Expert: Long Island Gardener - 6/28/2006

Question
Thank you so much for all the knowledge you bestowed on me. I now have to wonder how do I plant then all. Do I wait until fall or can i start right now? Can I plant them on each other at the specific depths that come on the packages? Thank you again.

Answer
A lot depends on how much you are going to be able to do, Shreeze.  This is a whole lot of work.  It can be very demanding.  Believe me, I know because I've done it.  If you hire other people to do the digging and soil preparations, which is more realistic, you still have to watch them because you never know what they will do, even with the best of intentions.  And then it boils down to money - how much do you want to spend.

The other point I have to mention is that when you set up your garden "floor plan" you don't want to have a little of this, a little of that, a few tulips in that corner, a couple of crocuses etc.  Your garden will look the best if you have large groups of a snigle flower, in groups of 25 or 50.

For this reason I order a lot of things from Van Engelen (www.vanengelen.com), which has lower prices but requires larger quantity orders.  This is the place to go if you want to order 50, 100, 500 of anything.  

Some of the fancier bulbs are not available from Van Engelen (certain Narcissus that I like) so I get those and some summer bulbs from Brent & Becky Heath (www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com).

If I were you, I would prepare the soil outside for whatever it is you are going to plant and then order the seeds for any perennials you want to grow for next year's garden.  

If you want to grow New Zealand Delphiniums from seed, you can place an order with Dowdeswell's www.delphinium.co.nz).

My Delphiniums are just about past their peak bloom right now, and I can tell you I have absolutely not seen a more beautiful flower anywhere than the blue hybrids I have grown from Dowdeswell seed.  I also have a bunch from Graceful Gardens(www.gracefulgardens.com), which only takes orders in the early spring.

Pick the flowers you want to grow and get started.  No time to waste!