Anyway - here is part one of something I need help with. I'm no green thumb. At all. Like, I could destroy a silk plant in a matter of weeks. Yeah. It's that bad. So, husband is dead set, gung ho on doing some landscaping to our yard. This weekend. But, he's the one telling ME to get ideas together. My idea? Call a landscaper and let him have his way with the yard.
Oh, no. That was not the idea husband had in mind. He expects me to come up with a whole scheme, get the necessities from the Lowes, and start shoveling. psssshhhh. Hi husband, have we met? So... this is where y'all come in. I need help. I'm so lost. Where do I begin? How do I start? I need a plan. I work better when I have a book of directions. We didn't get a landscaping 101 manual when we bought our house. I know some of you out there will know just what I need to do. I beg you! Please help!
Here's our house:
Here are the particulars:
Previous owners never started a landscaping project. There is sod right up to the brick. House faces west. I have no idea where to begin.
Help and guidance welcomed and appreciated. xoxo.
17 comments:
okay, wow. you do need landscaping. Go to an older part of town and drive around in the neighborhoods. take some photos of yards you like that will give you a place to start.
design the beds in front of the house with a curvy border ...let it get wider in areas so...in other words do not go straight across the front of the house.
in general, you need some good anchor plants (shrubs) and some specimen plants ( perennials) and a few trees. annuals are for here and there...not to make lasting structure. i dont know what the climate is like -im guessing kind of dry in the summer...so you need to pay attention to what is thriving. again -drive to an older hood -cause everything there is established.
you also need to honestly assess your commitment level. if you dont want to work in the yard every weekend then find low maintenance plants and keep it simple.
sorry its so busy for you right now! i know how that feels and i dont like it. i hate pressure and rushing and being overwhelmed.
good luck! theres lots of good garden people on here...auntys yard looks great, fishy...i know boxer re-designed her entire back yard last year...dani...
but you need okie advice.
hang in there, buddy!
you know how on your blog profile you can put interests? see if you can find somebody in okc with gardening as
A couple of crepe myrtles ... very hearty in OK sun and colorful too in the summer. Flowers that I have found work well in heat are the Periwinkles or (whatever the name is for them .. vinca?) Also colorful.
The digging is going to be the problem and you might do the Callokie thing to make sure you dont dig through any important utility lines.
I wonder why the builder didn't have to plant a tree?
okay, wow. you do need landscaping. Go to an older part of town and drive around in the neighborhoods. take some photos of yards you like that will give you a place to start.
design the beds in front of the house with a curvy border ...let it get wider in areas so...in other words do not go straight across the front of the house.
in general, you need some good anchor plants (shrubs) and some specimen plants ( perennials) and a few trees. annuals are for here and there...not to make lasting structure. i dont know what the climate is like -im guessing kind of dry in the summer...so you need to pay attention to what is thriving. again -drive to an older hood -cause everything there is established.
you also need to honestly assess your commitment level. if you dont want to work in the yard every weekend then find low maintenance plants and keep it simple.
but you need okie advice.
It's looks good to me - maintenance free. Maybe a couple of pink flamingos and a yard gnome will do the trick.
See, free advice is free for a reason. Get a landscaper. Bwahahaha
Kym,
You've gotten some great advice thus far, sans the flamingos!
You can get tons of free advice from several sources, like the agricultural extension office and the gardening clubs. Most folks will help you for the joy of it.
You need.
Decorative pots
Trees,(3) minimum
Indigenous foundation shrubs, (curved installation as advised)
perennial beds
annual beds
Lots of mulch
REALLY pay attention to the faces West reality.
I agree with Chickory and Troll,
key your design installation to your commitment level.
Looking forward to the post photos!
Good evening Kym,
Some friends of mine used to have a pink flamingo cast in a concrete pad. It weighed about 500lb. We would drop it into each other's yards as a motivation keep up with the yard work. Fun until the legs were cut off. Maybe part of why I live on the water.
Anyway, I agree with most of the above and would only add, avoid planting that need lots of fertilizer. You seem to be very busy, so low maintenance should be kept in mind.
Looks kinda plain, lol !
I won't go into detail, because you cats are gonna do what you wanna do anyway, but I DO recommend BULB PLANTS for decor. NO MAINTENANCE, and they come back EVERY YEAR.
If you wanna "Smackdown" Saturday will be fine.
west facing + Oklahoma = hot sun. Check at the nurseries for what is heat tolerant.
I'm with Heff - plant bulbs.
Kym,
What zone is designated for your part of Oklahoma? Are you Zone 7 or Zone 6B?
Fishy, everything I can find says I'm in a Zone 6. Couldn't find a 6B. I'm intrigued now! How can this help??
scratch that, Fishy. I'm zone 7.
Yeah, ya need to know what grows in your area, no use just planting any ol thing. Take a drive, walk around the block or visit local garden shops to see what they recommend.
Zone 7
You can have LOTS of great choices.
Now decide what you like..... you may want to visit some of the plant supply houses web addresses .... most identify plant hardiness by ZONE as well as by type ( Tree, shrub, perrenial, annual, border, flowering, deciduous, heat tolerant, etc.) One of my favorites is
parkseed.com . Even if you don;t order from them there is lots of great info on the site.
Decide on color before buying. Do you like a mix of colors or do you like a lot of variety in shades of green, texture, leaf size and just One bloom color? Do you want a more contemporary garden lots of contrast and spiky shapes or an old fashioned rambling "cutting" garden? Some pick flowering colors for the garden to go with their interior color schemes...so they can have home grown bouquets in every room that looks awesome. Others select colors to accentuate their exterior finishes, like all orange flowers to go with their rusty colored shutters, etc.
One of my favorites is an all green and white garden. Evergreens for architectural enhancement, white crepe myrtles for height, shape and bloom, white azaleas, white gardenias, white shasta daisys, green and white caladiums or hostas, possibly white salvia. I like artemesia for textural change and lemon balm for the spicy fragrance. You might could incorporate a dracena or two for spikey contrast. Do you like border grasses such as liriope or mondo? I like mixing the varigated forms with the solids.
When you and hubby go to the garden center do this:
Pick trees you like and space about 25 feet apart, pick shrubs you like and place between the trees, pick smaller accent shrubs you like and place those in groups of three in front of the shrubs between the trees, pick bordering and flowering plants and space those in front of the accent shrubs. Stand back and determine if you like the color, texture and size relationships. IF you do, take a picture, buy the plants and install once you get home per your photograph. Be sure all are certified for Zone 7 and make sure they all say "full sun" because of your west facing scenario.
The others are correct Kym, there is lots of "free" landscape design out there. Go to any new development and look at what is installed there. The developer has hired a pro to plan and install the landscaping, you could always copy and then enhance.
Good luck.....looking forward to your next landscape post!
I'd buy vodka and tell myself that I'll get to it next year. :-)
You've gotten some great advice here and I'm taking some of it away FOR ME.
Good luck this weekend.
Geraniums in pots do well for us. Our yellow day lillies (bulbs) are coming back already and the daisies are showing signs of life. I love Fishy's design of the green and white garden. But I think you start small - container pots, but do plant a crepe myrtle or similar near the far side of the front of the house.
Oh-Oh,
Reckon I don't agree with Mom! In hot climates it is harder to keep plants healthy in pots than in the ground.
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