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Florida Gardening

no lawn: pics of landscape

14 years ago

This is part of my front yard. All the blackeyed Susan's are re-seeds from last year. It's too bad that the mealies like them so much!

Here's the side...southern exposure.

This is the same side at a slightly different angle.

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Comments (20)

corar4gw
14 years ago
Am sending these photos to my son. He and the HOA are snarling at each other re the lawn grass thing. cora
laura1
Original Author
14 years ago
Cora-I hope this helps. I'll tell you that people make a point to jog, walk, walk the dog etc by my garden so they can see what is blooming today.
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Almost there with landscape plan... care to comment? (Pics)
Q
Comments (26)
Hi everyone! Sorry for the confusion. The first picture at the top of the thread is take from the corner of the lot. The main street (Foreside Road) is South, parallel to the garage and the face of the house with the front door. Since we're on the corner, there's also a side street (Hallmark Road) exactly perpendicular to Foreside Rd, and parallel to the part of the house with the patio doors. Right now, our mailbox is at the foot of the driveway on Hallmark Road, as you can see in the photo looking up the line of fir trees towards the corner of Hallmark and Foreside. Our GOAL is to create a front path and move the mailbox up to the main street, Foreside Road, where it belongs. Sorry about that confusion! laag, I get what you're saying about designing from the outside in. Just not sure it's easy for me to do that! I am feeling really rather overwhelmed by all this. Now even lacking a starting point, which is discouraging. laag, your last post resonated with me a lot. My dad and brothers are architects and I'm sure they would enjoy this discussion, even it's somewhat over my more pragmatic head! But I do see those conflicts you've identified as needing resolution before any more plant choices or bed shapes are decided on. I welcome any ideas you guys have, becuause it feels a little beyond me right now! isabella, the family is always going to use the side door (on the south side next to the garage) and from the side street -Hallmarks Rd- it's the only door you see and quite obviously a main entrance. We have a nice new fir door for it, and are rebuilding a more substantial porch there, for utilitarian reasons and because we don't like that teeny third gable currently over the door. I am OK with the fact that this door will feel prominent from the sought elevation, but what I really want to do is to also emphasize the actual Front Door (in the middle of the west elevation)!!! woodyoak, thanks for your comments. As mentioned in the first post, the main goal here is to emphasize the actual Front Door (that is lost now). I've planned to add steps and a path up to the main road, and relocate the mailbox up there where it belongs. That white door on the side of the garage is simply a garage door (doesn't go inside) and will be painted a similar color to the new painted brick, so that it stands out as little as possible. To the right of that garage door is the main family-use door (under the weird little gable overhand which will go away and a proper small porch added there.) Yesterday some nice people from Craigslist came and took away the old porch and metal railing outside the bedroom patio doors. I am hoping that will help me visualize better! Also: the awning is NOT going to stay. So the deck is gone, and that looks good... but it does look weird to have the patio doors just there with nothing in the landscape to give them a reason. I understand the visual and phychological reasons for having a small railing-ed deck there, but I hesitate because #1- I doubt we'd use it for sitting on very much so dont' want to spend a bunch of cash on it that could go into the deck we WILL use out back, #2- If it were railinged, I'd want to make sure there was a gate, because this door has been invaluable for moving large furniture into the house, and at other times its been nice to have it as a means of ingress. What about just a rough granite step and nothing else? Would that just be too weird, patio doors opening into a bed of shrubs? Argh.
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Landscaping progress pictures, now I need help with Lawn
Q
Comments (8)
My daughter is in school over in Georgetown, so she's practically a neighbor. If you're on an unlimited well, then you can have awesome St Augustine. As long as you (1) give it a full inch of water once per week in the hottest heat of summer, (2) mulch mow every week or so at your mower's highest setting, and (3) fertilize it regularly, then St Augustine will choke out the bermuda and other grassy plants. If you want quick results I would suggest using alfalfa pellets (rabbit food) as your only fertilizer. The application rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Put some down now and in 3 weeks your grass should be coming in just in time for the fertilizer to go to work. Organic fertilizers take a full 3 weeks to see results, but your grass has not started growing in yet for the spring, so timing would be perfect. For fastest results, repeat this monthly for the first few months. Then, if you want to and can afford to, continue monthly through the summer. Or you can skip summer and wait until Labor Day to hit it again. But if you use that for 3 months, the grass should become much more dense by June. Spreading will seem slow in the summer and then leap again in late September or early October. Deer resistant plants are only resistant until the deer get too hungry. Too many deer make them hungry. alternatives to grass on large acreage accent lighting in trees arbors (for vines) bamboo beds (perennials, annuals, bulbs, herbs, ferns, roses, hostas, container plants, rock, and fruits). bee keeping benches butterfly garden decks decorative gates (may be free standing) dog run or kennel edibles (veggies) fences (accent) fences (privacy) fountains fragrance garden gazebo greenhouse ground covers hedges herb garden hot tubs hummingbird garden Japanese garden jogging track moon garden (plants and lights for night time viewing) orchard ornamental grass garden other groundcovers out buildings (like sheds) outdoor theater overhead sunshades parcours (exercise stations) parking area party room (free standing for games, theater, pool table, etc.) patios picnic or barbecue area play yard for children ponds or garden pools pools potting bench or shed putting green rock garden rolling hills rose garden screened rooms (free standing) screens (foliage hedges or growing on a wire mesh) sitting or reading area sports courts statuary steps storage buildings sun room (free standing) swimming pools tool shed topiary trees (shade) trees (accent or decorative) tulip garden vining plant garden walkway (formal paved) walkway (informal path) walls (retaining) walls (accent or decorative) wildflowers Zen garden
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KBG renovation, irrigating lawn, not beds? Pic
Q
Comments (3)
Boy, that looks nice and is going to be really smokin' when you're done. I kinda think the same as Bill Hill mainly because those plants look pretty hardy, but that doesn't mean anything. The best thing to do is research those plants. If you know what they are, you can ask on those forums and someone will help. I'm not a plant or shrub person and know nothing about them, but I do know there are some that won't tolerate moisture that often. I don't know if you need it, but I don't want you to think you should irrigate 3 times a day for 30 days. Here is irrigation schedule for new seeds...... water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week. If you have to move the sprinklers at any point, the new location also receives 1 inch. Starting off, the schedule supplies roughly 1/4 inch of water, then increases that amount while decreasing frequency of application at the same time. Like practically everything that concerns lawn care, this schedule is a general guideline and should be modified to accomodate your specific conditions. The lengths of time should also be modified if you have an automatic sprinkler system since that will not take as long to provide adequate moisture. So, decrease amount of water (time) but maintain frequency as is. The tuna cans test is recommended.
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Use of a lawn roller for weed control (pic)
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Comments (2)
Thank you Diann, I think you'll be surprised by how nice the roller "treatment" makes the mulch look. If you pile on 3" of mulch...(shredded hardwood is my favorite) and run over it with the roller a few times it naturally compacts the mulch and takes all the fluffiness out. I go through a lot of mulch and I know that many weeds will grow right thru that mulch...or on top. The smallest amount of light invites them. It may be premature for me to proclaim that compressing the mulch with the roller will keep the weeds from growing there, but so far I'm optimistic. I'll report back on this later next summer.
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atreelady
14 years ago
Oooooo... I LIKE it. Susans are such happy plants. They look great with blue too. And the flag stone walk is so inviting.
teeka0801(7aNoVa)
14 years ago
The path is really great and the plants just go so well together.

Thanks for posting!teeka
goldenpond
14 years ago
I love the susans too.I have had terrible mealy bugs on coleus and black and blue salvia of all things.
forestsoftranquility
14 years ago
That is a gorgeous setup. The plants and flowers go great together. And that is the prettiest colored and shaped flat rocks I have seen for a walking path. Gorgeous!

-Christina.
joyful_garden
14 years ago
That's beautiful. I would love to do something like that but I am one of those who feels a need for a lawn because I have kids, 6 and 8 years old who love to play soccer and baseball and we really need grass for that. I have a 3/4 acre lot that my house sits on and we kept about 60 ft. in the back with pines and natural scrub so the kids can explore as well. The thing that really irks me though is the HOA. They REQUIRED us to put in St. Augustine (we wanted Bahia) for whatever their reasons are. Then when we had our drought and the lawn starts dieing in spots, turning brown, they send out warnings about your lawn. What do they expect with St. Augusting lawns and drought accompanied with watering restrictions? Well, we just put our warnings in our circular file and didn't do anything about it. I just wonder if anyone knows if they passed that bill that said HOAs can't require anyone to put in St. Augustine grass? I won't change it now though because it would be too costly.
Joy
imagardener2
14 years ago
laura
your photos show a WONDERFUL grass-free yard and garden. They should be posted somewhere permanently as inspiration for anyone who is wrestling with how to go about getting rid of their grass.

It really is daunting when faced with what to plant and how it will look and whether the neighbors will laugh (or grumble).

Bravo!

Denise
who reduces her grass 20% every year but is taking her time
SaintPFLA
14 years ago
Absolutely gorgeous! What a happy looking front yard! :-)
juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
14 years ago
Laura: I can only add my kudos to those you've already received. It all looks so carefree yet still controlled. The path beckons us all to "come, stroll with me".

June
Lisa Brown
14 years ago
*sigh* it's just beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

Lisa B
laura1
Original Author
14 years ago
Joy-sorry about your HOA but I think things are going to have to change in that respect. Replacing st. Aug every years is insane. And although I don't have kids we live across from a park. I don't know if that is a blessing or a curse...hehe. It can be a hang out for bored kids if you know what I mean.

I will let you guys know that the pics are SELECTIVE photograhy. The view from the steet is quite different but still nice & interesting. AND what you see now is not what it will look like later in the summer as the susans wane. I try to keep (somewhat) a yellow and purple theme going but it doesn't always workout.

I've got some gaillardia (which don't match the color theme) and one came up all yellow so I'm going to collect seeds from that one and try to replace the others.

It's all great fun AND it really doesn't take that much time to keep up. I do monitor weeds and pests. But now that it is established I would consider it low maintenace considering the area.

Thanks to all for your kind comments
linchat
14 years ago
I like it too. Can you take a picture further out so we can see whole yard shot?
FlowerLady6
14 years ago
Wonderful and no wonder people want to stroll/jog by your place. It's a bit of peace and color on their journey. Thanks for sharing. Are the blue flowers plumbago? I need to get some cuttings going of that to put around in different areas. The blue and yellow look great together.

FlowerLady
castorp
14 years ago
That's beautiful!! Can you tell us more about the plants you're using? I recognize bulbine, and plumbago. Is the grass muhly? Are the purple spikes salvia? I see others I can't make out.

Thanks for posting.

Bill
Irma_StPete
14 years ago
Lovely! The plants are so full it looks luxurious - yet clearly not water dependent.
laura1
Original Author
14 years ago
I'm using plumbago that my landscaper salvaged from the other "design". Also: lantana, bush daisy, some noid variety of sage, muhly grass. Things that you might not be able to see are flax lily and (dwarf) walter's viburnum and bulbine. I would say that the landscaper installed the backbone and that I have areas that are mine to customize.

Also in the last two pics you can see my very young sylvester palm. From both angles you can see the young oak tree that i have great expectations. I'm looking forward to some more shade areas in the future.
manature
14 years ago
Ditto what everyone else has said, Laura! It looks positively GREAT! Much more interesting than plain ol' grass to my mind, though everyone has their own idea of beauty, as we all know. Me, I like what you've done a LOT. Great color combos, wonderful looking path, and super textures throughout.

Congratulations! You've created a masterpiece!

Marcia
tomncath
14 years ago
Very, very nice! You definitely get the Green Thumb Award for being two thumbs down on the idiotic grass issue here in Florida ;-)

Tom
castorp
14 years ago
Thanks for the information, Laura. I think that salvia may be the same one I'm growing, S. farinacea, a really tough little plant. Whatever it is, it really works in your scheme.

Bill

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