hi,
I live in a farely new house and we recently had our fence up only on 2 sides. My house is backing a ravine which is divided by a chain link fence. Our back yard is facing east and front lawn is facing west. During the summer and spring we have sun till about 4 pm in the back yard, considering that I have to decide on what kind of shrubs and flowers I should plant. Can anyone help me with choosing less maintenance plants with just few annuals so I could change each year?
Also the yard is sloping towards the chain link fence, is there a way we could level it out at the same time prevent the dirt falling in to the ravine through the chain link fence?
I can upload few pictures if it is required.
P.S. i am totally new to gardening and it is my first time attempting it.
Thanks.
Comment Guidelines
We welcome your feedback on Houseandhome.com. H&H reserves the right to remove any unsuitable personal remarks made about the bloggers, hosts, homeowners and/or guests we feature. Please keep your comments focused on decorating, design, cooking and other lifestyle topics. Adopt a tone you would be willing to use in person and do not make slanderous remarks or use denigrating language. If you see a comment that you believe violates any of the guidelines outlined above, please click “Alert a Moderator.” Thank you.
It's almost impossible to go wrong with upside-down gardening. You'll find that tomatoes and jalapenos, two garden plants that are difficult to get the thrive in a regular right side up garden, are effortless to get to take root upside down.
http://www.rushmyessay.com/buy-custom-thesis-papers/
Working in the garden is also a shared experience for the family, and instills in children an understanding of the natural cycles of growth which provide lessons of lifelong value.
I suggest you to plant some veggies and fruits in the back yard and keep your front yard free for lawn as you already have facing it to the west. And you can plant shrubs and flowers tree in your front yard as it looks good and welcome whoever is entering.
lilac shrub, hydrangea, Coneflower/echinecea and black eyed susan are best plants to make amazing look of your garden.
I think you need to figure out if you area is full sun, or part sun/part shade.
There are lots of really nice and easy perennials to grow- but you have know the sun conditions.
Here's a few of my favorite plants:
Shasta daisy
Coneflower/echinecea
black eyed susan
hosta
peony
clematis (if you want something to grow up the fence)
lilac shrub
hydrangea
thanks Gwen.
Hello mashal,
You may want to check out our Easy To Grow Plants & Blooms photo gallery for some ideas:
http://houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-easy-grow-plants-blooms-0
Good luck with the yard!
Gwen McAuley (gmcauley at hhmedia.com)
if possible add pictures or link for info please. tnx
thanks, i will post few pics soon.
By all means, post a few pics and maybe you will get some ideas!
You may not initially like this idea but give it some consideration. Hire a landscape designer/gardener for a consultation. Believe me, it will save you all sorts of money and grief. Most of them will have options like a 2 hour consultation or full plans and implementation. It just depends on what you want to do.
After blowing I don't know how much money and time trying to figure out a yard in one house I did just that when I moved into a new house. I paid for someone to come out for an hour or so and they left me with some really good info, ideas, and suggestions for how to do things year one, year two, etc. so I actually had not only a plan but one that would work. For instance I wanted a brick type walk but the first year didn't have the money. She suggested getting the path in place and putting the base materials down which would end at the gravel type topping and just use that until I could affor the rest. I had a good path I could use right then and it could just be upgraded later without adjusting the rest of the yard at all and cost me a lot less that first year. She gave me lists of the types of plants that would give me the colour I wanted and be care free in that climate complete with names and counts so no guessing on my part as I wasn't the type to buy a lot of something until I saw if it would survive or not. That problem was now solved because she knew which would be a good buy.
That had been missing in my attempts before that and what cost me in the end. They also told me which places to go to get the best prices and what types of hardscaping things could be done for very little money or in stages as budget permitted. That effort cost about $200 (in 2002) but compared to what I wasted before it saved me a lot more than that. I also had a really decent looking yard that first year which made me very happy given my previous experience and thinking it had to take a long time to get that feeling.
You don't need a formal plan really (more $$$), just someone who will come out and give you lists and hand draw some ideas for you (what goes where in your yard given the sun etc.). Then you just head to the garden center or where ever certain what you are spending your money on is going to work vs muddling through and it not being quite what you had in mind a year or two later.