General Landscaping?

I just recently purchased a new home and need help with landscaping. The home has steps that lead from the front door to the sidewalk (approx. 20 feet) and divides the yard evenly. I would like to landscape on both sides of the steps, and I would like to add two (2) half-moon flower bed one on each side of the steps where they meet the sidewalk. I would like to ask the experts what plants/bushes/etc they would recommend to landscape the areas on both sides of the steps and the half-moon flower beds. The flowers beds will be about 6 feet wide and deep. The front of the yard receives late morning and afternoon sun. The flower beds near the house have flowering azaleas and hollies.





I look forward to your response. Thanks for assisting.





Lionel

General Landscaping?
Hello,





I%26#039;ve also recently moved into a new house which has no landscaping at all, not even porches...lol but that%26#039;s a different matter. Point is, I%26#039;ve been doing a lot, did I say a lot, of research trying to find what I consider the %26#039;perfect%26#039; plants for beds close to the house. Here are a few suggestions from things that I have found and I%26#039;ll try to include the websites to where I%26#039;ve found them.





First of all I personally want 4 season interest in my beds around the house so with that in mind I suggest conifers. In those 6 foot beds you would have so many choices because there are so many different things you could use. For example, one of my favorite conifers is the %26#039;Green Arrow%26#039; Weeping Alaskan Cedar which you could use to give height to the bed, maybe toward the back. The color in the back of the bed would make a beautiful backdrop to the colors of the other plants and make them pop. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis %26#039;Green Arrow%26#039; may be 10-15%26#039; in 10 years but stays very narrow, according to what I%26#039;ve read 2-3%26#039;. There are others, however, that would give you some height to the bed but are not quite as high as Green Arrow. For example, there is Taxus baccata %26#039;Amersfoort%26#039; which get%26#039;s about 7x3 in 10 years.





If you, like I%26#039;ve thought about, want to plant something that won%26#039;t outgrow the space in 10 years then here are some other dwarf conifers I suggest.





Juniperus communis %26#039;Compressa%26#039; - in 20 years it will reach only 6 foot tall and it%26#039;s very narrow...and blue! Full Sun, Zones 2-7





Skyrocket Juniper - also blue reaching 8-10%26#039; in 10 years but only 1-2 wide, it%26#039;s extremely narrow and upright.





Check out these and a lot more at:


www.fantasticplants.com and


www. mountainmeadowsdwarfconifers.com





Also, may I suggest a beautiful, dwarf Japanese Maple. Some reach only 3%26#039; or 6%26#039; with beautiful red foliage for 3 full seasons! Check them out also at Fantastic Plants.com





Or how about:


Salix caprea %26#039;Pendula%26#039; grows only to 6-8 foot tall and about 6 foot wide although I recently bought two at Lowes that, according to them, only reaches 2 foot high and wide...we%26#039;ll see.





Check it out at:


www.HouseOfWesley.com





There are so many plants you could use that it%26#039;s really hard to suggest not knowing what you may or may not like. I hope this helps a little getting you started on your search. The plants I%26#039;ve given are my idea of basic foundational plants, however, I also plan to add perennials and such, not just all conifers and small trees. Some perennials I like that are versatile to many zones, since I don%26#039;t know the zone you are in, are:





Adam%26#039;s Needle Yucca - ivory bells growing on 4-5%26#039; spiked evergreen foliage. Zones 4-9 and will thrive almost anywhere, carefree once established. (perennial and evergreen)





Astilbe%26#039;s - different colors, feathery flowers on 20-40%26quot; spikes





Salvia Plumosa - 15-18%26quot; tall, summer long beauty as it blooms for months, spikes of violet double blooms





see the above at%26quot;





www.SpringHillNursery.com





There are also many beautiful groundcovers you could use if you choose.





I personally believe that beautiful foundational planting consist of conifers, small deciduous trees and bushes, along with perennials for some more added color. I hope these sites help. I%26#039;m sure it will beautiful when you are finished.
Reply:A dream come true! A blank slate. Afternoon sun is ideal for most perennials and rose bushes. Roses will flower all season until frost. I like beautiful and things that make you go wow! A couple of perennial decorate grass plants add interest. I do a little then go out to the street to check out the curb appeal very much like an artist would look at their canvas. Have fun.
Reply:Be sure to plant some flowering bushes in the beds. They will take up a large amount of space as well as provide something to look at over all 4 seasons. If you go with all perennials you will only have stuff to look at for 2.5 seasons.





Have fun!



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