Landscaping design

[Aggie_Ama]

We have a very narrow, boring suburb lot that desperately needs some personality. I am trying to come up with some ideas for landscaping the yard but having trouble finding pictures to give me any starting point. The yard is small, house sits near the curb, probably only 30 feet back? The lot is only 50 foot wide and about half of that is driveway.

We would like something clean looking but not too manicured (shaped shrubs). Anyone know any good sites or books to help? My husband's co worker is a landscape designer but he is always so busy and I am getting impatient. Fall planting season will be here sooner than we think!

[Aggie_Ama]

The only photos I have access to right now:

This one shows looking from the front walk to curb, the yard only goes about 2 ft passed the tree on the right:



Shot two, we want to do something with this flower bed. This summer I didn't put flowers in it, the shrubs are not growing (builder used wrong shrub for the lighting/drainage) and the shrubs are just the vast blah of green.

[LBTC]

My DSiL is an award winning landscape designer in Vancouver, BC. Here's a link to the porfolio on her website. She does a lot with rock, and the overall look of her gardens is a bit on the wild side. Rock spacing and really organic shapes help that look.

http://www.gardenhabitats.ca/portfolio.html

If you have enough of a budget, the sky is the limit! Have fun with it!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[tulip]

I'm a landscape architect. I suggest going to the library and looking at the garden design books, making copies of the designs that you like. You'll probably notice stuff that you like over and over again. That'll help narrow down your ideas. You can go out and buy a few magazines, too, and cut out pictures that you like.

I wouldn't count on your husband's co-worker UNLESS you are willing to be a client (and pay him). We do have to make a living and we always get requests for free design work.

My advice would be to keep it simple if you decide to do it on your own. Choose a limited palette of plants that work well together and for your site (water, sun/shade, etc.) You may want to take the sustainable angle--low water needs, wildlife habitat, non-invasive plants, year-round interest. Or you may not.

The good thing about landscape design is that you can always change it as you learn about what you like in terms of design and plants. Landscapes evolve with you, it's nice.

Do you live in College Station? If so, perhaps you could hire a landscape architecture student from A&M for design work. Please be sure to pay them, though!

[Aggie_Ama]

I wouldn't count on your husband's co-worker UNLESS you are willing to be a client (and pay him). We do have to make a living and we always get requests for free design work.

My advice would be to keep it simple if you decide to do it on your own. Choose a limited palette of plants that work well together and for your site (water, sun/shade, etc.) You may want to take the sustainable angle--low water needs, wildlife habitat, non-invasive plants, year-round interest. Or you may not.


Do you live in College Station? If so, perhaps you could hire a landscape architecture student from A&M for design work. Please be sure to pay them, though!

Double edge sword with the co-worker is he is also a close friend. He wants to do it as a friend (offered when DH told him we were doing it), I want to pay him. But really he takes on too much as it is and has real paying clients outside his day job. Plus there is the satisfaction of it being your own creation.

We definitely are going the drought loving route. My husband works at a nursery so the plants will actually be pretty cheap, it is just deciding what works!

Unfortunately, we are not in Aggieland anymore. I knew tons of students who did design through college to pad their portfolios and dirt cheap.

[peachgirl]

I'm a landscape designer...when I worked at garden centers, I would help people all the time who would just bring in pics like you showed here and show them what was available and what they could do with it. No charge for that...

If you take your photos to a good garden center (NOT Home Depot, etc) they should be able to help you. Take some measurements and also note where downspouts and faucets, etc are.

Edit...I just read the part where you said your husband works at a nursery...surely someone there can help ya! There's only one design person there??

[Aggie_Ama]

LBTC_ I want to move to BC now that I looked at your SIL's site!

My husband works at a wholesale nursery, the people they sell to don't need the advice. They all know plants but not the design side.

We came up with some ideas over dinner that I have jotted down. I think we are just going to try what we have in mind and see how it works. I know, I know you are probably cringing at the idea.

We might try some of the garden centers here since his nursery doesn't sell the plants we have in mind for the area between the side walk and street, we want to do some sort of succulents there to xeriscape. I am definitely going to pick up some magazines for tips on drainage and such. I have a mental image but don't know how to do it.

Any magazines better than others?

[NbyNW]

Hi Aggie,

I'm a landscape architect too . . . not yet licensed, but I'm working on it . . . Everyone above has provided excellent advice. I only have this to add:

Are there any gardening organizations in your area? You might get some great suggestions from the local gardeners.

Plus, TRUST YOUR GUT. You probably have a good sense of what you like, and it sounds like you have a good sense of what's NOT working. I don't do residential landscapes, but I find that in my conversations with people that they often already have a good idea of what they want to do, but they're not sure how to execute it. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to someone at a dinner party who wanted to make changes to their property, and convinced them that they didn't need a landscape designer, they just had to trust their own instincts.

Some of landscape design is trial and error, especially when it comes to learning what plants will thrive where.

If you're not making major changes to the layout of your property, you may want to start trying things out based on what information is available to you from local gardening resources (books, people, organizations, etc.).

California/west coast has Sunset magazine as a great resource. They've got different editions for whether you're in So. Cal., No. Cal., PNW, etc. Maybe there's an out of state edition, I don't know. But I imagine the So Cal edition might have some good xeriscaping articles from time to time, since water conservation must be a bit issue there.

Maybe there is a good local resource where you are . . . your local public library/arboretum/garden center would be great places to start. Reference librarians always know how to find anything you need. Plus, every state has a a cooperative extension that can provide a lot of information. They are often focused on agricultural concerns, but there is a lot of crossover to ornamental, especially where plant diseases and pest outbreaks are concerned.

That sunny space with the two green chairs looks like a great spot for a little kitchen garden . . . think "potager"

[Eden]

I have a book suggestion for you

The City and Town Gardener
A Handbook for Planting Small Spaces and Containers
by Linda Yang
ISBN 0-679-76026-1

[Trek420]

California/west coast has Sunset magazine as a great resource. They've got different editions for whether you're in So. Cal., No. Cal., PNW, etc.

The Sunset Garden book is a great resource. Tons of plants grouped by region, height, bloom, water use .... everything you need to know to pick the right plants for the right spot.

[Aggie_Ama]

Oh thanks ladies! I got a couple books/magazines to go get. I am researching the plants my husband suggested right now. He told me names of ones based on the looks I like and shot down a few I like. Now the real problem is if the nursery will have them when we want to plant.

We have two months to design, I am trying to figure out if we can put a water feature in since my parents gave us this cool little fountain. But that may move to the backyard since the front yard is the size of a postage stamp. Next year is the back yard-oy! This fall the backyard is only getting trees.

[ilima]

Also consider maintenance, and how much time you are willing to devote to it. For the plants you are interested in, be sure and ask about how much care they need. Not only watering, but there's fertilizing, trimming, fall clean-up, etc.

If you're not really into the process of gardening so much, leave the fussy plants out of your plan.

[tulip]

Since you are going to do the work, it's a good idea to improve the soil while your at it. Feed the soil and you'll feed your plants and reduce or eliminate the need for additional fertilizers (except compost!)

[bmccasland]

The Sunset Garden book is a great resource. Tons of plants grouped by region, height, bloom, water use .... everything you need to know to pick the right plants for the right spot.

And if you're in the SE part of the USofA, there's Southern Living Gardening Book. Covers central Texas eastwards to the Atlantic.

One thought - make sure you leave room for your plants to GROW... I've cleaned up the mistakes of previous home owners twice now. Don't plant a sun loving plant under something that when plant #2 matures, it'll shade out plant #1. guess that makes two thoughts..

[IFjane]

guess that makes two thoughts..

No Beth - it was one multi-dimensional thought!