What would you plant here? (Suggestions, please!)
misslisamham
9 years ago
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oberci
9 years agoCentral_Cali369
9 years agoRelated Discussions
What would you suggest I plant here?
Comments (7)Sorry, I had a whole long post typed out this morning, went to submit it, and my computer froze...lost it all! Hope I can recreate most! I'd LOVE evergreens! Two I really like....the creeping wintergreen, but I hear it doesn't spread fast at all. But I LOVE the foliage, and the berries. LOVE IT! I also am in love with harbor belle nandina, but it's a zone 6 plant, and so I'm just suffering with zone envy there. I don't know if, since it's a protected area, it would still work.... the majority of our weather/wind comes from the west, and the door faces north, with the planting bed pictured facing east. If it was a perfect world, I'd have either one of those, a nice lush bed of it, planted there. Both evergreen. Linda, it is a pyramid arborvitae. Could you tell me what problem I will encounter? Just size? In which I could prune it... or will I be facing problems with the root system with the concrete? I actually have two, one on the other side of my garage door as well. I've never been told this before! The ground squirrels, I have them digging insanely within my foundation plantings....it's making me crazy! This morning there were two fronds laying on the ground from one of my japanese painted ferns. They are stirring up all of the mulch, they are living, I believe, under my concrete front porch. The bed pictured has since been cleaned out completely, but there is a rock in there, large and flat, for decoration. I moved that out of the way last evening to see a criss-cross of tunnels underneath. THIS. IS. WAR. As far as the downspout....when the sidewalk was put in, a PVC pipe was put in underneath it. But nothing on the other side. I suppose we could dig it up and put in some gravel for drainage? So it's unused now, but there if we DO do something...I just wasn't sure what to do, but the pipe under the sidewalk before it was poured seemed like a good idea to me at the time. So we did. I appreciate the opionions....and I do believe I will look into this pachysandra, I've not heard of it! I saw a dwarf dogwood groundcover in some catalog I liked...and seem to remember it might have been evergreen as well. But Linda, do fill me in more on your thoughts on my arborvitaes. I love them, love the looks...but I will be facing problems in teh future? Thanks!!...See MoreWhat would you plant here?
Comments (27)I am most grateful for everybody's helpful comments, especially jkom51. As you can see, I settled on Canna + Lantana + Phormium. Firebird Canna I was actually looking for a white-flowered Canna, but found none, so settled on a bright red one. I don't want pink or orange flowers at this location. Could not find 'Lucifer' either, which would have been awesome. 'Bengal tiger' would also have been amazing. Don't you have to be "lucky" with whatever Canna they have at the time you're ready to plant? It would have taken me forever to discover a plant like this on my own. Very feminine! White Trailing Lantana This is also something I would never have considered without help. It doesn't catch my eye at the nursery. I don't know its behavior. Home Depot got them fresh (at $2.36 for a six-pack!), so I snatched up 10, figuring I could go back for more. They're so cute. Flax Lily In the Phormium aisle at a well-stocked nursery I couldn't find a bright green one I liked. The yellowish greens didn't seem bright enough. I don't want the color of their flowers, either. This Daniella tasmanica 'variegata' Tasman Flax Lily was almost in the next aisle. It's not labeled as a Phormium, but upon further research, it's still in the Phormium family. It's dwarf, yet I wouldn't mind if it grew to 4 feet. jkom51, I understand now why you mentioned the fancy-leaf Pelagonium. Something like that would stand out over the small-leaf Lantana, but still stay low. However, I have to keep it simple to start, especially since the brick box is so small compared to the driveway. Also could not find that plant anywhere. I hope my "tall at the ends, low in the middle" layout is sufficient -- perhaps even pleasing as it balances out the curving bow window? At least it's not "too busy." As for irrigation, I couldn't fit 5/8" hose anyway, so I weaved a loop of 1/4" soaker hose. It's evenly distributed to include both the Canna and FlaxLily -- don't know if that's good or bad. The timer's setting jumps from 72hr to weekly (there's no 2x weekly setting), so I guess it'll be every 3rd day to start. Drainage is the biggest unknown around here. It varies so much around the house that it plays havoc with otherwise good watering principles. It's a long story. Hopefully I'll get to do the adjacent french drain soon. And hopefully that will help! Here is a link that might be useful: my blog entry for this...See MoreWhat would (i)you(/i) plant here?
Comments (23)Hi Can't tell from the pic but seems to be cement all the way to the fenceline?? I think I'd stick with the pots but maybe something a bit fancier?? Sooner or later you'll need to get to the fence lol. As to planting the pots depending on how sunny it is. .I find the taller heliconia tend to get wind damaged. Maybe bird of paradise?? Calatheas ti plants ?? Some of the larger growing ground orchids?? Bamboo orchid comes to mind. The spear type BOP "juncea" would look dramatic but not much of a view blocker. How about some artificial brom trees" planted " in the fancy pots?? Build them up to the size you want right from the start. I think most of the palms would get too wide ?? gary...See MoreWhat would you plant here? Small awkward spot
Comments (33)I'm with the stones-and ground cover crowd. I'd use big squares of bluestone or a concrete paver you like, plant vinca minor (the dark green small-leaved periwinkle), put in tons of daffodil bulbs to come up through it in the spring and be gone by the time you have to do maintenance, and mulch heavily so you can be patient for the two or three seasons it takes for the periwinkle to make a dense, thick mat. Absolutely worth the wait. And then, because the area doesn't go anywhere, I'd put an exterior grade full length mirror on the back skinny wall, surround it with natural trellising, plant a vine to cover it eventually (not ivy - a huge headache to control), and set a big birdbath just in front of the mirror. The mirror solves the dead-end problem and throws the light around a bit, the vine and trellis furnish and mask the wall, the birdbath gives you a focal point, the vinca is deep and soft, and the big stepping stones give the space some scale and a comfortable surface to walk down and to support the tasks of maintenance. A large-scale edited scheme like this would give your skinny little alleyway some real presence. It's a perfect "go big or go home" situation!...See Morehoovb zone 9 sunset 23
9 years agoiris_gal
9 years agoKerry Rae
8 years agoparker25mv
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoWild Haired Mavens
8 years agoIntex Design and Construction
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misslisamhamOriginal Author