posted 2 years ago
I wanted to ask a question about planting some Zinnias and Cosmos (grown from seed indoors) outside in an area that is presently taken over by wild plants (aka weeds) We live in a forest and I have never managed to "manage" our side yard. It is full of ferns, marsh marigolds, bluebells?, nettle and milkweed, and lots of trees. By summer, we just try to mow it to contain the weeds. And yes, I do try to forage what I can from different areas but I haven't been able to get to this area yet.
What I am wondering is how useful you think it might be to plant some flowers directly in the area, among the bluebells (not sure if that's what they are, but beautiful blue wildflowers) and nettles. Usually, when I plant something, I put cardboard down and then put a hugel mound there, so this would be a new idea for me. Both the cosmos and zinnias plants are about 1 foot tall, but are not flowering yet. My questions are whether putting them in such a aggressive environment would kill them off or would they compete? I could weed the area where they are but I kind of want it to be a "wild meadow" type of garden, if that makes sense. I am hoping that these flowers, which I have read are quite strong/hardy, would compete and kind of redeem this area and maybe tame the other species somewhat. Maybe I could even proprogate them... maybe. This is new territory for me.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance!
Here are some pictures of said area. It is only spring, so the existing plants are quite tame now compared to how they get later in the summer.
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Best serotonin-booster ever: garden time.