The thing about plants is, when they are happy where they are they look great - if they are not happy about where they are, they look awful and sometimes die. I think I would go for something a little more asymetrical. If one or 2 of your plants don't do so well, or don't grow at the same rate as another like plant, they will stick out like a sore thumb in your organized symetrical plan. In something a little less rigid, those problems wouldn't stand out so much. I think asymetrical is also more pleasing and interesting to the eye. I like your plant choices (I think blackfoot daisy for your white would be nice as long as it's pretty dry in that location). The other plant you show in the line with them that is not marked - maybe yellow/gold/orange profusion zinnias. I think some well behaved salvias would work in well, like May Night or Caradonna. But I would look at grouping them differently. I think you would be more pleased with a little less organized plan. This is, of course, just my opinion.

Thanks, debndal! I really appreciate your comments, and you have a good point about different growth rates. I'm not against a more "grouped" plan, but my brain doesn't think asymmetrically. :-( I don't know HOW to groups things except in rows. Sad, I know, but true... I love some advice or tips in that area.

And thanks for the compliment on the plant selections. I'm trying to stay with relatively low water-usage plants. And sorry for the missing label--it was supposed to be Mexican feather grass. I've fixed the image so that label shows up.

Don't feel bad - it is hard to find plants with colors you like, that bloom in succession so you have color all the time, that grow the the height you want, and like your soil, and like the amount of water you can provide, and provide texture as well as color. Mostly it's trial and error until, wow, that's IT. Generally, groupings should be an odd number of the same plants - 3,5,7, etc. and can be repeated. You want clumps, not rows. So you could have an irregular shaped stand of Mexican feather grass (I love that stuff, great texture), with a few zinnias (for example) that start in the middle of the front of the stand and go around to one side. Put a salvia. Maybe a few more zinnias, and a smaller stand of feather grass next to it, and then another salvia. Shortest types in front (like you have) moving back to to your esparanza and taller agapanthus. I'd even consider putting the 2 agapanthus nearer to each other and the esparanza to the side. Get your plants, keep them in the pots and move them around and stand back on your patio, and keep moving them around until you see an affect your like, then plant. If there are demonstration gardens in your area you could visit for ideas. Also, some of the plant catalogs have pre planned gardens (High Country Gardens is one). You don't have to buy their plants, but it will give you some guidance in planning an asymetrical bed. If it doesn't work out to your liking the first year, well, we always have winter to dig and move and try a different look.

Laurie, looks like a very interesting project. I'm a very organized person too. I'm relaxed in my yard with symetry.

I looked at your corner arangement and it looks good. My comments would be that I'm afraid you may not have enough height variation between the front back and middle plants.

In your case I might look at skipping the Mexican orengano completely. I think they might crowd out the view of the plants in the back. Taking them out will give you more room to display the plants you have.

Once your bed is planted, remember, as a new bed that will have a lot of symetry, get the spacing exact. In the end it should be really roomy, even sparce looking, as that will allow the plants to grow in and still make a nice display.

FOr ground prep,,,, I'd dig a good six inches out and throw that clay away. Then I'd go with,,, guessing for you, about three yards "1 yard = 1 pickup truck load" of good soil. Fill in with good soil and have the bed elevated above the ground a good five inches or so.

The soil is probably the most importan step. Don't skimp on this. Fact is, through the years the plants you put in will change. But make a nice bed for yourself and almost anything you put in it work, but it'll also cut your watering requirement.

debndal is right, asymetrical does look better, but for me, I want some neatness and order in the yard. Heaven knows I can't seem to get my house in order! LOL

Either, just a couple ideas and thoughts.

Good luck!

Laurie, I like your plan. It's good to start out simple. I will say you might want to leave more space around the esperanza. I think they can end up getting rather large. And if your blackfoot daisies really take off, they will also end up sprawling quite a bit. Or moving. :-) You might want to leave a bit of space between your rows of BFD and MFG. Take a look at these photos of the same space, just two different years! My clump of BFD started from just a couple of 4" pots. They are mixed in with four nerve daisies (the yellow).

Some other flower choices you might like are the white guara and the dwarf yellow cosmos. The latter bloom all summer long and you can buy seeds easily online.

Season one:

Season Two:

Well now you've done it maden theshade. I'm gonna have to get some more 4 Nerve Daisies to plant by my BFD - I love the look of yours - they really bring out the color in the center of the blackfoots. Right now I have the 4NDs planted with pincushion flower which looks nice, but you can never have too many 4 nerve daisies. It's a great plant and looks so good in your pictures.

I just wished the four nerve daisies bloomed more! They do look terrific! I try to dead head them b/c I think that helps them put on more blooms. Those photos were taken in their first Spring display, which always seems to be more radiant and vibrant than anything they achieve during the summer!

I keep dwarf lemon cosmos going on the other side of the rosemary clump and those also look really nice with the BFD. The cosmos are a workhorse - bloom all summer and fall!

Laurie, i made a mistake in one of things I told you. SInce you have a tree in that corner that will be a part of the bed, I would not recomend raising the bed, since raising the level of soil around a tree can damage it.

Maden the shade,,, nice flowers!

Garden on!

maden, how tall does your rosemary get?

I, too, love the 4 nerve daisy, but lost all of mine to the rains last year. They DO NOT like wet feet (and I thought I had them in a DRY spot).

Thanks for all the suggestions! I've made another attempt, this time with more grouped areas and less harsh symmetry. :-) BTW, the icons don't necessarily mean individual plants (at least for the small ones), it's just much easier to do it that way trying to create a larger free-form shape with MS Word's drawing tools.

I do plan to add some compost to the soil, but as you noticed, nightrider767, I do already have the desert willow there. And of course, lots of mulch!

Is this better? Other feedback?

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape plan

My garden is quite wild so at the moment, I have the opposite problem--trying to organize it a bit better! I didn't see your earlier plans, but your plan 2 is a really nice idea--order with nice groupings... and having the agapanthus together will make a beautiful focus rather than if they were opposite each other. Artistically, in any design the eye always looks for focal points, either of color or forms--usually when there is too much symmetry the eyes just brush over the whole scene.

For the front, here's one idea--I'm trying these zinnias this year... I've seen kinds like this occasionally in nurseries but they are shorter than the usual zinnias and more daisy-like... something like that might be fun to try as the shorter yellow flower in front... to try until you find a perennial you like... or in addition to perennials?
Amy

I forgot to explain, for those who are just now looking at it, Plan 1 was my original "organized" plan, and Plan 2 is the revised version.

I'll look into the zinnias, austinwildflower. I was also thinking of coreopsis or 4-nerve daisies. For the white, maybe some dwarf cosmos I got from the wildflower center, or blackfoot daisies.

Any one have suggestions on which type of salvia? I've never grown it before, so I'm not sure which would work best--mealy sage, indigo spires, etc...?

Ah, Laurie - nice plan 2! Excellent plan 2! See, you CAN do it! For salvia - I haven't grown many, but I like Caradonna - it has purple blooms, and so far mine have stayed neat and tidy and erect. I'm sure there are lots you could use tho. Coreopsis would be a nice touch too. I think you are well on your way to a very nice corner garden.

Marti - that is a prostrate rosemary and started out from a couple of 4" pots....I whack it back here and there to keep it from taking over the sidewalk and crawling across the street. :-) I think in all it gets about 15" tall at the most. I had some guaras in there and I could always see their spikes. But I also had some indigo salvia next to the orange rock and sometimes you can hardly see them if the rosemary is out of control.

Thanks, everyone!! I think your advice really gave me the help I needed to come up with something more natural looking, especially debndal.

I went ahead and bought the plants this afternoon: esperanza, mexican feather grass, blackfoot daisy, 4 nerve daisy, and mealy cup salvia (a Proven Winners variety), plus the agapanthus I already had. Now I can't wait until next weekend so I can put them all in the ground!!

Meanwhile, I'll be working on putting my front yard plan online--I'll need input on that too. Thanks again!

I do not see the point in getting rid of clay. It is wonderful stuff when done right. It is a waste of money to have it replaced IMO.

If it was me, I'd grow Elbon rye in those area you want for plant bed. They grow massive root system that will add organic matter to the clay soil. It will have to be sowed in the fall and let them grow till early summer, I think (do some research). Mow them down or use weed whacker if you wish. I WOULD NEVER GET RID OF CLAY SOIL. If you go on organic program, it would help a lot to improve clay soil very quickly compared to chemical stuff.

I wouldn't get rid of native soil, either.

Can't believe that's a rosemary - how old is it? I thought it was a santolina!

How does cardonna look in winter?