Carolina Gardening: Need advice, please, 0 by shawnc12

shawnc12 wrote:
Hi X,
Here is a picture - not too good, but will give you an idea. I have two more pictures - I think you are only allowed to attach one per post, though. The garden area is in the front on both sides - I've brought it out to the edge of the porch and curved around the stairs to give some depth to the house.

There are two silver maples in front, which provide some shade, although one is not in good shape and will be cut down this summer. I do not think it has any bearing on the amount of shade in the front of the house. There are two tall pine trees in the neighbor's yard. I hate the pine straw, but they do provide shade. That is the area that needs the ground cover.

The left side of the house (as you are facing it) faces east and the front gets some sun in the morning - I've kept logs and the time that the front gets sun varies during the year, but no matter what, by noon or so it's all in the shade. The right side (as you are facing the house), stays shady most of the day, although it does get some sun in the late afternoon sometimes.

In the 4 tall, bare areas of the house - on each edge and between the windows in the middle, I'm going to put in the confederate jasmine, along with decorative trellis'. That, along with some house numbers with a light above the left side of the porch should help bring the eye up. Then it's just a matter of filling up the blank spots. The windows are 4 or five feet from the ground, so I've trying to find flowers that are that tall and then go down in height from there.

Oh! Yes, I have a dog, a cat and there are some wild birds that hang around - the birds nested under the carport, so I've been keeping food out for them. None of the animals eat plants that I know of, but you never know.

I appreciate the comments about shrubs and have looked at some of the purple ones, but I really, really want flowers and plants more. Also, it took me a year to get all the tree roots and shrub roots out, so I'm not eager to put them back in. :-)

Thanks again,
shawnc



This message was edited Jun 5, 2009 4:17 PM