Help?? huge backyard with Viburnum hedge all along the fence

Hello, I could use some advice on my huge backyard with viburnum hedge all along the fence line, its great for privacy but now I want to plant something in front of it with color, sord of the stage 2 of the tiered effect. One fence is sunny and one is very shady ( under a tree)and I am not a big fan of tropicals..... Any great suggestions for dry hot South Florida?

roses

Hi there!
If you could post a picture, it would be easier for all of us to play in your yard.

Yip, a picture of your yard would be more helpfull so we get a chance to note the size etc, shade, soil type and also how much time you have to spend tending any plants/shrubs etc that you may wish to add colour and maybe perfume to your yard, you do realise you are entering an addictive past time if you have not already done so elsewhere he he he, get back to us so we can have some fun designing your yard for you, well giving suggestions to you. WeeNel.

Oh, I forgot the picture, here it is...

another picture...

Hi Gotagreenthumb, thanks for the pictures, you really have a good size yard which already has some shade trees that will widen your choice of plants to give you colour, greenery of different textures and perfume, you never said how much time you can devote to the task of careing for any bads/borders, so I will give you a list of plants that grow in your area and I have seen them at there mature stage, so you will have to either spend a fortune buying very large specimens (which to my mine are hard work, worry and need even more care for the first few years due to the cost and size) so get used to the idea that you need patience and know your garden plants will grow along with your knowledge of gardening. First I would mark out large planting beds around your trees and incorporate some of the fence so you can use it for climbers to add colour and pos perfume as people/yourself can enjoy as you pass or work in the garden, use your garden hose to lay out the shape of beds you want, make them deep and wide enough so you dont fall over silly little dots, change the shape with the hose till you feel happy with it and then dig out the shape, remember to go indoors to look out at the shape of the beds so you can enjoy them from indoors also, when happy and the lawn has been removed for the beds, add as much compost/animal manure as you can lay your hands/money
on as this will help enrich the sandy soil / break up clay soil if you have that type and also helps retain moisture better for your plants / shrubs etc, it also helps to feed the roots of all plants, but you may still need to add feed each year to sustain neutrients in the soil as sandy or clay dont hold onto these for long as they are inclined to be washes out from the soil as you water.
Plants for your area will be, Bougainvilleas, all colours, keep small or let grow up fence or as bush, Angels Trumpets, come in pink, yellow white, are shrubs can grow large if fed and pruned properly, the perfume is heavenly, poisonous if eaten but well worth telling the kids not to eat any plants from the garden unless ask first.Criniums look for the Milk and wine one Crinium Augustum, it is lovely red/white from a bulb so plant several all together. Fruit bushes/trees are Mango, Avacado Star fruits lemmons, Gratefruit etc, all these give wonderfull perfumed flowers before fruiting, on the walls or fence grow things like the night blooming Cereus (Hylocereus Unddatus) climbs with aerial roots but the yellow flowers are wonderfull perfume at night while you sit and enjoy your new garden at night. Red Hot Cattails or chenille plant (Acalypha Hispida) has long red hanging flowers that will set of any border. Lipstick Plant, the seedheads look like lipstick and the dye from this plant is used to colour lipstick it's called (Bixa Orellana). Red Powder Puff (Calliandra Haematocephala) winter flowering perfumed. Golden Chalice Vine, Flowers toxic. Hibiscus, all colours and flower sizes, look for lily's all colours and sizes, Bulbs. Swamp lily's White. Gingers of all colours and foliage colours too. Gardenias. Bird of paradise, large and small. Peace lily's. Cycads. Amaryllis. Iris. these may need to besearched for as a lot of garden centers wont stock all or them, but some real growing nursery places might and theres always the internet to search for things different from every other gardens in your area,
Also go along to the librery for books of things that will grow in your area as there are literly hundreds, just a case of finding what soil/care they need before you spend a lot of money, there are some really nice small palms, different from the usual ones that would also be good as a center piece for beds with mixed bulbs and coloured flowering shrubs, take your time, a garden cant be made in a day and do your research to save you time and money, get the soil into good condition before your plants come so they can be set into the garden and not drying out in pots. good luck. WeeNel.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
on the second picture would you combine these 2 trees on the right and make on big bed?
You have some wonderful suggestions and plant knowledge. I hope I get there one day.

Hi gotagreenthumb, never worry about getting there or not, this is your garden so you will know better than anyone what you like texture, colour or shape/layout, and we all had to start somewhere, I always say, don't go too big all at once, just do one area at a time till you get used to the time you can devote to the care of the area you planted, the type of soil you have to work with and the kind of things you want to grow, then you don't waste a lot of cash on expansive plants and shrubs that will die because you had no time to keep a watch over them for the first year or two, Rome was not built in a day the saying goes.
As for combining the large shade trees to the right of the picture, again it all depends on how you use your yard, things like, do you have kids that need a lot of grass area to play ball or other games, do you like the grass area (grass is a good backdrop for a pallet of colours growing within) it will also allow you to walk and work all around any large beds that need watering and weeding plus barrowing plants/compost etc all around the beds you plan, so if I were you and new to laying out beds, I would be inclined to lay your garden hose around the individual trees and leave a good size grass pathway between the trees, I personally would go for kidney shaped beds, side by side so that the outer curve from the far right tree sits opposite the inner curve from the left tree/bed, so you kind of meander between rather than two circles like filled in sand pits if you know what I mean, step back and really have a look form a distance back at the shapes you create, then if you have the time and patience, start to lay things like upturned buckets, poke garden canes into the beds, anything to give you shapes and some colours, step back again and decide if you are happy with a pathway winding/twisting or circling
around the trees or would it be better all one very large bed, then when you feel happy, mark out the shape with either sand in a juice bottle trickled along the shape, you can brush the sand away if not happy and redo it) do this before you start to remove any turf for the beds, remember to go inside and look out at the beds also as you want to enjoy the colour and textures from windows, patios etc, once you remove the turf from the bed/beds, then work on the soil by adding all the compost/manure etc before you order any plants as they will be dried out and hard to keep for too long in pots while you prepare the soil, be patient, prob best time to plant is fall anyway as it is a bit cooler then and causes less stress to the plants, If you go for two beds, you can later remove the turf pathways and make one large bed, so either way it is a matter of taste and how much work you can spend tending the new garden at least for the first few years till the plants/shrubs become established, you could always use the trees as support for climbers to add extra colour at different times of the year too, also you can take a pic of the yard and overlay sheet of tracing paper a draw shapes of beds and add coloured shrub shapes etc to see visually how things will look, go to the library for a couple of books on landscaping ideas as they will list plants and show pictures of the beds when mature after a few years, it is a great way to understand colours and textures growing together and no expense on expensive books, also walk around your neighbourhood for ideas. don't be shy to ask more questions if need be, we are all still learning from each other. hope this helps you a bit, good luck. Weenel.