Noob here - gardening / horticulture basic Qs:

[Zeze]

Just got into the wonderful world of plant gardening (not so much for eating). I have a 2' x 30' strip on the side of my house. It's shaded by both my house and the beautiful brick wall on the other side. We affectionately call this a valley garden.

That strip was originally cleanly filled with gravel. It's neat but rather lifeless, cold, and drab. So I painstakingly took out all the gravel, removed the weed fabric, aeroated soil, and added compost. Then I transplated bunch of shady tall perrentials. I also bought bulbs of awesome leafy purple elephant ears. I bought creeping covering flowers too. I just sowed some sun flower seeds, petunias, and something else I can't remember.

Anyways. Questions.

1. Even with exact same seed, you can make them look drastically different right? 1 seed growing into a big thicker bush vs many seeds creating a thinner bushy look. Is this true?

2. This also applies to pruning right? If I'm obviously cutting off side limbs consistently, they'll grow drastically taller with a bigger trunk looking like a tree than otherwise a shrub right? Isn't that how 'lollipop' tree look is being done?

3. I propagated some neighbors huge hydrandreas (sp?) by taking off some relatively new stems just about to get 'woody'. I put them deep into a potting soil and watered the crap out of it. That ought to do it right? I hear this will takes 4-5 years though (in my case, lilacs).

4. I'm pissing in the garden (LOL), then dilute it with water. It's a great fertilizer (supposedly 15-5-2~). Then I also use that popular booster thingy from Amazon (0-0-2.25) twice a week. I guess this is a good regimen?

5. Generally speaking, why can't I just sow seed directly into the ground now that it's warm? I don't need to do the whole pot first thing right?

6. Generally speaking, the biggest reason for buying plants in nurseries rather than seeds is saving many many weeks. That's it right?

7. Can I still 'prune' real trees? I have a tree that's about 12' high. I can prune the major side branches with my hatchet/shear to promote height growth right?

8. What are some exotic / kickass plants to get for zone 7a? I saved a link that showed exotic banana plant etc..

9. What are gardening must-have tools? I have the claw, mini-shovel + usual yardwork tools

10. Best place to order uncommon plants or seeds online (reliable / quality plants)

11. I wanna get some garden bench and an outdoor garden rack where I can store things. Sounds good? Anything like this you recommend?

12. What's the best way to attract wild life? I live in suburban NJ. We already get cardinals/bluebirds/bluejays/finches/woodpeckers/etc. And too many of those hellbeast deers. Any secret to summon somethign super cool? Hummingbirds live in nothern NJ right?

 

[jmagg]

Before you get into it, you should determine the amount of sunlight the area gets, and plan your garden around that.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Doesn't sound like much sunlight. Small crack between a fence and a wall.

I don't know anything about elephant ears.

I'd initially plant stuff in pots, just to test the "shaded valley" location. Then you can move the plant(s) around as needed. Hard to eliminate the pest variable though. Pot might get slug-infested and then plant'll wither due to slug damage - but you'll likely mistake it for a lighting issue (oops).

One other reason to use pots is to get the seedling rooted and established indoors, in a pest-free environment, before introducing it to the great outdoors. Not really necessary, but might help ensure success.
Also, indoors you can jump-start the growing season, rather than delaying due to temperature outside.

 

[bbhaag]

You should have taken my advice and left the weed barrier. You also planted to many part sun to full sun annuals in what sounds like a full shade to part shade area. Anyway, to answer some of your questions.

1.I'm not sure what you mean.

2.Yes that is correct.

3.Start with letting your Lilac cuttings sit in a bucket of water. Once they start to form roots then you can transplant them into the ground or larger 1 gallon or 2 gallon containers to fully root. Then after a year or two they can be planted in the ground. Lilacs can tolerate a shade location like yours but they do not bloom well and are prone to powdery mildew.

4.Sure piss all you want in the garden then dilute it for your fertilizer. I'm a professional horticulturalist and I would never use that product at my store to fertilize my plants.

5.Direct sowing is fine now that the temps have risen and the soil is warm. If you really want to be sure check that your soil temp is at least 50*F or higher. Some plants are better sown in starter pots though. Some examples are tomato's and peppers.

6.Many many weeks depending on the plant in question. Sometimes years.

7.Yes that is correct but keep in mind the higher you limb up a tree the more visible space you will have under the canopy after it matures. Buy a small hand held limb saw to prune your trees. A hatchet it not the ideal tool to use because of the uneven cuts. Don't use pruning paint either.

8.I'm zone 5 so I am unsure.

9.Leaf rake, garden rake, shovel, snow shovel, pitch fork, pump sprayer, limb/bow saw, and a spade are what I use most often.

10.I've never ordered plants or seeds online. Most of my customers tell me they were very disappointed with the plants they purchased on the internet.

11.I don't have a recommendation.
12.I don't have a recommendation.

 

[Zeze]

PICTURES!

Here is the before. It's nice and clean, but rather cold & drab.

Omg this is going to take forever. The gravel is deceptively heavy. The right column alone must've been easily 2000 lbs~ I moved to another side.

Four hours after.... nicely cleaned off. Time to aerate soil.

Loosening soil

Ready for planting - also added some $$$ top soil.

Planting stuff that are all perennials (i.e. they come back year after year)

In the back I also planted kousa dogwood (beautiful year-around), variegated dogwood (looks nothing like former, amazing colors), coleus, and bloodsomething that has 'hanging bells' flowers.

I don't like manured mulched look. I planted some creepers. But I guess I'll have to mulch them afterall.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Picture links not functional.