Something like this will give the "entrance" privacy from the street and neighbors.

or an arbor with a color vine? and maybe hedges on each side?

Do you have a couple of thousand every month for the intensive maintenance that such a plan would need? Or are will this be a more than full time hobby for you and you have other means of financial support rather than a day job?

i do have a professional landscape crew that maintains my yard biweekly. i am also an avid hobbyist that spends 3-5 days a week in the yard.. aside from my career. does that answer your question? what do you believe would be the most labor intensive parts of the design?

for the garden entrance, i am also considering a hybrid of the two ideas that i posted above.. walled privacy hedge + arch. something like this:

A million hours clipping and maintaining formal forms costs a lot more than a lawn service. You can’t hire now and blow guys either. There’s a reason that formal gardens are generally only among those who own large estates. There is a huge amount of labor associated in maintaining them.

Sophie, are you in florida and familiar with these plants? most of the topiaries in the first design are either naturally occurring in their shape like the holly balls or in compacta forms like the eugenia compacta cones and the dwarf podacarpus that take a long time to grow. i think the ones that may need the most clipping are the bougies. I do have other topiaries in my yard now and thankfully my crew does maintain them... but they are very slow growing. i do agree that a "real" formal garden in a large estate would likely need a full-time person but this is a mini-version in a tropical climate.

to clarify, my first question (1. will this design be doable long-term as things grow?) was meant to see if everything kind of fit right with each other ? some things like the trees/large hedges/plants can get big and those are the things i tend to overlook sometimes. i do not want to have to transplant later.

Very few plants grow in a "natural" topiary form.......by definition a topiary is a man-made construct via constant pruning. And it is also important to remember that plants will grow unevenly due to spacing and/or light, soil and water conditions and that woody plants (tree and shrubs) never really stop growing until they die. So any size shown on a plant tag or in references is just a rough guideline.

What you have illustrated is a very high maintenance landscape that will need frequent pruning attention, among other, even more so in a warm, lush climate like FL!!

garden gal, thanks for the explainer, i understand your point. perhaps then using the term 'topiary' may not have been the most accurate. Most of the plants in the design i have or have had at one point in my life and they have never been high maintenance. the cones are so slow growing that a few clips every few months keeps them in check. the gold mound may get a little unkempt and a bit leggy but a quick buzz by maintenance crew keeps them tidy. the only plants i like to do myself are the bougies as they can be temperamental.

so far, i am unsure of the placement of the jatropha tree, the bougie trees and bush, the ginger and musseunda bush. this is what will grow big. i am thinking of putting a ligustrum tree on the opposite garden across from bench but also unsure as to placement.

Since there is no way to tell what plants are included in your design, my comment was a generalized one. But I also live in a very mild and benign climate and have designed and installed literally hundreds of gardens over the years with a huge range of different plant types and I can't think of many that do not require routine maintenance and trimming to keep them looking tidy and in good health. And bump that up attention several notches when the garden is as formalized and heaviiy planted as your illustrations!

This is why hiring a local designer familair with your locale and your plant palette will be beneficial. They are much more able to offer specific suggestions and ideas about siting for the specific plants in question.

I’m sorry, but your current crew doesn’t know how to prune shrubs properly. This would not be a success.

For a hot sticky bug filled climate like S. Florida, I think you are being overly ambitious, but rather than discuss this with amateur gardeners from different parts of the country, it would be better to consult with a local master gardener.

This forum attracts a lot of professional designers and gardeners so advice received here could be very appropriate. But a visit from an local designer onsite would be far more helpful. An experienced designer - NOT a master gardener, which are just slightly more educated amateur gardeners :-)

a few thoughts..I live in a completely different climate but I love tropical plants..I love your palms and bird of paradise(?)..do you like this garden?..just my opinion but I wouldn't want the vine on the house AND the arbor..I would leave the house as is..I would put the bench next to the house..I would put the smaller plants on the house side and the taller plants out from the house to create a living privacy screen..there is a topiary in this pic but using MORE tropical plants than topiaries would be easier wouldn't it?..wish I could grow what you can..

garden gal: the two first designs were created by two different local landscape designers. the plants are all labeled in the first photo and that is what i thought you were basing your feedback on but i read your other reply saying you meant it as a generalization as you didn't know what plants were being used.

In the first design, larger items were added in like the trees, shrubs, bushes etc. that is what has me questioning if the plan was overly ambitious. I am always open to ideas and feedback from other designers and experts...although obviously more weight will be given to those familiar with the local flora.

nicholsworth: thank you for your ideas. i do love tropical gardens and that photo you posted. most of my home is set in this manner but this side garden was going to be a mix of english-ish formal and tropical. a mini formal garden if you will. the reason i cannot flip/flop the smaller stuff near the house and the larger stuff on the other side is b/c it will block our beautiful water views...both from the bench looking out and from that window where i sit inside and look out at my garden and the water. it's a corner lot and i want some privacy from the neighbors but not kill the view. that's why everything is so small on that outer perimeter. about the vine around the window and arbor.. if you had to pick just one which would you prefer?

nicholsworth: thank you for the kind words. i do love our property and would plant every inch too given some time. we came from a much smaller home and lot and even there i planted my heart out with the small yard. it was very tropical, much like this one. when we found this home, for me all i could see was the potential for my gardens. we had to take care of other house things first but the only projects i have real passion for is the outdoors. you make a great point about the arbor vine as it would get light from all sides and be easier to manage. i do worry about hurricanes coming and knocking a structure like an arbor down but the same would happen with the trees/plants i suppose. i like the fragrant idea ..even if not on the actual arbor i could plant something near the entrance so it would be a welcoming smell. would you do the trees near the bench area as noted in the first design?

this color topiary garden was the inspiration for my mini side garden. obviously this pictured garden is set in a different region so the trick was trying to find plants that work in south florida.

I guess it is all a matter of personal taste but the two gardens pictured above would drive me nuts!! They are waaaayyyy too busy for me and with nothing to really draw the eye..........all the plants carry the same weight and emphasis.

I find them rather agitating, whereas your smooth expanse of green lawn punctuated with a few trees and shrubs I find far more restful.

must admit that I didn't consider how durable your garden needs to be due to hurricanes..we have an arbor and it's been stable..came with steel anchors attached and you just push it down..we leveled it..my husband has checked it since..still level..Florida might require a more secure install..I'd like trees near the bench..a feeling of shelter and enclosure..and shade..I've seen those pics of Butchart(?) garden..colors are amazing..you could start planting and if it came to a point where it was "too much" stop..my arbor..you get a glimpse from the street..it's at the end of the side yard and feels natural..like an entrance to the woods..early spring pics and the plants aren't up..

I will only comment on the bougainvillea, with which I have experience. Be extremely selective as to the particular hybrids you will use. Do go see them where they have been growing for 5 or 10 to confirm size and habit and quality of bloom.

If you have grown them before, you know Bougainvillea can take a few years to get going. You might be disappointed with it the first 2-3 years, not taking the form you wish. The roots are sensitive and do not take to transplanting, and moving from pot to ground they can sulk for a long time, dropping leaves, looking bare and uncooperative with your plan. But don't give up too easily. Once they take off, look out. Some varieties (the more robust growers) produce very long whips armed the full length with significant thorns, a real danger to human skin and eyes -- thus the caution to be sure you have the right-sized plants for your scheme. many of the newer dwarf varieties are more like domesticated little kittens instead of the wild tigers of the older varieties.

All will need plenty of sun to produce the lavish mass of color they are known for; shade will send them into a funk.

After more than 20 years of annual pruning of the Barbara Karst, many of those years high on a ladder, I decided I had donated enough blood to the bougainvillea, and I removed it.

Gardengal: yes, i suppose it is all a matter of taste. I do like wide open green lawn areas like you mention..... but also like to see a riot of color. My side garden will hopefully quench the desire for the latter.

Nicolsworth: looks like the squirrel likes your arbor too. The space feels so quiet and woodsy .. serene.. like the beginning of a fairytale if that makes sense. And yeah hurricanes are a part of life down here in florida, meh . The palms have held up wonderfully.. only the fronds take a beating. So far. Makes sense about enclosing the bench area!

we enjoy our wildlife..you described our space perfectly..

here's my tropical side yard..the plants are new..cannas, bananas and elephant ears..dug up the elephant ears..cut and covered the others with garbage bags full of leaves..the big logs in the back enclose my compost bin..

Kiminpl: 20 years blood sacrifice for your bougainvillea ! I’d say yes, you put in some hard time. You bring up very valid points and i am reconsidering my plan... not just in this design but in other beds in my yard. I have known so many friends whose bougies became out of control monsters that i have never planted a bush in the ground. Only standards in the ground.. and many trellis’d or bush in containers. About the sensitive roots i leave them alone and plant them in their plastic pot, just slit it on bottom and sides. Interestingly i recently came upon two thornless bougainvillea by chance. I thought they were an urban legend but it is real! They grow differently than typical ones w cone shaped appearance. I also came upon a tri-colored bougainvillea. This one does have the thorns so i need to figure out whether i have the patience to train as a standard as it will make it less dangerous. Your feedback really made me pause and think about how to incorporate them. Thanks!

Nicolsworth: that red tree, beautiful! What is it? Love all the colors and i can swear i see the wildlife in the enchanted woods talking like in a grimms brother fairytale. i didnt know a tropical garden could work in your area. Impressive the work you put in to have one. Canna tropicanas and elefant ears are beautiful.

thanks..they're Japanese maples..we've planted 12 of them..pic of another one..and my neighbors bananas..

nicols: i admire your japanese maples so much i went on a search for something similar that grows in my climate. still looking :D. enjoy them.

Could check into Kousa dogwood..top 2 pics from my biggest one in back..the smaller one is in front..I paid only $3 for the small one!..