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A beginner gardener with questions

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Question

I live in the inner sunset area in San Francisco. I have two small areas in the front of my house that I cleaned up. I'm ready to plant pretty flowers and bushes but not sure what to plant. My garden faces north, so we get very limited sun exposure (if the sun decides to ever come out in the sunset!) I would love to have a vine of Bougainvillea, some hydrangeas and a rose bush. How well will those survive in the Sunset, and can you recommend other pretty plants/ flowers that would be good for my area? How about dirt, will I need to buy new dirt?
Eileen
San Francisco

Answer

Since you get limited sun, you should consider plants best in the shade. This, unfortunately would exclude Bougainvillea and roses. You can have Hydrangea, Azaleas or Rhododendrons, star jasmine and fuchsia. There are many other wonderful blooming perennials such as Abutilon, begonia, Impatiens, and Helleborus. I suggest contacting our Design Department at 388-3754 for some on site advice. As for dirt, all good gardens start with the soil. I recommend that you work in Planting mix at a 50/50 ratio with the native soil. After planting, topdress/mulch with Forest Mulch Plus to reduce moisture loss and keep down weeds.

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