Which plants can I plant now (August) in New England?

Question

I am a total novice! I would appreciate any help, but please don't judge me by my naivety. I have never lived with a yard, so I'm really excited to get some flowers here!

I have a bunch of random seeds, that would eventually sprout various, beautiful flowers....but I don't know how to grow them so late in the summer! I have some sunflower seeds, and I have some growing already so I'm wondering if those are an option.

I have seeds for herbs too.

I live in Connecticut.

I don't have excellent soil, but I do have mulch, I weed regularly.

I don't know about fertilizer.

I will water them 2x per day while young or whatever is recommended.

I would consider buying plants and transferring them into the ground since I'm going to have to assume no seeds will grow right now, bummer...

I was thinking about planting seeds, keeping them indoors until next year..then transplanting them.

How about Mums, since they're supposedly hardy, last thru frost? Can I sow them myself now?

Any thoughts??

Answer 1

I know nothing about the area you live in except what I've read in Tasha Tudor's books as she lived in the New England area; sadly she passed away last month - a tragedy beyond words as she was a spectacular woman a master gardener.  If you get a chance - do buy some of her books to inspire you or check them out at your local library.  My favorite is Tasha Tudor's Garden but I also adore The Private World of Tasha Tudor.  The pictures are magnificent as are her words.  If that doesn't inspire you to garden, nothing will...truly.  From her books I know that your growing season in that area is much shorter than ours is in Indiana.  I would suggest sowing seeds this late in the season but I'm not all that big on seeds.  What you can do is start picking out bulbs for next year and get those in the ground after the first couple of frosts.  Make sure you check a map to see what zone you're in before picking out bulbs, perennials, biennials or annuals for next year.  Biennials last only two years but generally reseed themselves.  The first year is spent building up the plant and the second you'll get blooms unless you buy them from a nursery in their second year already.  Bulbs and perennials is where I spend the most money as they return year after year except in the case of biennials such as foxglove (gorgeous) and even hollyhocks but both should self seed if  conditions are right.  I suggest you invest in a really good gardening book to get you started learning the basics; be forewarned that gardening is addictive and can be expensive but it doesn't have to be! lol  Annuals (usually what the seed packets are) are best used to fill in between bloom times of your perennials to add that punch of color until your next blooms come from your perennials.  I've never had much luck growing flowers from seeds but this is not to say that you'll have the same luck or should I say misfortune.  

If you want flowers NOW I'd say mums definitely and yes they'll tolerate the frost for a while.  It's a little late to actually sow the mums yourself so just find the best deal on them and purchase them already grown.  I look for large pots of them that I can divide at least twice and sometimes three times, they will fill in nicely.  I do this with hostas too, I find a large hosta or one that has accidentally got two or three small hostas growing in one pot and voila you have two or three for the price of one!  If they're not seperate plants (and it's a large plant) just get a sharp knife and slice down the middle of the root ball and you'll immediately have two plants.  They too fill in pretty quickly and you'll not be able to tell it was divided.  Mulch is good now as it will break down over the winter and will help improve your poor soil for next spring.  You'll want to mulch again after you've planted next spring however and mulch around your mums this year.  Sunflowers are cheap so regardless of the weather you're not out much if the season ends too soon for them to flower.  If you do get them to bloom save the seed heads (the bloom) and when completely dry put the seeds into a marked envelope for sowing next year.  If you don't want to keep the seeds....the birds LOVE them!  I had finches hanging upside down eating the sunflower seeds from the head of the bloom a couple years ago.  Vegetable seeds I've no problem sowing, only flowers for some reason!  I much prefer taking cuttings or dividing my plants.  Do send me an email and let me know what kind of soil and what your lighting conditions are throughout the day and I'll be more than happy to help you out with any other questions you may have.  Observe the area you'll be planting at all times of the day to see how many hours of sunlight you get which will be key to a successful garden.  It also wouldn't hurt to start by preparing your soil if it's not in the best condition.  Till it up, get rid of grass and weeds and add composted manure, peat moss and perhaps some bone meal and a some all purpose fertilizer (there are all different kinds of fertilizer but it depends on what you're growing so best to use an all purpose this year and then find once you decide next year what you're planting you can add the one best for your needs then) then....mix well, mulch and wait for spring.  I believe people wait till winter to start sowing seeds indoors unless you have a greenhouse but don't quote me on this!  I just read recently that you're supposed to taper off watering the closer it gets to fall.  You want the roots to store moisture but don't want root rot in your mums (or other plants in years to come).  Of course as I said you can put your bulbs in after frost except for some bulbs such as the dahlias, caladiums, calla lilies and other bulbs that are not cold hardy bulbs; those must be taken up and put in a basement to kept dry and cool over the winter and then put back into the ground when all signs of freezing have passed in the spring.  (Get a good book, really)  Also are you wanting color or more interested in interesting foliage or both?  Most new gardeners are interested in blooms (colorful) and lots of them.  This year I ordered dahlia bulbs from paradisegardens.com and my goodness the blooms are enormous!!!  I had never grown them before but saw how lovely they were when I was in England two years ago so I thought I'd try them.  The first bloom is the size of a small dinner plate!  I highly reccommend their dahlias as well as their caladiums and lilies.   I've had a great deal of success with all their plants.  If you're at all interested in hydrangeas try carroll gardens (sited below); I ordered one and within a week had my first bloom!  I reordered six more hydrangeas - two of which tolerate shade and are climbing vines; I'm planting those tomorrow.  I don't want to overwhelm you if this is all new to you but if you're on a budget then go to the library and check out gardening books and particularly on propagating plants, plants that grow best in your area, care of plants and anything else you're interested in particularly.  You can take cuttings from friend's and neighbor's plants (with their permission of course) and I've even been known to pinch off a dead bloom or a tender shoot to propagate at a store or greenhouse to "try" to grow the seed.  Usually unsuccessful with the seeding though.  But then again I'm not good with flower seeds;-)  There are also (although I've not been to one yet) plant trades in all areas of the country.  Most avid gardners are more than willing to share plant starts and their secrets.  We LOVE to share what we know!  I hope my rambling has helped somewhat rather than confusing you.  It's easier than I may have made it sound and you'll fall in love with making beautiful flowers grow!!!  I promise.  Best of luck and do write if you need further assistance.  BTW, the two online stores I mentioned will also tell you what zone you live in as well.  

Regards, Angela