Two things: stagger the hollies along the back fence to give depth and learn how to prune and espalier plants on the trellis.

A blank canvas to play with! What fun! And the wonderful thing about gardening is that if you decide you don't like something or it's not doing well in one spot you can remove or move it very easily (except for major trees). So you can't really make a mistake. It's a very forgiving process AND so rewarding. I recently began my own garden too and was very timid at first, but as my confidence grows and I become more familiar with plants, so does my willingness to make bolder and more interesting choices.

Looks like a good plan. Kind of a native wildscape to attract some desirable critters. I like all the bird and butterfly-friendly choices. And just another option that I've found is a favorite of birds is a mulberry tree (which gets to be about the size of a possumhaw (10-15 ft.). Also delicious on icecream and cereal! Also think your choices of very easily maintained xeriscaping is just great!

I can't tell whether you are going to place things individually or will create an actual bed with some kind of edge to contain them.

Some thoughts/ideas: Consider that Possumhaw is very similar to Yaupon Holly and both provide red/orange berries, with the main difference being that Possumhaw will lose its leaves (but maintain it's berries) over winter whereas the Yaupon would be evergreen. You may have already known that and prefer the Possumhaw, but just thought I'd mention the evergreen option as well. Either way, make sure it isn't shaded out by the larger tree, because they enjoy the sun.

Have you considered any tall native grasses as a backdrop for flowers? They soften the hard edges of a yard.

Also, another thing that not only attracts but keeps critters around is some kind of water feature. Doesn't have to be as fancy as a fountain (although that sound is divine and birds prefer it to stagnant water), but at least a birdbath in a somewhat shady area.
The easiest fountain to maintain is a bubble fountain that overflows its container and then disappears below ground (covered usually with a grate on which sits gravel or river stones to act as a leaf/debris filter) into a reservoir and then recycles back up.

Would it be possible to introduce a good sized stone/boulder or two?

If you create a bed under a tree you might consider adding some turks cap for the hummers, or introduce some pigeonberry or other shade loving groundcover. If the patio is not shaded then you might also consider creating a place to sit beneath the tree that is cool and inviting or eventually a hammock chair or swing to hang from a branch.

Speaking of trees, what considerations played into your choice of Ash? Just curious. Did you want a deciduos or evergreen tree? What size, color, type?

Anyway, those are just some things that came to me. Our gardens can be our sanctuary (as well as a critter haven). A little piece of heaven on earth. Hope you'll keep us up on your progress and choices as you go along. And maybe some...

Hi Dragonfly,

Thanks so much for your thorough review!

So to answer your questions:
1. Yes, I'm going to do contained beds shaped in curves once I get the perennials, ornamental grasses and decorative stuff (like boulders) figured out. I'm working in PowerPoint right now and it's ability to draw curves is terrible so I've left it out for now.
2. Possumhaw vs yaupon - I didn't pick up on the fact that they were so similar. Think I'll stick with the Yaupon and look into the yummy sounding mulberry tree.
3. A water feature is definitely in the cards....I like the bigger ones with the splashing sounds so will have to figure out where in the plan it goes
4. Boulders are a great idea! I miss my little analoe lizards so maybe some rocky hiding places would bring them to the yard. (my new yard has been bombed for years with pesticides so it might take a bit for the critters to come visit.
5. The TX ash was a process of elimination. I started with the "Frisco City Approved Plants List". They're all natives, do well in our clay soil and are drought tolerant. I wanted a small to medium hardwood to fit the scale of the yard, deciduous, and a light dappled shade. TX Ash seemed to fit all the requirements and when I found out it is food for the Tiger Swallowtail it sealed the deal. Now I COULD change my mind as I do more research...I've changed that tree 4x in the last six weeks :-) It's not being planted until October so I have plenty of time to keep thinking.

And I'll definitely keep you posted...I'm just ITCHING to start laying out the beds and buying plants but I promised my husband that I'd have the master plan complete to the flowers before I asked him to start digging holes!!

Well you might remind your husband that it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind...lol! And anyway, gardening is an organic process, particularly when first learning. So even the best laid plans can get 'uprooted'.
Of course that might be a hard sell to the one doing the digging in this heat.
I've learned a lot just by looking at other people's yards and/or magazines, paying attention to arrangements, color combinations, textures, etc. What is your inspiration?

That mulberry tree is deciduous and not particularly one of the more attractive trees when bare in winter. The leaves are large and lush until winter, but then you're staring at bare trunk, so if you go that route you might also consider including some small pine/juniper varieties as well which would also introduce a nice textural and shape change. There are some varieties that stay fairly small (10ft or so) and contained.
I personally love nandinas for their forever changing hues of copper, red, orange, purple, etc. and ornamental look but they can be hard to control unless confined (similar to bamboo). It is one of the most drought tolerant, evergreen shrubs around which is why so many people use them. I originally had them all around my house when I moved in and really broke a sweat getting rid of many of them so that it is now more of a featured specimen than a prolific shrub.
I trim them to various heights which is also more interesting to me and even trim up the trunks of some to create a small 'forest'. I like the lines of the multiple trunks. Nandina also looks very graceful featured in a large naturalistic container of some kind.

The other thing I was going to mention is don't be shy about changing levels in your yard by simply adding more dirt and/or creating terraced areas or rock gardens that spill down into the yard from the fenceline. It creates a more visually interesting and intimate feeling.

Can't wait to see it! Are you going to document your process?

I think the possumhaw/yaupon planting is a very attractive option. Do keep in mind that only the females bear the berries, so be sure they have berries on them when you purchase them.

Also, while I love mulberries, the tree can be/usually is very messy. I have 3 of them, and I dig/pull/cut about a million baby mulberry trees from my landscape every year. The berries fall on benches, chairs, tables, even the ground is a mess with them! They are famous for havin little worms in the berries, so be careful about eating them. Mulberries grow to about 30 feet tall, and at least that wide.

I think you have done a nice job on your plan. I would be interested in seeing changes you make to it.

Janie

little_danny, what cultivar are you referring to? Mine must be a different sort (maybe a black or 'Downing'?) and will not, to my disappointment, make babies from berries or roots. I haven't tried other methods of propagation yet. My mulberry is more than 13 years old and has not grown beyond it's current 12 ft. despite my ocassional pruning. True it can be a bit messy if not carefully placed away from sidewalks and cars, but then nature tends to be a bit untidy and they are beloved by the birds...and me...so are, in my estimate, worth a little messiness. I have heard about the worm issue but haven't run into that either. Go figure....
Perhaps a good nursery could make a cultivar recommendation that would suit lisa's yard plan, soil type, location, etc.
Here are two sites about the different cultivars.

Mulberry cultivars
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/mulberry.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Uncommon Fruits For Every Garden

I'm glad we are having this little discussion about Mulberries because it caused me to do some research and helped me to identify mine as a morus nigra (or black mulberry), but not 'Downing'. There are different types of black, and I don't yet know which one I've got, but after doing some reading I came across this dwarf variety, 'black beauty' that is supposed to be a bit firmer (not as soft when picking), but still as tasty and can be kept small and compact (link below).

Also ran across this discussion among growers about the different types which is how I came to know about the 'black beauty' variety which I might get for my own garden. I will talk to my ag extension agent first before purchasing it.
This site also gave an explanation for why mine is not sprouting up everywhere - the seeds of M.nigras are not viable.

http://www.bayflora.com/bbmul.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Mulberry 'Black Beauty'

lisa ~

possumhaw: i searched for a possumhaw in dfw for a year - the ones i found didn't berry much at all, which zapped the winter appeal entirely - i still prefer them to yaupon, but i just couldn't find one around here with more than 20 or so berries on the entire 15gal tree! - if you do decide to go with possumhaw, shop after the berries appear so you'll know a) its a girl, and b) how many there are - also make sure there are enough boys in your neighborhood to keep her happy - i personally recommend the possumhaw, i just don't know where you'd find one worth having

mulberry: i might be wrong, but i think mulberry is one recommended *against* by howard gardner, aka dirt doctor

dogrun on the side of the yard: our neighbor does this - the bulk of her yard is a complete garden - the only problem is that her side yard is only 6ft away from our bedroom windows - we can *never* open our bedroom windows without smelling our canine neighbor's waste - its frustrating - so, my recommendation is to remember that not having dog mess in the main backyard shouldn't translate into not cleaning the dog mess in the sideyard

in general: i love you plans & hope you'll keep us updated as you progress!!!

~ freshair

High freshair,

I promise to be a good neighbor with the side dog run :-). We pick up after the dogs ever couple of days and will continue to do it after we give them their own potty space.

I also am not leaning toward mulberry. I know the birds love them, but I don't want the permanent purple stains that will happen to my outdoor furniture!

As for Possumhaw, Shades of Green nursery here in Frisco has some amazing specimens. They have 30 gallon ones and since we're going to start planting in October there should be a good berry set on them to know which to buy.

And thanks for your comment on the plan! I'm definitely going to be keeping a journal on the progress and will share pics as we go along.

dragonfly,

my inspiration has really been an evolution in philosophy and approach. My very first garden was sub-tropical (palms, bananas, hibiscus, etc)here in Dallas so you can imagine the work and the water it took. But it was a contemporary house and had a pool so looked great. But now I know that it was awful for the environment...at the time I was clueless.

Next house was traditional with no pool and had an existing landscape so had to learn something new. It's also when I first started really paying attention to our environment. We had a good anole lizard population and lots of other critters on the property so I stopped using pesticides and commercial fertilizers. That switch led me to organic and organic led to native.

Long story short, after 15 years of being an avid gardener I get to plan a garden from the ground up. I've read a lot of books and pulled landscape ideas from magazines, but the two books that I constantly refer to are "Garden Design Illustrated" by John A Grant and Carol L Grant and "Native Texas Plants" by Sally and Andy Wasowski.