Mulch, mulch, mulch. In Texas you can't overstate the importance of mulch. Mulch suppresses weeds and helps maintain soil moisture that can be easily sucked out by our hot summer sun. Look for a good hardwood shredded type like a Texas native hardwood mulch and apply a 3-inch layer over all planted areas. Be careful to avoid heaping mulch on the base of plants — aim to spread it out in a gradually thinning layer right around the plants' stems and trunks.
Grasses can be perfect for formal edging plants and are becoming more and more popular for this use. Here Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra') shows us just how successful it can be in creating a well-delineated edge to the bed; its vertical nature clearly defines the sharp edge of the paving. (Ornamental grasses used in this fashion also tend to be low maintenance.)
Plant low-growing speedwells as a living-mulch ground cover in a shrub border or flowing between boulders in a rock garden. Planting notes. Speedwell is easily grown in average garden soil that is well drained. Shown: Dark blue spike speedwell (Veronica spicata 'Royal Candles'), blue star creeper, tall sedum and annual geranium (pink flowers)
Love the rock and concrete artistic path. Wheelchair access could still come from the driveway to the front door.
You could use different stones and volcanic rocks to detail inside the bushes.
Bushes would look great in the front
I like the second stripe at the top
tile pattern
sidewalk
overall plan is nice
porch tiles
sidewalk
porch planter
tiered
Planned communities such as this one in Kirkland, Washington, have their own challenges, not the least of which is abiding by homeowners association regulations. These planting strips allow for individuality while maintaining a cohesive design. Key design features: •A narrow planting strip adjacent to the sidewalk lies beyond each homeowner's split-rail fence. •Several plants are repeated through all the gardens, while there's still room for some unique choices. Color note: •Shades of blue, lavender and green are repeated throughout. Plant selection: •All the plants are lower than the height of the split-rail fence; allowing the fence to be glimpsed down the entire sidewalk gives the illusion of one continuous border. •Each plant typically has a mounding habit, creating a sense of uniformity. •Lavender (Lavandula spp) and sedum 'Autumn Joy' (Sedum 'Herbstfreude') are planted throughout these pocket gardens as well as in the adjacent communal garden areas. Bronze-colored coral bells (Heuchera hyb.) and daylilies (Hemerocallis spp) are also used.
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