I can't sleep, so on the internet again...

I've been reading about Pomegranate trees. Their blooms are gorgeous.

Maybe that is the type of ornamental tree to go on the left side of the house (refer to the 6th pic in above post) midway between the house and fire hydrant. It would be in full sun. The space is probably 4ft wide.

Thoughts on that idea? I am trying to find information on them. If it is close to the drive-way, do I need to be concerned about overhang and fruit staining the driveway, birds gobbling up fruit leaving a mess below?

I saw one at the nursery (Milbergers) a few weeks ago for $89.00.

You have a nice house. Wish I had some ideas for you. Did you know there is a landscape design forum on GW? I would post your question there. They have some professionals that hang out there, and you can get some really good advice there sometimes (if they're not too busy with work!). Good luck!

If you buy a mt laurel, buy the biggest you can afford. They grow very slow the first 5 or 6 years after they are planted.
Decide how close you want it to the house and then move it out another 2 or 3 feet. Most of us plant too close to the house when we are first starting out. It is hard to visualize that in 6 or so years that shrub etc. will be ten times the size it is when planted.

Nov. 07 my yard was 90% St. Augustine grass, 2 live oaks, 1 cedar and several dwarf yaupon hollies.
I covered the grass with roofing paper and mulch. Most people would want more grass than I kept. But grass takes a lot more water than mulched plants.

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Cute house. Love your shutters. From the pictures it appears that your front yard is fairly small, and the side yards appear narrow too. I like the Mt. Laurel idea, they grow slowly. I think a standard pomegranate would be far to large for your lot and overpower your house and the rest of the landscape. There is a dwarf that might work better, but the fruit isn't said to be edible, but I've never tried them. I would worry about fruit falling on the driveway tho. I can't tell what the plants are in front, but they kind of look like standard builders plants and will also get larger than I would want to take care of that close to the house (lots of pruning to keep them short enough). Is that a crape myrtle on the right corner that looks like it's been topped? If it is anything other than a dwarf CM, I'd remove it and plant something more in scale with the house (my dwarf is about 7-8' tall). You shouldn't top crape myrtles, it makes them weak and I think their form suffers when they are topped.
Personally, I'd remove it all and start over. On the wall to the left of the big window I'd go with a nice green evergreen plant 5-6' centered on the wall. Under the window something that stays fairly short - there are some small nandinas that would get very pretty red leaf coloring. On the right corner where the crape myrtle is might be a good spot for the Mt. Laurel with some perennials beneath.
Where the boxwoods are, I'd do some short colorful perennials - iris would be evergreen. Interplant some sprawling summer bloomers like in plantmavens picture. Since I don't know where you are, I don't know what plants might work best in your type soil.
Anyway, don't mean to totally wreck your current landscape, but I've always said, best to make changes early before the roots get so big you have a chore digging them up. If you could tell us where you are, some might be able to chime in with plant suggestions.

Love the front door, too. I agree the Boxwoods should be moved now. They will eventually overgrow the area, block other plantings and require a lot of trimming. Maybe there is a place in the back for them.

Recommendations really depend a lot on where you are. For example, Loropetalum is a beautiful shrub, but prefers acid soil.

I guess it depends on how much you want to work on them.
In my case I want easy care so if it were me I would put
Knockout roses all the way around from the walk to just past the windows. I would say double reds but they come
in a pink yellow and white if I remember correctly. Plant them as far forward as possible since they will get 3X3 or
slightly larger. On the corners on each side I would use a
Katy road pink although it is really a buck rose. They can get 7 or 8 feet tall but I keep mine whacked to about 4 feet. No real care required, I water mine if there is no rain for 2 or 3 weeks and throw some fertilizer at them 2 or 3 times a year. Always blooming even in Jan. although more modest of course. These will make the house really stand out I have neighbors that always comment on the roses and ask what they are. Never had a bug on them and never have sprayed them. These roses will get full sized in one season no waiting. crepe myrtles get mildew every year here, some years really bad. The flare hibiscus on texas superstars looks good and grows back every year. I am going to look at a Jatropha Compacta it might be okay but not sure yet. Hope this helps remember I'm a little lazy when it comes to this stuff. It will look better than your neighbor with the bird bath in front.

I always look for plants that at maturity they will fill the space I have for them. Minimal pruning is okay as I know the ideal is always hard to accomplish.

Plantmaven's landscape illustrates the use of color,texture and form very well. Keep that in mind when selecting your plants. Remember, the existing planting bed was designed by someone else so do your own designing.

Arcs produce a sense of warmth, flow and serenity so use them freely. One very important point to consider when designing the left side of the driveway: allow for at least a three foot wide path leading to the backyard. Three feet is necessary for ease of getting things to the back yard.

Landscape are very personal and regional so i have intentionally just presented general guidelines. Have fun and keep us posted on your final design.

You would benefit GREATLY by creating a scale drawing of your yard and what you want it to be. That is the real difference between the 'professionals' and the rest of us. Doing it right the first time will save you LOTS of time and money. You will be able to see how certain plants will fit in the space you have for them at maturity. Fill in with annuals. You have the 'standard home builder mix' right now for plants, but you could have so much more. You'll have fun, I just know it!

Here is a utube video of knockout roses. It does not show the doubles since they are relatively new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfiyWZtYaiM

There also appears to be many new colors that I wasn't aware of. Home Depot also has them on sale right now, a twin pack which I assume is 2 roses for 22 bucks.

ooh plantmaven, love that front bed!
jojo - where are you? Houston? Austin? SA? It makes a difference in what you can plant.

I like your photo for the inspiration and I think you could do something similar to take advantage of the small slope next to the sidewalk. You'll want to keep the planting low there, so not to block the view of that lovely front door!

I agree that the boxwoods are badly placed and should be removed now before they get any larger. Some of the shrubs under your front window look like Indian Hawthorne, which have a lovely pink bloom right now. Those would be worth leaving. You could easily put in blooming annuals in front of them if you wanted more color.

The variegated monkey grass or liriope in the strip bed will certainly survive there, but if you want a red bloom there I'd recommend pentas.

I would think twice about putting any tree close to the fire hydrant. If your house is on fire, you don't want anything blocking access! And seriously, the FD may have some jurisdiction w/ the hydrant and I'd hate to come home and find a tree cut down b/c they had to remove it. I know it's not ideal having it in your front yard, but I'd just not put anything around it. You'd be surprised how many people look right past it and don't notice it at all.

Like your idea for the esperanza. Those can get quite large. I'd put it off to the far corner to give it some room. I marked up your photo to show that. You may have to use your imagination. :-)

I would put a large plant/bush to the right AND left of the large window in the front, probably an evergreen of some sort or yew on the left and maybe a rose of sharon on the right. In between them, I would put dwarf nandina as they get red in the fall & winter. Around that corner by the fence, I would probably put some pampas grass. I'd swoop that edging around and along the driveway, rounded out nicely like the picture above. I might move all the boxwoods along the driveway as they are easy to keep pruned small (they transplant EASY). Loropetalum is a good choice for color and flowers too. I'd move all your liriope together so it's not spread out or else fill in between. Some landscape architectural interest is needed, for example, large round leaves with small long leaves with long spikey leaves with tiny round leaves, etc. Add some tall, mid & short heights for interest as well as different colored leaves. I've found that iris adds the tall spikey look...all kinds of iris leaves to choose from. Cannas add that fat leaf as well as banana, etc. Evergreen adds a different dimension. Yew does too.
I'd also recommend you go to several different libraries and pour over the landscaping books. They have GREAT ideas! Then when you get an idea of how it should look, narrow your search down to Texas books as to WHAT to plant. We'll help too.

Thank you all for your comments and feedback. I am still comtemplating, making my lists, sketching ideas, visiting the nursery...there are so many options!

Many of you suggested to move the boxwoods and I agree. I can open up that space and add to it.

holleygarden- Thank you for directing me to the Landscape Design, I have been reviewing several posts on that forum, looking for ideas.

plantmaven- Wow, what a beautiful garden. Thanks for sharing your pics, gives me some hope!

maden_theshade- I like your suggestion to move the monkey grass and group together. As for the fire hydrant, the positive to having it on my property is I get a nice discount on my homeowners insurance ;)

I live in NW San Antonio, close to Leon Springs. Thank you for the compliments on my house. I can't wait to see how things turn out once I get started with the yard. My goal is to shape my yard and garden so that it will stand out against my neighbors house since our lots are small. I also want a subtle touch of tropical in my flower bed. Here are my plans so far:

Starting at the far right of the front window:
*Mountain Laurel tree (I found a nice-sized one for 89.99)
*Esperanza
*Dwarf Palmetto (based on my research this is the best type. Y or N?)
*Caladium
*Hisbicus TX Star

I also like the combo of Elephant Ear surrounding Canna. I understand this can grow tall and wide. Need to chew on that thought...

Headed to the nursery this afternoon to do some more research and ask some Q's...I'll post again soon to see if you can give further suggestions.

Thanks

To be continued..... :)