I was also wondering about Hydrangea? I know it won't do anything about spiders, but it's just so darn pretty! Would it be too tall? Also, what could I do in the winter months?

hi swaybaby. if you are in a warm zone you are gonna have bugs (spiders etc). read about black widows and try to take the precautions which will minimize your chances of having them reside there, but do stay vigilant, you can never 100 percent get rid of critters. your soil looks clay-ey, but herbs often like full sun and more gravelly or sandy soils. I find rosemary is very easy to grow and is evergreen. It doesn't get too big for me., but occasionally i just snip it back. If you want evergreen that is one thing, if you want a cottage border with flowers and the white pickets then you may have more of a bare area in winter. Hydrangeas like water and shade, altho some of them like sun. They look bad in winter though. So I would recommend a mixed shrub border with small shrubs or herbs and even small dwarf roses. you can always fill in with annuals or annuals in pots.

How wide an area are you thinking - will you be putting your fence out into the edge of the driveway or about where your line of green is? You will want to leave space between your plants and the house.

How much rain comes off that roof in a good downpour and how often do you get hard rain?

What direction is this side of the house facing - or when/how much of the day is it sunny?

Do you want plants that are taller than the bottom of windows or that stay below the height of the windows?

If you have the right conditions for hydrangeas, there are now some quite short varieties, but I am not sure how wide they get.

Between the windows, vines on trellises or on strings/wires up to the underside of the eaves could give you a lot of flowers while taking up a relatively narrow space.

Thanks for the replies :) Louisianagal, the soil is pretty sandy (my Grandpa Otts that I grow on the fence line, just before the house, seem to love the soil?) . I was wondering about some type of rose? I know the cottage-y look I want, I'm just never sure what exactly will work :)

Nhbabs, That side of the house faces east. It gets morning sun and is in the shade around noon? We don't get nearly as much rain as we should, and when it does rain, it's rarely a downpour for more than a few minutes (although with my luck, I'd plant and we'd get record breaking rain ;p). I can't have it go out any farther than that green patch. Putting up a trellis or something for something to grow UP would be gorgeous , but DH is completely opposed to anything on the wall (years of working in pest control, made him stodgy with gardening ....totally puts a cramp in my gardening daydreams ;p)

Swaybaby, none of my trellises are attached to walls; they are all freestanding. Some are flat and run parallel to a wall, but are fastened to rebar sunk deep enough to support them, and others are obelisks. Would DH go for that, especially if you grew annual vines like scarlet runner beans or black-eyed susan vines?
{{gwi:633971}}From Mar 17, 2011

{{gwi:633973}}From Mar 17, 2011

I like my gardens to have layers to get that cottage feeling, but you won't have enough depth between the drive and the house for layers in depth, so I was wondering if height layers would work, with a groundcover, plants of various mid-level height, and vines on trellises. I hesitate to suggest specific plants since we are so different in climate, but small hydrangeas like the City Line series which is supposed to be in the 1' to 3' range, or small shrub roses would work if they grow well in your climate. I have hydrangea and roses both growing in an east facing exposure along the house. Around here lavender would need more sun, but perhaps not for you. It also might not stand out against your gray house as well as you'd like. For ground cover, think about a combination of flowers and colored foliage so that there's always something of interest.

Lavender can be temperamental/short-lived so depending on your budget/preferences, you may want to look for something that is less of a diva. It is fragrant and may very well deter spiders but since I'm quite a bit colder than where you are, I can't comment on that. Also, according to my perennials book (Perennials for Every Purpose), lavender is hardy only to Z7 so your garden may be too warm for it to thrive.

St. John's wort & spirea both come to mind altho' you have a much broader selection of shrubs if you search a few websites that sell them. I have them growing in sandy loam & quite a bit of shade.

Clematis might be something you'd enjoy growing on a trellis if the area gets sufficient light. It isn't a shrub but it might give you some vertical interest.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the suggestions!! I decided to write down some of the suggestions here and go talk to someone at my local nursery (don't know why that never occurred to me! Duh!). I took in a cup full of my soil, so he could see what I was working with also. Now I have a plan!!! He said that as long as I amend the soil properly, the lavender should do great with where I plan on planting. I'm also going to take the height suggestion from Nhbabs and do some green tower box woods in between the lavender. Clematis, I'm planning on doing on a tree out back with some hostas around it (he didn't like that idea, he wasn't a fan of hostas, but I'll try it anyways ;p) and the on my 'potting shed', I'm going to plant a couple white camellia on one side and some Annabelle hydrangea on the other!! Wooooweeee, I've got a plan and some good info, now to get the ball rolling (dh is so not gonna be happy with my pocketbook! Lol). Fingers crossed I can pull it all off! I can't wait for spring!!! :)

Btw nhbabs, that top obelisk is gorgeous!! If I can get my plan to stick and keep it all alive, I'm going to go hunting for one of those as a gardening gift to myself!! :)

Be sure to plant Annabelle where she will get afternoon shade and you can provide lots of water in times of drought. Also know that unlike all other hydrangeas I grow, she suckers. I love her, but she isn't for those with small spaces. Mulch will be your friend in helping to keep her moisture levels consistent.

The top obelisk is made by a welder artist who is in CA. According to my local nursery, about once a year he loads a box truck full and drives across country delivering his stock to nurseries who have ordered. I think I am up to three of them, but they are my only purchased trellises. All the rest are made of scrounged materials - DH checks the metal recycling bins for me when he goes to the dump to drop off our trash, and I keep an eye out on the side of the road in towns that have a roadside pickup. I grow clematis on my obelisks and trellises.

I've noticed the spiders don't weave webs in fast growing plants like clematis. They need to be pruned yearly to prevent undergrowth buildup that would provide great hiding areas for black widows.

To keep webs off shubs I use a fan-type rake. Cheap bamboo ones are great. Just lightly rake the shrub. The worst spider haven is a shrub called Grevillea. If the hummingbirds didn't love it I'd dig it out.

For your narrow side bed in your picture mini flora roses would be perfect. Centranthus aka Valerian would also look nice along the side of your house and be a good size. Spiders don't seem to like it. Spent bloom stalks are cut off at ground level. It's a vigorous grower here. Salvia greigii is a good for small areas. They root easily from a 4 or 5-inch piece. Happy planting!

I love the salvia idea. Midnight Blue. Hate the lavender idea because it's almost an annual. If you get a week of rain- it's history. So many types of salvias to select from & everyone will be jealous they are so beautiful & easy to grow maybe you could throw some Cleome seeds in there- & zinnias too :)

Hidcote lavender is a very nice, tidy shrub in our area...with beautiful lavender-blue flowers. Not as large as the salvia, but they look great together.

That being said, you are in a much different zone, so I think talking to your local nursery person was brilliant.

As for vines and trellises, seems like that would just offer more places for the black widows to hide...same with pots.

I would recommend that whatever you do, make sure you don't have to prune the plants or get into them much at all...so little contact with spiders.

In the few articles I found on black widows, it says that spraying the area with citrus oil works really well, so that might help in areas around doors and windows. Best of luck with your garden! :)

I just have to point out that as a Mediterranean plant lavender can be long lived if planted in the right climate. Out here in Ca my lavender comes back yearly without any problems and preforms very well in our hot, dry summers when plants like Hydrangeas suffer.

Going by the picture and presence of black widow spiders, it seems like Swaybaby is in an area better suited to lavender and rosemary than hydrangeas and hostas. I have an east-facing garden with lavender, salvia, ceanothus, roses, wooly thyme, daffodils, muscari, and some decorative grasses, everything thrives with minimal water and I get good seasonal displays that attract bees and hummingbirds.

Peacymomo- My HIdcote lavender is four years old now...and it looks good year round. What kind of lavender do you have?

I have some Hidecote and some Provence, they have slightly different bloom times and both have done well for me.

I have the dead kind of Spanish lavender. It lasted 2 years, tho - Good call peachymomo !!! Very jealous of you & Lavender Lasses ' success !!!!