Hi Ramcoach!

What kind of soil do you have? Clay, silt, sand or loam? A mix? What color is it? Red, brown, black? Does it have much organic material, and if not, will you be adding some when you make the planting beds? Does your soil drain well or drain poorly or somewhere in between. What is your county's average annual rainfall?

Will you be planting in full sun, part sun, dappled shade, or heavy shade? And where is it? For example, if you have a shady area, is it on the north side of the house? the west?

And, how high maintenance or low maintenance do you want it to be?

Finally, do you have a homeowner's association that can mandate what types of trees, etc. you must plant?

If you will take a couple of minutes to answer these questions, we can tailor our recommendations to your specific variables. In doing so, we will be able to provide you with a realistic list of stuff that actually ought to do well for you instead of a list of stuff that might do well.

Dawn

I am sure the soil has a bunch of clay because most is in this area. It does not have organic material yet but I will be adding some. It is in the Tula area but I am not sure what are average rain fall is. The bed is on the west side of the house so it will hav afternoon shade. Maintenance is not an issue with me. Thanks for your help.

First, I am much farther south than you, have much less annual rainfall and probably worse soil. So, my comments in this paragraph sort of reflect that. My initial reaction was "oh no, Japanese Maple and yew. They are so hard to grow here." Then I had to stop and think. You won't be growing them here where I live in far southern Oklahoma. So, for your part of the state, I think they would do just fine. Having said that, let's look at each of them.

YEW: I wasn't sure if you meant English Yew (Taxus baccata), Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata) or American Yew (Taxus canadensis), but I think any of them will grow in well-amended soil. I understand they can handle a lot of shade or sun, so they seem to be very flexible. Many varieties are available. I think they prefer neutral soil, so if yours is extremely acidic, you might think twice about this one.

JAPANESE MAPLE: (Acer palmatum) Truly beautiful trees and there are over 300 cultivars in commercial cultivation, so it should be easy to find one that has fall color if that is your goal. Some have the traditional maple leaf look to their leaves and others have very finely dissected foliage.
If you are looking for one that has reddish foliage, 'Bloodgood' is a beautiful one, but there are many. In our hot climate they really need afternoon shade and soil that has lots of organic material added to it if it is not naturally very humusy.

DWARF NANDINA: (Nandina dosmesticus) These are good shrubs that are easy to grow. I won't say they are foolproof, but close to it. Some people complain that their nandinas tend to send up suckers and try to spread, but I've never had that problem myself. There are many, many ones available. "Harbor dwarf" and "Gulfstream" are two you see available in nurseries all the time. They are not picky at all about soil or sun. Some of the newer ones have almost purple foliage if you want something a little different.

DWARF HOLLY: (Ilex spp.) Hollies are one of my favorite plants because they are very adaptable and easy to grow. They look good year-round, especially in the winter, with the lovely berries. When my dwarf burford hollies bloom in the spring, you hardly notice the flowers because they are tiny, but the aroma is lovely and scents the entire yard. Will grow in sun to shade, in any soil as long as it is well drained, although it can be somewhat challenging to grow them in extremely sandy soil.

BLUE ATLAS CEDAR: (Cedrus atlanticus) I might have a problem with this one, but only because it is a HUGE monster of a tree after a while, and can get too large for some home landscapes. At maturity, this tree can easily get 40' to 60' tall and have a spread of about 30'-40' wide. The mistake many people make with it is that they plant it too close to the house or too close to other trees and it just completely dominates the visual landscape after a few years. So, if you have a two story house or a home with soaring vaulted ceilings AND you have a large yard to play with, this tree could work for you. If not, it might get too big and overwhelm your landscape. Also, keep in mind that a heavy snow, sleet or freezing rain load can be devastating to this tree, but that is true of many conifers. It also likes lots and lots of water and acidic loamy soil. It is a gorgeous tree though.

BLUE FESCUE: I love this one. It is simply lovely and easy to grow. Keep in mind that it needs well-drained soil, and tends to sort of die out in the middle if it is in heavy, poorly-drained soil. It is lovely. It will need to be divided every few years. In the hottest, dryest part of the summer it really guzzles water and even when well watered it may have a little dieback in the worst of the summer weather.

I think all of these would work well together. With this combination of plants, your landscape might have a slightly Asian look. Since the blue fescue and Blue Atlas Cedar tend towards blueish-green, you might want to stick with one of the greener hollies for some contrast.

Instead of hollies or yews, you could use any of the following shrubs:

Miniature or weeping Crape Myrtles (not evergreen)

Spirea, esp. Goldflame Spirea

Glossy Abelia (Abelia grandiflora)

Juniper spp. there are tons and tons of cultivars available

Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo)

There are many ground covers you could use in addition to or instead of the blue fescue. These include the following:

English Ivy (Hedera helix)

Monkey Grass, aka Liriope (Liriope muscari) both shorter versions and taller ones are available and there are even some with silvery foliage

Vina major (larger leaves)

Vinca minor (smaller leaves)

Junipers, like the one called 'Blue Rug'

Mondo Grass, aka Dwarf Lilyturf (Ophiopogon japonica)

Purple Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei coloratus)

Best For Shade:

Algerian ivy (Hedera canariensis)

Ardisia

Asian Jasmine

English Ivy

Liriope

Hosta

I hope this info is helpful.

Dawn

I wouldn't recommend vinca major. I have it everywhere - crept over from the neighbor's yard, and I am forever pulling it out. It is very invasive. I kind of like it in the spring and it has pretty light purple blooms on it, but in summer it is a disaster....doesn't fare well with the heat. It will climb, clambor, and generally cause destruction to your other plants.

That said, the variegated is much better behaved, and would add some color to your otherwise solid green landscape.

Liriope or Monkey grass, is basically the same way. Can be very invasive, and hard to pull up. Spreads by underground runners, as does the vinca. The variegated forms are much prettier, and better behaved as well.

I have the variegated English Ivy (hedera helix) 'Goldheart', and it is a very, very nice plant, and just beautiful variegated coloration.

You must have something to shade your west-facing yard, no? Otherwise, the west sun can be terrible in Oklahoma summers.

I have the Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' and in the spring I just absolutely love it. It is beautiful. However, another thing about JMs is that the wind can scorch the leaves in summer. Mine is usually quite tattered and brown by August. There are some newer cultivars out there that tolerate more heat and wind that this particular one. I would do some research on those varieties. I know that Satterlee's here in OKC carries quite a few and they may have some of the more heat and wind tolerant hybrids. I don't know about Tulsa area nurseries.

In hostas, I would look for the lighter foliage cultivars because they can tolerate a bit more sun and heat, e.g., 'Sum and Substance' with lime green foliage. The blue ones like 'Blue Angel', 'Blue Mammoth', all like more shade and are less tolerant of heat as well.

Other nice shrubs are Itea virginica 'Little Henry' or 'Henry's Garnet'. They bloom in spring, little bottlebrush white blooms. In fall, they turn red.

Oakleaf hydrangea is another good one - a highly recommended shrub for Oklahoma. Easy to grow (will grow in neutral or acidic soil). Flowers in late spring, huge conical shaped white blooms that eventually turn pink, and can stay on the plant for winter interest. The bark is a peeling reddish color. Just a great year-round shrub.

Others include Illicium, Calycanthus (sweetshrub), crataegus (hawthorns), viburnums, and native azaleas.

I hope you have lots of fun selecting and planting your new landscape!

Susan