Starting from scratch, please help! First Post!

Hi everyone, this is my first post and I would first like to say that this website is great! Anyways, I am only 19 and I have gotten sick of the bland look in front of my house; the landscaping is just terrible. There are so many things that need fixed. I would like a new retaining wall, but that's not going to happen yet, I have a low budget. So, for now, what I want to do it take the existing "flower bed" and extend it in front of the house, as you can see in the pictures. There isn't much grass there, so I want to dig it out and mulch it and plant flowers and shrubs. The problem is that I've never done this before, so I don't know where to start. I don't want to make any stupid mistakes. I am a quick learner and a hard worker, so with the right instructions, I know that I can make my front year look beautiful.

This is what I need your help for:

- What to do to start?
- What materials do I absolutely need?
- What kind of plants should I plant? Should I plant seed or just go buy plants at the store? (I live in zone 7a).
- Any other vital advice that you would give to a complete novice, maybe somethings that you wish someone would have told you when you started.

Thank you so much for your help in advance!!!

Plans:
Get out there with a garden hose and try different shapes of flower beds vs. lawn.
If you feel straight lines are right for this property then you can lay out old plant stakes or whatever you have.
Very roughly, I would make a dividing line based on where the lawn is doing OK and where it is getting a bit rough.

Separating lawn and planter areas:
You can do this simply by digging the planting areas next to the lawn so there is a clean line, but it is better if you can afford to buy almost any sort of material that will help define the area. Benderboard is a thin strip of wood (1/4" x 4") and you would install at least 2 thicknesses, 3 is better. Lots of stakes to stabilize it. There are synthetics that do the same thing. Some even come with stakes. I would buy a few longer stakes, the stakes in the package are pretty wimpy.
You could outline it with rocks that match the existing retaining wall, sunken into the ground so you can roll the lawn mower wheels over them. If you want a straight line then lumber like a 2 x 4 would work well. Ask when you buy it if it is OK in the ground. Some wood rots very quickly when it is exposed to the wet and dry conditions and the fungi in the soil.

Preparing the planting area:
Dig the soil well, adding whatever kind of compost or soil conditioner you can get. Sources of free compost might include a recycling place near you, or horse stables where they bed the horses on rice hulls or wood shavings.
If you create mounds make sure the water runs away from the house. Do not add more soil against the house.

Plant selection:
I would plant some medium sized shrubs near the wall and chimney, (about the same size as the pink flowered shrub) and smaller plants along the walkway. The size of shrub will depend on how large the area is once you have worked with the garden hose layout. Shrubs that grow too large are hard to maintain, it is a lot of work to keep them in a small area. But one nice, larger plant in front of the chimney could be really nice. Don't crowd it in, though.
Flowers that only live for the summer are cheap, quick fillers and will make the area look nice right away. Then, next year you can decide about more permanent plants.

Which way does the sun come up? How does it move across the garden?
Morning sun is mild, and plants labeled for 'part shade' would do well if there is some morning sun.
Sun in the middle of the day, and into the afternoon is hot, and plants labeled for 'full sun' would do well if the area is sunny most of the day.
If the house faces north, and the sun really does not hit the area where we are talking about planting then plants labeled for 'full shade' are the best choices.

Here is a quick concept sketched out in Paint.

Taller plant against chimney might be Lion's Tail (Leonotis leonuris) if the area is sunny most of the day.
Shorter plant might be another of the pink flowered shrubs (looks like Azalea)
The yellow flowers could be Day Lilies (Hemerocallis hybrids) if it is sunny.

The annual flowers might be any of these:
Sun:
Petunia, Salvia, Marigold (smaller varieties), Sweet Alyssum or dwarf Zinnias, dwarf Snapdragons, or many more.

Shade:
Iberis, Impatiens, Begonia, or some others.

This message was edited May 3, 2014 9:57 AM

oops! forgot the attachment...

Wow, thank you so much! This is seriously so helpful, especially the drawing that you made. The house faces North East, and there is a large tree that shades a majority of the yard, so I think I will stick with full shade plants. I'll attach a photo of the other side of the walkway because I want to continue to flower bed onto the other side. There's an ugly gas meter that I want to cover up. What type of flowers should I put it front of the gas meter so it is invisible? What type of plant should I plant in front of the chimney given that the areas is mostly shaded? Once again, thank you so much for helping me out.

Sorry, the house actually faces North West, I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

Here's a nice list of shade tolerant plants with zone info:

http://www.finegardening.com/PlantGuide/PlantFinder.aspx?274=2048&264=16

Good luck!

Match up the line from the other side so it starts off symmetrical.
Then curve to the gate.
Choose similar plants, but make sure they do not grow much higher than the window. When you look out of the window you can see the top of the plant, flowers. Not the bare inside part.

Orange circles are stepping stones. These could be brick or concrete to match existing materials that are nearby, or could be stone the same color as the retaining wall in your earlier pictures.
Another way to do this is to make a brick or concrete walkway, not stepping stones. A smooth walkway makes it easier to roll the cans in and out.
Stepping stones are easy to do.
Stepping stones could be concrete, stone or even small groupings of brick.
You can set brick on sand, but it takes a bit of work and material.
A poured concrete walkway is better done by experienced people.

I started on this flower bed, and wow it is a lot of work! I am exhausted to say the least. Anyways, I have a few questions:

1. The soil is has a lot of clay in it, do I need to remove it the best I can or will plants still grow in it as long as I put down a lot of top soil and fertilizers?

2. The soil has a lot of roots in it (from a large tree), do I also need to remove those as well for the plants to grow?

3. What kind of shrub/ small tree should I plant in front of the chimney? I The area receives about an equal amount of sun and shade throughout the day.

Do not put a different soil on top of the soil you already have.
Add lots of organic matter to the clay soil. It is not an instant fix, but will help a lot right away, and continue to help over the years if you keep adding it as a mulch.
Organic matter is almost anything that is decaying plant material. May be sold as soil amendment with many names, but the ingredients are usually things like sawdust, rice hulls and similar materials. If you have a source, the leaves that have fallen over the years and rotted in a forest are good. If you rake the leaves from your own tree and add grass clippings that makes very good compost.

Add a slow release fertilizer when you are turning over the soil and adding compost. You can do this to each planting hole, or you can prepare a large area by spreading the compost 2-3" deep then rototilling it with about 6" of the existing soil.

Tree roots are difficult to garden around. If you can remove them, do so. But if you remove large roots or many roots you can harm the tree.

I do not know your area to be sure these are going to work, so research:
Small trees or multi-trunked trees. Do not plant them so close to the chimney they are crowded and grow leaning out. Better to plant them about the middle of the bed. How wide have you made the bed?
Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum. Look for one of the smaller to mid size varieties.
Holly, Ilex species. There are many species, many varieties. Most get quite large, but are not fast growing, so could make a nice plant for in front of the chimney. You can remove some of the lowest branches if you want to plant other things under it. Make it into something like a tree with several trunks, if you want.
Dogwood, Cornus species. There are several species and hybrids, many varieties. Look for some of the smaller ones. That is, large shrub/small tree sized varieties.
Redbud, Cercis canadensis, the smaller varieties.

Shrub:
Forsythia- there are several varieties, but something like Lynwood Gold is large enough to be showy against the chimney. Most varieties are pretty big, worth looking into.
Rhododendron (dappled light all day is fine, just not full sun in the hot afternoons). MANY varieties ranging from dwarfs just a foot or two up to small trees.
Azaleas are technically Rhododendrons, but a different group. Deciduous Azaleas are REALLY showy in flower, and can get large enough to work in front of the chimney. Many other azaleas could work on either side of the chimney. Many are shrubs that grow 2-4' high and wide.
Hydrangea is another large shrub that is very impressive in flower.

Another way to research this is to go to the local garden store and start asking questions. Read labels. Write down the names of some plants that interest you and look them up or ask about them here.