half moon with summer bride hydrangeas and hostas

that last pic was from last summer sorry, this is the current pic of the half moon bed

Need advice on what to plant here, partly shade, morning sun.

Flowerbed with bradford pear tree in it. I was thinking about keeping this simple by add an old white faded wrought iron bench or maybe Confederate Jasmine as a climber on the fence, I hear you have to trim these guys up during the year, not sure how much I want to keep up with that

This area used to be my garden space by the fence, not sure what Imma do with that, probably nothing for the moment. Would to have a out door fireplace right there

Three dwarf arborvitae shrubs with three dwarf gardenia bushes. Not sure why that end shrub isnt as tall as the others

Four dwarf yaupon bushes, no problems with these, I need to fill in that empty space with something, it has afternoon sun. Any ideas?

Nandina bush next to a crape myrtle tree

In front of the dwarf Yaupon bushes a Red dwarf Japanese lance leaf Maple. ItâÂÂs outer drip line would just about fill that area but would not limit your window view.

In front of the Bradford pear two or three dogwood trees in a semi circle. Let them grow all the way down to the ground (ie. donâÂÂt prune!!) which would give you a cozy area for a swing. Nothing grows under them. They donâÂÂt like heavy objects placed on top of their roots so install bricks/pavers before the trees gets big. Dogwoods do not have leaves in the center of the tree, they are all on the outer surface so once under the canopy itâÂÂs like being inside a tent. Maybe remove the pear tree once the dogwoods get largeâ¦.. No droppings to clean upâ¦. Just prune a few branches to give you a âÂÂdoorwayâÂÂ.

If you want to plant climbers such that they grow horizontally instead of vertically you could do something like I did in this picture: I used #9 wire which is very hard to unwind so you may want to use a lighter cable. Note that the drip hose is tied to the wire. 1/4â drip lines run down to each rose bush.

I drilled a 1/2â hole through the 4x4x5â post near the top, installed a cap so the wood doesnâÂÂt rot out, and sunk them down 2 feet into the ground. I have mine positioned about 16â from the neighbors fence but 24â would be better ( didnâÂÂt want to reposition my robot lawn mowerâÂÂs signal wire).

Also, a Wild Flower garden would really give you color. Make it in the form of a tear drop so mowing around it would be easy. There are a few web sites that sell packages of wildflowers for your area. I suggest you only plant annuals which will allow you to plant something different each year. After the season is over just mow them down. Most will self seed.

ThatâÂÂs my 2 centsâ¦.

toolbelt

This post was edited by Toolbelt68 on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 18:10

Is there a reason they used what appears to be nailed and joined 2x4's for fence posts instead of 4X4 posts? Is it for soil reasons? I only ask as up here with our clay soil and winter frost heave, that fence wouldn't last more than 4-5 years max without falling over and/or leaning everywhere. And that is being optimistic.

Thanks Toolbelt! I will look into it and see if thats a good fit! Modern Man, are you talking about my fence post? If so, the reason why is the original property owner had a picket fence and he concreted the original posts. So me and a friend decided to just screw in new post to the existing so we wouldnt have to worry about pulling them up!

I am thinking about planting KO's at the post and Lilly's in between...what you guys think?

Are you wanting to plant knock outs because they are low maintenance and floriferous? I do not garden in your zone, but I would check the GW rose gallery or HMF to see if there is something suitable that could be an option as well.

I must admit to not being a big fan of knockouts, but also realizing that they can definitely suit a purpose.

Lynn

Just a suggestion but Homerun rose might be an option also. Deeper red than regular Ko. and they bloom well...

Here is a link that might be useful: Homerun

Hey Bamadude...RTR!
Knockouts would serve your purpose, but if you wanted something a little different that would give you some fragrance, too, you might want to check out the Easy to Love roses by Weeks (http://www.weeksroses.com/_RoseGroups/EasyToLove.html). I grow them all, and they really are as easy care as Knockouts here. All are pretty much continuous, heavy bloomers. Easy Going is the heaviest bloomer and the most disease resistant (more so than Knockouts) for me, but they are all very good. They are all fragrant, but Julia Child has a much stronger fragrance than the others...you can smell her from quite a distance and she holds up decently in a vase for fragrance inside,too. Some of the old garden roses/antique roses are also very fragrant, very good bloomers and very easy care here (teas (not hybrid teas), chinas, noisettes and some hybrid musks and polyanthas).
Where are you located? I'm about halfway between Huntsville and Birmingham. Bennett's Nursery in Huntsville is a great one and will make suggestions if you take your pictures to them. I believe Hanna's in Birmingham will, as well. Petals from the Past in Jemison is a wonderful place and stocks many easy care antique roses in addition to heirloom perennials and self sowing annuals. The owner is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Here are some pictures of my Easy to Love roses. Bennett's, Hanna's and Petals from the Past stock some of them in spring, but may be hard to find this late in the season:

Easy Going

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Easy Does It

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Julia Child

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Cinco de Mayo

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Hot Cocoa (between two Easy Going bushes)

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Livinâ Easy

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You mentioned using Jasmine to climb on the fence, but that you weren't sure about having to trim it every year. I have another suggestion you might like -- Type 2 Clematis. I have similar fencing in my yard, and also with the "pretty side" facing the neighbors. I bought a 7' X 100' roll of deer netting for very cheap, and nailed it against the posts (not the slats) of the fence. This made an almost invisible "trellis", and because it was attached to the posts on the backside of the fence, allowed a few inches of space from the slats. I also have some roses I'm training against the fence, but you can skip that part.

After weaving the first stems into the netting, all they needed was a little guidance as they grew to go in the direction I wanted. In a couple of years, they'll form a wall of leaves and blooms against the fence. And the Type 2 Clematis generally don't "need" pruning to continue blooming in late Spring and late Summer every year. You could also alternate Type 3 Clematis between them, since they bloom in the gap-time of the Type 2, but you'll have to label them so you know to prune them hard every Spring (they bloom on new wood).

These pics are from May and June, and the Clematis were planted only this year, but it gives you an idea of how easily they utilize the netting as a trellis. I'll have to take more pics to show how much the Clematis have grown already.

:-)

~Christopher

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Thanks peeps! This is very helpful and I appreciate all of the comments. I will post pics soon!