the weeds out so I can be ready for next year to try and get some new plants/flowers.
