New house, simple, soft, front landscape.

10 years ago

We moved into our newly built home about 2 months ago... looking to begin softening up the front landscape. I plant to start with just the spots in front the brick along the house. I want a simple, "romantic", cottage-style look... Maybe one shrub mass planted, with some different ground covers like geranium creeping thyme, etc. I really REALLY wanted to mass plant white hydrangeas, but this area is south-facing and gets full sun all day long. Now I am looking into mass planting roses... either Iceberg roses or Belinda's Dream rose. The thing holding me back from the iceberg roses is that I have read multiple posts about them not withstanding the humidity here in south Louisiana (black spots?) - And that the Belinda's Dream grows better. At first I wasn't keen on a pink rose against red brick, but the more I look at photos, the more I like the soft pink of the Belinda's Dream with maybe a blue phlox or georgia blue veronica... maybe even some lavender. What do you guys think? Or suggest? I don't want a busy bed, just a clean, simple, soft look.

Other shrubs I was thinking of - camellia, plumbago...

I am in South Louisiana, zone 9. Clay soil.

The guy who graded the yard put the dirt up too high by the house... we will be taking it back a bit and leveling it better. I don't think you can tell in the picture, but it is pretty steep up to the house. So the dirt will lower against the house than it is in this picture.

crossposted in Louisiana & Mississippi forum.

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Comments (4)

kitasei
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Do not change the level of the soil against the house!! It is purposely graded to carry water runoff AWAY from your foundation. I assume you are concerned about the height of plants under the side windows? Just choose plants under them that mature with the foliage or blooms that will look attractive from inside. I hope I have saved you from possibly the most costly mistake you could have made as a new homeowner!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Camellias don't fare well in that type of environment (full sun, clay soil). I strongly urge you to reconsider using roses as a mass planted foundation shrub, if that's your intent.

Does your soil drain well, in spite of the clay content? Mine does, and all suitable plants thrive in it. What color is your soil?

How large do you visualize your foundation plants being allowed to grow? I assume that you want an evergreen mass, perhaps with deciduous and flowering plants added for color and variety?
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ibseyb
10 years ago
I would suggest Louisiana irises for a foundation planting. They look great all year round, evergreen, lush but tidy. Not a very long bloom period, but I think you'll prefer having a foundation planting that never gets scraggly at any point of the year. I have the "Black Gamecock" variety along the west side of my house in Houston, and have been very happy with them. They come in a lot of colors. Bulletproof, very happy with wet feet (which so many plants hate), and after the first year I basically never water them. All I do is pull out some dead leaves once or twice a year. Agapanthus could also be good--I see it here a lot planted in a similar way, but I don't have it myself so I can't speak to how easy to grow they are.

Don't bother with lavender--I can only keep it alive in pots. It can't handle any sogginess at all. Check out salvias (but not all of them!), coneflowers, inland sea oats, and native hibiscus (aka swamp mallow--does that sound like LA or what?) for a cottage garden look in a gulf coast reality. This ain't England, so don't be imitating those pretty little houses on Masterpiece Theater.

I agree that you shouldn't change the grading. If you really must, definitely get a company specializing in drainage to do the work, not just a landscaper--and not the cheapest one either. Gulf coast houses live and die by good drainage.

Don't do anything until the autumn, except spread Microlife 6-2-4 fertilizer to activate the biology of the soil. It's really too late to plant at this point--3/4 of whatever you put in will get fried.
ibseyb
10 years ago
Also, brugmansia!