Up date Florida Yard

My son bought a home. It's a 70's ranch and hasn't had anything done to it since the 70's. I believe we need to start over.

Since he is a first time home owner, he probably won't want to spend a lot of money on the landscape. The inside needs a face lift as well.

The house faces west.

When we look at the landscapes around us, they are tropical looking. He's not real crazy about this look but perhaps he will have to get used to it as there are no other options???
He would "like" to have some color: some shrubs that offer blooms and then seeds for the birds.
Doesn't require lots of maintenance (water and constant pruning or aggressive.)
He's leaning to a more of a northern inspired landscape vs. tropical.

The pavers in front of the house was just moved there temporarily.

PLEASE give us some guidance and direction. Also, is there a good book or website for us to study regarding Florida landscapes/plants/shrubs?



I have been gardening for many years and have many plants I could take from my zone 6b Missouri yard but I don't know which ones would work here.

1) Hardscape:
The first thing that jumps out at me is the entry walk. There is no interest here! Also, if your guests are parked 2 or 3 cars down the road they have to walk almost all the way to the driveway. So why put the walk so close to the driveway?
I would remove that concrete and make the walkway at least 1 car-length from the driveway. Park your car there, get out and walk around the front of the car. Also, get out from the passenger side. Make the new walkway wide enough along the sidewalk so the driver and the passenger feel comfortable gaining access to the walkway. Pave (concrete) also in the median planter aligned with the walkway so it is the safest in wet weather. Maybe the walkway would end up 5-6' long along the sidewalk.
After about 3-4' the walkway can get narrower.
ie: the part of the walkway nearest the sidewalk could be a rectangle about 5-6' long x 3-4' deep. The median concrete would also be 5-6' long.
You could make a curving walkway or a series of staggered squares/rectangles. Either would be more interesting than a straight line.

Is the driveway wide enough? If the person getting out of the car needs better footing it could be done with concrete or flagstone set in the dirt, if you use large enough flagstone.
The walkway from the driveway might not be in the best area. If it was nearest the door when the driver got out of the car, that would be better. Instead of so close to the house. Similar to the entry walk, a slightly larger pad to start would make access a lot easier.
When I am designing this part of the landscape I make the center of this pad 10' from the garage, and the pad would be 5-6' long and 3' wide. Then it can narrow to a 3-4' wide walkway that will meet the walkway coming from the street.
Try laying out a half circle for the larger landing parts of the walkway, then a larger circle where they come together. Perhaps make a planter in the center of this circle for something showy like flowers.

2) Softscape:
The foundation planting then nothing but lawn is indeed a very old (and boring) layout.
If those plants are healthy, go ahead and leave them. Or clean the slate and start all over.
Take a garden hose and start laying out some planter areas. Keep some lawn, perhaps 2/3 of the existing, if mowing, watering etc. is OK. Make the lawn run over into the space between the driveway and the walkway, too. Unites the different parts.
The simplest way to lay out planter areas is to start with taking bites out of the lawn like quarter circles at the corners. Then connect them with curves (less formal) or straight lines (more formal). Test larger and smaller spaces, look at it from many angles, including inside the house.

Select a focal point, perhaps where the walkway from the driveway meets the walkway from the street for some flowers or something showy.
In the larger areas you could plant flowering trees. In the medium sized areas a mix of shrubs that will offer some flowers at different times of the year. Walk around the neighborhood and see if some things the neighbors have look good. Go to local nurseries and look at the plants in the largest containers. This may be a reasonable way to see how the plants grow. You can buy smaller plants to keep it within the budget.

To select plants that will attract birds you will have to ask locally what birds there are. A general mix of planting that offers them something to eat when other sources are not as productive would probably be a good way to feed them.

DianaK
Thanks for offering so much advice and information. I have been taking wall paper off of one of the bathrooms--ugh--so I haven't returned to this post. I haven't read your suggestions yet, but I will soon. Again, thank you for taking the time to help me.

This house needs a face lift inside and out. It's a nice home but very dated. People were in their 80's. So, there's lots to do.

Is this the time to be planting in Florida? Perennials and annuals? I have noticed lots of new stuff has come in to HD and Lowe's since we have been here.

Even though the HOUSE requires a proper up-date and modernisation, I would NOT be too hasty to dig up the garden until you have been wandering the area for at the least ONE full season.
There's an old adage here which says "Old Gardens bring old gems" My late father always told us not too dig up a garden that had been asleep all winter, just tidy it up, cut any lawns and only weed the usual weed culprits that you recognise as weeds or you could be digging and throwing out some lovely plants that are still asleep under the soil.

IF the interiors of the new home have to be the priority, then just keep the garden area tidy till you see what's growing up through the soil (If anything), when you find a plant, take a piture, a note pad is good to keep a record of finds, place a garden cane in the spot and attach a label with name (IF known) colour of flower, size and when flowering months.

You can then get on with inside work and make great headways with that project.
Be warned, you will find it difficult to manage BOTH inside and out, soon as you clear an area of garden, you then need to constantly weed, care for and IF not planted or covered by a layer of mulch / compost / manure etc, you need to be out there looking after it or the weeds from the rest of the garden will believe me, take over the new prepared cleared area and by end of season, you will wonder where the cleared area is,

I would use this season the photograph, measure, keep cleared by mowing, and drawing up plants.
by plans I mean use a picture of house and garden, pin clear tracing paper over the ENLARGED picture, draw and take notes at the side of all structures like overhead cables, drains, soak-a-ways, pathways, driveways and beds /fences and all structures you need to take care of or remove,
Go to library for books or book store and search for books on landscaping, how to, where to start, how to lay out shapes for borders / paths/ parking and all areas needing HARD landscaping, I like to use the garden hose for these tasks as you can make different shapes for beds, meandering path's and seating areas too, so at this stage you don't have a large outlay of funds needed for indoors BUT it also allows you to think and change what you need to alter in your plans.
A Garden cant be built in a day or a single season unless you have huge funds to pay others to do all the work, but by doing that, you very rarely get the garden you want, but instead, you end up with someone's interpretation of what you wanted, OR the easy option for the landscape company who wants to rush onto the next job on their books, once your committed to a landscape companies plants, it normally cost extra to alter your plans as they take place so be careful.

Hope this gives you some thoughts and less stress trying to be a jack of all trades and master of NON as most of us have at times tried to do too many projects and completed NON.
Just try relax and enjoy the new place and each project as it comes to fruition, that way you can be proud of yourself and save a lot of wasted funds on big mistakes made in haste.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

birder17, that’s an attractive ranch home! I have some ideas that might be able to help you, and I’ve attached before and after images to show what I’m referring to. First, I don’t like the brick line because it doesn’t match with the gray stone of the lamp border so I would remove that. I recommend creating a celosia border there and separating it from the grass with edging.

What zone in Florida is the ranch? I’m recommending plants that thrive in zone 10 since Florida’s range is 8-11. Clematis armandii Snowdrift is one of the few clematis that do well in hot climates so I would recommend planting one in the circle surrounding the lamp post. On the right of the lamp I think the area would look nice if it was filled with purble Persian shield and with a crape myrtle tree planted in the center.

The area next to the door is shaded from the roof so although you said you didn’t want a tropical look perhaps you might consider lining that walkway with Sansiveria Moonshine which does will in the shade. Under the first window next to the door I recommend Blue Storm agapanthus flowers. All the plants I’m recommending I read should be evergreen in zone 10. Under the next window a striking pink Muhlenbergia capillaries would look nice for contrast with the dark green shrubs.

I also recommend planting the narrow grass area next to the road. Owners are responsible for caring for the area next to their homes even though they technically don’t own it and it is right of way:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/publicrow.htm#sidewalks

For the sidewalk garden (across from the celosia) I recommend either Blue Chip Dwarf Butterfly Bush for color or Juniperus Good Vibrations for an eye-catching evergreen look. The juniper can tolerate drought or plenty of rain as you have in Florida. You have an attractive flat plot that should be easy to work with. With plenty of sunshine and rain, you probably don’t need much irrigation but I think it’s always a good idea to keep an outdoor hose at all times for general gardening and during rare droughts, but if it’s in the front it should be hidden from view.

DoGooder

Before doing any digging, please call 'call before you dig' and have all underground utilities marked. Then take pics for proof and to remind self (son) for future projects.

This (in the pics you included) is about as low-maintenance as one can get. The existing shrubs are providing the only shade for this side of the house. If the current shrubs do occasionally run out of elbow room, prune/chain-saw them back to size. After a few weeks, they've grown back so much they just look smaller, not whacked. Mow the lawn area with the chute pointed away from bed areas.

Very unlikely there's much sleeping under the soil in FL, but could be some bulbs. Gardening that far south isn't very much about plants that pop up for summer and die down for winter.

Shrubs and bulbs are what I concentrate on, since I don't anticipate a gardener will always live here. The bulbs require nothing except occasional weed pulling (like any non-mowed spot.) Placed so they can reach their mature size, shrubs do not either, just occasional shaping as needed.

Have either you or he dealt with grass in FL before? The line of bricks in the middle of lawn makes me think there used to be something else to the right but the grass was easily able to jump that border. (Oops, you said you just put them there, but I'm glad, to bring this up, see below.) There are several different kinds of grass in our yard and one of them is a vine that can easily go over a brick if not mowed/trimmed to prevent that. The less linear feet of border one has to maintain, the easier & less time-consuming. So I might not create more beds, just enlarge the existing space in front of the house. Beds adjacent to driveways usually just get stepped in a lot.

I think the most pressing issue is lack of shade. I would decide on a shade tree (or 3) and get it planted ASAP. Brick heats up when the sun hits it, and cooling a house in the shade is expensive enough. The light color roof was a good decision!

I would try to move the Poinsettia(?) Many people are allergic to latex sap, and that looks like it's hanging over the walkway, extremely likely for someone to brush against it hard enough to break a stem or leaf and get sap on their skin.

*Edited to acknowledge bricks were just laid there, I didn't read that closely enough the first time. BUT I'm glad because you can't just lay bricks like this and kill the grass and/or keep it on 'the other side.' You do need to dig a trench first, to make sure all connecting roots spanning the border are severed.

This message was edited Jan 14, 2014 12:55 PM

purpleinopp, thanks for mentioning the poinsettia! I forgot to add that to the drawings, but it would still look fine next to the celosia's I recommended. However, I disagree that "The less linear feet of border one has to maintain, the easier & less time-consuming." We do have a lawn, but only a small one yet it's a lot more difficult to maintain than our beds, so that's one of the reasons I recommended replacing some of the grass with beds as well as for the added color.

I chose the plants to be evergreen in zone 10. Celosia planted to cover the entire bed (L shape red area on my drawing) requires less maintenance than the lawn. Lawns have to be mowed every week for 12 months a year in Florida or the neighbors might complain, and it's much more difficult lugging out the mower and adding gas or whatever and maintenance and all that, then to just spend a few minutes removing weeds each week or 10 minutes a month. Our lawn gets mowed every week during the warm season (about half the year in zone 5b) which is about 4 hours, but the beds next to it require about 1 hour of weeding total for 6 months.

As for the other things the beds need like water and fertilizer the lawn needs that as well, so making beds doesn't create any more work on that front. Also, in my experience our lawn has about 20 times more weeds than the beds so the choice is to add poisonous powerful weed repellant which harms children and animals or to mow over them which looks terrible in my opinion. And our neighbor's dog creates yellow spots on our lawn all year round so ever since they moved there our lawn looks terrible no matter what we do. I guess I could pay a lot of money to spray it with lawn paint every two days.

That's why I'm not a big fan of lawns. I didn't recommend vegetable beds which would require a lot of work like harvesting, chopping them down and replanting, building trellises, etc. With the right choice of plants a Florida home owner can enjoy lush beautiful green all year round and months of wondrous colors. However, birder17, if you like my plant choices please be sure to get the cultivars of the species I recommended that are hardy in your specific zone, because, for example, not all celosia cultivars are evergreen in zone 10. - DoGooder

True, knowing the zone would help with getting/giving the most appropriate suggestions. There's a monumental difference between z8 & z10.

DoGooder, those are observations I've had since moving near the FL border from a 'golf course' community in OH, (also 5b incidentally,) where (lovely but VERY different) grass definitely did need to be mowed weekly. Many summers here, the sun bakes most of our lawn to a crisp, so mowing can be minimal. The grass is dormant now, but there are still green plants here'n'there in it. Not that I don't find plants I don't want growing in the mowed areas (and pull them out,) but if it's soft and green, it's probably welcome to cohabitate with the grass.

Lawn care is very different in almost every way in the south than up north, though I've never used chemicals for lawns or garden beds in either place. The lawn posted above looks the same as mine today, with dormant grass and other plants that are still green for winter. I've never heard of painting grass but would definitely not recommend it (but that was probably a joke - so LOL!)

I wasn't recommending more lawn or more bed, just to keep the amount of border maintenance as minimal as possible. It does make more work when I make a new bed that needs to be navigated around when mowing, then edged/trimmed often enough to keep the grass out. Where there are no borders between mowed areas vs. not, no time is spent trimming/edging at all, and the expense of obtaining a trimmer and maintaining it would be unnecessary. Where there is no grass, a mower is not necessary.

Some virtually maintenance-free full sun lovers to consider even where there is frost, Gardenia, Rosemary, Osmanthus fragrans (fragrant olive,) Azalea, Camellia. I don't do much with smaller plants for full sun since they tend to dry out too quickly. I figured a bachelor (possibly an incorrect assumption?) would have plant watering so far down the priority list it would probably never happen.

Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus) planted in full sun (in the middle of a mowed area especially) would be way too thirsty, and not its' best, pretty purple color, though I did put them in a lot more sun in OH. (It likes to be in the shade with sweet potato vine, pic below. I have these pretty purple things all around the yard.) It is very sensitive to frost, though has been a trooper about growing back from the roots like an herbaceous perennial. Since one escaped being frosted last winter in a sheltered corner, it bloomed. If there's a spot on the east or north side of the house for this, I'd recommend it.

purpleinopp, the market has products to paint dead spots on shrubs and lawns. They can be found by searching for the term "lawn colorants" in a web browser. I got some for our lawn before my mom visited because our lawn looked so terrible from being a favorite spot for the dog to go. But it is too expensive to use it all the time, at least for my budget.

I agree lawn care is different in various parts of the country, so caring for a Florida lawn would require different methods I assume than caring for a Massachusetts lawn. You are correct that edge trimming would be more difficult with a bed border. However, there is already an extensive border along the front of the house where the shrub bed is next to the grass area. So whoever is mowing the lawn would have to take out the edger anyway and the extra bed would only require an additional two minutes to trim.

Also, if Florida grass tends to become yellow due to the hot sun then that's more reason to lessen it, and the colorful verdant celosia that loves sunlight would distract from an unattractive lawn. As for the Persian shield, I didn't say it should be planted in the middle of a mowed area. There is paving all around the rectangle area that I had placed the Persian shield in the drawing. The gray color is for the walkway and the street that is paved.

Also, I meant for the Persian Shield to cover the bordered rectangle bed completely except around the tree trunk. Thus, the grass would need to be wheelbarrowed away to make room for the crape myrtle and Persian shield. Also, you said the Persian shield would be too thirsty in full, sun but it will be underneath the crape myrtle shade plus get morning shade from the house a few feet away because birder17 said the house faces west. A nearby mall had many Persian shield plants in full sun with zero shade all summer long and I marveled at how perfectly healthy they looked without any fault like bright pink fake plastic plants, so I doubt the part shade area I designated for this plant would hurt it.

As for watering I read Florida has about 50 inches of rain on average which is more than here in MA. The newly planted crape myrtle would need more irrigation so since it's next to the Persian shield they could be watered at the same time. Purpleinopp, I do appreciate your ideas and we all are just posting suggestions and nothing is set in stone. Others in this thread have also provided excellent suggestions, and I've been helping out my mom with her zone 10 garden so that's why I thought maybe my research about hot weather plants might be of assistance to birder17.

DoGooder

Wow! Thank you, Thank you, to all for taking time to write suggestions. Many good thoughts here. Much good advice.
You have made points I had not thought of. "No sleeping in the Fl garden"--does make sense.
Not trying to tackle outside and inside does make sense. My brother came down for a week and was really pressuring me to do something with the lawn. I felt totally over whelmed.
Many good suggestions as to plants--I have no idea what to plant in this ZONE 9 area. I will research these plants and certainly consider them. I s/h mentioned the zone.
As for water, from what the neighbor tells me, they ration watering the lawns here. Plus, I have been told the soil is sandy with little moisture retention even though they (I am told) have a "rainy season", and it does rain (I think) fairly often here.
DoGooder: what kind of program do you have that makes the garden lay out? Very nice. Thanks.
Yes! A bachelor and Yes, probably not number one on his list. He's a techy guy but has come from parents and grandparents that have always had gardens. So, he does have some interest in gardens and wants to do something nice in his yard. He's looking to me for advice, and I'm like a deer in the head lights; so I do appreciate all the time and suggestions you have offered. If you have any other ideas, I am open to all suggestions.
Although we are working on the interior, the exterior is on our minds as well. We come down fairly often and will be helping him make improvements. I Will Study all of your suggestions and eventually apply your ideas. I can do the research back home and be some what prepared to commence on the yard when that time comes. It's not that one person is right and another is wrong. Everybody has different opinions, and that is what makes Dave's Garden so great.
Again, to all, thank you.

Birder17, thanks for providing the hardiness zone for the region! If you have a moment please look at the map at the following link and tell us if it’s zone 9a or 9b:

http://www.garden.bsewall.com/topics/hardiness/zones/zones3.jpg

I’m surprised they ration water in Florida, but with about 50 inches of rain it’s probably mild rationing so nothing to worry about. I assume the house has an outdoor faucet? I recommend installing a drip irrigation system because most water from sprinklers goes into the atmosphere. For the front yard you can get a black or brown hose with holes in it for $20-$40 and it’s incredibly easy to install by just placing it directly on the ground. Don’t put it underground because the holes will eventually clog. You can even get a timer for $40 and the whole setup can be done in an hour.

The only problem areas would be the beds next to the garage, because it’s unsafe to place the hose over the walkway, and also the bed across the sidewalk. However, if you don’t mind the look of a tree ring irrigation systems you can still have a crape myrtle in the rectangle area next to the driveway and the ring will water surrounding plants as well which will cover the ring so it won’t be very noticeable. As for the right of way bed next to the road I would choose the Juniperus Good Vibrations instead of the buddleja because the juniperus is drought tolerant once the roots are established and it does well in hot dry conditions and sandy soil, as well as rich loam where I have planted one at home that is very attractive and provides color changes all year.

I have updated my attached drawing to replace the Persian Shield (zone 9 too cool for evergreen) and buddleja (juniperus needs less water). I created the drawing using Photoshop but a very similar drawing can be done using Microsoft Word’s drawing features as it’s basically just rectangles and starbursts. I checked the plants I had suggested to see if they will thrive in zone 9 and all of these do:

NARROW FRONT BED NEXT TO STREET: Juniperus Good Vibrations (1.5 foot hardy, drought-tolerant evergreen providing year-round color changes and does not have to be watered with 50 inch annual rainfall)

RECTANGLE BED NEXT TO DRIVEWAY: crape myrtle is drought resistant and thrives in full sun and sandy soil, so it’s a perfect tree for this area that has no irrigation. When it is young the first year place an irrigation tree ring around it. Cover the ring with Muhlenbergia capillaries (Pink Muhly grass) which is drought tolerant and thrives in sandy soil so it will do well when the ring is removed.

L-SHAPED BED BORDERING THE WALKWAY: Many celosias are evergreen in zone 9 providing lush greenery all year and fabulous bright flowers half the year in Florida! This plant thrives in hot blazing sunlight so it will do well with little care in the strong Western sun, but it needs fertile soil so I recommend fertilizing with manure 4 x a year and cover the ground with mulch/compost once a year (1 hour of work every year). The Clematis Snowdrift in the corner of this border will also appreciate the compost/manure but cover the ground in the circle border with stones instead of bark mulch because in my experience stone mulch is healthiest for clematis. Or you can just fill the area with more Pink Muhly grass to match the crape myrtle border.

COVERED AREA NEAR DOOR: Sansiveria Moonshine is drought and heat tolerant and can grow will in sandy soil, so the shade area is perfect for it and rarely needs to be watered so it’s no problem that the irrigation hose doesn’t cross to the side of the walkway next to the garage.

BORDER NEXT TO WINDOWS: Blue Storm agapanthus can thrive in sandy soil and tolerates drought once established. It’s right next to the door so it will be easy to water it once a week when there’s no rain the first year that it is becoming established. The Pink Muhly grass on the other side will do well there requiring little care as described above.

I have designed a beautiful landscape that’s easy to install and easy to care for. Hardscaping and irrigation (edging, irrigation hose, timer) will be no more than $200 and can all be done in one day. You will need a wheelbarrow ($100) and I suggest immediately moving the pile of compost next to the driveway as the first project. Find an area behind the house to put the compost including the turf you will remove.

I recommend hiding the compost pile with a reed fence supported by cinder blocks or stakes ($100). Price for plants depends on whether your brother wants an instant garden or wouldn’t mind waiting for seedlings to grow. Since you are visiting the house at this point I recommend that your brother waits till he moves in before adding the plants in the dry beds (near driveway and street) because they will need to be watered with a hose during droughts till established. However, with a timer irrigation system the other new plants do not need human care.

I really enjoyed helping out with this project because I love gardening. I don’t mind if you choose a completely different landscape, but please send photos if you have the time. I think with plants and hardscaping my design would cost less than $1,000, but they say a house with curb appeal is worth 10% more so financially it’s a very good investment. I used to spend a lot on gardening but as the years go by gardening has become less and less expensive, and I’ve learned I can have a fabulous garden with little cost in time and resources.

It's 9b. Haven't read the rest of the last post yet.

Added:
Quickly read the above post. Lots of good suggestions. My bachelor son moved into this place about 6 months ago. My brother just came to visit. I like the ideas of low cost, maintenance, and labor. I haven't the time right now to really study the suggestions, but I Will when I return to Mo. We're trying to tie up loose ends of interior projects before we return to Mo. My husband will be having major surgery in February.

Thanks again for the time and ideas you have invested in this project. It will be awhile before the yard is commenced and finished. I will post pictures and probably be asking more questions.

This message was edited Jan 16, 2014 4:20 PM

birder17, I hope your husband's surgery goes well. God bless all of you!

DoGooder

Thanks, always scary-hip replacement from car accident years ago.

birder17, my mom had hip replacement surgery in Boston many years ago and it went well. We spent a lot of time at her bedside so all our lives were revolved around her for two weeks.

DoGooder

Thanks for sharing your experience. The plan is to separate the muscle tissue vs. cutting into it. Should be quicker healing. They plan to send him home I think in about two days after surgery.

birder17, wow that's great! I'm sure there are more medical advances since my mother's surgery a long time ago.

DoGooder

Birder, I live in zone 9a Houston, Texas and some plants I grow are, redbud trees, fig trees, orchid trees (bauhinia), hibiscus, firemens cap, turk's cap, hydrangea, firespike, apidistra, caladium, elephant ears, vinca, chrysanthemum, asters, grasses, roses, asparagus fern, virginia blue fern, lantana, canna, dwarf nandina, rosemary, flame acanthus, Esperanza, duranta, azalea, camellia, Russellia, zexmenia, mexican flame vine, angelonia, plumeria, irises, ageratum, narcissus, rain lilies,Texas Mist flower, Milkweed,(asclepias) all kinds of Salvia, bridal wreath, Passiflora, Crinum lilies, Amaryllis, coleus, begonias, plectranthus, sweet potato plants, purple heart, purple jew, loropetulum, coral vine, bignonia vine, cestrum, bougainvillea, guava, citrus trees, liriope, 4 o'clocks, gardenias. I bet you grow some of the same things. There are quite a few things that have a wide range of tolerance. Hope this helps to get your mind rolling on plant ideas. Best of luck to you and your son.

Speedy,
Thanks for the list of plants. I figured some of the plants I have also would grow here in Florida but which ones? So, thank you for the list. Some, I do recognize.
How sandy is your soil? I am thinking moisture retention.
Does Angelonia grow year around in your area? It's an annual for me. I will probably start some Angelonia from seed.
I bought a couple of large pots to match the color of his door (blue). I plan to put something in them before we return. They will face west but will have shade from the over hang of the porch. Any suggestions?
And when is the best time to plant flowers to give them there best chance of survival? For us, it's September for perennials and late April for annuals.
We've got a few loose ends to finish here and then, we're heading back to the "freezer" whoops I mean Missouri. It's been 55 to 75 degrees here vs. teens to 45 in Mo.
I will go home, get my rusty, trusty computer and sit in my easy chair and make plans for his new yard. I will check out all the plants and suggestions that have been made here. The yard will not come together quickly. We all know that takes time.
You guys have been a great help. I will post once in awhile to let you know how things are going. It will be slow as we are 1,000 miles away and can't go over on weekends!
Thanks again to all who have participated.

Angelonia is perennial here. All of the ones Ive listed are perennial except some years I must bring in the angel wing begonia and all years I must bring in the coleus and the sweet potato vine. He is one zone warmer than I. Our ground never freezes so even if there is a freak freeze, the perennials will come back from the roots. Choose carefully for the blue pots something that can take a lot of heat. florida heat and Missouri heat are not even in the same category!. I use a lot of native plants in my yard because they are adapted to Texas heat. I no longer have a lawn because it takes an enormous amount of water to keep it alive. I converted to beds and paths and shade trees and mulch is absolutely necessary to conserve water. We have live oaks here that take a 100 yrs to grow but there are other good trees. Choose the trees for drought hardiness also. We've had some droughts in recent years that killed 1/3 of the trees here. Any plant that needs chilling to perform well wont perform this far South, like peonies and clematis, forsythia, dogwood, etc.

For the blue pots, I suggest petunias. They can take the heat if they are watered regularly. another sugg would be Hamelia patens. It has red orange leaves and flowers and would pick up the color of the brick and it is drought and heat tolerant. It is a tall shrub but probably would not grow so tall in a pot and it could be trimmed some once a year. The dwarf nandina might also serve the same purpost and does not get tall. Sometimes in our zone, a plant listed as "full sun" needs afternoon shade to survive here. Also, the hottest part of the day here is usually 4 PM.

Are there any plants you can think of that have white flowers. Well, I could use white petunias. I always think "pink" when I think of petunias. Perhaps I could put the Hamelia p. surrounded with white petunias. I will look up the Hamelia.

Birder17, I studied the pictures of the house and it appears that the location is typical Florida with well drained sandy soils. You could spend a fortune on watering many of the plants that were suggested or you could visit this site to get some ideas on Florida landscaping.
http://www.floridayards.org/

We have a generous Florida Friendly landscaping law that supercedes even HOA's for planting the a friendly, low maintenance landscape. Many of the plants that do well north of Florida won't thrive here. I use Florida Friendly plants and created a beautiful butterfly garden in my yard.

That is a great tool, Annette! Thanks for posting. I tried it out and we have some of the same zones in Texas so it's pretty true to what will grow in zones here as well. Some plants I have that I failed to mention are Plumbago, Brunfelsia and Vitex.

Thank you for the comments and website. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Hubby is getting ready for hip replacement surgery. Then today, a wk from surgery-hosp. says-we don't take his ins.: BCBS. What a mess. We already sat through two classes of instructions and blood work. We'll probably have to pay for that ourselves. Off topic sorry.

That stinks about the insurance. Been there myself so I know what you are going through.

Thanks Annette. We had to R/S the surgery. Cancel our ins. and find new ins. Big mess.

Hope the following images can give you some ideas to landscape the yard floor, know more, please refer to http://www.sunwinggrass.com/products.html

So, it's been a while since you posted about this yard. How did your plantings go? Would love some pictures!

I hate to tell you this but someone broke into his house this Spring. So, now he's going to fix the house up and sell it. :( He's in a nice neighborhood where only the people that live there would ever go there. So, I think it was someone in the neighborhood. But a big thanks to everyone that contributed.

I'm really sorry to hear that someone broke in. That can be really hard. Well, at least he's lucky to have some good neighbours that area helping him. I'm sure that he appreciates it.