i also wondered if putting a berm -on the side would be helpful

I know that Hibiscus Moscheutos grow in some parts of Florida. They are beautiful. If they do not grow in your area you can still grow the tropical kind.

I would love to grow Croton in my garden. I know they are grown for foliage but they are pretty Mandevilla are beautiful also Would you please add a picture taken directly in front of your house?

As a general rule, I would not be putting such large plants so close to the house. The larger they grow, the more likely it is they will cause trouble and need to be removed, when their size will cause the most expense. (Examples are what looks to be a bird of paradise at the side and palms in the front. The BOP could be closer to lot line and some of the palms could be in an island off of left, front corner of house.) Also, it would be better to underplant palms & other trees with groundcover-like materials instead of shrub hedges (which grow large and demand regular trimming.) As one example, ferns would achieve roughly the same effect without all the trimming.

As far as creating privacy without blocking views ... while you can't have your cake and eat it, too, you can gain a sense of privacy by combining overhead shade and low level (2' to 4') screening. (The view remains between the bottom of canopy and top of low level "screening.") And in some areas -- where views are more important, such as at windows -- you can continue with only overhead shade, very low groundcover, or leave it open entirely. The strategy for accomplishing this should be worked out in a comprehensive plan before anything is changed. I would suggest hiring a professional designer, especially since you're talking about future hardscape improvements. There's no reason not to do all the planning at once, so as to prevent waste and mistakes.

As far as adding color, it's a matter of incorporating the plants that produce color. Number one for doing this would be bougainvillea. It can be grown as a large shrub, or with support, a trained vine ... or even as a small tree.

I'm in the Tampa area and the most blooming shrub I have is Thai Crown of Thorns; it never stops blooming so it would be another good one. The overall effect is hydrangea-like, but with wildly different, tropical looking color. It's more coral looking than this picture shows. (However, I find there are great differences between the varieties. Of the one's I've seen, only one remains leafy and bushy. Others lose most of their leaves so are thorny stalks with a cluster of flowers on top.)

For a groundcover, it's hard to beat tri-color dwarf oyster plant ... almost like a planting of annuals, especially when the sun hits it at an angle making the leaves glow violet. I find it tends to revert to regular dwarf oyster plant over time, but while that's somewhat less colorful, it's also attractive so is not too distressing.

If you can find a place for vines, nothing beats flame vine during the winter months. It does not have to grow wild in the trees. You can grow it on a trellis.

The flaming torch bromeliads can add dramatic color when they bloom.

A good groundcover for color is perennial peanut, as it blooms except for the coldest months. In Tampa it blooms about 10 months of the year, heavy for few weeks and then more like a "sprinkling" of yellow for the rest of the year. (Shown in median strip:)

Another good plant for color is the orange orchid, Epidendrum radicans. For me it blooms Feb. - November and is super easy to grow.

Other things that come to mind are golden trumpet tree, which is glorious in the early spring, and Muhly grass, which is lovely for a long time in late summer. But the list of other colorful plants is long! I'm sure there are many colorful things that grow in south Florida that we don't see in the Tampa area so look around where you live.

I'm looking at all the photos posted and drooling. I really could sit outside for hours surrounded by such beauty. well, not with children calling for my attention but in my dreams or at least in small bouts that i can escape. I am going to take better pics of the front and side of the house.

EMMARENE: i have never seen that hibiscus grow in south florida but i will research it. it is spectacular. the crotons are very popular here and i agree they add a splash of color with little to no maintenance. Is the mandevilla a vine? maybe i can put it in the corner of my fence where it wouldn't interfere with the water view but give some measure of privacy from the street.

YARDVARK: thank you for the detailed explanation. I understand what you mean by putting overhead shade with lower bushes/ground cover so that you can still maintain a visual between the two objects. that is a good idea that i would like to explore. i am not opposed to moving the palms like the bird of paradise to lot line... although it is hard for me to visualize. ferns and the purple oyster do scare me a bit as i've seen them get very out of control and take over an area. of course it could be b/c i didn't cut them back like i should have. i love bougainvillea and am considering a topiary tree..though they are pricey. this way the thorny bushes would be higher and away from children. crown of thorns I"ve had before.. the thorns are also a concern.

YARDVARK: i do believe you are right in that a designer is key to get a comprehensive plan in place before i do anything so waste will be eliminated. i guess that's why i feel i'm trapped.. and can't do anything as i don't want to embark upon landscaping and then have to rip it out. do you have any experience with garden designers? they are not prevalent in my area.. i have asked around a lot. most of the time you have landscaping companies that come out and give you an idea... then i have to get the paver contractor to give an estimate on the flooring and a lighting designer and the sprinkler ppl. i'd like a one stop shop so that i can plan out for future growth as budget allows. do you know how pricing works? so i can get a plan in place with some visuals? i had someone quote me $5500 once but felt that was too expensive. of course i have nothing to compare it to.

btw the flame vine and peanut ground cover look gorgeous.

YARDVACk: ah forgive me not realizing you were a landscape designer. i'm new to this site. can you give me an idea for pricing and what type of designer i should look for?

forgive our half pressure cleaned sidewalk

Perhaps I can create something to cover the corner of the fence as that will give some privacy from the street and not cover any water views. I thought of doing a bougainvillea arch over the double gate doors??

Designer fees may vary considerably from one to the next and from place to place. Try calling landscape designers who are listed locally, or nearby, and inquire about their fees. Most will have a web page that shows samples of their work. If you like that, set up an appointment where you can review samples of their work and get a feel for if you "click" with the person. Each designer has their own manner. Also, observe landscapes in your area and when you see something you admire, inquire as to who did the design work. Among contractors who provide design service, it's a common practice to transfer the cost of design to the construction and installation of a job. If you want design only, it will seem to be more expensive but this is just because the fees aren't being hidden elsewhere in the work. Given that you want to implement work over a period of time, it may work best for you to buy design work (a "master" plan to start with) separately. Obtaining a designer does not preclude you from hashing out design issues here, or from getting help on direction.

I would not buy a Bougainvillea on a trellis. Build the trellis/structure you want and then get a small bougainvillea to train on it. They grow so fast. The one above is only about 1.5 years old from pencil-sized cuttings. The picture is from Nov. of '14. Now, a year and 2 months later, it is about 10' ht. in a tree form. The head is not fully developed but it is definitely on the way. As the trunks swell, the thorns disappear. In the end, there will be no thorns on the trunks at all.

The ferns are invasive here, but people keep them successfully confined just by using the lawnmower to "edge" them. In other words, they just cut the grass and the ferns have no choice but to stay put since they don't tolerate being mowed.

At the picture where you inquire, "remove hedge/palms" ... NO! In my earlier comment, I am not saying you should re-do that area. If, down the road, the hedge becomes a burden, then you could change it to a material that does not become burdensome (by the hedge continually growing taller and requiring pruning.) For now, it looks fine and you seem to be managing it fine. I made the comment partially, to indicate that you shouldn't create things like that -- in the future -- using hedge material. Actually, it's a great place for the palms. The island could be larger and have more palms. I wish the palm in front of the house, just left of the entrance were moved to another location. Sorting out what to do with palms is a place where a designer could help.

You mention a bougainvillea arch over the gate. Be careful not to make something too small. It should be an arbor that has an opening width of at least 5' or 6' and an opening height of at least 8'.

thank you for clarifying about the hedge/palms. The hedge is not a burden but it's green where I'd prefer an infusion of color. Also it doesnt maximize the space of my lot on that side which i would like as it would serve as a natural boundary to my property butted up to my lot line. To reference the info on landscape designers.. in my area i find that many hire landscape companies..even the same ppl that cut the grass... not a formally trained designer or architect. the person who quoted me about $5000 was not formally trained. is that important? what type of contractor should i be seeking with the needs that i have?

i don't mind the idea of paying for a master plan although i wish there was some way for pricing to be more uniform so I can do my due diligence.

you say not to get rid of the hedge but I was picturing lining up shade trees that had an abundance of color and i don't see how i can do it with the hedge and palms there. can you recommend a program that I can upload my photos to so I can add plants and visualize what i'm thinking? There are many on the market but not with good reviews.

GardenGal: that is very helpful. I dont mind tackling most of the labor myself as i would enjoy it and it would save me $$$$ as you suggest. Do you mean labor for finding, buying and planting? I would definitely need to hire outside help for large trees and the hardscaping.

You can hire help for as little or as much as you need :-) The more you can do yourself, the lower the hard costs involved - your labor is free!

To clarify about the palms @ left of house. I wasn't really saying to get rid of them, or that you must keep them. They seem harmless there, but that doesn't preclude you from developing a plan that's better, and ultimately removing/relocating them. If you have ideas for that area, it would be something to hash out in the conceptual design stage.

For me, a great visualization tool is Microsoft Paint. It is versatile and easy to use (with each tool well explained in the "Help" section) IF you have basic drawing skills. To use it well, though, it requires that you have a stylus and touchscreen. I use it a good bit to give feedback to people who post in this forum. In your case, however, the pictures you've submitted are not conducive to doing this as they are incomplete views of house faces, and are also from strong angles. For working on the front yard, for example, I'd stand on the city sidewalk, directly in line with the front door (for all pictures) and begin taking shots that aim to the left side of the yard. Pivot the camera rightward and continue taking shots -- all of which would overlap -- until you have captured the right side of the yard. By this manner, all pictures can be pasted into a single window of MS Paint. There, they are cut and re-pasted into a single, wide-view panorama that gives someone a good, realistic idea of how your whole front yard fits together with its surroundings. (This process cannot be shortcut with a panorama app that creates a single panorama out of multiple pictures. That process shrinks and distorts the pictures too much so they no longer convey realistic relationships of things in the picture to other things in the picture.) If you want to do this, consider starting a new thread for the particular face of the house you want to work on and upload the sequence of pictures.

Yardvaark: great tips on microsoft paint and taking the sequence of pictures. Your explanation was very clear. Esp on why not to use the panorama app.