New Year's Resolutions (for Gardening)

[ReadmeByAmy]

Right now I am having a vacation in my home country for the holiday season and how I love to see our garden is still that beautiful because of my mother loving tender care for all our plants in our garden. Actually I do not have any personal resolutions to promise every new year that is why it is the same when it comes to gardening. I am just planning to put some air purifier indoor plants when I go back home.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Actually I do not have any personal resolutions .

That is why I made this topic, to give you one!

 

[Beth_B]

It's never too late to purchase packets of them from garden centers, though! Usually around $2 for 35-75 seeds, and since they need to be outdoors during winter to grow in Spring, now's the best time to do it if you want to see them bloom next year!

I found this image online of someone who used quite a few orange milkweeds around their house and thought it was a great example of someone who used Milkweed in a more formal setting than my prairie-style garden.

View attachment 10540

Ooh that's really pretty. If the local great garden center doesn't have seeds I'll order them online. Now I want a big patch of them in my side yard. The ones I see growing wild here have white flowers...they grow along the Flint River and seem to attract box elder bugs in fall, when they're releasing the cotton and seeds.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

If the local great garden center doesn't have seeds I'll order them online. Now I want a big patch of them in my side yard. they grow along the Flint River and seem to attract box elder bugs in fall

I'm so glad to hear that! You'll absolutely enjoy them!
Those Box Elder Bugs you see on them are probably actually Large Milkweed Bugs, which look very similar to box elder bugs. One of their main food sources are milkweed seeds, and young ones only eat milkweed seeds. You see more in Fall because that's the best time of year for them to find seeds. I think they also migrate, so that could be another reason why you see more of them in Autumn. Just goes to show there are many other species that rely on milkweed!

I could go on and on and on.

 

[Beth_B]

No kidding! Somewhere in my photo album I have a cool photo of what I always thought were box elders on a milkweed plant. I really appreciate your informative posts.

My local greenhouse is apparently closed for the season. So I'll order seeds online for whatever milkweed is native around here.

Speaking of butterflies, do you know offhand what would be good to attract butterflies here? I know I can Google but as long as I have your attention. Birds and bees and insects I have aplenty but it would be nice to have more butterflies. I'm constrained by having a very wooded and shady lot...my sunny real estate is either vegetable beds or where the dogs hang out when I'm home. And my dogs are really hard on anything growing especially the humungous puppy who eats everything possible.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My local greenhouse is apparently closed for the season. So I'll order seeds online for whatever milkweed is native around here.

Speaking of butterflies, do you know offhand what would be good to attract butterflies here? I know I can Google but as long as I have your attention. Birds and bees and insects I have aplenty but it would be nice to have more butterflies. I'm constrained by having a very wooded and shady lot...my sunny real estate is either vegetable beds or where the dogs hang out when I'm home. And my dogs are really hard on anything growing especially the humungous puppy who eats everything possible.

Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, often called Butterflyweed) is native to Michigan. I also recommend Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, often called Rose Milkweed), which grows twice as tall as orange milkweed, but has a similar look and pink flowers. My swamp milkweed hasn't bloomed yet, but here's a photo I took of one in the wild.

Neither are aggressive spreaders like Common Milkweed can sometimes be, but if you have the room and don't mind spreading, Common Milkweed is nice and smells like lilac. Beauty is not necessarily it's strong point, but some people really like it's large round leaves.


The best plants I know for butterflies all require fairly sunny conditions. Milkweed is one of them. Butterflies really love good nectar plants. Purple Coneflower, Blanket Flower, Blazing Star, Lanceleaf Tickseed, & Black-eyed Susans are some of the best. Many who have butterfly gardens say Purple Coneflowers are a must, and when you combine at least a few different kinds of plants, you get a garden that more butterflies will visit.

Asters and Michigan Lilies are some plants that can handle more shade and attract butterflies, but they do need a little sun. I don't know too much about shade plants since I don't have many shady areas in my yard. I do know that Wild Columbine, Dutchmen's Breeches, Bloodroot, & Trout Lily are important plants that grow in shade, but I don't have enough experience with them to know if they're big butterfly attractors.

Also, I have to mention that many hybrids and varieties that are created lack nectar, which make them useless to butterflies. That's why I try to stick with garden centers that specialize in selling the real native varieties. I've mentioned Prairie Moon Nursery before. That's one of the most reliable sources I know. They don't sell anything other than the real native plant varieties.

 

[amelia88]

My New Years resolutions from a gardening perspective are just to grow more things that we can eat. Especially during summer, tomatoes, basil and cucumber are things we go through like crazy, but they grow quite well here, so I want to make sure we have enough growing that we don't have to buy anything from the store. I love the idea of being self sufficient through gardening and that's a big goal for me.

 

[Beth_B]

Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, often called Butterflyweed) is native to Michigan. I also recommend Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, often called Rose Milkweed), which grows twice as tall as orange milkweed, but has a similar look and pink flowers. My swamp milkweed hasn't bloomed yet, but here's a photo I took of one in the wild.
View attachment 10551

Neither are aggressive spreaders like Common Milkweed can sometimes be, but if you have the room and don't mind spreading, Common Milkweed is nice and smells like lilac. Beauty is not necessarily it's strong point, but some people really like it's large round leaves.


The best plants I know for butterflies all require fairly sunny conditions. Milkweed is one of them. Butterflies really love good nectar plants. Purple Coneflower, Blanket Flower, Blazing Star, Lanceleaf Tickseed, & Black-eyed Susans are some of the best. Many who have butterfly gardens say Purple Coneflowers are a must, and when you combine at least a few different kinds of plants, you get a garden that more butterflies will visit.

Asters and Michigan Lilies are some plants that can handle more shade and attract butterflies, but they do need a little sun. I don't know too much about shade plants since I don't have many shady areas in my yard. I do know that Wild Columbine, Dutchmen's Breeches, Bloodroot, & Trout Lily are important plants that grow in shade, but I don't have enough experience with them to know if they're big butterfly attractors.

Also, I have to mention that many hybrids and varieties that are created lack nectar, which make them useless to butterflies. That's why I try to stick with garden centers that specialize in selling the real native varieties. I've mentioned Prairie Moon Nursery before. That's one of the most reliable sources I know. They don't sell anything other than the real native plant varieties.

Yeah that's probably why I don't see many butterflies here...I have a very wooded and shady property, so I guess those are the parameters I have to work with. At my last house I had black eyed susans, purple coneflowers, yucca, Shasta daisies and several other sunloving plants and ground cover. Here its a bit different.

I'll get it figured out by spring!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Joe Pye weed is wonderful. and it is very hardy to zone 4. needs very little attention.

 

[Daren]

New Years Resolutions! Mmmmmmm More Aquilegia's & Achillea, Delphinium,Verbena's & Echinacea, Dianthus, Coreopsis, Eryngium, Foxglove, Verbascum's, Bluebells, Snowdrops leaving sections and parts of the grass to flower & seed where, Daises, Buttercups & Celandine's can thrive. I love the look of flowers in grass in spring. A good mix of Native and non Native. I have never bothered with Milkweed as it is a bit of a challenge here in England & Defantly Not a Native here!! I would have to move it in to the worm in winter That's to much bother as we have so many plants in England that love our Weather . I seem to remember reading about Kew Gardens & a Monarch Butterfly laying eggs there but I don't think I or any here are ready to copy Kew here!!!!!!!! We have Lavender, lilac & the Buddleia Butterfly Bush to keep any Monarch happy( If She Vist's). I'm going to get better with Penstemons My willow Wicker woman may be made If I get round to it & I still like my Topiary art. O yes And my grass will still need cutting Even if I like the flowers in it I still need to get to the gate! & before I forget I love your Garden JB it looks Fab

 

[sixxup]

I want to have a lot of fruit trees in my garden. I have been buying fruits lately. I had some mango trees but they all dried up, unfortunately. I also want to plant more green vegetables.