#19546
July 9th, 2004 at 08:36 AM
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Some of you may recall how I wanted to relandscape my front lawn - now dead as Monty Python's parrot - and turn it into a more "livable" space. I can't stand the uselessness of a nearly 1800 sq.foot patch of grass sitting infront of my house, to be enjoyed only by cats and dogs doing their midnight "business"! At present the front of the house looks something like this (although where you see in this picture green grass, it's now brown dusty dead grass...deceased turf....greenery with the stuffing knocked out of it): But I'd like to head a little toward something like this: I know only the following things: I have Camelias and Gardenias along the front right side of the house, so know I will need to water that area. Other than that I would like drought tolerant plants, as much as possible. I want to put a hedge/screen up around the front perimeter of the lawn (front and 2 sides), going up anywhere between 3 and 6 ft (not sure what the city law states...still researching). I want good curb appeal, but great sense of privacy and sanctuary. I want a front garden area, rather than a front patch o/ grass. AT LAST: to my question: Does anyone have good ideas, with respect to the best hedge/screen? Some gerat plants to consider? etc... Looking forward to your thoughts, ideas, suggestions and cookie recipes!
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#19547
July 11th, 2004 at 07:38 AM
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Compost Queen!
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Hi Nicholas, Anything look interesting in this post?? The first one or the second one??? Look at these idea\'s I think the first one is neat, but not sure about the fencing around it into your front yard, I like the idea, but it's the building codes I'm not sure about in your town???? And the second one with the Hypertufa is in your not too much maintainence??? And low watering too if you find alpines and things like that. **go to the one that says #10. One year later - the results...... Weezie No, I don't think the cattle panels to construct 'hoop houses' would work for your front yard! <img border="0" alt="[perplexed]" title="" src="graemlins/confused.gif" />
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#19548
July 12th, 2004 at 06:37 PM
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I'm still looking at all the links, and having a geat time looking! The first one is very much a water garden, it seems, which is kinda counter to my drought-telrant thingy, but then again, a little pond with a waterfall...oooohhhh! The Hypertufa seems designed primarily for hillsides or graded land. Mine's as flat as a Paris Crepe. Now, the Cattle Hoops!... Thanks for your very sweet note, and for posting these ideas. I'm diving right back in to reviewing them again!
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#19549
July 12th, 2004 at 07:26 PM
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Compost Queen!
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Nicholas, When you looked at the first set of pictures', there's rocks....and wondering if you could do something along that line... I know drought tolerant plants mostly come from rocky, hilly, hot and dry area's... Also, for the second ones' with the hyper~tuffa stuff, I bet if a load of dirt was brought in, you'd get yourself a hill out of it, and use either or/or both idea's into that..... Rocks and hyper~tuffa pots.... Fill in between the rocks with some more dirt and such, and on top of some rocks, or off to the side some of those pots.... I'll keep looking for some more... Hopin' someone else comes thru with an idea or two for you!! Weezie
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#19550
July 17th, 2004 at 04:43 AM
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I think I threw an unfairly large request out to the forum, so I'm going to break it down. Have posted a question in plants and flowers about hedges, and will work step-by-step from there...hopefully I'll get some feedback that will get me out of this rut! I want to get this garden done by October/November, and it involves completely redoing the sprinkler system, pulling out the whole lawn, and then getting to work on planting, etc...
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#19551
July 18th, 2004 at 03:08 PM
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How about Yucca or Aloe Vera plantings. They do well in arid country. I know in Arizona people do almost all of thier landscaping with cactus, etc.. and cover the yard in rock, since most grass will not grow there due to the lack of water, and all the heat. And very little upkeep.
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#19552
July 18th, 2004 at 10:15 PM
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Compost Queen!
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You know Nicholas, You wrote the hyper~tuffa stuff was for hills, Can you not pull a little bit of the dirt from the front section of your side walk side... and pile it onto your front of the house side, and that would give you a hilly area to work off of... then land scape it down to a little water feature??? Then when you use the hyper~tuffa like you can diffently use all those "like to be hot and dry" type plants.. I'll go take a peek in the other section for you. Weezie
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#19553
July 21st, 2004 at 04:41 AM
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Weezie, I think I'm already going to be risking the ire of my neighbors and street by deviating from the conventional green lawn patch ideal, to then make a slope will send them into shock! babysteps... I'm pretty sure that we'll keep everything flat, as far as the ground. The screening hedge will be about 6ft tall, and then flowerbeds and bushes can be varied in height... That's the plan, at least...but then the best laid plans etc etc...!
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#19554
September 12th, 2004 at 04:59 AM
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Hey Nicholas, Have you come up with any ideas yet?? Just curious???
Weezie
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#19555
October 21st, 2004 at 08:29 AM
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Hey gang! Weezie was sweet enough to send me a polite kick in the a**, and I realize that I never followed up on this posting! Well, the reason I've not been too much in evidence on the boards is because I've been busy finally making the dream a reality: The front of the house is all done: Day one we (my wife and I) pulled out the front lawn - 11 tons of earth and dead grass!! We Rounduped everything, and then called in the experts... Day two had a sprinkler company install new sprinklers, and excavate the center 800 sq.feet of the 1200 sq. foot plot down to a 3.5 inch depth. So now we had sprinklers in, and a hard earth mound all around the edge at 5-6 feet width from the sides. In the middle was a lower level (by 3.5 inches), ready for filling with the gravel...I had designed a courtyard setup (can you picture it, or have my descriptive powers gone the way of my fingernails in this past month?... ) Spent the next week or two watering the earth to see if any grass or weed seed had survived the roundup. Then went and picked up two truckloads of compost and shoveled that onto the edging planting beds (the previously mentioned 5-6 wide mounds). Rented an enormous rototiller, and tried to churn up 50-year old packed clay soil, with some success… Then what...lemme see...oh yes! The sprinkler guys came back and helped put in the gravel. Had 10 tons of 3/4 gravel trucked in and 10 tons of pea gravel to go on top of that. We put in 5" high Black Diamond edging all around the central "dip", and then wheelbarrowed in the 3/4 gravel, raking it all across the space to a depth of about 1.5 inches. We then rolled that down, and then raked 1.5 inches of the pea gravel on top. Now the courtyard was done. I painted the banister and pillar (which are wrought iron) by the front door, and got ready for the final stage: With your help, I’ve been researching potential plants for a lonnnng time now, and finally went to the nursery to pick up my selections: 50 Pittosporum to create a hedge all around the edge several flats of Alyssum to sit at the base of the hedge and hide the "feet of the bushes" a couple of flats of Snapdragons on the inside of the hedge line A Bailey's Acacia treeA Red Plum treeA Xitalpa treeA Crepe Myrtle (which I'm not sure will survive - seems a little dead) A flat of Coleus A few Dusty Millers Some Butterfly Bushes Daylilies of various shades Penstemon Agapanthus Dianthus Vinca Minor Liriope Pampas Grass Zebra Grass Russian Sage Blue Star I also transplanted from the back garden: A Peach tree, which I planted in a large pot, and 20 or so irises... The day after I planted everything (and boy did the muscles complain!) it began pouring for the first time this year. This was 3 days ago, and it hasn't stopped since!! I'm worried the newly planted and transplanted flowers, bushes, et al will drown, but I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping…
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#19556
October 21st, 2004 at 11:20 AM
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Wow! What a lot of work you've done! And from your original post it seems like you're right on schedule! Of course we need pictures!
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#19557
November 6th, 2004 at 02:52 AM
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Can you believe I've not taken any "After" pictures yet?! I shall have to get my act together, and take some shots, and post them. It may be awhile yet, though, as we have family visits all through the end of the year, and my wife is pushing me to paint, repair, clean, etc... (I've only managed to get online here because she's taking a nap!...NOoooI'm not *that* henpecked, just playing it up!) It might even end up better if I wait a couple of months, before posting a shot - so that the plants have a chance to grow a little... Is that ok?
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#19558
November 6th, 2004 at 09:04 PM
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Joined: Mar 2003
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#19559
November 7th, 2004 at 01:04 AM
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welllllll if we have to wait, i guessss so. but please hurry, i want to see how it went!
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#19560
November 8th, 2004 at 06:40 AM
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Well Nicholas, I got a back ache and blisters on my hand reading how much work you've put into your yard.... I remember how nicely the other project came out and wondered how you made out with this one... You should take some consecutive pictures, how it grows with time and the plants fill in.. That's neat how they do that!!! I would love to see what the first three trees look like.. we looked in to the Acacia tree and the Red Plum tree, for our town project... Wondered how you liked them, I know they're not in for very long... but, any info helps... I can not believe you put in soooooooooo many plants, it's a wonder you had room for allll those plants.. I had a whole package of coleous seeds I started, and they turned out excellant!!! How's your rain now, has it stopped a bit for you? We're in to the fall going to snow any day now! I really dislike that time of year!!! :p We have been very busy putting in two sheds this last couple of weekends, finally finished them up today...Leave blowing madness is going on too, between the two places, it's alllllooooooooot of leaves to pick up....UGH!!! Anyhow, I'm off to read some other posts, Don't be a stranger, at least take those pictures' and at least you have them for future and reference..... Hope to see your project sooooon!!! Weezie
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#19561
November 9th, 2004 at 08:01 AM
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Hi Y'all; I'll get to work on taking those pictures. Weezie, re. the plum and Acacia: The plum seems to be doing fine, but the Acacia died... I had some local "day laborers" help me plant some of the bigger items, and they broke one of the main branches as they lifted the tree out of its pot, and then just shoved it into the ground without opening the root system up... I wasn't there when it happened, but I dug down as soon as I saw the leaves turning when they shouldn't...and saw the root ball just clumped in a mass...by this time it was too far gone. It died in less than a week. Went from green to brown, and now a dull grey brown. However, I don't think I'll replace with another Bailey's Acacia (though jury is still out) - this tree drops A LOT of leaves. Not sure what to replace it with. Any suggestons? The location is the fornt corner of the lot, adjacent to my neighbors driveway, and the sidewalk... Meanwhile, I'm certainly not finished! I need to buy some plants to go under my orange tree: the Veronica is doing fantastically, but the dianthus have mostly croaked (too much water?). They become these dried up mats of deadness. I need something that can sit under the drip line of the tree and fill in a little of that empty ground. No more than 8-10 inches high...something colorful and low-maintenance... In other news: A friend gave me a plumeria cutting, and I've planted that, in the hope that it will take nicely - fingers crossed. It's bound to die a little, but I'm hoping it will rally and come back in all it's Hawaiian glory! I overestimated my needs, though, re. plant purchases: I bought a pampas grass, and a zebra grass (6" high plantings), and now have nowhere to put them!! The snapdragons, meanwhile - due to the rains - have decided that now is the time to burst into flower, so goodness only knows how they will develop! It will all make sense, I imagine, once I post some pics!
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