Backyard overhaul & working with a blank slate...Pics!!

11 years ago

We are in Sacramento, CA and moved into our more permanent home in early May, so I finally get to start my first big gardening project (yay!). Our new backyard is basically a huge blank slate, which is both exciting and overwhelming for a novice gardener. I'm terrified about having to design a landscape from scratch but good thing it's not a good time to plant so I can spend the hot summer planning! I'm eager to show you our progress and to get feedback on what to do next!

Here's what we had to work with:
A decent cement patio edged by 22 roses. Beyond that, a "lawn" or shall I say weed infested patch, extending back to 3 large trees. 2 massive Oak Trees on the right and 1 tree on the left which I haven't identified. The backyard is facing South but those large trees provide a decent amount of shade to different areas of the yard throughout the day. (hopefully I can find my "before" pics to share just for fun)

What we've done so far. "progress" pictures are from about 1 month later:

Looking out from the house:
You can see the large trees in the back, new sod laid out, a 14' x 14' cement platform just beyond the roses, and planting beds barely visible around the edges of the lawn. Rose revival measures included violently removing landscapers fabric, top dressing with compost, and covering that with a layer of gorilla hair mulch. I also adjusted the horrible watering schedule they were on, which together with no maintenance was probably to account for the fact that they were covered in black spot-removed all affected foliage and waited to see how they fared.
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PROGRESS from same vantage point:
Patio covered in porcelain tile, patio lighting replaced (you can see one lamp by the window), Garden Arch pergola entrance added, Canopy and seating placed on cement platform, Roses happy and healthy now! Except for that one left of the arch which was transplanted (clearly not a good idea at this time of year) but I'll wait and see if it recovers and just replace it next year if I must.
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Close-up of Canopy:
You can just make out that the planting bed beyond the canopy, which for reference ranges in width from about 10-14' from the fence. Ignore the random pavers near the roses, those will be used for a short path through the grass starting at the garden arch and making its way to the canopy seating area.
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Facing the house, from the far back corner:
Sorry about the mess, this was in middle of working on the patio area itself. That's DH and my FIL hard at work making my crazy ideas come true :) Just beyond them is a white french door leading to the kitchen which we painted dark brown. Also notice the old patio lighting...strange bug-catcher-jar type things that were just awful imo. From here you can get a better idea of just how much planting area is left around the lawn. Those windows on the right are to the master, which also has an entrance onto the patio. In front of those windows we built that raised cinder-block planter (diameter is 10'), and we plan to put some lattice or something to block the ugly a/c unit. Also planning to put a rain barrel on either side of that wall where the rain spouts are.
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PROGRESS and close-up of the same area:
The french doors to the kitchen are now dark brown, as you can see behind Toulouse over there on the left :) A purple leaf plum was placed in the middle of the planter shortly after that last picture was taken, and it's doing well. Although we didn't have enough dirt to fill the planter so it's much lower near the edges and mounds up towards the tree. Going to go haul some more in soon, and then was thinking to plant something, or just cover with mulch until it's a better time to plant. In this planter is a mix of about 1/3 soil from our yard, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 new soil.
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Comments (10)

oberci
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Next on the To-Do List in relative order of priority:

Garden Arch:
Full Sun. Would like suggestions on what to grow on this. I don't think I want a climbing rose, since it's already surrounded by roses, but I'm not completely against any good suggestion :). What i DON'T want is something that will take over the structure. I was thinking maybe some kind of Clematis? I'd love to hear your opinions on the idea and suggestions for a variety that would work in this spot! Also happy to hear any other suggestions!

Raised Planter:
Need some ideas for permanent plantings to go around this tree. The area gets FULL SUN and is too far from those tall trees in back to get much relief until very late in the day. As far as style, I prefer something more informal and don't want to plant symmetrically around the tree (Does that make sense?). I know the roses are planted in a somewhat structured and formal way, and I don't mind them since they sort of separate the patio area from the garden. But I'd like to be a bit more varied with the rest of the garden. Back to the planter...I'd like something to spill over the edge in a few areas, and other plants to be more contained. Am I correct in assuming that I should wait to plant until after the summer heat dies down, especially in this area of the yard which gets a LOT of sun? Is there anything I CAN plant now that will do well temporarily so that there is some interest in this planter until I have a more definite plan?

Planting beds surrounding lawn:
I laid down newspaper/cardboard and covered everything with a thick layer of compost and was planning to just let the worms have their way with this soil until sometime in the fall or early spring. I've had luck improving soil this way, although not such a large area, but I'm hoping it will work fine. Should I cover the compost with landscape paper to block weeds until I'm ready to plant?

Under mature trees in back:
Sine this area is basically all shade all the time, albeit bright shade, the plantings will be much different than everywhere else. I'm just not sure how closely to plant near these mature trees. I'm thinking hydrangeas will do well in this spot, and I'd love to have at least a few in the garden.
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peachymomo
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Lookin' good! You've done a lot of work, looks like you're more than halfway to a finished product.

Clematis was the first vine that came to mind when I saw your arbor, although jasmine could also be nice for something with flowers that are scented but not as showy. If you pick two restrained growers they might play nicely together for either a contrast of colors or a staggered bloom time.

Waiting until fall to plant in the raised planter would probably be best, if you can't stand having it bare you could try some heat tolerant annuals but you will have to keep them well watered. I would be inclined to plant things like lavender, salvia, and thyme around your tree. There is a good variety of size, shape, and color and they are tough and drought tolerant once established. Also, I always use bulbs for seasonal color.

I wouldn't bother with landscape fabric on top of the mulch, the only time I think landscape fabric is good is when it's going under hardscaping.

I don't know how close is too close when planting near trees, but you should definitely be careful of watering too much around your oaks because it can kill them. Oakleaf hydrangea might be a good option, not as showy as some of the other species but more drought tolerant and better suited to our climate.

Have you given any thought to attracting wildlife? I have a similar sized backyard with some large trees and every day I enjoy watching the antics of the birds who call my yard home. Native currants and gooseberries are shade/drought tolerant, attract hummingbirds with their flowers and other birds with their fruit, and are very attractive in my opinion. Don't forget about ferns, they always add a bit of magic to any garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: You might be interested in the CalFlora nursery website
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Thanks again for all the great responses!! Perhaps I should've mentioned that we just bought the house 3 years ago and we're not planning on selling for a very long time. It may be small, but we're fixing it up to enjoy it ourselves and while we don't have kids yet we can certainly make it work with the size. Let me start by posting the picture that someone on the Smaller Homes Forum mocked up for me as this is very similar to what we're thinking as far as the house itself (not the landscaping so much). And also a close up of the front door (the current screen door will be repalced with a full/nearly full glass door eventually, it's a special size) You know what KarinL, I hadn't even really thought about the idea of raised boxes against the foundation. That is a very interesting prospect that I'll have to mull over a while. To be honest we don't use the porch very much, or I should say, as much as we should. But there's really not much to look at out there...right now anyway ;) hlechat - Thanks for the wonderful comments and search suggestions. I'll definitely take a peek at them! I love a thick dark green lawn as much as the next person but I don't use chemicals and I haven't taken the time to really investigate how to acheive that look without chemicals. To be honest, my goal is to reduce the amount of grass to mow, not only because it's a pain in the neck and time consuming, but I'm also trying to reduce the amount of gas we use (I know in the grand scheme of things its not really going to matter, but I like to think it helps just a litte bit). Much like drtygrl posted, that's one thing designshare got right. I'm really thinking my best course of action is to plant the whole front yard, at least the part in front of the house. I'm not going to turn the entire sideyard into a garden, I think I'll leave some grass there to blend into the neightbor's yard. Regarding the Japanese Maple, I think that will be the replacement tree type that I use on the right side of the house for when we remove the norway maple. It'll provide nice dappled to full shade from the late afternoon sun and I can get a larger one for that side then I could if I planted it on the left where I need something smaller. Plus I think it'll add some nice color to that side of the house. I never did get around to getting a better picture of the house this weekend, I'll try to get it posted today. But here's the site plan I sketched up. There is a slight scale to it, it was done on grap paper where 1 square equaled 2" but through copying and scanning the squares were lost, sorry!
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Well, let me start by saying that I don't have a mailbox like that, so my opinions are exactly that - opinions - and no more. I think you have a point when you say they don't look great growing out of the grass. But they don't make really convincing flowers either :-) What a mailbox garden in an otherwise plain yard says to me is "I couldn't think of anywhere else to put a flowerbed." That said, if having a mailbox garden is important to your wife, it doesn't seem worth having a war over. They can be cute, and they are actually a bit of an American cultural icon :-) An image search brings up lots of ideas for them by the way, including a charming row of mailboxes springing up out of the grass - but it seems to me that mailboxes have a function. I would think that function is best served if you have a brick pad around/beside it to stand on, which would also make mowing around it easier. Maybe a brick or paver pad, or even a 24" x 24" slab, with the flowers adjacent and good edging in a nicely shaped bed would be the best of all worlds. For my taste, a bed without hardscape always looks a bit accidental (unless it has really crisp edges). I always say that landscape design is for people, and so what constitutes good design in each place depends on who lives there. We, and the renegade gardener, can only give some objective guidelines, which if followed slavishly in all cases would create their own kind of undesirable outcome. So your landscape should definitely reflect your preferences. I'm also not a foundation planting guru - I prefer no foundation planting in the vast majority of cases - but let me take a stab at the problem with yours. I remember in an old thread, our guru Laag saying that a dark-foliaged plant reads in the landscape as a dark hole, or something to that effect, and gave as a solution something about backing it with something green. So one possibility is that the purple foliage is itself the problem. Only in this case, maybe if you put something bright green in front of it, using the barberries as a background, they might look better - deepening the bed to accommodate another layer of planting. You could also consider extending the foundation planting as far to the left as an antidote. Maybe move a barberry beyond the house corner. It looks on the aerial view as if you have some space there. But if you do that I would actually shift the planting weight away from the front door. The other general idea I was hoping you might pick up from those threads I linked earlier was about creating space in front of a recessed doorway instead of shutting it in. You have a fair bit going on there - I don't like what's in the middle either. But somehow what really bugs me here is that you have two uneven sections of your house, the garage one and the one to the left of the door. The one to the left of the door is smaller already, and your planting is hiding more of it; your tree will later do more of the same. That's why I would rather be able to see (or at least discern) the foundation of that section. And in contrast, the plantings on the garage side do such an inadequate job of hiding any of its mass that they look a bit... incongruous. They have no hope. They do not begin to address the blank mass over the garage door, which I think is what needs... screening, disguising, balancing... things that plants may not be able to do here (your tree on the right will maybe do it later). I don't know all the things that a person can do with that wall. Perhaps a little rooflet to match the one over the window on the right? A section of grey siding? Out of my realm there, but you get the idea. But in pursuit of having plants help with it, I would draw the bed on the right up toward the house instead of down to the driveway entrance. That will also maintain better sightlines for driveway egress. KarinL
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patlovesdirt, I didn't mean to say I liked your garden the way it was "better" than the beautiful revamp...just that I haven't reached the point where I can get anything to grow and bloom as lovely as you do in whatever arrangement you have...LOL. It's easier than I thought to attract Monarchs. Just grow Asclepias (milkweed) and Monarchs seem to find it somehow. This was only second summer I had milkweed. Last year I reared them indoors and released. Didn't have time or energy for hand rearing this year but I check on cats and chrysalids everyday outside on milkweed. I have Incarnata 'Ice Ballet' (swamp; white flowers), Tuberosa (sp. orange flowers) and grew well over a dozen Curassavica (tropical; yellow, orange & red combination flowers) to supplement two species that are perennial here in Zone 6. Had to start tropical milkweed indoors so they'd have enough leaves and then time to flower in this zone by early-mid summer. Doubt that would be a problem in your zone 8. Flower colors/hues on tropical milkweed are hard to guarantee from collected seed since they're cross-pollinated so heavily. I've still got too many cats that had better hurry up because they could get caught up here in the cold. They need to form chrysalids and eclose before it gets too cold if they're to start their journey to Mexico to overwinter. I'm afraid some of them won't eclose from chrysalis stage before it gets too cold for them to fly. If that happens I'll detach them from wherever they made chrysalis, reattach to netting container, overwinter in unheated garage and bring them out when weather warms up NEXT year. Can't bring chrysalids into heated area during cold or they'll eclose without outdoor heat to fly anywhere let alone to Mexico for the winter. You're new guy will be on his/her way to Mexico in next couple of weeks. Somehow they find each other and start to fly en masse down south and then across southern US over to Mexico. Most people think Butterfly caterpillars are as "gross and icky" as other creepy crawlies in the dirt. Once you see the whole process from tiny little cat to seeing beautiful butterfly eclose from chrysalis you never look at the caterpillars the same again. I've gotten a little maternal with them and talk to them...I know, I've gone over the Butterfly edge but sometimes I have to rescue them from falls off tropical milkweed in containers, fights among different size cats whom I have to separate to different plants (larger ones will eat small ones) and the like. Found one newly eclosed Monarch on the ground struggling to dry its wings after its chrysalis had fallen. Picked it up and it held onto my finger in the sun for a while. Then I told him I couldn't sit there for hours and put him on milkweed stalk with flowers so he'd have nectar when ready to eat. If you want perennial milkweed the species Asclepias incarnata has beautiful pink flowers. Doesn't bloom for very long but presence or lack of flowers doesn't seem to determine whether or not they lay eggs on milkweed. They just find it somehow. The Tuberosa is much smaller and comes with usual orange flowers but there's a yellow flowered cultivar. All milkweed I have in butterfly garden was stripped bare before cats were finished eating so I had to transfer them to tropical planted in containers. Unfortunately, I lost many leaves back there to either slugs and/or mildew from too many weeks of continuous rain. Believe it or not I've never seen a Monarch nectaring from anything but the Zinnia I grow for nectar. It may be that I don't have enough sunny space to plant swaths of nectar plants and have to rely on too many containerized nectar plants in sunny places...I just don't know. That situation doesn't seem to deter hordes of Skippers of all kinds and Cabbage Whites from nectaring on everything and anything. I grew some Verbena bonariensis from seed this year. Big attractor of any creature that wants nectar. I'll probably be sorry when there are tons of selfsown seedlings next year but wanted to try it since it's heralded as a no fail attractor and it was that. NOT for small gardens but I've seen so many photos here on GW where it looks lovely among other taller perennials. Besides, it's deer, rabbit and groundhog resistant which is a big consideration for me. Those darn maple trees have grown so much over past 3 years that my sunny spots to grow most things have disappeared. That's why I grew most of the tropical milkweed in huge storage containers I got from a recycling center and rehabilitated. If you want seeds of any of the 3 varieties I have just email me through GW with your address and I'll send them to you once they've dried. The roots of the tropical might just be winter hardy in your zone 8. It would probably have top winter die off since zone 9 is probably limit for evergreen with it. Sorry for the "Monarch tome" but it's one thing I gotten to know about in gardening and I don't have a vast pool of successes to talk about yet! :) I still love your garden "before and after"!
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Three years ago I bought my first home, on 1.5 acres. Even though it was basically a blank canvas, I often find myself worrying about it not begin big enough! (And then I look over my shoulder to make sure they're not coming to take me away...yet.) When I run out of space I will be: Making sure that there is some kind of garden action going on in every area at all times. Checking to see if I've maxed out my vertical space! I love vines. They can climb on trellises, trees, shrubs, tuteurs and anything else not in motion. Starting to look for the perfect piece of roof to start growing a green roof on. Planting more containers! And then when I've exhausted all those possibilities I'd most likely start looking to see which garden area I should overhaul completely, and thus start the fun all over again.
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socks
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Your yard is looking just dandy, Dandy! Actually, better than "dandy," very pretty. The roses look great--they really respond to even a little TLC.

I would agree with the above poster. You might check the watering requirements for your trees. Some oaks (maybe all) don't like extra water and will eventually die if they get too much. Our community has lost many parkway oaks because people run the sprinklers right under them to keep the lawn there alive. You might find the grass thinning in the shady areas under the trees, but that's ok. Lawn usually likes a lot of sun and water. If you decide to not water the oaks, you can pull back the lawn and let mulch and leaf litter accumulate under the trees.

I understand why you don't want too much bulk on the trellis arch; it will block the view of your fantastic yard. Mandevilla vine is pretty, star jasmine too, but maybe too solid for you.

Have you checked the tile on your patio for slippery-ness when wet? Be careful of that.

Although this is not the best time at all to plant, we have done it, recently with a large magnolia. I've even transplanted a rose in the dead of summer. Kept it covered and watered, and it did fine.

Easy-care plants we have and like are Indian Hawthorne (raphiolepis) and Mexican Heather. I love the idea of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea. They can be so beautiful.

Keep up the good work.
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organic_kitten
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
What a fun thing to be doing. Clematis would depend on the colors you like. Huldine is a lovely white with a very long bloom season here. The blooms are not the huge ones, but a nice size. anything else plays well with white, so you would have a nice selection.
Whatever you choose will be lovely, I'm sure.
kay
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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Your new home is lovely. Wait until September or October to plant anything. It's too hot now for the summer.

If those are native oaks, a blanket of their own fallen leaves and nothing else is the best possible thing for their long term health. It's okay to have an empty area in a garden; it gives the eyes a rest.

Hydrangeas are best on the east side of the house, they like a little direct morning sun to produce the best flowers.
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hosenemesis
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Beautiful design and hardscaping. I especially love the new planter you built. The plum tree color looks wonderful with the color of the house.

I don't think your arch needs any vines, but if you really want one, you might consider a clematis on each side. I don't know if all varieties do well in Sacramento. Here the viticellas do best, I hear.

If I had your yard, I would plant some native or low-water shrubs that can take shade under your oaks up against the back fence, to disguise it. I would not plant flowers there- just large shrubs, to give the feeling of being out in the woods rather than in the suburbs. I would grow tall shrubs all down the other fence line too, and maybe two or three small trees to break up the view of the neighbor's house and roof line.
But the deep bed on the back side of the 14x14 patio I would reserve for a lovely little garden- either a potager or a flower garden. I wouldn't be in a rush to finish that- I'd be spending a lot of time looking at photos to get some fun ideas. Maybe a fountain?

Good luck, and keep us posted on your decisions and progress!
Renee
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vall3fam
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
In your planter, I would use Lavenders and Rudbeckia. The combo of purple and yellow/orange would be very pretty and easy care and not fussy about water.

Elaine
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vall3fam
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Also, on your arbor, I would use Solanum jasminoides, blooms pretty and is of more open, lacy habit than Star Jasmine.

Elaine
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bbblueyes
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I love lantanas. I really like the bushy kind. We have some near the pool and they bloom profusely all summer. Each bloom has multiple colors and changes colors as it matures. Irene is a good one - shades of magenta and yellow. We also have a beautiful orange, red, yellow one. Not sure about the name. I'm not too fond of the trailing solid purple ones, but that's just a personal preference. They do great in full sun, are very drought tolerant, So my vote is for lantanas in a sunny area that needs something bushy.
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bbblueyes
11 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I love lantanas. I really like the bushy kind. We have some near the pool and they bloom profusely all summer. Each bloom has multiple colors and changes colors as it matures. Irene is a good one - shades of magenta and yellow. We also have a beautiful orange, red, yellow one. Not sure about the name. I'm not too fond of the trailing solid purple ones, but that's just a personal preference. They do great in full sun, are very drought tolerant, So my vote is for lantanas in a sunny area that needs something bushy.
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Backyard overhaul & working with a blank slate...Pics!!

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oberci
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peachymomo

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socks

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Backyard overhaul & working with a blank slate...Pics!!

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oberciOriginal Author

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oberci
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