Gardening
Possibly a little late in the season, but hopefully not too late!
Our lawn is in terrible shape, superficially. In attempts to pretty it up, there's a few things I need advice on, both naturally and financially (seriously only have about $20 to spare this month).
1. We have very generic concrete steps in our front yard, because our house is on top of a steep hill. Every house in our general area is exactly the same, with a long metal pole as a hand rail. The grass is out of control along these steps, so I've decided to plant wild flowers along it, and up to the house - I'd rather have flowers spilling over the steps than grass we can't manage to keep back. We're generally a "start from the seed" type of people, when it comes to our veggie garden, but since it's so late, what can you recommend as far as getting wild flowers ready to go? We're in south western Ohio, so I'd love flowers that naturally grow here. And any tips to pretty it up while we wait for the blooms? I've absolutely never planted flowers before, and have no idea how to go about it.
2. When we first moved in three years ago, we were pretty impatient about starting our veggie garden out back, and plopped it down right smack in the middle of the backyard. Now that we have a dog, I want to move everything to a raised garden bed. How do I get grass back over this big patch?
3. We also have our strawberries coming back, very rapidly. Is it possible to move these to pots, even though they've already begun to bloom?
4. There are wild strawberries and wild violets scattered all across our back and side yard. How safe is it to consume these, now that the dog has claimed almost the entire back lawn? I'm very interested in starting to collect naturally occurring plant life for consumption - flowers, mushrooms, nuts. Any recommend books? What are regulations if, say, I'm out hiking and see something? Am I allowed to pick it? I can't imagine anyone being upset if I brought home a basket of dandelions, though I really have no idea. :(
Our lawn is in terrible shape, superficially. In attempts to pretty it up, there's a few things I need advice on, both naturally and financially (seriously only have about $20 to spare this month).
1. We have very generic concrete steps in our front yard, because our house is on top of a steep hill. Every house in our general area is exactly the same, with a long metal pole as a hand rail. The grass is out of control along these steps, so I've decided to plant wild flowers along it, and up to the house - I'd rather have flowers spilling over the steps than grass we can't manage to keep back. We're generally a "start from the seed" type of people, when it comes to our veggie garden, but since it's so late, what can you recommend as far as getting wild flowers ready to go? We're in south western Ohio, so I'd love flowers that naturally grow here. And any tips to pretty it up while we wait for the blooms? I've absolutely never planted flowers before, and have no idea how to go about it.
2. When we first moved in three years ago, we were pretty impatient about starting our veggie garden out back, and plopped it down right smack in the middle of the backyard. Now that we have a dog, I want to move everything to a raised garden bed. How do I get grass back over this big patch?
3. We also have our strawberries coming back, very rapidly. Is it possible to move these to pots, even though they've already begun to bloom?
4. There are wild strawberries and wild violets scattered all across our back and side yard. How safe is it to consume these, now that the dog has claimed almost the entire back lawn? I'm very interested in starting to collect naturally occurring plant life for consumption - flowers, mushrooms, nuts. Any recommend books? What are regulations if, say, I'm out hiking and see something? Am I allowed to pick it? I can't imagine anyone being upset if I brought home a basket of dandelions, though I really have no idea. :(