Hi Mel, welcome to Texas. I think that is a great plan. That way you can see how the sun affects the yard, if water stands in certain places, etc

You are very fortunate, you are moving to an area that is chock full of good people and great gardeners

I don't live up there but visit when I can, hehehe
You will love this forum
Again, welcome
jolana

Here's a really helpful link where I started. I'm from out of state too. I've gardened for quite a while in dry conditions so I kind of had a bit of an advantage. Very hot weather has unusual challenges. For example winter doesn't kill nearly as many plants as summer heat here.Welcome to TX.PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: TX Smartscape

Welcome to Texas! Sounds like a good plan to me. Get some Southern gardening books and magazines, look around at what the neighbors have done, and see what your taste is.

Several things come to mind.
The builder will bury all kinds of "stuff". My neighbor has a terrible time keeping grass alive in the summer. I watched their builder cover piles of limestone. That stone fries the grass roots in the summer heat.

Ask if they will give you credit for what they budgeted for "lanscaping". Usually what they install are a few shrubs that may or may not do well and St Augustine grass, which takes lots of water. Contact the county ag. agent for that county to find the grass reccomended for the area.

We a currently having a very wet spring. But this is not the norm. It was 1994 or 1995 the last time this happened.
Usually by this time "they" are talking water restrictions for the lawns.

If you can swing, it put down a layer of compost and cover it with thick mulch. That way you won't have to live with a sea of mud when it rains. Usually the soil they put down is ground up clay.

Drive around and look for houses over ten or so years old. Observe what is doing well at those houses.

BTW 10 years flys by. I still think of my house as new. I was surprised recently to realize mine is 10 years old.

Builders will almost invariably sod with St. Augustine. It takes lots of water and isn't really appropriate for Texas lawns (wet East Texas being an exception) beyond cooler, shaded microclimates you may have around your home.

I laid down a bunch of buffalo grass at our new home when we moved in 4 years back. We fell in love with it--very soft and attractive, with extremely low maintenance needs. But despite *very* limited watering during drought conditions, bermuda grass from the neighbors' yards has moved in and taken over. The buffalo is still there, reseeding itself, but the lawn is wholly dominated by bermuda which demands much more mowing. The sides of the house, where it's shady most of the day, can support neither buffalo nor bermuda due to lack of sun, so the St. Augustine is doing quite well with *no* supplemental watering. And I'm in New Braunfels, down near San Antonio.

So yeah, the advice to observe older homes in your neighborhood and learn about your own microclimates is definitely good to go on.

Welcome to the furnace. (Ok, just kidding....sort of.)

Your plan is a good one, if you do not get bermuda grass. It will be impossible to get out, in a years time.

Depending on the builder, you need to consider having a good composted topsoil put down, before anything else is done, including grass. Most soils in North Texas, are clay, and you need to amend them with something better.

Like everything in Texas, weeds are humongous, so you will find them much easier to get out of a good soil, than out of clay.

Then plan your landscaping carefully, to select plants that will mature at the right height, and right size, for their locations, and light situations.

Some plants need to be on the opposite side from the setting sun, to keep them from frying (like Japanese Maples), and others will be impervious to the heat.

Granbury is a nice small town, and you will likely find it to your liking, but I hope you won't be commuting into Ft. Worth, for work. The freeway commutes, are a real bear, in DFW.

Thanks for the welcomes! No commuting for us, but having lived in Washington DC for the last 7 years, we KNOW traffic. It's ridiculous here!

Thanks for the advice on the compost. We're doing a custom build, with a fabulous builder. The sprinkler system will be fed from the lake with the exception fo the flower beds which will be fresh water. We've already had a conversation about not burying a lot of crap in the yard.
The wet spring and crazy winter have wreaked havoc on getting stuff done. My husband was there yesterday and said where the pool will go is a red clay swamp.

I'll definetly be here regularly to ask y'all lots of questions when we get to the real landscaping stage.

Thanks again!
Mel

Well eventough I have attempted gardening I proclaim to be no expert..soo I'll just add
WELCOME TO TEXAS!!! You will love it here, the people really are the bestest (is that a word?)
Dena

Yup. Red clay swamp sounds like spring in Texas.

I think everyone has had some really great suggestions and this forum is full of people that know a heck of a lot more about gardening than I do. However, the impulsive side of me says go ahead and get some trees in the ground! The one downside of a new neighborhood is that they so rarely have glorious, mature trees. Since they take up the most room, it's the first thing you want to decide upon anyways. Plus, from what we've been told, they usually take the first year just to get established before they really start growing. We planted a few great trees after moving in this winter, and our neighbors are already coming over to ask us where we got them, what kind they are, etc. They've really made our new house feel like our new home.

Trees are fine. You just have to decide on which ones, where to put them, and be comfortable with the mature size, where you want them. That still takes a little planning before jumping in with both feet.

I see trees put in the wrong places, and unfortunately, some fairly poor choices, all the time. A neighbor who didn't know any better, planted a cottonwood, and has already cut it down.

One thing that helps me garden in Texas is planting things that are recommended as needing very little water and taking heat well. I figure, if they do get water and a little shade, it's a bonus to them. ;-)

It's generally good practice to do tree planting in the winter, to minimize transplant shock. Of course, I've violated that rule myself successfully, so it can be done (and will always be done). Live oaks are popular choices and make a beautiful mature tree, but they get *huge* so make sure you have enough space for it. I've seen them stuck in postage stamp-size yards by builders, and in 10 years' time the owners are going to have a heck of a time dealing with them.

Oh, well see here's the problem. My husband grew up in Beaumont and apparently is emotionally scarred (LOL) from all the leaf raking he did as a child. I try not to roll my eyes when he brings that one out. The lot we chose has not a tree on it. It makes his heart happy. He's all about evergreens for privacy screening, but is not into trees with leaves. Yes, I have my work cut out for me in the gardening arena, but after 20 years I think I can slowly convince him otherwise!
We have cottonwoods here in VA and while they are beautiful I think all the white cotton thingies would cause me to drive heavily!

Thanks again for the welcomes! After sitting in traffic for over an hour and a half to go about 6 miles today, I CANNOT wait to get to Texas!
Mel

Mel, welcome! Just be prepared for everything to be a l o t f a r t h e r a p a r t. You have DC traffic, but Texas has its fair share. If you are really not having to commute, them you'll be fine. :) Dallas traffic SUX.

If you let the builders plant anything, be prepared to kill and remove it! hehe. Avoid bermuda grass at all costs. There are lots of lovely native plants that do great here, but they have not yet caught on with the establishment for the most part. People want to plant what is fast and easy, like people want to use fast and easy methods to feed and kill desireable plants and insects.

We have several plants that you will want to familiarize yourself with. Johnson grass. Dallisgrass. Burr Clover. Poison Ivy. And, of course, the dreaded Bermuda.

I applaud your idea of waiting and seeing, because things will be significantly different here and it's easy jump in with all four feet, and then wish you'd done differently later. On the other hand, mistakes in gardening are pretty easy to change after the fact.

When you get here, check out independent nurseries and ask lots of questions HERE! :)

Again, welcome. Julie

Hi, and welcome to Texas. I've been here 18 mos., moving from a full-sun yard in 9a FL to a HEAVY shade property in 9a north of Houston. The first thing I did was find my Co. Extension Office and go there and pick the Master Gardener on duty's brain! (And get a lot of handouts about shade gardening here, amending soil, natives, etc.) There's a WEALTH of info at your Extension Office!

Hi Mel and hubby! There are 4 or 5 of us Garden Webbers here in Granbury. It is a wise move to wait for at least fall to get trees and perennials in. It bakes here in the summer. Bev lives on the lake too and harvests the lake water for her lawn, I think. Lake Granbury is a bit salty, so you might plan varieties that can handle the extra salt. My husband and I moved here last June from the Plano area and really love Granbury. Our Extension agent is Marty Vollencamp and when you get settled in, swing by the office. The recommended turf grass for this area is most likely St Augustine or Bermuda, but if I had a blank slate, I'd choose zoysia...I love the ground hugging look of it.

Anyway, welcome to Texas and especially to Granbury.

Pam

Thanks y'all! I love Texans! We are so excited about this move. After 20 years of the Army telling us where to live we can't wait to move. I really do appreciate all of your advice and will definetely ask many questions.

I've been lurking for quite a while and love looking at everyone's pictures and googling, not oogling, because that's just wrong, everyone's suggestions to one another.

I grew up in Southern Oklahoma, so poison ivy and johnson grass I'm familiar with. The others, I'll be googling.

Thanks again!
Mel

I think you need a consultation.

Let us know when you're moved in, and we'll come take a look and offer suggestions.

Many of us can bring you some plants too.

Thanks! My full name is Melva too!

Hi, and welcome to Texas! I don't live in Granbury, but I'll send you a welcome anyway. If you have any gardening books, sell them or donate them, (unless they're Rodale, which can be translated into Texan). See if you can find these books when you get here:

"Native Texas Plants, Landscaping Region by Region" by Andy and Sally Wasowski

"Gardening Success With Difficult Soils" by Scott Ogden

"Perennial Garden Color" by William Welch

"Neil Sperry's Complete Guide to Texas Gardening" by Neil Sperry (He's a chemical oriented horticulturist, but he knows his plants very well)

Pretty much any book by Howard Garrett, who's written pretty much the same book over and over and slapped different covers and names on them. He's the opposite of Neil Sperry in that he's totally organic. He gives a lot of good information on soil prep and plant care, but is not as knowledgable as Sperry on plant material (in my humble opinion).

There are other books to look for on perennials and herbs and insects and such that are focused on Texas and the south. Keep in mind while you're doing your research that even if a book is focused on the south, it doesn't automatically mean that it's advice will work for you. As you travel east of Dallas, on into "The South," the soil gets much more acidic, so plants that are recommended for "The South" will not necessarily do for the Granbury region. From Dallas westward, the soil tends to be alkaline. So, when looking at books, keep that in mind. Yankee books and magazines, which make up the majority of the gardening media, are almost worthless here.

Good luck in your move and welcome!

Sally

LOL Sally, """If you have any gardening books, sell them or donate them""".
Especially the ones that say "takes full sun".

Mel said she grew up in So. OK, so she knows about the sun in this part of the U.S.