Lynn, what are the blocks that you use to plant things in called? I think I might buy some

Cinder blocks

thank you now i can just walk up to my parents and say: CAN I BUY CINDER BLOCKS?

Here you go Alex.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-...

Can't wait to see what you do with them.

My dad has an empty 1x3 garden bed which he doesn't use, so I plan to use cinder blocks as dividers to divide the area into different sections. In one corner, I might actually raise the cinder blocks by a bit for better drainage.




now the only thing left to do is to find out how to carry these blocks of cement down to the garden without me falling over from the weight

sedumzz said:
now the only thing left to do is to find out how to carry these blocks of cement down to the garden without me falling over from the weight

Forklift

Or wheel barrow. Just a few at a time.

ok i think we have a wheelbarrow. I will start working on the garden after the snow melts.

The garden bed is filled with generic garden soil from like those big bags (no extra nutrients, apparently) so do you have any ideas for amendments? I will have 6 different sections in my bed, so each of those sections can be different depending on what I plan to grow. Currently, i will grow sedum (and relatives), sempervivum (orostachys, and other relatives) and a buncha random alpine plants and some of the plants my brother likes. (i have a little brother) any ideas for soil?

Take a photo of your soil for us to see. For hardy succulents an most other alpine type plants you will need fast draining soil. I would not add fertilizer. This can make many of these plants grow to lush and weak.
What plants do you plan on using?
And don't forget a good layer of chicken grit or 1/4" sharp gravel, not the round/smooth type.

Ok here is a general list:

dwarf crested irises
sedums and relatives
sempervivum and relatives
a few alpine plants
dwarf anemones (i forgot the name, will check later)

This is going to be a beautiful and interesting garden Alex. I look forward to watching it from beginning to maturity.

thanks I plan on starting to collect plants for the garden during winter break and buiding the garden after the ground thaws and the snow melts (the bed is like a big chunk of ice dirt right now, we had a big freeze yesterday)

Alex you will have lots of fun with that garden! I am pretty much restricted to container gardening. But it does allow me to have a bunch of different
kinds of Sedums especially here in Houston, TX with a zone 9a. So normally I can grow plants year around. Of course, my favorite plants are roses.

Alex, you might want to wait until the end of your winter weather before purchasing new plants. You want to be able to plant them right away, so they can get lots of new roots going.

ok! I have a few cuttings I will be rooting right now indoors. I got them from neighbors who let me take some

That is probably what I am planning regarding any Sedums I consider. To wait for Spring 2021 for most all of my plants. Of course, then it will probably
be more a question of them surviving through the really hot summer weather!

yea... I buy my sedums in the mail usually from like late febuaryr or march depending on the weather to early june, may, or july. I don't know if ordering in august or those really hot months is really good, because especially where I live (fairfax, virginia) it REALLY gets hot.

Anyways, here's a pic of my sedum angelina in the snow

@valleylynn, did you ever hear anything back about the cosmic comet sedum? I've tried finding it online, but the descriptions seem to be super vague. I do enjoy Chris's plants but sometimes it's a little frustrating finding out if it's really new.

Nathaniel, I am still working on it. I'm not sure that this isn't an advertising mistake. I do see the Chick Charms has a series of Cosmic for semps.
I just sent another query to a nursery for help on this.