Your 2026 Garden

[FernwoodHollow]

Can someone who lives in the colder zones tell me which ones of these flowers you'd plant indoors and which ones I should direct plant in a couple of months? I've grown marigolds in the house before, so maybe those for sure? Some I want for baskets and big pots. I should have bought some petunias. I have a ton of vines growing in the house I add to them.

On the left is I think Queen Anns Lace I found in the ditch nearby. We don't have any in our wildflower garden yet.

View attachment 4309466

I'm in zone 5B I will be starting my marigold seeds next week inside to transplant outside in mid May and I started my calendula last week for same time transplant and then perennial flowers I start indoors very early like 12 weeks before last frost cause theyre slow growing but the rest of my annuals I direct sow as soon as the snow melts which should be about a month away here.

 

[Debbie292d]

I bought a small fan from Amazon and aimed it towards my seedlings, so they get stronger stems. They are growing really well but still thin
View attachment 4309662View attachment 4309663

Mine grew thin, but also have curling/dying leaves on them. So when they grow spindly, they say they need more light. When the leaves curl, they say they are getting too much light. I don't know which way to go, so took the light up about 6". They still look spindly and the leaves look worse, so maybe they DO need more light?

 

[fldiver97]

Goldenrods (quite a few native types out there) are actually a cornerstone species. Very beneficial for pollinators. I found that in a native landscape with a variety of plants they did well so to speak but never outcompeted the other plants.

 

[Debbie292d]

Goldenrods (quite a few native types out there) are actually a cornerstone species. Very beneficial for pollinators. I found that in a native landscape with a variety of plants they did well so to speak but never outcompeted the other plants.

Here in our wildflower garden they took over. You couldn't see anything but them. Last fall hubby pulled up wheelbarrows full of them.

 

[tripletfeb]

Mine grew thin, but also have curling/dying leaves on them. So when they grow spindly, they say they need more light. When the leaves curl, they say they are getting too much light. I don't know which way to go, so took the light up about 6". They still look spindly and the leaves look worse, so maybe they DO need more light?

I always heard that when the leaves turn yellow they are getting too much light. But I heard the leaves curling theory also. Hmm, time to do more research here

 

[FernwoodHollow]

Mine grew thin, but also have curling/dying leaves on them. So when they grow spindly, they say they need more light. When the leaves curl, they say they are getting too much light. I don't know which way to go, so took the light up about 6". They still look spindly and the leaves look worse, so maybe they DO need more light?

Do you have a picture of them? May be able to help!

 

[FernwoodHollow]

Here in our wildflower garden they took over. You couldn't see anything but them. Last fall hubby pulled up wheelbarrows full of them.

This is me with coneflowers. Theyre very pretty and the pollinators love them but they literally choked out everything else in my flower beds they even killed a hosta which is impressive haha and they self seed so they get worse every year so I will be cutting LOTS of them this summer so I can try to get some diversity back in my beds haha

 

[tripletfeb]

Garlic coming up. The cages are to keep the chickens from eating the sprouts. I don't let them in the garden area after I plant

 

[Debbie292d]

Do you have a picture of them? May be able to help!

This was about a week ago. The cherry tomato has little green tomatoes on it and it's doing great! The other three I'm about to toss. They're in a cage due to Stella the cat.




When I repotted to the ice cream buckets, I buried their stems as much as I could so it looked worse.

 

[Debbie292d]

This is me with coneflowers. Theyre very pretty and the pollinators love them but they literally choked out everything else in my flower beds they even killed a hosta which is impressive haha and they self seed so they get worse every year so I will be cutting LOTS of them this summer so I can try to get some diversity back in my beds haha

Oh my. I love those, and had none, so bought three when they were on clearance a few years ago. I hope I don't regret that!