Perhaps the only positive that houzz has brought to Gardenweb is quick access to nice photos. Locate, upper left on my screen,

That could be extended as a casual living area with low water use flowers and ground covers SO easily.

What sort of light does it get? Where is the morning, noon and afternoon sun?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/landscape/query/xeriscaping/nqrw

Thanks for the responses. I have since carried this conversation over to the Home Decorating forum - lazy_gardens, I think you found it there. I've been perusing photos on Houzz for days on end, and yes, there is a wealth of information and ideas on this site! Thanks again!

The wall opposite your chairs could be very cool looking with a couple of nicely selected xeric plants, large shrubs or small trees. There are so many colors out there that it's amazing once you really start looking. I can send you some pictures of my yellow bed that I just finished. But, I didn't want to overload your posting with my photos.

Xtal - I would love to see your photos, if you don't mind sharing them here!

Ida Claire, you have a great area to work with. Just take it slow and don't rush each step. Graph it out on paper and then start making the list of xeric plants you can use, then move them around on the graphed paper till each finds their home. It will save you some transplanting time. Be sure to indicate which way is East for the sunlight. You have more shade than I do so that is a break for your plants from our hot, blistering Texas sun.

My xeric bed meets my requirements for Full Sun in Central Texas, zone 8b. Sine the property had been the Santa Fe RR Union Hall, it was entirely a compacted gravel parking lot. So, everything requires a raised bed. I’d suggest that you start looking at native plants. They know the soil, the weather, the rain or lack there of. I was impacted by a book at the library which obviously covered gardens in a different part of the US and not our drought stricken states. But, I used that as my guide for deciding to plant a “Wall of Color”. My Wax Myrtles don’t bloom yellow, but that was a concession as there are a naive evergreen - low water.

The Gardener's Book of Color : Creating Contrasts, Harmonies and Multicolor Themes in Your Garden by Andrew Lawson (1996, Hardcover) | eBay

Any of Sally Wasowski’s books will help you, too. You might want to check it out a the library to confirm that you want to purchase it. I always go to discount book sites.

Native Gardens For Dry Climates: Sally Wasowski: 9780517593318: Amazon.com: Books

I've got quite a few photos so I'll start them in the next note. If I weren't so intently focused on my yard, I'd be glad to help you with designing yours. Maybe we can talk over the phone. I'd be glad to hear your thoughts.

Crystal

Forgive the long note with so many photos. It's the commercial artist in me that gives this much visual support.

The yard is large and this is just the beginning of developing privacy - so I planted much denser than what I would have anywhere else. A common mistake of many gardeners is not taking the mature size of the plant into consideration. The Dwarf Wax Myrtle are projected to grow 8’ to 10’ which will cover the windows next door. Right now, they are 4 1/2’ tall.

Epsom Salt (magnesium) is helping the Wax Myrtles return from having become chlorotic.

"Skeleton-Leaf Goldeneye" is the best long blooming, full sun, xeric plant that there is. This transplant helped to set the color that this ‘wall’ would be. So, it became the official the Yellow Bed. In front is “Yellow Gold” Lantana. Another bulletproof plant for us. Recently planted it’s already going like gangbusters.

Sedum will bet tucked into several areas once it gets going and I can rob from it.

More sedum that I plan to tuck into the wall as I can move it.

Oops, didn’t get a photo of the Ghost Plant that I just moved over there. Great xeric succulent that handles freezing weather.

Also, recently planted and purchased from the Spring Master Gardener Plant Sale is the xeric, evergreen, Four Nerve Daisy. I’ve been pulling withering blooms for seeds to start so I can spread it this next year.

The evergreen Tecoma “Bells of Fire’ will grow to to 6’. It might get transplanted. Not quite sure right now.

I want to bring in a taller xeric evergreen, Tecoma "Jubilee” and distance it from this bed so that it will be able to provide some afternoon shade from our blistering Texas Sun. That will tie in the colors of orange across the bed.

This was on the property and stunted by the only shade there was. Once moved out into full sun, it started to take off. It’s doubled it size since then and projected to get 4’ tall.

A few of the other plants...

The Sweet Osmanthus was on it’s own till I transplanted it over there. Many leaves and stems were removed in the process to insure that it would make it. There’s an identical one on the opposite side of the Yellow Bed. Now, I’m contemplating letting it return to a full and bushy evergreen. So, once again, I’m watering it in this first year.

In the corner behind is Cestrum “Orange Bells”, another bulletproof evergreen. The Wax Myrtle to the front right will eventually hide it. While planted to become part of the evergreen privacy hedge, it might be pulled out front and enjoyed. I can’t wait to watch the hummers come to it.

Rocks were used as a buffer to keep the dogs from pruning it. Also left many large bags of leaves to do the same thing. Gradually, I’m introducing those leaves into the soil that I’m making. Unfortunately, the oak leaves don’t compact like other leaves. But, they are free when I drive around the neighborhood with my trailer and pick them up. There is large bed that is probably the next area to work with.

So, I might plant a vine there instead, along in the yellow to orange range. The Mexican Flame Vine is so beautiful with it’s orange blooms as it attracts the butterflies like crazy. But, it dies here every winter. So, I’ll probably start cuttings over the winter.

Center: Bay Laurel. To be transplanted out further into the yard this Fall as I make an island bed just for trees.

Right: Maxmillian Sunflower. Expecting to see some blooms witting the next couple of weeks. It has got a great trunk on it for having been there such a short amount of time. I stopped watering it some time ago.

Will complete in the next note.

Part 2

This is the only plant that I’m watering regularly till it gets established. I can see the benefits of watering it as it’s growing relatively fast. It will get transplanted because it would shade out the Wax Myrtles. I wish my plants had wheels.

I’m surprised how thick the stem is on the Maxmillian Sunflower… considering it’s lack of water. I’m not a fan of sunflowers, but this one steals my heart. I can wait to spread it from the seeds that I’ll collect from this plant.

Obviously, it’s still a work in progress. All the decomposing wood chips are now exposing the corrugated cardboard that I had down to cover the weeds. Initially, the wall was completely vertical till it was brought to my attention that the soil could eventually break through those rocks. So, I started laying them back. I need to do more work on it since nothing is mortared.

Here, you can see the size of the Texas Lantana as it has grown so much.

In the back is a row of rocks that I plan to use for a waterfall near my porch. Just one more project that will be over a year away.

And this brings me to the next project and nearing the end of these photos - another bed. These rocks will require staining these like I did those around the Yellow Bed. I learned to leave space between the rocks, now set in a row, so I could step between them. These are the small rocks that I can lift.

This stain is considerably cheaper that the concrete stain that you buy at the big box stores.

Homemade Concrete Stain Recipes - Iron Stains

It all goes toward developing the next bed. I need to bring in more amendments as they do decompose and settle down. The temporary fence is called the Okra Fence so as to keep the dogs from pruning them, too.

To the right of the Yellow Bed are 4 Wax Myrtles encouraged to grow their full height of 12’ tall x 8’ to 10’ wide.

To their right is 4 more that will be limbed up like trees under which I can plant any number of shade tolerant plants. That will come after they grow up tall enough to connect leaves going all the way across the front of the property. You might e able to see the chainlink fence, It has a longer life span that privacy fences do. I can plan the privacy better myself. Where the bottom limit of those branches are will be just under where the top of the chain link fence is. Outside the fence will be a number of different low water xeric plants. Where they stop growing the Wax Myrtles on the inside will take over.

Ida Claire, you will do well if you just give your project a lot of time to do all your research. In the end you'll be glad you did.

I hope that I've helped in some way.

Crystal

Temple

I think the reason why your zoysia hasn't done well is because it might be too shady. Look into it. You might want to spring some areas in front of your house that has full sun.

Crystal - thank you so very much for the photos and helpful links! I love what you've done / are doing to create your own little slice of paradise with your landscaping. Your yellow bed is especially cheerful! Sounds like you know a good deal about plants and how to properly plan. In other words, it's clear that you have a passion for this sort of thing and I appreciate you sharing with me!

It's rather astounding what a short amount of time can do. Since my original post, the zoysia has really taken off and is filled in beautifully. There are still a couple of sparser areas near the patio (but that's because it doesn't get a lot of sun there, and also there's a big ol' hammock parked in that spot), and we'll consider what to do about that later. We've decided to let the grass do its thing for now, and we'll revisit this possibly next spring. We have planted a few strategically-placed drought-tolerant shrubs that we'll prune into small trees that will eventually nicely block the neighbor's house (and windows), including Shoal Creek Vitex and Black Diamond Crimson Red crapes. Depending on how the grass continues to fare, we'll either incorporate beds of smaller plants around the trees in the future -- or if we take out the grass entirely, we'll still install smaller plants but go even more in a xeriscape direction.

I'd be glad to do a small sketch for you as how I see that area. You have a lot that you can do there. We have so many good xeric plants... it just takes finding a 'native' plant nursery. The big box stores don't sell plants that we truly need to be planting.

When I think of how big my yard is and how much territory I have to plant, that when I see your yard, all I can think is that it would be so much easier. Do you listen to Howard Garrett on the weekends? He's a good radio source for you up there.

I'd be adding some butterfly plants, but it sounds like you've got one already in the ground.

Summer is not the time to plant. But, you can bring in amendments and start working the beds. Absolutely, wait till Fall.