What Plant(s) Are You Looking Forward to Planting in 2008?

What plant or plants are you looking forward to planting this year? Do you have something new or is there something you planted last year that did really well and you want to try again?

Our planting season last spring was almost entirely a bust due to our need to rehab our house. The carpets needed replaced, everything needed painted, and we put in hardwood floors. It was a former foreclosure house that we bought for a good value. We spent March, April and the beginning of May working on the house and consequently the yard only received enough attention to get a mowing. Even the mowing didn’t happen for a while since we needed to get a riding lawnmower. This year I’m looking forward to planting quite a few things.

One of the first things I’ll get into the ground this year will be a nice Yoshino Cherry tree. To me they are the perfect ornamental tree. They’re smaller in stature than many trees but have a great form and wonderful flowers in the spring. I’ve got the perfect place for it in the front yard. I also want to get two more maples to frame an area in the backyard. Red maples or sugar maples would be my preference.

I’m also looking forward to planting the Catmint and Salvia. Since it will be our first year with our raised beds I’m eagerly anticipating those veggies. I have four red-twig dogwoods that have been successfully propagated from cuttings that I want to get into the ground. I may need to wait until fall when they are larger, but since they grow relatively quickly they may do fine.

You can call me crazy if you want but I’m also looking forward to finding those mid-summer discount plants that the big-box stores try to get rid of that only need a minimal amount of maintenance to restore. Let’s see, how many more viburnums can I get for my yard…

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14 thoughts on “What Plant(s) Are You Looking Forward to Planting in 2008?”

  1. Dave,

    This is quite possibly the best and most difficult question for me to answer…it would mean having to choose.

    I am hoping to plant more heucheras, Christmas Fern and if I can same up my pennies to get a viburnum rifidulum (rusty blackhaw) or two to complete what we romantically call the Rusty Blackhaw trail in our front yard.

    Thanks for helping me focus!

    Gail

  2. I’m looking forward to anything that will do well in a first-year garden!!

    Our planting season doesn’t start until the first week of May, so I do have a bit of time. But this also means I need things that have a short ‘days to maturity’. So any help would be great!

  3. i am looking forward to planting a great big privacy fence between my neighbor and their pack of dogs. oh,you said plants. lol in front of that i will put three huge crepe myrtles-maybe muskogee. i can’t wait to finish this side of the yard. i hope the fence helps with nuisance barking-to stop it. any other ideas?

  4. I love posts that ask the readers what plants they are interested in ! Thank you ! : )
    I am after another hydrangea .. I started out with Little Lamb and love it to bits .. now I really want “Pinky Winky” .. I know the name is too silly , but the shrub/flower is gorgeous !
    Joy

  5. At this point of winter, I am ready to plant anything. I am chomping at the bit to get into my raised bed garden and plant the early spring vegetables.

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

  6. gardenjoy4me, hi. i saw you want a pinky winky. i did too. i purchased one last year as it came well recommended. i got a stick that never grew. extremely disappointed. i did water and baby it. i hope you have better luck.

  7. Gail,

    Often good questions are difficult ones! Huecheras, ferns and viburnum all sound good!

    PlantGurl,

    What kind of garden are you starting? Also what zone are you in?

    Tina,

    Wow, I think anything fast growing and thick with foliage. Maybe even an arborvitae as a backdrop behind your myrtles. Alternate the two with the myrtles being several feet closer to you. The fence should help a lot. Is it one of those solid panel ones?

    GardenJoy4Me,

    There are many silly names out there for plants aren’t there? What matters is how they look and function. Thanks for the compliment on the question!

    Carol,

    I know the feeling!

    Aunt Debbi,

    Sounds like a nice gift! You can’t go wrong giving a plant as a gift to a gardener!

  8. Thanks for making us think! Sometimes I don’t know that I want something until I see it at the nursery, then must have it. But the fig tree on order is my most anticipated, no wait, the edgeworthia, or the canna phaison, and like Tina, there is a new contruction project, a fifteen by seven foot arbor in the works.

    Frances at Faire Garden

  9. hey dave,
    i have arborvitae on the other side and they work fabulously. my pool is only 10 feet from the current fence and the area is a bit more shaded. the problem is four dogs, including two pit bull mix puppies which nuisance bark all the time. whenever i open my front OR back door they are there barking incessantly. four of them! no tree would shield me completely so i feel i have no choice. funny, though. when the guy bought the house he liked it because it was a quiet area and he saw me working in the garden. thought it would be a good place to live. then just keeps bringing home dogs. not quiet anymore. very difficult for me to work out there or even to walk. i must say, he did install an underground electric fence, so if he would get bark collars we would be golden. not sure if he will. in the meantime, the fence is no less than 160 feet, and that is just the back. i need to do the front too but privacy fences ARE expensive. i did not realize how much. i am trying to find a craftsperson through some sources to build it a bit more cheaply. if that fails, i may do it myself. i have a special fence in mind with horizontal 1×6″x12′. i think it will be strong structurally and not require stringers. the nice side will be in toward my home. but, if they get bark collars i won’t do it right now, but sooner or later it will be required. how do others deal with dogs? they bother me tremendously. i have three of my own and fostering three puppies, but they DON’T bark at neighbors and if they ever did, i bring them in right away. i just think that is the right thing to do but not everyone thinks this way i guess. sigh. too long i know. i will post about it as it goes along. it will be nice and give me much privacy as i garden every inch of my 43000 sq foot (one acre) property.

    frances, looking forward to seeing the progress of your new arbor. backyard or front? seems you had one in the front already.

  10. The first plant that popped into my head is Lysimachia ephemerum. I haven’t ordered a plant by mail in many years but I’ve been lusting for this one a few years now. Several English gardening books highly recommend it as a clumper, not a runner. I finally broke down and ordered not one but TWO this year from Digging Dog Nursery.

    I’m also excited to add back some edibles to the garden. Corn will be going in my perennial borders and I’m going to keep my eyes open for some blueberry bushes.

  11. Robin, The hummers and butterflies love lantana and butterfly bush also! That is how my garden and planting got started. I wanted to create a butterfly and hummingbird area. It has overflowed into other areas now! Wow, life is good…

    I will plant what ever jumps out at me while strolling around in the garden center… I prefer low maintenance, drought tolerant items though. I will walk around reading tags for hours looking for the perfect new item…

  12. What kind?
    Edible? (I’m fairly easy) I would say vegetables and herbs.

    Zone 4. Surprise frosts in June. Short growing season. Raised beds.

    Does that help? 🙂

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