i see 10 corners [14 if i count the gate posts] ... please let us know which corners ...

flower color. is flower color.. buy the color you want ... do NOT rely on changing a given plants color thru amendments ...

height.. soil type.. any other info might help ..

ken

I'd reccomend red bud's, dogwoods, crape myrtle's since your in texas, maybe malus praire fire because of desirable flowers

Two-winged silverbell (Halesia diptera), maybe even red buckeye. Possibly an Amelanchier x grandiflora, if your climate is conducive.

I'm not sure, but Magnolia flowers are not dependent on the soil pH so far as I know. As a matter of fact, almost all Magnolias hate limey soils. If your soils are limestone based, Magnolias may be one tree you want to avoid. Pin Oak is another.

Wow I am going to have to start hanging out more in the tree forum, you guys are amazing. Thanks jimbo for the ideas. Crape Myrtles are so overkill here it is sickening.

DZ, the soil is not limestone based, mostly red clay but still fairly high in organic matter, used to be a wooded lot, with manure, and compost in the bed. The beds will be pretty rich, as I get compost and manure for free "equestrian stable ranch just right up the road".

Your right Ken, should have said corner framing trees for each side. I am not stupid enough to plant a 20 foot tree right in front of a window :).

Thank you DZ again for Magnolia flowers not being depended on PH. I guess its the slight differences in the cultivars then "making it a pain to pick one out". Some of the same varities around here are bright purple while others are a light pinkish purple and its practically the same tree, figured it might have something to do with the PH or quality of soil, though it was just an off theory.

with the circular drive.. i think i might focus on that design element.. rather than the corners of the house ...

by focusing on the house.. you might ruin the flow of the drive ... especially.. since the drive is not symmetrical ...

to put it the other way.. forcing the symmetry of the house.. may leave you with an asymmetry to the drive ...

do NOT.. put yourself in a box.. and then forget to look outside of it...

ken

For the symmetry of the house to show it's best the landscape should be asymmetrical as Ken says. The driveway design started it off, otherwise going symmetrical with the landscape would be more of an option.

I'll have to admit I'm not a fan of symmetry in the landscape, so I'm biased right off the bat. It has a multitude of problems. With matched pairs and straight lines, how do you keep them looking all alike? It's a constant battle and your eye always goes to the one that doesn't look as good as it's neighbors or twin.

An informal landscape can look as elegant as a formal landscape without the pitfalls. Choose your trees and shrubs carefully. Pick plants with tight silhouettes, not something loose and out of control.
Work with evergreens first, both trees, shrubs, and ground covers, and then design in elegant deciduous trees. I wouldn't use many deciduous shrubs, if any.

Think flow. Your house is the opposite. One design can enhance the other. Sort of like Ying and Yang.

Hope this Landscape 101 helps.

Mike..

Do beeches grow in your zone? My first thought was a big honking beech in the yard to the right as you're looking at the house, trunk lined up with the rightmost edge of the house. Something massive, to offset the house.

Whatever you choose, I would move them more than 10 feet off the foundation. That is really too close, even for a small tree like a dogwood which can become a beautiful specimen given space(despite the fact that everyone seems to be planting them very close to their houses these days).

CYN, 10 feet is fairly close to the house, but its a southern exposure and the water will probably flow that way so I expect little problems in the way of root mass.

The driveway won't be a circular one.

I am doing the entire landscape design myself, just needed some advice on trees on the corner.

The house is actually not very symmetrical, its not going to be high maintenance at all as is the custom in English gardens, think more french country with a hint of Spanish/southern influence "were near Louisiana".

This is the back yard, the house sits on 1 1/2 acres.

{{gwi:37186}}

As you can see the front is pretty symmetrical to a degree, the house in itself is somewhat symmetrical and I would like the front beds to reflect that somewhat, I will not be planting an overgrown mass but will focus more on perennial flowers and ground covers vs the traditional evergreen plantings

{{gwi:19027}}

This is the house design I am shooting for, you can see why the beds with trees to the right and left anchor the house. I plan on having two beds on the left and right almost near the street to offer a sense of depth and seclusion.

Front left, Live oak and Black gum, I know they get huge, will be all thats on that 1/4 acre side.
{{gwi:374538}}

Front right near street, missiouri purple redbud, 3JM 12foot est, and a LG with sunny knockout framing the box.
{{gwi:374540}}

The entire garden will have a white, pink, and purple them from blackie, New zeland flax, pink redbud flowers, purple foliage, purple heart, the LG magnolia, and myriads of grouped perennials. The stone work will have a decent amount of white involved in it.

I was a crepe myrtle hater myself. Way overkill across the 3rd coast and up to the bottom side of the middle south.

Then I realized that the modern cultivars are well behaved, generally free from pests, provide fast shade, can tolerate drought, are inextpensive, and many have decent winter interest.

I also saw how well the big ones handled bad weather like surviving flooding from TS Allison in Houston and how many survived Katrina, Rita and how many are still standing after the Tornado outbreak in Alabama. I know they ain't perfect storm stalwarts, but compared to other ornamentals, I've decided they hold up quite well.

So I planted five of them this year ;-)

Anway, consider a well-behaved cultivar of Bald Cypress if you have a wet/sunny spot out in the yard that is appropriate -- unless there are shade trees around, you'll want one eh?

I'm not a fan of foundation "trees" (guessing you're on a slab?) but some nice well behaved bushes may be nice

Wasn't concerned so much about root mass as canopy. Dogwoods I have had in the past have had canopies stretching 20 feet across.

Cyn, your spot on, the magnolia ann/tulip/saucer "unless there is another varitey I should be looking at" I am leaning towards is exactly like the dogwood in canopy growth from what I have seen. I figure if I have to prune up some of the edges near the house thats okay, but sense it faces south I doubt it grows heavily that direction. It is on a slab foundation, and will also be on a 3 foot pad as the soil tends to shift in east texas, I guess all the more reason for having two really focal trees to widen the house, the home is also going to be one of the smaller ones in the neighboorhood so I am trying to make it seem larger though I think its already huge.

Sorry about the ghetto drawings, they look much better in real life.

Thanks for the vote on the cypress, there is a dry creek bed behind the house where will tap a well in that isn't soggy but has a groundwater concentration even though were near the top of a hill. I think those would look great but I am not sure I have the room in the back with the 5 pecans I want to put in, not to mention 20 blueberries, small vineyard, and raised vegetable garden.

ocean, you're correct. I too would prefer blueberries for the room. I planted several myself, and chose apples for their size v. pecans (don't have room and am impatient.)

I didn't see the extent of the maps when I posted.

Crepe myrtle can be too messy for such a place as yours.

very nice :-)

Hog, I don't have 1/10 of what I have drawn already posted :)

I will do a huge thread in a couple of years on here, on the Landscaping design, and on the moon garden, I will be doing a rosary moon garden.

I also have 3 crap apples I just picked up, have two regular in the design, and 4 cherry trees in the center of the backyard. I am trying to make the backyard mostly edible yet formal low maintenance. Traditionally that would be an oxymoron, but planting messy apples, cherries, etc under a think pine straw bed = limited maintenance :). I do like creype myrtls to a degree, actually am planning on planting two of the fire red varieties at the back of the vegtable garden with sunflowers and beans for extended pollination :).

My goal is to feed my family, yet still have some nice looking trees without having the headache of a traditional jumbled mess.

Okay, so when can I move in? It will be wonderful when you are finished-blueberries, crabapples, pecans, magnolia...sigh.

on feeding, maybe find some room for american hazelnuts, or even the arbor day cultivar they're working on (bigger nuts). they don't take up much room for the food value, assuming you can keep the critters at bay enough and keep the various pests off them... may be worth a shot ....

i love mine, just for the look and wildlife value

Do not use matching pairs as they will not go with the shape of this house. Instead use a different kind of tree in each key location. The best general basic structure is widely spaced trees as overhead elements (accent points) with evergreen shrubs (preferably broad-leaved, climate and soil permitting) dividing and framing spaces between them. Think of a building room, the trees are the ceiling and corner posts, the shrubs the walls. Deciduous shrubs and herbaceous plants are the finishing elements displayed between them, like tables, chairs and other furnishings.