Color Scheme: a little or a lot of color?

My house is a brick Colonial. I currently have dark green shutters/door but will eventually change these to black paneled shutters, cream trim on the door and a red door.

The windows on the bottom are much longer than upstairs and the cats like to lay in the sills and look out. But I'm still leaning towards having roses in the permanent beds. But I'm not set on that.

I need easy plants (I know, roses aren't, but they would be the most time consuming I'd hope). I'd like flowers that will bloom through more than just one season. I hate annuals. I don't have time to baby a lot of plants. I know, I sound so demanding don't I?!

I will be removing all the plants there currently and changing the size of the beds around those sweetgum trees.

Unfortunately the original owners didn't give thought to the structure of the house being formal and they did not plant the 2 sweetgums symmetrically. So aside from the trees I think I'd like to plant things as evenly balanced as possible.

Should I use just a few colors? Or many colors? I need some help/suggestions please! It's not the best photo----I wasn't taking it with this question in mind to show you.

This message was edited Jul 10, 2007 12:59 PM

what do you mean roses aren't easy? then your not thinking about the right ones.
and also the longest flowering. I think you knew your answer was roses!lol!
personally i like the green shutters. green has the most pleasing and natural coloring of the neutrals imho. the door and frame, sure change the color.
as for the color thing, if you want to go formal i wouldn't mix a rainbow of colors maybe a couple but you could mix a lot of different GREEN plants with different greens and foilage
shapes, would have a lot of impact and interest but wouldn't be gaudy looking.

len,

thank-you. yep---guess I've had the wrong roses???? I dealt with blackspot quite a bit, plus the pruning. We enjoy a much longer warm season down here so I can enjoy a roses blooms for months and months but it also means more care and time is something I don't have a lot of these days.

The green is okay but I prefer vinyl PANELED shutters not your basic shutter and certainly not in wood which I have now. So changing up the color just seemed a given since I'll be going with a new shutter.

I'm not much for shrubs or foilage really. The whole street has lots of that. I prefer more flowers in the landscape but I think you are right---perhaps just a few color choices.

i'm not sure where you live, but there are roses that are very resistant to bs. and there are ones that are bs magnets. i don't do anything for bs. i just plant, haven't had to water this year, fertilize once in a while. it's as simple as you want them to be or as complicated as you can see in some of the forums.
today i had to search through the 5' high grass in my side pasture to find 3 of my roses.
why i planted them there i don't know because all three only get about 1 1/2' high. so i pulled some of the grass out around them so they could get more sun, they were totally buried. but they were all very healthy. maybe i can get a pic of them if it's quit raining.
they are the hardiest flowers, shrubs whatever you want to call them.

There are roses out there that are more resistant to black spot. I don't grow roses so I don't know which ones they are, just know that they exist. I think that's your best bet too if you want long bloom time but don't want annuals, the long bloom time is hard to find except with annuals. A couple perennials I've grown that have long bloom periods are verbena, lantana, coreopsis, gaura, lavender, gaillardia, and several different types of salvia (well at least they're perennials for me, you don't mention what zone you're in so don't know if they would be for you or not). Some of these might fit OK with a formal look, but some are definitely more cottagey. As far as colors I agree with Len, if you're going for a formal look you don't want a riot of colors everywhere, that will tend to make it look more cottagey and informal.

here is my rose i dug out from the grass

here's what i meant by the different colors of green, some didn't show up too well it's not professional landscaping and overlook the weeds

this is the only hybrid tea i have dainty bess, i read somewhere where they get bs, but i have 3 and they were relatively bs -free this year planted in april

Hi tir-na-nog, cant say I see anything wrong with the house the way it is, it is a typical colonial house with the typical colonial colours to match the architecture of the period, so to me, the style of the house dictates what would look good growing in a colonial style garden and that is squares, curves and long straight borders, you have to ask yourself, to do such changes to the appearance, what attracted you to the house in the first place, was it the inside of the home, therefore you could change the appearence of the outside, or did you fall in love with the outer style, if it were the later, I would go to the librery and pull out books with pictures of that period of architecture and look at what the planting scheems were for that period, it will at least give you an idea of what would look good against the backdrop of your home, or even what was growing up the walls etc, you will also see what definately looks awfull, I do know they did not have big flowery gardens and I say all this because I would hate you to be disapointed and spend a lot of money on plants that you were not happy with once they matured or even the colours, there are literly hundreds of plants that you can grow and will last more than one season, these are perennials, a lot of folks call them cottage garden plants but these are a lot of work also, they need weeded between or they get choked out by weeds, they need split up every so often or they either grow rampant or they need rejuvinated every once in a while by being lifted out the ground and pulled appart as they have died off in the middle and need sorted, they need fed and watered, watered in summer every 2/3 days and as you say, you dont have a lot of time, I know I am sounding a bit negative here, but it would be such a shame to ruin a wonderfull looking home with the wrong aproach and you have to drive up everyday and look at it, I know these homes had lots of hedges shaped into architectural pictures and lots of flowering shrubs, Roses being one of them but I honestly think you would gain more confidence to your aproach if you looked at gardens from that period, just to get you started, then you can start to select plants for your garden. hope this helps a bit and wish you good luck, Weenel.

i agree with weenel, i think the house is beautiful with the green. and the flowers will totally change the appearance as well. my house was white with black trim. i painted it a gray green and the trim with a color that is beautiful on the inside, but on the outside looked hideous. so i had to repaint the trim. actually before i painted the trim i was going to leave the black trim but it was really grim looking with the green. black may go with white but anything else i'm not so sure. but i don't even trust my own taste sometimes at least for house colors, so don't take my comments too seriously. yes i used to think houses were so blandly colored until mine ended up looking like a john deere tractor, so now it's back to bland! lol

Hi Len you made me laugh at you discription of your house looking like a John Deere tractor, pity we have to learn from our dreadfull taste eh, I remember once I painted our garage door as a surprise for my husband who had been working away from home, once he pointed out it reminded him of an icecream parlor, I had to laugh as I new it looked like something I had seen before, needless to say it was painted white the following weekend, but I was young then, bold as brass and only 23years old and stuck at home with three snotty nosed kids, needed cheering up so purple was the fashion colour then, well on dresses or tops, just not the garage door, I still blush at the idea of it all, the neighbours must have got a shock also, maybe you and I are just coloured blind and we dont know it ha, ha, ha. good luck next time. WeeNel.

lol i wish i could brag instead of tell of my mishaps, but i think the screwups help people a little more. and yes i live in the country and anytime you paint, plant or whatever the neighbors driving by notice. i have learned that if they dont see you waving at them while they're staring at what your doing that it's either very nice looking or totally hideous!

LOL, you are both so funny! I enjoyed the "mis-hap" stories.

Yes, I should look at some period pictures, that's a good idea!

Watering is about the only gardening chore that won't take a lot of time since we have a sprinkler system (though why in Houston you need one is beyond me----it rains weekly at least once, often MORE).

I definately think I want some roses. So if anyone can point me in the right direction on that (ones that DON'T get blackspot) that would be helpful. Pulling out old plants and putting in roses will probably be the first change.

Oh yeah, and a small change with big impact---I am changing the boring natural pine mulch to the cedar dyed red mulch. The home needs more color I think.

I'm afraid with the dark solar panels (which I've decided I really like) plus the dark green, no flowers---makes the home appear to dark.

Of course I have to work with an HOA on all my changes. They seem to approve just about everything, lol----it just takes them months to get back to you! Sheesh.

Someday I hope to enjoy some of that country livin'!

rugosas and rugosa hybrids no bs, ht dainty bess, species (most once blooming)
hybrid musks little or no, red meidellands, knockout, scotch rose golden wings

the worst for bs are centifolias and mosses, damasks, gallicas, portlands,

bourbons get some , albas more mildew less bs

many shrub roses tend to have less bs

we have had a horrible year for rain and bs. but i have never treated any of my roses.

Here's more ideas regarding the use of green. The areas under the trees might be shady enough for hosta. The larger leafed varities can be a great accent plant.

Oh that hosta is gorgeous!

A DG friend in my area said she's not been able to get any to grow in our heat though. =(

i stay away from the H plants cause my helliobores and hydrangeas are not doing so well. hosta would just be another problem for me. lol

Hi Tir_Na_Nog, if you get rain once a week in your area, and you have shaded bits in the garden, even close to shade from trees will do, then you should be well able to grow hostas, give the soil plenty manure/compost to help feed and retain moisture and they should do well, as for your roses, again they should do good also if you get steady rain, add the same to the soil as for the hostas, as roses are greedy feeders to keep deseases and mould at bay, grey mold and black spot is able to get hold if the roses are not getting enough air circutating around the rose and not enough water, but it is true that some are more likely to get it than others, your home would look really good if you could add a few climbing roses that were trained onto an oblisk rather than flat against the wall, another good climber for your style of house would be Wisteria, a lot of people are frightened of this plant as there are so many rumours that it is a rampant plant, but given that it would take several years to get going and many more before it was rampant, then you learn how to prune it properly, it has long flower rasims and come in white, lavender/purple or pale lavender, as for help with your rose selection, if I were you, I would go on line and send for some growers rose catalogues and sit down and study them as there are so many new ones on the market that it would be hard to sugest any right now without knowing what your colour scheem will be finnaly, but the best time to plant roses is autumn when the soil is still warm but the heat has gone from the sun, or in spring as the soil warms up, you still have to prepare youe beds and soil for your plants, so do all that first and it will save you problems and money later. Good luck, happy gardening. WeeNel.

You have all been sooo helpful and informative I really thank you.

Weenel: I have had an Austin Roses catalog once. They never seem to tell you which ones are best to not have BS though do they??? For sure, can't plant anything here til fall. It's not toooo hot (nothing over 90° so far this summer) but it's humid and usually raining....am I in Portland (?), NOPE, Houston!. But I am scouting ideas for plants.

Well since it was mentioned that hostas may work for me I may give it a go. I saw Lowe's was carrying them and thought they MUST grow here if they are selling them locally. Is it okay to buy hostas from a box nursery?

>>A DG friend in my area said she's not been able to get any to grow in our heat though. =(

Tir_Na_Nog -- doss from out in Calif comprised a list of hostas that do well in warmer/hot climate

wander over to the hosta forum to get more info... but I think there will be a few that will do OK for you... especially with the fact you are not as dry as some of CA is. I recall Houston being quite humid.

>>Is it okay to buy hostas from a box nursery?

Oooop... big No-No. big box stores are known for "not knowing" about the HVX virus. Don't buy from Wally World or HD, and the like.

again -- wonder on over to the hosta forum.. you will learn a lot over there, and i'm sure there are a few Texans... look for posts from Sylvia.

**edited to add

here is the "southern hosta" link
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/738133/

This message was edited Jul 7, 2007 12:42 PM

Also don't trust that just because the big box store carries it it'll do well in your climate, they're also known for not paying attention to little details like that. On other plants besides hostas there might not be health concerns, but the plants won't necessarily be climate appropriate (I remember buying bougainvilleas in the outdoor garden center at Home Depot back when I lived in Ohio...fortunately I knew they weren't hardy so I didn't have unreasonable expectations of them, but I'm sure some people did!)

>>big box store carries it it'll do well in your climate,

on that note... i always wonder why hibiscuses are sold up here. they are tropical.
though i do bring mine in every winter.... but knowing that it would not survive a head of time... i'm sure we would not have purchased it.

LOL on the big box----I bought some tropicals living in SAN ANTONIO and was disappointed the chill of our mild winters froze them out. I want things that grow IN my zone, not plants I have to baby.

Normally I wouldn't mind but having had my first child last year I see time is very limited and precious. :)

I've always loved the formal look of verigated ivy on either side of a long sidewalk going up to the house. You can put bulbs in for color and don't have to do a thing to them. Love the idea of a red door, the green one isn't as welcoming. I'd also add an upright triangle shaped shrub on either side of the front door to frame it.

cathy4 i saw your red door and i thought now that would b christmas colors, ugh, but then i realized that that is kinda what i done, green house and adobe color door. i suppose adobe would be a red. oops lol

thanks cathy!

red door it is. I have some landscaping ideas brewing already. :) I can't wait to put them in action (more in fall) and post pictures.

DH is wanting to make his own paneled shutters now. these would match the panels in the door better anyway. but i hate wood shutters. always having to re-do. but he said they vinyl would bow and fade to and then you're stuck with them, no re-doing.

the green shutters would go is what I'm saying, so no Christmas colors. :)

we already took down the lantern lights and repainted those, black, to match the new black hardware on the door. and I frosted the lantern globes (where bubble glass clear) so you can't see the CFL lamp. DH hates regular bulbs so he'd never turn the lights on. And I like the lights on. So CFL it is. :)

Drive through a new subdivision, all the doors are the same color as the shutters because the builders don't want to use the different paint. Booring! Painted my daughter's dark red, looks great! Added some darker red bushes near the door, says, come in! If you look at pics in a paint store or landscaping books, the door is always brighter colors.

Those triangle bushes would look great in large planters.

cathy4

I prefer a wood stained door myself but since this one is already here, original and painted....

Hi again Tir_Na_Nog, Do you have a company that takes your doors or any painted wooden stuff away and they strip it, we call it dip an strip, they call an remove the doors and bring them back all done to the bare wood as when first made, then you either wax finnish them or varnish or even repaint them, look in the trade part of the phone book, over here in UK we have a phone book called yellow pages and find sections for that plus many thousand of other trades, they come to your home and tell you if it's pos and the cost, just an idea, saves a lot of elbow work too, my daughter has a georgian three story home in the city and they got a lot of woodwork done that way,one room at a time, it looks fab and back to the origional features as well. she's so pleased she did it. Now, knowing you have just had a new baby, time will be limited for a few years, and so will money, so may I sugest for the rest of this year, you just try plan out what you would like, kind of like a wish list, I found when I moved here where I live now and done so for about 20 years now, we had less cash and even less time as we were building our home so I kept some paper to hand, had photograph of the house and covered that with some tracing paper, this meant the outline etc was always to hand, and I just played about with a pencil, it was easy to see the shapes against the backdrop of the house as I could see through the tracing paper, if it went wrong, I just pinned an new sheet pf tracing paper and started over again till I was happy, also a good way to try out a shape or border, is to lay a long hosepipe along the area you want a bed or border, then curve it bend it and move it into the shape you like, go inside and look at it from the window to see if it needs altered, then mark the outline with sand, canes or spray garden marker paint, it washes off eventually, but that way you dont go dig an area, then have to change it all because it is too narrow, too straight or whatever, then transfer the shape onto your tracing paper and draw shapes of shrubs, trees, plants etc and list what you want at the side of the page, doing this wish list will allow you the time to really know your garden, know what you like, where to get it from and cost, so you can just do a bit when time and money comes your way, it is less stress, less work in the end and you have a target to aim for, believe me, jumping about from one job to another is costlier, longer and you get really fed up because you dont ever see anything for all your effort, a new baby, a new house and a new garden should be fun, not stress, so take your time, enjoy, do your research and costings, find out what is top priority and work down your list, hope this helps you a bit, get books from the librery as you can snatch a look while baby is asleep, feet up, coffee and dream, that cost you nothing. Good luck, WeeNel.

Weenel,

You sure are encouraging and with great ideas to! Nice to know you can empathize with the baby years I'm embarking upon. :)

I wish I could refinish the door but alas....it's not a very old house (1982) and the door is steel and not wood. It doesn't even have that faux wood grain look. Which I am okay with...though I prefer wood toned doors.

DH isn't dreaming as big on changing this place as I am as he would prefer country living vs city. But we're here for now and he is so wonderful to listen to and try to implement all my ideas.