I have not looked at your pictures yet, but would suggest you also post on the landscaping forum. Some of the people there have GREAT ideas, and software to do neat stuff with your pictures to show what you could do.

Moni

Just want to let you know that monkey grass is very invasive. to prevent the spread into undesired areas, one must install a root barrier at least 18 inches deep.

I would never plant monkey grass in an area that is not root barriered and boardered away from the areas where I do not want the monkey grass to spread.

It is nice that you already have so many tall trees in front.

Since you have so many tall trees already, if you want a shade tree closer to your house why don't you plant some ornamental mediam to small size trees. Even some understory ornamental could look nice interspersed among your taller established trees.

Will tell you what I like and would do differently, how's that?

Nice house with good bones, i.e., natural trees, good contours, good setting. Nice rocks, but they do need sinking a bit to look more natural and would benefit from the addition of a few plants and a bench nearby to help set them off and make the ehouse look like it's been there a while and is loved and lived in.

Love the big planter. Just fill in for now with some annual bedding plants for color until your existing shrubs and perennials get a little bigger. Then look at what would go nicely in there with them that you don't have to replant each year. Plant taller at the back and lower at the front near the walkway and consider letting a few things trail over the edge of the planter to soften its edges.

Really don't like the mail box stuck out by itself and think you need to flank it with a couple or threesome of ornamental grasses, yucca, or a small tree and some good, low maintenance perennial round cover so it doesn't look like it dropped from the sky. Your marigolds look good, but you could also do Black Eyed Susans or perennial lantana that comes back each year and can take heat and neglect.
Don't like the bitsy planter near the house at all. Not much you can do with it, really, and it just makes the front of the house look out of balance.

Think about tearing it out or adding to it with another planter or a bed that matches the size and maybe the curve of your big planter and wraps from the outside corner of the house toward the walkway and the front of the house. Incorporate that neat rock and make that whole area in front of the house more welcoming with a bench and maybe a small table facing the planter and the walkway or angled to face the drive and the walkway. Go from low to tall, maybe set off the rock with a good ornamental grass.

You could mulch most of the area with gravel and put in a few flat stones that match your rock or squares of matched brick that lead from the walkway to the bench. Stay with curves to offset the hard edges of your house. You need somewhere to sit and enjoy the yard and the view. Something a little more welcoming than just your lovely rock.

Otherwise, the big planter and the bitsy one are so out of balance that they make the front of your house look out of balance.

Would take a look at the soil structure, PH, shade and sun, and drainage of the entire yard, walk through the nearby forest. Try to match what you see with natives, near natives, and good non natives that are easy care.

I don't like lawn so would get rid of some of that for sure. Plant some native or near native understory shrubs, more small trees (like red bud and others), and maybe a few ornamental grasses, daylilies and daffodils, summer bulbs like crocosmia, and so on to contrast with the decidious oaks and give you some color spots. Stay away from things that are realy invasive unless you like them enough to let them ramble about.

In the entryway, stay low so you don't dwarf that little fountain. If it gets lots of shade, plant hostas and ferns, and maybe some evergreen ivy around it. You can get evergreen ferns as well as hostas with fragrant flowers. Think about planting something near the entry that smells good in the morning and/or evening but doesn't get to carried away with its growth.

A word about mixing materials. If you can, try to work in threes so you don't get too many different textures and colors of hardscape going on at once and confusing the eye and senses. Accent with one type of metal, say, copper or wrought iron. Too much of too much can be way too much, IMO.

Hope all this helps! I would love to landscape this place with you. It has great potential for sure!

OKC1,

Many thanks for your thorough reply. I definitely have some suggestions to ponder...

Comments

1. Mailbox: hadn't really thought about it being a sore thumb, nice idea about planting around it. I'm a gardening noob, so some (many/most) of my ideas don't pan-out quite like I thought they might. For instance, the Marigolds have tended to the vertical: I'd like something lower, and more compact. The Lantana grows tall: how do you think the Weeping Lantana would look? What about Mexican Heather? After my experience with the Marigolds I've thought that I might stick with something that will overflow the sides of the mailbox planters. BTW, both sides of the mailbox are watered by my sprinkler system.

2. Fountain: I was considering an ivy around the fountain, something that would blend surround it on the bottom and perhaps climb it (although it's one of those bonded-stone/concrete fountains that I've heard can be difficult for climbing plants to cling to). I believe that it gets direct sun in late morning, but you've prompted me to pay more attention to sunlight throughout the day so that I can choose the best plant for the job.

3. Large planter: (the contents of both planters were professionally designed and installed, with the exception of the fountain, which I bought and asked him to place in the appropriate position) I've begun to consider a ground-cover rather than mere mulch, and I'm also thinking about what flowers might work well in it. I've thought about an ivy, but still have a lot of studying/considering to do before making a decision. I think that your suggestion is best: wait untill the rest of the plants flesh out and then decide.

4. Small planter: I'm unlikely to remove it, as I paid quite a bit for it, and cannot afford to replace it anytime soon. I also like it and cannot perceive the imbalance that you speak of: can you clarify? Did you mean as viewed from the street or close-in? I definitely think that aesthetically, it is too low to the ground. However, that was basically unavoidable: My Builder, whose opinion I came to respect greatly during construction, was considerably worried about the risk of water leaking into the house should a taller planter fill-up during a storm. In his opinoin, there is no SURE way to guarantee that such a planter will not drain back into the house short of ensuring that the top of the planter is below the slab. Finally, it's possible that the darkness of the pictures obscures it's impact: I think it looks good, and the landscaper placed plants in it that will eventually frame my Study window very well. So I will likely keep the planter just as it is. However, I am consdering changing the grade in front of the planter, to give it more presence.

5. The rock: your statements have reinforced my intent to bury it a bit: not sure how I'm going to do it (it's enormous) but I think it will look better that way.

6. The yard: I am definitely interested in bulbs, but I only have experience with Spring bulbs. I'll look into Summer bulbs.

Thanks again.

BTW, for the other reply: I've posted to both the Oklahoma and Landscaping forums.

1. Plan your mailbox plantings as you would a container. Tall in back, overflowing in front. That should work beautifully. Some lantanas are more prostrate. mexican heather is nice but is genrally decidious and an annual so maybe you'd prefer something like vinca that is more or less evergreen?

2. Ivy would be good. You may have to put up a trellis behind or even around the fountain to get the effect you want. Think about the lighter leaved hostas for near your fountain. They can take a little more sun and like the moisture as well.

3. Maybe I've just not seen a clear enough picture of the front of the house with both the larger and smaller planters in it. But, from what I can see, the weight of the composition seems to be on the left, where your larger planter and garage are. The small planter near the window of your study seems to be too small to me to balance out the composition. But, you may like the weight of the front view of the house to be more asymetrical. I do understand the drainage issues, though, and think your builder was probably correct. Changing the grade from the edge of the small planter toward the street might help.

4. You don't mention what you think about having a bench or backing your nice rock with a contrasting ornamental grass to make it "pop". Ah well, to each their own!

5. The summer bulbs I like best are lycoris and crocosmia, but I'm sure other folks on this site also have their favorites. Calla lilies are nice, but have to be lifted as do gladiolas, and both need some support whereas lycoris and crocosmia are fine without any support and will naturalize. If you buy daffodils, get the later blooming (and more fragrant) narcissus as they tend to wait a bit longer to come up and their buds are seldom nipped by frost as a result.
Have fun!