Back yard is a BLANK SLATE- ideas needed!
Help-- it's time!
We've lived in this house for 7 years. We finally added the patio last year. Other than a little work on the side yard, I've made very few landscape improvements. I need help with a plan to implement over the next few years. The back yard gets full sun until 12 pm and then starts to shade over from the tall border trees on the west side. The yard is lightly shaded over by around 4 pm.
-Ideas for the side yard? What to plant to hide the A/C units? I can move the rock steps over a bit if needed. There's about 3 feet between them now.
-Ideas for what to plant along the patio fence and backyard fence borders?
-The backyard is deep-- possibly create landscape "rooms"?
-Additional trees in the backyard along the open side ok with me.
-That's a crepe myrtle midway down on the right side. I don't necessarily love it, but it's fine.
-Behind it is an oak tree sapling from a 200 year old oak on our street that had to be cut down.
I am a complete novice but am ready to put in some time and effort. We live just north of Atlanta in zone 7b.
Your ideas and experience appreciated!
Comments (10)
afmcnear
3 years agoWhat a great space with a lot of potential! It's great that you saved the baby oak, it should love all that sun. What do you currently use this space for? Do you have kids/dogs that play around in the open space? Would you like to grow flowers that attract butterflies, or grow veggies/herbs/fruit for your family? Do you like the sun, or would you like more shade (I'm guessing you'd like some shade in the future with that oak ;) )
I'm pretty meh on crepe myrtles as well, they are overused and kinda boring here in central NC. So you have this internet stranger's permission to yank it if you want to.
For the borders, since you have a lot of room to play around with, I'd suggest some shrubs, like Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) or Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora). Both are native species, with handsome growth habits, need no pruning, and bloom beautiful white spires of flowers. Deer will browse Oakleaf hydrangea until it grows out of their reach, so it may not be the best choice if you get a lot of deer visits. In front of the shrubs, you could plant perennial wildflowers/ferns/grasses to add color and lush vegetation.
Here are my Oakleaf hydrangeas coming into bloom earlier this month:
And here are some blooming Bottlebrush buckeye (not mine -- but I'm planting babies this spring, so maybe someday!):
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Need ideas for this beautiful blank slate
Comments (11)So nice to view a well designed structure which really needs very little in the way of foundation plantings, except for a few low evergreen types along the right hand 'el'. One approach: lay a wide walkway (flat stones on hand) which leads onto a large patio across front of house. Plan the patio size for comfortable seating and greeting. Large potted plants as needed on patio. Then design a generous garden bed along the outside edge of the patio for a mixed shrub border which would include the gifted azaleas and other lower growing types; Ilex crenata 'Stokes', India Hawthorn, flowering quinces, hydrangeas. If there is need for a shade tree near house consider a Japanese Zelcovia. Do some selective brush cutting along driveway which would allow the present young sapling growth to mature at no cost. Consider planting one Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodora) out in an open area with lots of room for the beauty and for the ages. Fenced vegetable garden in the back yard as deer will be a problem....See MoreI have a blank yard...need ideas!
Comments (15)Both the Northwest Perennial Alliance (.org) and The Garden Conservancy (.org) have scheduled open gardens for their members, so you could check into those organizations to see if there are enough gardens in your area to make it worth joining. Touring exceptional gardens is a great source of inspiration. What I love about my garden, which is tailored for me and without any concern about outside opinions, are these features: 1. My tiny lawn is flat so it can be mowed with a push mower in minutes (no grass catcher, no gas, no oil, no sparkplug, no fumes). 2. My small garden is hidden behind a hedge because I'm on a corner lot. I have 6 different places to sit -- 3 different tables of various sizes and shapes. I'm never in the public eye on these benches or at these tables even though I'm only a few feet from a sidewalk. I can have coffee in the morning sun and sit in the shade while I look at back-lit canna leaves in the hot afternoon. There is a hammock hidden in the shade in the back for fabulous naps. 3. I have raised beds which bring plants closer to eye level and make me feel enclosed in a terrium-like jungle of big and colorful leaves. As I get older, I like these raised beds more and more! :> 4. I have some paths that are covered with filbert shells and crunch when I walk and other paths covered with a deep layer of bark (bought at the grocery store in bags) that is very very soft to walk on. 5. I have plants all over the garden that attract hummingbirds and feed them year 'round. When I'm watering in the early morning or evening (by hand), I'm often only inches away from a hummingbird. 6. I have evening-scented plants by the back (screened) doors and winter-scented plants by the front door. 7. When I look out my windows, I look into interesting plants -- they have become my view and at this time of year look like paintings of a tropical landscape on one side and a ferny woodland on the other side. Even though I knew better, 23 years ago I planted several trees too close to my house. It's perfect for my cat who can look out windows and truly get a bird's eye view, but this is going to have to be dealt with. I planted a Colorado Blue Spruce which can grow up to be the ugliest tree in existence because of spruce aphids and that will have to be dealt with. You're pretty close to Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island -- they have a nice garden and a very interesting plant selection....See MorePlease need help 100% blank slate both front and back
Comments (19)I'm using your plan view drawing to make some suggestion. I don't there is as much space in the back yard as it shows so I'm reducing it some. For starters, it looks to me like you are making the patio too small to be genuinely useful. By the time you place a table and chairs, a grill, spillover seating and what not, it would be extremely crowded. Consider expanding it to what average users might desire, even if you don't think you need that much space. I've never heard anyone complain about having too much space on the patio, but plenty complaining of too little. Some small (15' height) trees surrounding the back yard would help give a sense of privacy without becoming overwhelming. To my thinking, multi-trunk trees would be better than single trunks ... more substance, more screening and more options of what could be used. At the front yard, a small multi-trunk tree between you and neighbor's would help your house from theirs and help screen the view between the houses. A medium flowering tree could give the house a sense of being somewhat sheltered, protected and give the street some personality. Like others, I agree that not having shrubs between drive and walk is better. Low (less than 12") groundcover would work better. Carrying it around the sloped portion of the yard and L. side of house would lessen maintenance and give a fuller look. Some seasonal color near the steps would be a cheerful greeting when entering the house....See MoreSeeking advice on blank slate back yard!
Comments (2)For starters, I'd do a cleanout of the space. Getting the extra stuff out of sight will make it much easier to envision the possibilities. Remove/throw out everything you don't plan to keep (I'd start with that black plastic edging), stow away the kid stuff (as long as possible anyway, ha), and clean everything that stays, especially the hard surfaces (the patio, shed, siding, fence, all of it). It would be wise to use part (maybe most) of the budget to hire someone with the appropriate equipment & experience to scrape out the gravel, put in good topsoil, and level the backyard without damaging the maple's root system. Between the gravelly soil and maple tree, you'd have a heck of a time growing any grass right now. It's not a fun way to spend money, but it's more fun than doing that work yourself! You'd be ready to spread grass seed then. Wood chips would be very wise under the tree, a lawn won't grow there anyway. :)...See More
robsalmck
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agorobsalmck
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoYardvaark- I've sent a response to you - twice- and it's disappeared. Maybe too many pics. I will try again by breaking them up.
We enjoy being outside- especially late afternoon/early evening in the summer. Sometimes with friends, sometimes just us.
Back yard overlapping pics:Thank you for looking at this!
robsalmck
3 years agoSide yard-- measures 23 wide by 18 ft from fence to corner of house where patio starts. AC units come out about 4.5 ft. another 4 ft or so to the stepping stones:
robsalmck
3 years agoafmcnear
3 years agoBoth Oakleaf hydrangea and Bottlebrush buckeye can handle sun and shade, though they may need more water in sunnier conditions (and especially the year you plant them, when they are getting their roots established.)
You are correct that the oak will cast some shade when mature, but that will be years down the road, so you could definitely get started with some fruits and veggies now, and worry about shade later. I'm also in 7b, and I've had luck this year growing strawberries and figs, and understand that blackberries/raspberries also do well in this zone. Blueberries can be tricky because they love cold winters. Another native shrub,American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), LOVES sun and grows tons of magnificent magenta berries. The birds will love them in the fall, and/or you can pick them to make jelly (they are a bit bland right off the bush).
(By the way, I made some plant names link to articles about their growing conditions, one my screen it shows up as green text that I can click)
Butterflies will love species like Phlox paniculata, Mountain Mint (genus Pycnanthemum), and Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), plus many others. If you see butterflies on flowers while you shop for plants at a local nursery or botanical garden, that's a pretty good endorsement that they'll like it planted in your yard too. Your oak will also be great for attracting butterflies, since many of their baby caterpillars eat oak leaves (usually minimal so you don't notice, especially once the oak gets tall).
American beautyberry in fruit:
Painted Lady butterfly on my blue mistflower last fall:
afmcnear
3 years agoOh I forgot about Joe-pye Weed! That's such a great plant for attracting butterflies, blooms late summer, gets pretty big so I'd recommend the dwarf cultivars.
Here is mine being appreciated by some butterflies last summer:
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Yardvaark