I am by no means a green thumb. However, when we moved into this house almost 2 years ago, we had 2 problems taken care of at once… overgrown shrubs and a foundation in need of repair. Shortly after we moved in, the foundation repair guys were kind enough to remove our shrubs for us, and there it has sat… empty and bare, for the last year and a half or so.
What it looked like when we bought it.
Our painfully blank canvas.
So knowing nothing of what grows where, I’ve started trying to self educate by getting some library books, asking around, checking out plants at Lowe’s and other nurseries… man is it ever overwhelming. I consider myself a pretty good designer sometimes, but this plant thing is hard. I mean I can plan a room quite easily… furniture shapes don’t change, wall colors don’t change every few months, decorative accessories don’t grow and overtake a space… when you buy it at the store, it is what it is and you can count on that. Plants? The grow, they change shapes, they disappear in winter sometimes, they change colors…. it’s pretty hard to design around that. So here’s my kudos to successful landscape designers and avid gardeners the world around!
Being that I’ve got a north facing house, I’m also finding it difficult to come up with a great shade loving plan, but after much deliberation, I think I sort of have a plan for at least half of my front flower beds. We haven’t finished prepping the East side of the house yet (to your left) but I think I sort of have a tentative plan for it on paper. That may change by the time we get there, but here it is thus far:
Actually I can tell you a good part of this has already changed in my mind, but here it is anyway!
The West flowerbed was pretty much ready to go, so that’s where we’ll actually start. I found it much easier to plan with photoshop than the pencil drawing so that’s probably how I’ll proceed when we start working on the other side. Here’s what I’ve got in mind for our West side though:
Before.
My Plan: Summer Time
From left to right, back to front: Existing “Large Scale Monkey Grass” as I call it, pink Caladiums, Violets from my grandmother’s house, a Pink Camellia bush (not in bloom in the summer), purple looking Black Mondo Grass, a few Dwarf Yaupon Hollies with Varigated Hostas and Varigated Grass alternating in between, and pink Impatiens in between that. Purple Iris from my other grandmother’s house (if she’ll let me have some 
hehe) (also not in bloom during summer), existing pink Crape Myrtle tree we whacked off at the stump to make it grow more like a bush and stay off the roof, a purple Chinese Fringe bush at the corner (not in bloom, but a pretty purple color all year) a pot of hot pink Geraniums, surrounded by the white Dusty Miller, with “Small Scale Monkey Grass” from my mom’s house around that, and Japanese Box Wood to line the West side of the house and obscure the AC unit from the street. Oh yes, and you’ll notice how much nicer the shutters will look once they’re black! Jason thought I was crazy when I told him we should paint them black. This picture convinced him I think!
My Plan: Very Early Spring
I think this is mostly right, based on what blooms in the cooler months (Camellia, Iris, and Chinese Fringe), and what has died off (Caladiums, Hostas, Crape Myrtle, Violets, and the annuals)… could be wrong though. Oh, and I swapped out the pot of Geraniums (which have to come inside to avoid the frost) for some pink Dianthus.
My Plan: Christmas Lights
Because I am my mother’s daughter, making sure I had a good foundation for my Christmas lights was important too! Take the flower pot inside and put out a Christmas tree in the corner!
Anyway, we started working on it a little this past weekend, but I doubt we’ll really get much done on it until Jason is finished with school… TWO more weeks!!! I’m so excited for that!
