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I'm here to learn about plants and landscaping so I can do something respectable with my yard. We moved into our house last summer (2004). Some of the landscaping is as old as the house--built in the mid-1950s. I'm from Ohio and am unfamiliar with many of the plants here (just north of Charlotte, NC) and how to care for them.
The previous owners didn't do much, so I'm in the position of pruning and deciding what to keep and get rid of. We have lots of shrubs, including azaleas all around the house and the property, a few very nice camellias, something that looks like bamboo and has red berries on it, as well as large mature pin oak, tulip, magnolia, and dogwood trees. Plus a bunch of stuff I don't know what it is (but I'm here to work on that). Not much in the way of flowers, although there were two crocus that I actually saw, as well as something that looks like really small violet hyacinth.
The previous owners had dogs and kids. There are bare spots on the weedy lawn in front, and practically no grass in back where there is still a dog house (whose growth is complicated by deep shade from the trees and the house).
There is a large sunny area in the back tht might be suitable for a vegetable garden. It might be nice to have herbs close to the house for easy access for cooking.
As for hardscaping, I don't intend to change anything right now, except to add some stepping stones/bricks near the water spigots and where we store our wheeled trash bins. The front walk has a very small ess curve to it, but needs to be resurfaced as it has major spalling (like walking on gravel, might as well be).
The one trouble-spot is my neighbor's ivy. It likes to grow up the side of my house, as well as some of my trees. The stuff is like a guest who won't go home. Personally, I'd like to kill it completely on my side of the fence, but I guess that would take some major chemicals, so I settle for chopping it back from the house every few weeks to keep an "ivy-free" zone of about 3-5 feet from the house. (I'm not anti-chemical, but I prefer to find a safe solution if there is one.)
The house is a 50's ranch with red brick exterior, white trim, almost black deep olive green shutters and front door, and black roof. Pretty standard stuff, but it has lots of potential, and the right landscaping can make it sing. It is built into a hill, so you can walk out of the basement into the back yard. There is a deck on the back of the house, which is slated to be replaced, which is above you when you walk out of the basement.
My personal landscaping preferences tend towards shrubbery and perennials that require little care, with a couple areas of annuals that I can switch around every year. I like to have privacy from my neighbors, for my own as well as theirs, but leave the front of the house fairly open for security purposes, so the neighbors can see if someone's breaking in (not that that would actually happen here).
I live in: United States
My zone is: z7 Mooresville
First registered on May 11,2005.
