Pseudo-natives
artiew
19 years ago
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popi_gw
19 years agoRose_Qld
19 years agoRelated Discussions
Need ideas for planting on East side of house
Comments (0)I have a long, narrow stretch of available/non-landscaped land on the East side of my house. It's roughly 12x100 feet. Creating a pseudo natural fence is desirable but not required. Likewise, utilizing native plants and/or fruit bearing plants is desirable but not required. There is persistent deer population in the area, so if I do berries, I've mentally given up any chance of actually eating them. I've thought about grapes or kiwi, due to their vining habit but am concerned about overall sunlight. I've also thought about currants (not sure why, they seem vigorous). Or just a wall of Rhodys. Or some evergreen huckleberries. Nothing is striking me as a 'must'. I'd prefer to not wait +5-8 years for it to take shape. 3 bedroom windows look down to this area. Otherwise it's a tad outta-sight-outta-mind. I know this is fairly random - but - got any ideas? Thanks....See MoreLandscaping a French house in So Tx! Ideas or direction, please?
Comments (9)Thanks for the advice to my meager message. I had a longer, more detailed post, but my system crashed. So here goes: Here's a link to the front of the home: http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e16/wookiemouse/New%20House/?action=view&current=8fb2.jpg The immediate front: http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e16/wookiemouse/New%20House/?action=view&current=d15c.jpg It's not unattractive, but it has a distinct style that I want to stay true to. It is the only house of this style in the county, according to the builder. Most homes in the neighborhood are the traditional Texas rock style. I am well versed in Texas plants and did the design for my last home - which was a nondescript 20 yr old tract home on 0.19 acres, so an informal native Texas garden was quite easy. I have seen similar homes in other areas, but they're situated on less than a 0.5 acre lot - which would be totally manageable. This front yard expanse alone is approximately 2 acres. What's not seen in the photos is the street with a graduated wire fence on metal posts. It blends in with the landscape fairly well - I need it to keep my dogs in, and it doesn't block my views. I also have a small "island" of roses and 3 oak trees just to the left on the main photo. Surrounding this is a circular rock drive lined with larger rocks (seen in the corner of the photo). The drive by the gates extends all the way to the front of the property, about 300 feet or so. It is pebble paved for about 50' and then the rock extends to the street. The property continues with the weeds/rock about 200' to the right of the house in the first photo. It's a large expanse of basically nothing. The only thing I need to be concerned with out there are the septic sprinklers (which release chlorine-treated grey water). I have no desire to irrigate this area, but I need to incorporate it into the landscape somehow or it will simply detract from whatever I end up designing. The previous owners trucked in about 20 loads of topsoil to get the grass growing that you see in the close up. I would rather work with the remaining land than go to that extreme. I need to somehow direct the eye to the house as a focal point. The weeds are mowed in the photo, but they get 2' tall within a week or so and makes the entire property look run down. If I pull the weeds, all I have is rock and dirt. We've just been dealing with the run-down look for now - it takes 5 hours to mow the property, which we do once a month, such that we're not slaves to the house. My current thoughts - - keep the hedges in the front right of the house. I think they work well, but there is a lower bed beneath the hedges that is currently empty. I was thinking possibly blue plumbago in there...something that would spill out over the rock wall. The area in front of the bay window are azaleas. They're ok. I was looking to possibly add a skyrocket spruce (8-10' variety) on either side of the entry to replace the scraggly bushes. The scraggly plants in front of the curved rock wall are lantana. They've filled out nicely but are the full variety. I might replant with New Gold to hug the wall better and not be so bushy. I want to extend the pebble paving to the dirt parts of the driveway - that will help to define the circular drive area, which has the nice grouping of roses I'd like to clean up and keep. I will likely encircle those with a curved stacked rock and add a solar fountain. I was contemplating lining the central drive with a narrow raised bed as well with Japanese boxwood. I could easily run a drip system through that bed and keep the boxwoods shaped. I also plan on keeping the existing lawn and all trees on the property. I usually plan my landscape by working with photos, but I have yet to come across anything that works. My local library has nada, and I don't want to spend $$ on Amazon without some recommendations - the few books I saw that were promising also looked to be more about working with a small landscape. I feel comfortable substituting xeriscape plants for the English varieties, but what I don't want is 2 acres of formal gardens. I need to somehow tie in the "wild" aspect of the yard yet stay true to the style of the hosue. I will hire a professional if need be, but I feel I have some experience and definitely the plant knowledge for this size of a project. My biggest hurdle right now is finding ideas to steer me in the right direction. If I can get a hold on the large 2 acres of weeds, I think the immediate front of the house will be rather simple. Stacy...See Morehave: M. Lasiocarpa aka Golden Lotus or Chinese Yellow
Comments (1)Sending you an e-mail ~ Judy...See MoreNeed CA native plants for nonprofit planting project.
Comments (4)1) To show people that native plants are beautiful, excellent choices for landscaping, to help stop foreign invasive plants from being used. True, but often natives just do not respond the same way to cultivation as they tend to be soil specific, requiring more aeration of the general clayey type soils that constitute the fill that is used in lots homes are built upon. And as people tend to have lawns the way the lawn is handled is generally how the rest of the yard is handled, and that is as easily as possible. 2) To support native plants and animals. These plants were selected because a number of native California butterflies, birds, moths, etc. feed on them. We are also trying to expand the territory of the lonely little grey fox that lives near the conservancy. While many of the plants you list may be attracted to butterflies and moths as well as hummingbirds, you need plants that produce seeds that birds will eat and in your list only the Ribes appears to be so. Plants that are annuals or biennials that produce small seeds for finches or larger seeds for the larger birds of your area, which you need to research. Also butterflies need plants such as milkweed for their caterpillars to feed on. "Lonely little gray fox"??? Grey foxes are solitary hunters! And they can climb trees which is one of their escape routes from dogs. You need large trees with cavities in them for the fox to hide in. Also you will need debris piles, such as piled up branches etc for rodents to live in that the fox can feed on. 3) the bushier plants are meant to discourage trespassing. There is a real issue of homeless people basically invading sections of the river and destroying it. We want to use these plants as a barrier to save the last pristine section of land, which is only maybe a fourth of a mile long, less wide. None of the plants you list can create a suitable barrier apart from the Cornus and even it is not enough to dispell intruders. You need plants like THISTLES fronted by NETTLES to form a wall at least 5 feet deep to discourage intruders but once these idiots learn you are growing Datura then forget it as they will simply find a way to destroy your barriers to get to this plant that is used as a drug. I could not believe that you would list such a dangerous plant like this. It should not be encouraged to be grown. 4) open the door for more native planting projects. If this one is successful, we would do greater habitat restoration projects, where we would actually plant more things that would naturally occur in the area. I really think you people should contact the California Native Plant Society in your area and really talk this over with them. They have the knowledge and resources that can assist you. Check the link. Here is a link that might be useful: CNPS Santa Clara Valley...See MoreWooroonooran
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