I kill everthing I plant.
I really do but my old land lady used to plant tiger lilliess and they would grow like weeds. I would like to get some of them and some wild tall growing grass. Where can I get them ?

I have spent about $ 2000.00 on shrubs , they old died. I need something hearty. Can you help.
Larry.

Larry, Where do you live?
I don't have any way to mail stuff out yet... Just getting restarted in a new location...

I commiserate with your bad experiences... but the secret to growing stuff is to get out there with a shovel & turn a large patch of soil and to add lots of organic amendments, like compost, manure... see my soil page: http://www.freewebs.com/stonethegardener/soil.htm

I do have broom grass that grows in tall clumps, that I think has possibilities for the dry yard.



I also have muhly grass. I'm just learning my grasses though, I haven't started growing them from seed yet. I have been digging them & moving them around, and will be able to share soon.

I think that you could google either of these grasses to locate sources. In the meanwhile soil conditions have everything to do with why stuff dies when it's planted at your house.
Stone

I live on Staten Island in NYC. The grass look great. I just wanted something to grow tall in front of a window for privacy . And a little bit of color. I dug out the old dirt and put in new fresh top soil , peet moss , and fertilizer . But no luck.

I'm moving this discussion to my garden forum, I hope that's acceptable.

When we dig a hole and replace the soil, we create more problems then we solve.
The new material dries sooner in the summer, and takes in more water in the winter... you'll find that you have plants in standing water!

The trick is to work organic amendments into a large bed, then to plant the bed.

I wouldn't plant grass in front of the window, I'd go for something like high bush blue berry, or rhododendron.

It's been some 16 or 17 years since I was in the north east, I can't remember what all thrives up there, but a walk around the neighborhood should give you some ideas of what grows, and what you like.

Larry,

It's hard to give recommendations without seeing the area and the growing conditions. Soil type, moisture and light levels are all important factors to take into consideration.

What shrubs have you tried? Hard to believe everything died but knowing my wife I know it's possible :)

Off the top of my head two shrubs come to mind. Lilac and Forsythia are both hardy and grow in conditions that might not be ideal. The want plenty of sun so take that into consideration.

One thing to do is look around the neighborhood to see what is growing there - that should give you a decent idea what may be suitable.

The more information you can provide the better we can 'guess'