Please help with a Landscape Plan

[Barefootin]

Hi everyone!

I am a long-time friend of Lucygoose here, and under the advice of Chris, I'm asking all of you experienced gardeners for some help with a Landscape Plan for our newly constructed home.

We live in Zone 5, home faces North. A professional Landscaper is going to be doing the labor on the North side, but I'd like suggestions of what to place there, as well as the East & West sides. The South side has an inground pool, and I would like to plant Perennials along the far edge of the pool, 32' long.

With our past homes, we've had the 'standard' shrubbery', (sorry, I don't know the exact names), but the basic evergreens, etc. My hubby HATES the maintenance, as well as the fact that some of our poor choices have been fast-growers which rapidly get out of hand, are prickly, partial die-outs leaving straggly-looking, unsightly landscape.

So, based on that, here are our only requirements:

1. We would like LOW, LOW maintenance plants. 'Grasses', (again I don't know the names), would be a good thing, sporadically placed among the variety.

2. I would like flowering 'everything'; flowering shrubs, flowering 'plants', such as perennials, COLOR, COLOR, COLOR! It doesn't have to bloom all at once, intermittent bloomage throughout the season is fine with me. Please offer suggestions for all 4 exposures for a Zone 5 climate.

3. The color of brick on our home is 'reddish/brown' - more red than brown. Should I stay away from red or orange perennials due to that? I don't know.

4. I LOVE Lilac bushes/shrubs, and would like to incorporate one someplace on either side. We had decent luck with our Lilac at our last home.

5. For the Southern exposure/pool edge, I would like shorter-growing perennials (height-wise), that will barely peek over the edge of the walkway along the pool. Anything tall-growing is going to droop due to the fact that this edge is at the top of an embankment which slopes back to the fence. Please suggest perennials that are long-lived, or as long as can be expected.

6. I would really like to plant some of the 'roses' that everyone is planting now - I'm not sure of the name of them, but they're short-cropped rose clumps that seem to hug the ground more than the usual, tall rose bushes.

I really appreciate any help that anyone here will offer, and I thank you in advance!

[nanny_56]

If you can provide pictures of the ares and of the house that will help alot in being able to give you suggestions.

Welcome to Hallson's too!!

[Tracy_Zone5]

Daylilies are low maintenance plants that do very well in zone 5. There are varieties that bloom at different times and each one blooms for a few weeks. Also they are not invasive, something you really need to be aware of when just getting into gardening.

Iris are another that is not much work and does very well in zone 5.

I'm sure you will get a lot of ideas here, these are just 2 of my favorites.

Good luck with your landscaping adventure and have fun.

Tracy

[Barefootin]

Thanks much to both of you, I'll try to get some pictures this weekend and post them.

I'm certainly going to do a LOT of Daylillies along the pool edge, I should have put that in my first post.

I also should have put in your other point, Tracey, I really want to steer away from "creeping" perennials. Again, I don't know the name of it, (my girlfriend planted it at my last house), but I like to have never got rid of a plant that spread like wildfire there. It didn't 'spread', it crept - dotted all in my landscaping rocks, here, there, and everywhere! Hubby wasn't pleased. lol

[LucyGoose]

Well, well, well......Lookie who is here..... Barefootin??

I think you misunderstood Tracy.....Daylilies or the iris's are NOT invasive.....I love the daylilies!! Make sure you order soon from Chris, cause he might run out of some.... I do have a couple I can share, too.....The roses your talking about is probably those carpet roses......I know nothing about them......dug 4 rose buses out the other day, so I am getting more out of the roses.....although I did see a real pretty shrub rose today called, Caramba. The color caught me....and it smelled good....I have to Google it yet.....

I just re-read how you understood Tracy.......so never mind what I said.about misunderstanding her ....

I hope someone else comes by as I am not good at this.....I am a *plop here* kind of gardener......

Glad you got with Chris, as that is what he used to do.....He is just very busy now with orders......

Yep, pictures will help everyone.....

Good Luck and remember, gardening is an on going thing, so do not rush.....get this here, get that there, and always shop..........

HALLSONS!!

.. .. ..

[KellieD]

I did a Google search recently for broadleaf evergreen shrubs for Zone 5 gardens and found a site that gave comprehensive lists of trees, shrubs, perennials etc. for Zone 5. I'll see if I can find it again.

[mjjones453]

I also live in Zone 5, and love to garden.
A thought: is your home a one story or two story? Since your house faces north you will have shadows that may fall a little farther out creating some shade.
It is something to keep in mind when planting.
small bushes:
Deutzia
Fothergilla Gardenii
Azaleas
Vibernum
Lilac
Perennials for shade:
Corydalis
Brunnera
primrose
Dicentra or Bleeding heart
Epimedium (these above are kind of spring flowering)
Polemonium ( Jacob's ladder)
Japanese painted fern ( this doesn't spread like a lot
of fern)
Cimicifuga
Astilbe (these have very pretty flowers mied to late
summer)
Pulmonaria
Rodgersia
Heucherella
Heuchera
Tierella

Grass: Hakonechloa macra

Most of these are fairly easy to find at a garden
shop, I don't know some of the common names of them.
For Sun:
Salvia
Stachys
Euphorbia
Campanula
Lobelia

Humming Birds and Butterflies like these plants below:
Phlox (tall)
Monarda (Bee Balm)(tall)
Aster
Coreopsis
Butterfly Weed (tall)
Chrysanthemum
Day lily
Laitris( cool plant)
Holly hock
Veronica
Allium
Dianthus( Pinks)
Sedum
Echinaccea, Purperea( purple coneflower) although they
have come out with orange, white, and yellow, very
cool colors
and then there are annuals!
[b][i]This is a list of plants that I made for a friend![/i[/b]] Also remember that flowering plants invite Butterflies, Hummingbirds, but also Bees, and other unwanted pests!
Happy planting!

[kHT]

Photos, lots of photos are needed!

[Pburgh]

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Pieris_japonica

I'm in Zone 5 also and I love this evergreen. The blooms are like lily of the valley and the new growth is bright red. It is so easy to care for. It's a neat and tidy plant that needs little or no care. I also like the Endless Summer Hydrangea which blooms on old or new wood and the Oakleaf Hydrangea.

[Barefootin]

Hi again and thanks all for the recommendations.

Pburgh, how tall does that Peiris get?

Also, I have taken a LOT of pictures of my landscape areas today - now if someone would be so kind as to instruct me how to post them here, I'd appreciate it!

[Barefootin]

Sorry Mj - I meant to put this in my other post; our home is a 2500 sq. ft. ranch, so there is more than enough space that I have to fill with plants.

[Patrushka]

Welcome to the forum!!!

If your pictures are less than 80 KB or you can resize them to less than 80 KB you can add them as attachments to your post. Scroll down a little after you type your post and you'll see the section for adding an attachment. Click on browse, click on your pic from your file and then click "Add Attachment". Repeat this for up to three pictures.

You can also use Photobucket or something like it.

Hope this helps.

[Barefootin]

Thanks, Pat.

Multiple pictures can be found here, and hopefully they will help all of YOU to help ME!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26062401@N04/

[LucyGoose]

Hey Missy!! I say for this spot
Northern exposure, nothing too tall here to block that window as the plantings grow.
Hosta's!! For real!! You could get a couple in there.....

It's a start!! and they are no trouble and there are some really COOL ones!! ..
http://www.perennialnursery.com/catalog/home.php?cat=3

[Barefootin]

Thanks Lucygoosette - then please, by all means recommend which TYPE you like best, and would look good there?

I'm pretty computer literate, as you know, but I'm plant stupid!

[LucyGoose]

.. ..

No.....YOU go look at what Chris has, and what YOU think is pretty..........look at the measurements for the plant at FULL grown.....you know how much room you have, then e-mail what ones you think are pretty, then I will tell you YES OR NO...... Then order them..........I will have to try to come see.....but remember.....I am the one who just plops.....get a bigger one for the back and the medium or smalls for towards the front......Hugs!!!!!

Now, I am busy looking at a daylily site ordering a few more.....plus I have 6 coming this week from Chris.....

[Pburgh]

Missy,

I trim mine all the time. I think they will grow to about 8 feet. I keep mine at under 3 feet. When pruned well the trunk has a kinda oriental look to it with nice curves. The new grown is bright red and looks like flowers. Great plant!! Good Luck
Karan

[thy]

For your first questions.... Yes take care of red colored plants close to the house... if you find a deep dark red.. it will do.

Take a walk in the area... see what is pretty in your eyes

Do you like evergreens ? Rhodondendron ? Some small evergreen around the light pole ? Or do you want anuals in that area ?

Big bold hostas will be great at the north/ east or so side, mix in a few smaller in the front- get some wit 2 colors and some solid colored.. get some interesting ferns too

Daylillies... great

Carpet roses
Was a must here 20 years ago... they are impossible to weed if you are not dressed up like a middleage knight..and the weed love to sprout between the branches... take care
or add fabric around them and cover with somthing nice

Bush roses are easy

Plant in uneven numbers...3,5,7

Find a few smaller trees you will like to have.. lillac can be one.. or more of them
Draw them on your map...and fill out

Plants will grow bigger..so fill the space with a layer of newspaper and add something nice on top of it... pinebark, pieces of marbles or what ever you like... if you do not cover the soil..the weeds will do it

The house and garden area look great

Pia