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Florida Gardening

Recommendation for what to plant in a long sliver area?

13 years ago

I have a raised concrete driveway outside my house which adjoins a concrete sidewalk. However, there is a sliver of space between the two.

This sliver of space is 46 feet long, and 2-1/2 feet wide at the widest point. The elevation of the driveway meets that of the sidewalk on both ends, but at the middle there it is about 10 inches higher. Here is a picture of what that area looks like.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w67/143house/exterior/P1000957.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w67/143house/exterior/P1000960.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w67/143house/exterior/P1000959.jpg

The location is Miami Florida. The driveway is south of the house, and the sidewalk south of the driveway. The sliver of area runs east-west and is on the south side of the house, it does get some partial shade from the house and trees but most times it's full sun, especially in the hot summer. When it rains the driveway is pitched such that water runs towards that sliver area.

Any advice what to plant there?

Shrubs? Ground Covers? Grass (Mondo? Liripoe? Ornamental?) Horsetail? may be some landscape stones? I can't seem to come up with any idea what to do there.

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Comments (9)

tomncath
13 years ago
Here, lets post your pictures for everyone to see...you have quite a challenge with that area.

Tom
fawnridge (Ricky)
13 years ago
Spray the whole area with RoundUp. Fill it with river rocks - 3 different sizes - and then add 5 or 7 or 9 large flat rocks. Plant with Aloe vera or Aloe barbadensis (or both) and several dozen inexpensive cactus - round ones.
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natives_and_veggies
13 years ago
I agree with Ricky and Tom. That's a tough area, but a rock garden with succulents could work. With that space, anything else might require constant pruning. One plant that I really like that you might consider is firecracker plant, which is happy without water. Irrigation would be complicated there, most of it would run down the drive. And you wouldn't have to worry about one of the main problems with firecracker plant _ it will root wherever it touches the ground, so it can spread out of control. Not a problem if it's bounded by concrete. It would end up draping over your driveway and your path some. But it's a can't-kill-it kind of plant here in Miami.
It would fill in pretty quickly, but I don't know what would happen on those tiny corners.
Attaching a link with pics.
Ricky, Tom, thoughts? Y'all know this stuff better than I do.

Here is a link that might be useful: firecracker pics
fawnridge (Ricky)
13 years ago
Too big, too spreading, it would get trampled and become a maintenance problem. It does need irrigation to look its best.
dirtygardener73
13 years ago
I go with the aloe vera. I fought an area by my sidewalk for years. Everything I planted there grew out into the sidewalk, because it was under the roof overhang. When I moved in, there were aloe there that I pulled out. Strange, but after 12 years, I finally put them back in, and it looks great.
jjaazzy
13 years ago
How about Bougainvillea in the widest part. You would have to keep it trimmed to a bushy tree. You can't beat them for color. There are different types some are more ornamental kind of Japanese garden like. And some liriope in the smaller areas. There is another purple plant "Purple wandering Jew" that grows great in drought areas. It grows low to the ground, easy to control and can be maintained on the grown. There is also Purple queen which looks great grows about 1 foot high and looks terrific in a long stretch like that. I would do large clumps of one or two colors. It will look very striking approaching from down the street.
tomncath
13 years ago
I think the Rock Garden is definitely the way to go. Ricky, if they didn't want to put in a desert garden how would something like a Japanese Black Pine do there?
fawnridge (Ricky)
13 years ago
Whatever goes in there has to be low, a Japanese Black Pine is a tree, so no, not a good idea. Remember, this area is going to be attacked by dogs, bicycles, car tires, and walkers. Rugged is the way to go.
babalu_aye
13 years ago
I too like Ricky's idea of aloe and short cactus. They're compact, tough, and have an architectural quality.

John

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