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What plant combinations (zone 9) would work in this site? It takes full sun. I thought of putting coleus here, but I think I need something to filter the sun a little more for them.
Nancy, you did a great job posting a link, but it's not the "public" view of your garden, it's the view when you are working on your own diary. The link takes each of us into our own diaries as though we are working on them. You can change the link by editing your post.
This particular setting is very much like mine: my side of the house, leading to the backyard, faces east, and a neighbor. Even the size sounds the same as mine. Yours sound much sunnier though, as I have shade from trees in the neighbor's yard and even from the other side of the back fence.
Because you have so much sun, if you use any coleous I would choose a "sun" coleus. They are all over the place now, in many colors. Also, because you can't really go with a real large bed, go up the wall with a trellis or something. An evergreen vine, especially a blooming one, would be really pretty. I like your idea of not doing a straight path, but one that varies in width to "suggest" that it's winding. I would also make the bed itself curved, to add some interest (and a little more room for planting.)
Maybe some salvia would work well there. There are many varieties that take - even want - some shade, and they are available in all sorts of colors. Bees and butterflies love them. Also, pentas do well in hotter climates like ours if given afternoon shade, and they are also butterfly magnets.
Thanks, Maggie. I have two very small salvia elegans for the fragrant garden. It's a nice plant that I wouldn't mind putting in other places. I'll look up pentas. The fence does takes away the brunt of the sun now, but it is still strong (even though the picture appears more shaded.)
I thought of putting Nandiana in a line on the outside to the fence. Nandina doesn't get favorable reviews, but for some odd reason I like the plant. My department head has mature Nandina grouped together so that looks like a miniature forest. I know it suckers, and she probably allowed it to get the look she has.
Lol, I have a friend who calls Nandinas "Damdinas." There are some dwarf ones avaialble that get incredible red foliage in the fall - I think it's Firecracker.
Lavendar is a good option and is on my list of plants, especially for the fragrant garden. I was surprised to hear that it grows well here. I could put it in this spot, too.
Ah, yes, lavender would be nice! Do you have a lot of humidity? Be sure to check with your locally owned nurseries for the vriety that does best in your area.. We have lots of humidity here (at least, when we're not in a drought situation), so there are are only a few that work well here. Mine are doing great, I love them!
Oh, yes, we get humidity. We also get drought, but that just means no rainfall or less rainfall, not no humidity. What lavendar dows well in your area? I am sure it would work here, too. The garden plan I am using for the Scented Retreat calls for English Lavendar and lavender grosso, I think. I have to verify.
Goodwin Creek is recommended for our huimidity ( [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] ), and also Fern Leaf (lavandula multifida, but the picture in Plantfiles doesn't look like this one, the foliage is very different.) My Fern Leaf is blooming it's head off right now, don't know if that's what it does in this area or if it's because of the mild winter (I just planted them a year ago.) The Goodwin Creek is getting loaded with buds. Of the two, the Goodwin Creek has a more pleasing shape. The Fern Leaf seems to always be a little on the floppy, leggy side, but maybe I should just be cutting it back.
Drought here usually means just no rainfall, but this drought has lasted a year now and is the worst in 50 years. The humidity from the Gulf doesn't seem to be making it very far inland. The other morning there was really thick, pea-soup fog. It was wonderful, felt like "home" again to walk through moisture-filled air, lol!
I know what you mean by feeling like home in the moisture-filled air. My daughter and I visited Philly several years ago during late winter/early spring, but it was still cold there with no signs of spring. We went to the Philadelphia Zoo and spent a lot of time outdoors in the cold. Then we came to the bird house and went inside. It felt like home. Monica and I both said, "AAAhh" at the same time. It wasn't just the heat, but also the humidity.
I saw that, maggiemoo, when I checked that tour. I keep going back to jmorth's tour with coleus to see how the colors are blended, not to copy HIS, but to get a better picture of what to do. I like the contrast of chartreuse with burgandy. I think they would blend well with the taller Nandina, too.
I forgot to mention that my department head who has the "Nandina forest" has them against the house and lets them spread out from it in one section Hers are five feet tall along the back and medium and short coming out. The effect is nice, but I couldn't put them against the house because they would spread out to the walkway.
Nandina have their place. But not within 500ft of my gardens...lol. I've seen some beautiful ones, but unfortunately I've got some plant biases, and Nandina domestica is one of them. I think it is because they are used so much in Shopping Center type landscapes on many of the commercial properties around here.
As far as colorful foliage goes, jmorth really does a great job with colors textures for sure. Maggiemoo also has a lovely color/texture contrast in her gardens.
I'm a huge fan of Salvias and there are so many shapes, sizes, and colors of them that I never tire of them. As far as lavenders go, the Spanish lavenders (L. stoechas) is perfectly suited to your climate and there are some really neat new hybrids (Bella) out of New Zealand that are very colorful. We grow Goodwin Creek, L. dentata 'candicans' and a few other varieties here and have enjoyed them for years.
As far as foliage color change, have you thought of Colocasias, Heuchera, Croton, Gingers in your sunny areas, or even some of the colorful members of the pea/bean family like Cassia, Caesalpinia..etc.
It must be so exciting planning an entire space. I know that our gardens are always changing, but it's been a while since I planned out an entire garden. I envy the freedom you have in your zone as well. Lots of very cool stuff grows there.
Thanks, don, for all the suggestions. I have salvia elegans. I do plan to get gingers, but I haven't thought of heuchera and croton. I'll check them out. I have four EEs, two in the yard and two in planters. I'll be putting them in the yard at the end of February. I think I will put an EE back by the fence next to the house.
