Can anyone give me some ideas/plans for my yard?

Hi ya'll! (Florida) I have just recently joined your wonderful group (and you are probably going to all hate me....I will be a "THORN IN YOUR SIDE"...but I am new to the whole perennial gardening scene. I am trying to get plants, and seeds so that I can start my garden. My problem now is, what do I do with them when I get them?? I have a web page that has pictures of my yard, if anyone would like to look at them (they are easy on the eyes) But I really could use some ideas because I am afraid I will plant the wrong stuff beside the wrong stuff...if you know what I mean. I may even mess up and plant the short stuff in the back, and the tall stuff in the front! (Ok, I am maybe not THAT bad...but....close) Anyway, I don't know enough about all the plants to know what plants are going to give me a pretty good variety of color throughout the year. Since I am in Florida, the weather is good, but if the flower isn't ready to bloom...it ain't gonna bloom! (Right?)Below is my link, and I hope somone out there has been bored out of their mind, and looking for a challenge! http://home.att.net/~madilullo/yardwork1.html/>">http://http://home.att.net/~madilullo/yardwork1.html/>

Welcome MarthaAnnD!
I promise we won't hate you! Ask all the questions you want.
I live in northern michigan so the only suggestion I can offer is...GROW UGLI FRUIT!!!! As they ripen you can send them to me. I promise to eat'em ALL! They are super tastee! BTW Ugli fruit taste best when it has the least amount of green and the most orange color. It can be hard to find ripe ones in the store.

Sari

Hi MarthaAnn and welcome! Had a bit of trouble with the link and finally got there with the following:

http://home.att.net/~madilullo/yardwork1.html

So glad you're here! I see you have some shady spots that would probably like some hostas, bleeding heart, coral bells and astilbe and I really like sweet woodruff for ground cover; however, I am from a much cooler zone than you are - so I'm not sure how these plants would be affected by the florida heat. Well, my two cents anyway!

Great job on the house - have fun :)

MarthaAnn, You have to have ferns(I like Japanese Painted ) in your shade garden. They grow very well there,and look pretty. And you will need them for the wonderful bouquets from your flower beds. Good Luck Nancy

OOPSIE on the web link!!! Thanks so much for the welcome (and the humor!!) Also, RiseAnn thank you so much for fixing the link!! It has been a while since I worked on my website, so I forgot about my html..I think some of our frineds have bleeding heart, so that might be an idea for me! As for the others, I am not sure, but will check zones on them. I tried some hostas last year, they are so nice, but I think the heat was just too much for them. They were so pretty when I got them, nice and full, and just a few weeks after, they were kind of laying all sprawled out on the ground...looking extremely pitiful! I had them over by the fence, to the right of the gate, which I thought was a prtty good spot for them! I originally bought them for the back door, around the trees, but then I had so much trouble ( cause of the tree roots) trying to dig a hole deep enough to plant them!!!! I just gave up and put them by the fence. (I think I had trouble with that part of the picture, so you might not have seen that...I got it fixed tho!) Maybe one day I will post some of the "Before" pictures of the house!!! If you saw any part of the "junky shed"...the house used to look very similar!

I would definately use lantanas there in the sun. They are perennials there and bloom continuously. You might want to try some azaleas for the shade. There are some new varities that are much longer blooming. A good thing to do is go to a local nursery (where they actually grow plants to sell in your area and not just a garden center) and ask them about plants. But be careful, they will try to sell you everything and often have you put too many plants in one area, without considering the mature size.
I used to love oleanders down there and of course you have to have some gardenias and camillias. Be careful with the oleanders, they are poisonous. When I was a kid living in Savannah, some neighbors broke off some oleander branches and used them to skewer weiners and cook them over a bonfire. Poisoned the kids (but I think they recovered.

Hi MarthaAnne. My first post too. When planting trees and shrubs, be very, very, very, very mindful of their mature size. Picture in your mind or whatever how much space they will take up when mature.
I learned this tip from many years of trial and error even tho experts always tell us that.
Happy gardening.
David

I try and sketch a few pictures of different ways I might want it to look(full grown)Figure out where you might want a bench or maybe a focal point. Just some ideas to go along with all the great plant suggestions
I have also done alot of relocating plants for several reasons-colors-heights even smell! Its a learning experience
catalogs order lots of catalogs! ;]
I bought a Horticulture A-Z encyclopedia this year-GREAT book!
Have fun and know Im really jealous of your growing conditions-WARM weather-Im here in mid-michigan with Sari and I cant wait to see a 60 degree temp!!!
dori

Hi Martha Ann - I am quite new here also and I know you are going to love this site as much as I do. I agree heartily with dave - size and spacing are really important regarding large items, in particular shrubs and trees. But you know something, I wouldn't worry too much about siting perennials, annuals and such because half the fun in gardening is just getting in there and having fun. All gardeners make mistakes and you can always move a plant if you don't like it in a particular spot. One thing I would mention though is to group plants according to their needs. Don't, for instance, plant shade loving plants with sun loving plants. Keep moisture loving items together and similarly with those plants which like the dry conditions. Have fun! :-)

Thanks for all the great ideas, and the words of encouragement! When I was planting last year, my aunt was advising me, saying, "well, up north, those get really big, so you need to give yourself lots of space", well, I am so bad at gardening, that I can plant a plant in the ground, and two years later, (if it is still there, and alive, it will still be the same size as it was the day I planted it ...only much worse looking) I mean, it will not grow, it won't multiply, nothing.
Dori, you should see me!! I work in the garden every night (on paper!) Drawing...redrawing...resizing, measuring. I drive my family nuts because I sit and do that for hours! I know I am going to have to just get over my fears and just go plant things before it is winter again!!

Just work at one part of your garden at a time - don't become overwhelmed by it - you'll miss the fun!