I need some landscaping advice

I've hunted high and low using Google and either run into pay sites or sites showing landscaping schemes involving having a Bentley parked in the driveway... I'm already working on one area that has four living things and a large rock in it that hasn't come together yet and would like a better jump on this other area.
I've got a 10-12 ft diameter spot in my yard where I ripped that bush out of a few weeks ago. It's not nestled against a house or any type of structure, nor is it in the middle of my yard. It can be viewed from about 2-1/2 directions that I care about.
I am going to transplant that tree I posted a pic of into it and add some bushes (maybe rocks?). If you were to plant a tree in this circle, where would you put it? The center, and build around it? Towards one side or the rear, and build in front of it? I'm hoping not to have the haphazard looking area that I already have one of, so would like any ideas or pics you have that can get me on my way.

Thanks

Got a pic of the spot?
I have 1 tree I planted around on all sides and bordered it with bricks.... Do you know what kind of things you want to put in yet? Flowery things or more low maintenance leafy things?

suziquzie said:

Got a pic of the spot?
I have 1 tree I planted around on all sides and bordered it with bricks.... Do you know what kind of things you want to put in yet? Flowery things or more low maintenance leafy things?

Click to expand...

I knew someone would ask that

Here it is....

I'm thinkin' if its not near or against a building, I'd put the tree in the middle.
You'll want shadyplants then...
Maybe some fern things right up against it, some bleeding hearts mixed in in from of those, then Hosta in front of that..... leave some space for some impatiens to put in each spring.... then forget me nots.... all but the impatiens are perrenials and wont add any work in the spring.

But seriously......

Here it is. You can see it from the road too, but only like an overall quick view because the road is a ways off and other stuff gets in the way quickly. Here are the two views I'm concerned with.
Also, I am looking for bushes/shrubs. Flowers are a nice touch if they are on the bush, like goldenrods or whatever, but I'm only interested in an actual flower if it comes back every year and is low, low, low maintenance. I can talk to the nursery people about the bushes for my area, I just need to learn how to arrange them and they aren't very helpful when it comes to that.

Try here....
http://springhillnursery.com/naturalized-shade-garden/p/75802/
They sell entire perrenial garden set ups for shade or sun.....
The link is one that I split with my Mom. Working out pretty well so far. I lie that it's preplanned because I'm a moron when it comes to putting stuff like that together.

Perhaps something like this.

Thanks for the pic, Joe, I'd like to stay away from structures. The bird feeders are a nice touch though. I have one of those wrought iron bird feeder poles, and a bird bath is not out of the question. Maybe I can turn it into a little bird area of sorts with various feeders or plants that attract birds.

That's an interesting idea, Suzi. I hadn't thought about nesting stuff so tightly that I would not need bark. Do you still need to get in there amongst the plants to weed, or do they choke everything out?

I'm still weeding because splitting it gave me half as many plants.....
I wouldn't split them again, she always takes the good ones, but she did buy, lol
They would probably keep the weeds out themselves just fine if I'd had a whole setup to myself.

You want to figure out where to plant a tree in a circular bed?

I would just put it in the middle if the bed is circular. However, circular beds look retarded, IMO. I would turn that boring circle into something more kidney or footprint shaped, plant the tree off to one side and add another feature flanking it like a bird feeder or other shrubs that would compliment the tree not distract from it. Use an edger or a shovel to define the bed from the lawn. You could also raise the bed slightly and build a stone border. Those plastic roll borders are garbage, stick with nothing or some sort of hardscape.

Now....since I gave you advise, I'm gonna highjack your thread a sec. lol

Here's some recent shots of my yard, looks better when the plants are fully grown.

Wow. Now I'm a retard.

j/k. I already knew I was a retard.

Hey, is that wishing well sitting on a closet flange?
(armed with a little internet knowledge, I put it to use)

No hijack at all, Jeeks. I'm looking for ideas and pics are good for that.

I figured the circle because that's what I already have and the ground is already elevated that way, but certainly no problem to change it. I don't plan on building everything up to be level, but again, I could if I had to. Your designs are nice. I especially like the last pic of the trees (that look like they were already there with) the bushes staggered amongst them. That's kinda what I'm going for using that tree from out back. Of course, everything you have has a boundry, and I'm working without bounderies. I'm not sure how that affects my layout. Maybe not as much as I'm thinking. If you saw the pics of JoeV's house, I like that design he had on the left..... and I just looked at it again and you are right, it is not a circle and looks pretty good.

Thanks for the input

Thanks. Those "bushes" are all plants/flowers: Bleeding heart, iris, lillies, regular and varigated hostas. You might want to look into different types of ornamental grasses too.

suziquzie said:

Wow. Now I'm a retard.

j/k. I already knew I was a retard.

Click to expand...

lol...ok.

I meant: They don't look appeeeeealing, in my opinion.

Hey, Chow. I agree with Jeeks - something a kidney-shaped bed will look more interesting. I would offset the tree to one side and then select two different types of shrubs and, depending on the space, get a few large (4-6 feet tall) and a few small (1-3 feet tall). Then put some perennial flowers, maybe some spring bulbs and whatever blooms all summer in your area, across the front, and fill in the rest with ground cover.

Here's a quick sketch of what I'm thinking (imagine the big oval as a kidney shape):

An easy way to lay out the design is to use garden hose. Then just follow along the hose with a shovel or mark it out with marking paint and hit it with an edger.

Now I'm all self conscious......

round. I gotta find more bricks.... think kidney... think kidney.....

I like what Gotgarlic said. I'm not much of a landscaper - but it does need to look interesting rather than symetrical. Maybe you can get Mav's DW to chime in.

suziquzie said:

Now I'm all self conscious......

round. I gotta find more bricks.... think kidney... think kidney.....

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lol...did you plant that dandelion in there? It compliments the tree perfectly.



j/k Need help raking?

uh, yeah a little. Will trade work for food.
Stupid rain.

Thats not a dandelion its a teeny tiny pansy I put in there the other day!

Thanks for the pic of the hose laying in the yard, Jeeks. I was all confused as to what that would look like....

Yep. Kidney shaped. I visited the nursery and ran into someone a lot smarter than the guys I've been dealing with up there, who want me to decide what I want to buy and don't seem to have any ideas to help someone who just doesn't know squat about landscaping.... He sketched something out, rattled off a bunch of plants, told me to keep my tree to one side and we'd balance it out with something big on the other end, then told me to go home and lay it out with a garden hose. Said something about building it up a foot in the middle and tapering it down, too. It kinda looked like your dwg, GG, but he freehanded it. When I get my area done he said we would build it up at the nursery to see what it will look like. Pretty cool. I didn't know they would go to all that. Since they also sell to landscapers, I thought it went against their policies or something. I know they will not plant a tree for you.

Anyway, I was just playing around with my hose and to get the shape I want in the area I want I have a lot of dirt outside the hose. I was really trying to get away from a seeding job....
Then, the more I looked at it the more I thought about moving the.... whatever it's called... "plant island", so it is in front of where I drive my tractor around to the front. I'm thinking, why put all this effort into making that area look better and have those tire tracks in front of the plants, why not hide some of the tracks and then maybe more focus would be on the plants?

So that's where I'm at. The two things running through my head now are; that still leaves me with that big bare spot that my whole original intention was to get rid of. And, if I ever decide to put a garage/pole barn up, the ideal location would be right where I'm thinking of putting in this plant island now.

Sometimes I wish I didn't think things through so much...

Hostas and ferns work well under trees. As your tree grows it wins the water and sunlight war. Those two plants are tolerant of dry sahde and relatively long lived in the landscape. Another good choice is Microbiota or Russian cypress. It is a low growing evergreen that turns from a sage green summer color to a coppery chocolate winter hue. Sock some spring bulbs in as they come and go before your tree fully leafs out. Also a clematis vine planted on the north side and allowed to grow up the trunk would add spring or summer color.

Sorry if you aready answered this and I didnt see it but.....is there a reason why you dont want to just fill the area with grass? IMO it seem like an awkward spot to put much else.

I'm kinda thinking in Deelady's vein. Rock garden, perhaps? Layered, bottom large, then working smaller and smaller in however many levels you want. Perenials, or annuals if you prefer. The options are endless. Possibly some radishes and onions?

I have thought about simply seeding it with grass, but something sustantial was there and the area looks naked now. Plus, any area I choose to dress up with plants is basically going to look awkward. It's just the way the house, driveway, parking area and yard are. And I already sprayed the existing grass inside my hose outline yesterday with killer (lol). No turning back now....
I've got some big rocks I'm going to use too. I just need to fish them out of the creek. I'll keep you posted and if you get any more ideas, keep 'em coming.

Well only other idea I have is maybe a fire pit area....fill in the area with lava rocks and place a large decorative firepit with some seating around and maybe a simple border.
When we first bought our house the previous owners had left a kiddie pool in the yard for a long period of time and it made a perfect circle of no grass, so we made it a large firepit area Great for entertaining!

Another idea would be to tie in that evergreen into the new landscape some how.

The evergreen is right on top of my chickie area and I don't want to relocate them. Plus attracting birds right next to them is a bad idea. I'm really hoping this landscape job will attract some wild bird activity.

Gotta firepit Dee, but good thought. I need to work on that area and get it nicer looking, too. Right now it's only cement blocks. I've always wanted to turn it into something like Uncle Bob's outdoor kitchen (if you remember the pics he's posted). This new area will be in view from there.

chowhound said:

I've hunted high and low using Google and either run into pay sites or sites showing landscaping schemes

Click to expand...

Try your local Master Gardeners. They can help, and do design classes ect. They will also know what plants are best in you local.

Or, hire a designer. Many will do thing from simple consultation to full on designs. Amazing what you can get out of a 1 or 2 hours consultation.