A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Help needed

My daughter lives in Milledgeville, GA where it is unbelievably hot and dry. She wants to landscape the front of her house with something "other than bushes that just stay green; that don't die in the winter and nothing that gets too big." These are my instructions.

They're not in a drought just constantly have dry weather. The place gets full sun most of the day. Right now she has little boxwoods that she's going to takek up - she doesn't like them. She also has crepe myrtle trees - they seem to be everywhere down there.

She would like something with more texture than plain green. Plants that don't get too big and she's not home a lot to care for them much. Any ideas Joclyn?

she can plant almost anything, I like Hollyhocks for a tall in the back and usually do some more short up front, cosmos are good for a middle folwer and then usually to that bed I add marigolds to the front for short, plus they are there til frost.

She sent me a picture put I can't figure out how to get it from her email to my photos to post it.

Anyway, picture across the front of a house. She doesn't want a flower garden. She wants some type of greenery with some color - any color - that is low mainteance. She doesn't want it to get tall say like my Hollyhocks do. cactus might be a good idea. I'll throw that out there.

Maybe I can get this picture thing to work.

She will add a few annuals occasionally.

Thanks joclyn. I'll have to wait until I get home but I'll do it. You're a life saver - well this isn't actually life and death - but thanks a bunch.

You can't tell but her front yard sharpely slopes toward the house. They're putting in a french drain to divert some of the water.

Short easy care flowers, dwarf marigold, annual
4 oclocks .. Spread and have a great fragrance.

Petunias

A flowering quince or two would look nice by the entrance, but away from the dripline.


This is a closeup view; it grows to three feet tall.

Do you eat the fruit off that plant?

I started one from a friend, they dont know what it was , new place and old trees.

The ones I'm familiar with, the landscaping sized ones, didn't have fruit; the orchard quince, though, looks like a pear but stays hard and is too tart to eat. May be the same with the flowering species.

Ok..

I got it wrong I suppose. But the flowering shrub or what it is, blooms in the spring only one time.. I loved it .
Yours is lovely.. Is it an old plant?
Like pre historic?/LOL kidding.

It's not mine,Dodge; It was the best I could immediately find on Google, and it appears deceptively large from being photographed up close to detail the flowers. Here's a better picture I had on file- again not mine- and is more typical.


I'm too far north to have one,unfortunately.

I like the marigolds they stay pretty til frost if you dead head

I've got a flowering quince. It's pretty.

Oh I see........Your just quoting from the Bible.
Thanks anyways. I just found out about this one a couple years ago. Bloomed so nicely.

What color is yours Sheri?

PS.........I sent you seeds today.

Mine is the same color. I don't think it comes in different colors. I emailed the picture to my daughter.


seeds for the money plant? Thanks. Do you want some of mine?

I arent wild of marigolds, but miss them if I dont plant ..
They stink.

LOL

No , I arent wild of the money plant.. It blooms one time an quits.. I have a whole bouqet up in my garage , I forgot about . Seen them today.

Yes we raise cattle.

b

I think marigolds smell bad too but they keep bugs out of the garden.

Don't you like the money plant after the flower dies back. They're good to use in decorations.

I sprayed some red for christmas 2 years ago.. No one was impressed..

I have a whole bunch in my garage yet.

Not my greatest adventure.

Sometimes I'm asked to bring flower arrangements to work for a special luncheon or something and I stick some in there.

Thats a great idea. DId you ever spray paint them with a red color? I did that for christmas, and put a bow on the vase.

Well anyone who comes to my house never leaves with out some flowers.. It is my main gossip area.LOL

b

I've never even thought of that but it's a good idea.

The front of her house faces west but without trees, except way in the back, it gets full sun all day. It's so hot and dry there. Her soil is clay. Hopefully when they put in the french drain the water won't be a problem. But the water has killed a few of the shrubs that were there when she moved in. I was hoping they could move the left side (facing the house) out and make the area bigger, but the landscape man said because of the slope it would take some major excavation and since this isn't their forever house they don't want to invest in that.

She doesn't want azaleas - think they're ugly when not blooming and so do I.

I wondered about some small gardenia bushes by the front.

Just remember , you dont want to cover the pretty house with tall stuff on the front.. 5 years later you will be pulling them out .

the tall stuff would go on the one side or in the spots in between the windows.

thanks Joclyn. I'm going to email your suggestions.

I have some red sage salvia on the west side of my house in full sun--and it does well. the 'bush' gets about 2 feet high, about 1=1/2 ft wide that would be nice. and what about some coneflowers---she could do many colors or just the color she wishes. they do well on the west side as well.

Once we get the base plants settled we'll think about annuals and flowers.

I had flowering quince in Port Orchard Washington and it did very well up there. The thorns are long and sharp though.

For easy care and interest I'd look at some of the Ornamental Grasses. And for easy care I'd look for those plants that will naturalize in your area.

Agave geminiflora Agave, Twin-flowered
Agave virginica 'Spot' Rattlesnake Aloe
Berlandiera lyrata Chocolate flower
Callicarpa americana Beautyberry, American
Caulophyllum thalictroides Blue Cohosh
Ceanothus americanus New Jersey Tea
Cheilanthes argentea Silver Cloak Fern
Cheilanthes lanosa Hairy Lip Fern
Cheilanthes sinuata Wavy Cloak Fern
Cheilanthes tomentosa Wooly Lip Fern
Gaultheria shallon Salal
Hesperaloe parviflora False Red Yucca
Hesperaloe parviflora 'Yellow' False Yellow Yucca
Lomatium dissectum Fernleaf Biscuitroot
Mahonia repens Creeping Mahonia
Osmunda cinnamomea Cinnamon Fern
Vaccinium ovatum Huckleberry, Evergreen

I hope something on this list interests your daughter.

No peonies they require a chill period and they won't get it in Georgia. Same thing for many bulbs they require a chill period to rebloom. And I wouldn't do yucca near a foundation. Their roots go on for about forever and once planted you have them for life. sorry to put a damper on some of the suggestions.

thanks TK. I looked them up and sent her pictures. Many of them would be great in my book.

I hope they will work for her. I love many of the plants that will survive down there. Unfortunately I couldn't survive down there lol.

This is what is planted. Is it lantana, azaleas, and some type of wandering jew? I don't think lantana is going to be evergreen, she doesn't like azaleas or jew. I'm hoping I'm mistaken. I can't see the pictures that well on my home computer. The color just isn't right.






Is this Obelia?

Lantana isnt an evergreen......Its a flower.
Azalea is a bush.

PS.. Bestof4 I posted my arches for you to see..

b

I know that dodge. that's what I'm saying. I'm hoping that what I'm seeing isn't what I'm seeing. She had said she wants evergreen stuff and NOT azaleas. Do you know what those plants are?

Where are the arches?

Go to the last 24 hours and the arches are close to the bottom.

Sheri I'm not sure of your question here,, The wondering jew,, moses in a cradle, is right, trailing lantana is right,, Oblelia? Never heard of it I looked it up and nothing,, do you been lobelia??? is the grassy clumps what your referring too??

Do you mean abelia, Sheri? I cannot get a close enough look to be able to tell.

yes, that's exactly what I meant.

Is the other, red, azaleas? I can't tell from the pictures either.

what is the purple stuff?

abelia or at least a varitey

THe purple is Wondering jew,, Moses in a cradle Lots of different names for it depending where you live,, Here it is called Wondering jew,, I have to throw it away every year, It's bad invasive,, and blooms pink or white sometimes blue little flowers

Here, we call that wandering Jew, purple heart. And it is an alright plant for confined spaces. It can get out of hand.

what about the green monkey grass looking stuff? he told her it would flower too.

Purple is Roaming jew.. i have one and it grows like nuts inside..
Didnt know it was an outsider.

If that is liriope, it will flower a purple cluster of grape like flowers. Then they become black seeds.

Shame on you .
Throwing moses away........

It could be tulbaghia, society garlic, and that will bloom taller with violet kind of flowers. (If it smells strongly of garlic, that is what it is)

I was just talking to her and evidentially her college education was a waste because she cut all the tags off the plants and threw them away. She said he told her nothing would spread. I told her I think he lied. She said the red bushes are some type of rose that will bloom "all year". Don't believe that either.

Most of our roses here in zone 9 will bloom all year. Most of us don't let them. We cut them back in midwinter because you can end up with rose trees instead of bushes.

Heres another.. My son and daughterinlaw both college folks and they landscaped.
My son spent many hours digging by hand and hauling stone from here and paving a path.
She picked all the plants .. And they really grew.
Last fall son had to dig and throw away and dig more.. It really expanded.

She knew her plants.LOL
He said never again.

I always plant way more than I want because I know some will never make it

joclyn, she said those are roses - not azaleas. I told her that stuff would spread but she said he assured her it wouldn't. We'll see.

I'm not an expert on gardening at all but I would suggest trees, start with small ones, they grow faster than you would think (there cheaper and easier to plant too). Its a nice big front yard and I know it gets HOT in Georgia; trees would provide the house with shade too. There is such a variety of trees that you can pick from, so many possibilities! It would dress up the front yard too.

How about a mountain fire pieris?

I have one and they get really bright red leaves on them part of the year and then they flower in the early spring--white flowers.....the flowers resemble lily of the valley, hence the reason the bush is also named the lily of the Valley Bush. They are very low maintenance and are related to Rhodies and Azaleas.....Mine is really small now but they do grow, and I know that's a concern---but I don't think they'd be too hard to keep small, and they are evergreen.

I have that too Loz and it's so pretty when it's red.

I think she's completed the project.

It is isn't it?

I don't see them often around here, so when I found it at Lowe's I had to buy it.

Mine is still pretty small, only a few feet tall....

Do you cut the old flowers off when it's done flowering?